SIMULBLOG FOR SONICS V. LAKERS

KOBES 108 Sonics 96 Final Score

Lakers 99 Sonics 83 with 4:00 left
The rout is on.
Kobe has 29 in the second half.
Seattle had no answer.
It is hard to tell if the Sups defense was that bad. Kobe was just unreal.
However, it is fair to say it wasn’t good. They have played just one good defensive game all year and that was against Chicago. This is not going to get it done


Lakers 89 Sonics 76 with 6:26 in the game
In the first 30 minutes Kobe had 5 pts.
In the next 10 minutes Kobe had 20 pts.
Lakers have been hitting the three all night. So has every opponent of the Sonics.
Sups have scored on just 4 of their last 13 possessions.
Their offense is out of sorts. It is almost exclusively Lewis in the post.
I have seen very little pick and roll.


Kobes 85 Sonics 76 with 8:36 left in the game
Kobe is in that special place.
He has now shot on 11 straight possessions and taken 11 of the last 13 Laker shots.
Ray is trying to asnwer and has missed two straight.
Seattle's last 4 shot attempts are all three's.
Cleaves hit a big one.


Lakers 79 Sonics 71 end of the 3rd Quarter
It is Kobe’s world. Back to back 3’s to close the quarter
Kobe is on a 13-7 run with 2 from Chris Mihm off a Kobe miss
Kobe shot on the final 7 possession of the 3rd Quarter. Scoring 11 points.
Kobe had more three’s in the third quarter then he has had all year coming in to the game.
Kobe took 8 shots in the Quarter – 6 were jumpers, 2 were on drives.
That is what you want defensively but Kobe is in the zone.
Luke shot on 5 straight possessions



Lakers 68 Sonics 67 with 2:06 left in the 3rd Quarter
Kobe is trying to get it going but Seattle is doing a really nice job defending his game.
The Lakers guards are physically pounding the Sups guards.
Luke hit two big shots after struggling most of the night. That shows a ton.


Lakers 58 Seattle 57 with 5:33 left in the 3rd Quarter
Seattle is not valuing the possessions
Kobe is sharing the ball. Now get off the floor and keep reading. Kobe is creating for his teammates and getting wide-open looks for Cook, Parker, etc,
The Sonics are running the game almost entirely through Rashard in the post.
This game has grinded to a halt.
The Sonics need more out of Luke Ridnour then they are getting from him right now.
Petro has been very poor tonight.
Nick Collison has 5 fouls
Lakers go into the bonus at the 6:20 mark of the 3rd Quarter. Look for Kobe to put his head down and go one on one to get to the line.


Sonics 51 Lakers 43 at the Half
The big man combo of Vlady and Reggie which was outstanding for Seattle last year has been successful tonight for Seattle.
Reggie Evans is dominating this game with havoc.
Give Coach Weiss credit for his communication with these guys to have Reggie in the correct mind set to be ready to go tonight.
Evans inability at the free throw shooting is killing his great work. He is 2 of 8 at the line.
Honestly, I am surprised this quarter went the way it did. Seattle was not playing the game in a fashion that looked like they were about to have a burst. Then they got some good defensive rebounding and got out and running and hit a few shots. Then it was Reggie time from there.


Sonics 46 Lakers 39 with 2:44 left in the 2nd Quarter
Reggie Evans has given Seattle a huge boost off the bench. He has been grabbing boards and doing what Reggie does. Then Reggie promptly overplayed his offensive hand and turned it over. Reggie doing what Reggie does.
Too often Seattle takes the first open look. I would prefer a team that had more offensive patience. On the other hand, they have struggled today in the pure half court. Maybe it is just a team playing to its strength.


Sonics 41 Lakers 36 with 5:24 left in the 2nd Quarter
The Sups have scored on 8 of their last 10 possessions.
Vlady has hit three threes.
The Sonics defensive rebounding has improved and that is allowing them to get out and run and get some easier looks.
They were able to do this with Ray Allen on the bench. That has rarely happened this year.
Mateen Cleaves has not played particularly well, but he is on the floor as the Sonics make this surge.

Sonics 29 Lakers 28 with 8:41 left in the 2nd Quarter
My favorite line is if you play the game right you will get dividends. On that theory the Lakers are about to run away from the Sonics.
Lakers bench is not very strong. The Sonics are taking advantage.
Valdy has hit two long bombs in the early offense. Remember Vlady hit 8 threes at Staples Center last year against the Lakers.


Lakers 24 Sonics 19 end of the 1st Quarter.
Last year the offense sparkled when the bigs got down the floor and set picks that freed Ray and Lew. It didn’t always lead to baskets but it forced the defense into a scramble that the Sonics eventually took advantage of. This year none of the exists. Instead, it s much more one on one and more flex offense. The Sonics aren’t getting nearly the space on the floor offensively that they need.
On the other hand, they have walked their way up to 10th in the league offensively so this may be off point


Lakers 20 Sonics 13 with 2:26 left in the first Quarter
Seattle had become three dependent. In the last 7 half court possessions they have taken 6 three point shots. They hit just one of them.
With the selfish one on the bench Lamar Odom is getting to play. He has 8 points and 6 rebounds.

Lakers 14 Sonics 9 with 5:25 left in the 1st quarter
Foul trouble is the early story. Kobe left with 2 fouls 5 possessions into the game.
He promptly reminded the official that no one came to watch him and that they all came to see Kobe.
What will the selfish one do to get his 30 shots off.
Nick Collison has 2 fouls also.
The Sonics defensive rebounding has been poor. 9 to 5 Laker advantage.




Storylines
1) The selfish one (Kobe). The Lakers are having internal disputes about Kobe. How do they react today
2) Can the Sonics putrid defense coral a bad Lakers offense.
3) Sonics surviving when Ray Allen goes to the bench.

Inactives
Sonics: Danny Fortson, Rick Brunson, Robert Swift
Lakers: Kwame Brown, Luke Walton and Slava Medvedemko