SIMULBLOG FOR SONICS V. PACERS

SONICS 107 PACERS 102 FINAL SCORE
Sonics win their third in a row
Top to bottom everyone on the roster played well.
Great job on the boards again, 81% on the defensive glass and 32% on the offensive glass.
Flip Murray was terrific and in control.
Danny Fortson changed the game.

Sonics 98 Pacers 89 with 3:46 left in the 4th Quarter
The rout has been temporarily interrupted. This is why the early burst was so important.
For anyone who has been complaining about Weiss activity on the sideline they aren’t paying attention. He is currently across half court. He has been calling every defensive play tonight for the Sonics.
Danny Forston makes me chuckle. He just fouled out with 4:24 left. He changed the game.


Sonics 98 Pacers 82 with 6:11 left in the 4th Quarter
The rout is on.

Sonics 90 Pacers 77 with 8:29 left in the 4th Quarter
Seattle is forcing the pick and roll to the baseline and it is causing the Pacers huge problems. Indiana wants to take their pick and roll to the middle of the floor and the Sonics have a great game plan for it.
On the last possession Murray forced Johnson to the baseline and he threw a bad pass intercepted by Lewis and it was finished on with an alley-opp to Radman.
Artest gets his first rebound at the 8:29 mark

Sonics 82 Pacers 73 at the end of 3 quarters
Both teams in the penalty at the 3:22 mark. Sonics up 3. This may decide the game. Whichever team takes advantage of the bonus.
Bob Weiss is yelling at his team on each defensive possession “no fouls, no fouls.”
Sonics got 4 free throws in that span and the Pacers got none.
This is where Flip can be a very valuable player with his ability to break guys down and get to the line.
O’Neal is killing Seattle in the post.

Sonics 68 Pacers 64 with 5:09 left in the 3rd Quarter
Sonics scored on 8 of 10 possessions to open the 2nd half. That is unreal against the Pacers defense.
Pacers are on a 7-0 run. They have scored on 6 straight possessions. Defense from Seattle needs to return.
For the most part this game is entirely in the half court.
Reggie Evans is playing well tonight. He has stopped pressing and forcing his offensive game and is setting picks, rebounding and doing the things Reggie does. His defensive assignment is Ron Artest and that fits his skills better then a read and react player

Sonics 59 Pacers 48 with 8:52 left in the 3rd Quarter.
I said the Sonics needed to have a whap, whap, whap sequence early in the 3rd Quarter to get a little wiggle room in this game.
In a close game Indiana will just pound the post and get Seattle in foul trouble.
The opening 3+ minutes has been that whap, whap, whap. Allen hit a 3 in transition, Luke feed to Lewis for a 3 and Lewis alley-opped to Ridnour for two.
10-2 start to the half.


Sonics 49 Pacers 46 at the half.
Special hello to the those joining us on the blog from Italy and Greece.
Very good half of basketball from Seattle.
The bench was great again tonight.
Ray Allen looks great. He has super elevation. He has 16 points.
Jermaine O’Neal might be the toughest match this side of Shaq for the Sonics. He is one of the few bigs that really wants to play the game with his back to the basket 7 feet and in.
Watching Luke shoot a three from straight away and I wonder if the distance isn’t too much. The corner three looks like a much better stroke. AD was one of those guys last year. He had the biggest difference between the top of the key 3 and the the sideline 3.


Sonics 41 Pacers 36 with 4:12 left in the 2nd Quarter

Sonics 37 Pacers 35 with 5:45 left in the 2nd Quarter
Sonics have both Lewis and Allen back in. During the period that one of them was resting the Sonics bench gave the Sonics a +5. That is huge.
Danny Fortson gets his 3rd foul at the 6:02 mark. He gave the Sonics a +7.

Sonics 33 Pacers 33 with 7:32 left in the 2nd Quarter
My favorite play in the NBA is the re-post. The Sonics have re-posted both of the last two possessions and had great results.
Flip Murray has to have the lowest dunk % of any player in the NBA
Sonics go with Flip, Allen, Wilkins, Vlady and Fortson.
Fortson is still wrecking havoc.
Artest and Wilkins are really battling.
This game is getting very physical.


Pacers 28 Sonics 27 end of the 1st Quarter
Rashard Lewis is unquestionably in the elite offensive players in the NBA
Artest is guarding Lewis tight. I mean tight. Lewis has an answer to it and has buried two shots with Artest all over him.
Danny Fortson is impacting the game again tonight. He got two fouls on Jeff Foster in about a minute.
It is amazing how much a positive Fortson changes everything involving the Sonics.
It is equally as scary to be dependent on Fortson
Offensive Ratings in the 1st Quarter: Sonics 126 Pacers 128

Pacers 14 Sonics 10 with 5:08 left in the 1st Quarter
Interesting match-ups – Evans is guarding Artest. Collison is guarding O’Neal in the post.
Seattle’s offense looks great early against one of the best defensive team’s in the NBA.
Over the past 10 games the Sonics are the #1 offensive team in the NBA and the Pacers are the #1 defensive team in the NBA.
Sonics coaching staff charted Artest and found he is much better when he is playing off the dribble then when he is a catch and shoot or rise and fire jumper.
Sonics picks off the ball are much better the last few games


Storylines
1) Sonics great offense against the Pacers great defense
2) Can Artest contain Lewis
3) Will the Sonics bench have another great game
4) Pacers are turnover prone can the Sonics take advantage.

Sonics Inactives: Petro, Brunson and Moore