SIMULBLOG OF SONICS V. CELTICS

Sonics 118 Celtics 111 FINAL SCORE
Great nights for Flip, Danny and Reggie.
Lewis really has become a go to guy all-star.
The Sonics go to play is Lewis in the post.
Weiss deserves great credit for his plays out of time-outs tonight and the defensive adjustment to go to Wilkins in the 4th Quarter to guard Pierce.
Big shot by Nick Collison will be the dagger.
Sonics are without their top 3 point guards to finish the game, Ridnour, Murray and Brunson all out
Ray Allen is 3 of 13 and the Sonics have scored 118 points.

Flip Murray leaves West, who ends up hitting an open 3, to dig at Paul Pierce on a drive and dislocates his finger. To make it all the more bizaree is that Murray didn't stay on the floor he ran to the locker-room with playing still going on. The Sonics get the ball stolen and that gives the C's a 5 on 4 break and they can't score.


Sonics 109 Celtics 105 with 3:09 left in the 4th Quarter
Wilkins is really working on hard on Pierce
The Celtics have abadndonded the high pick and roll that was effective in the 1st half.
Sonics are working Damien Wilkins in the post being guarded by a much smaller Delonte West. They have scored on 2 of three possessions with that play.

Sonics 101 Celtics 101 with 5:30 left in the 4th Quarter
Celtics go into the bonus at 5:30 mark. Now Pierce, Davis and Banks become very tough to guard.
Rashard Lewis just did a great job on the defensive end. Lewis blocked Davis drive and forced the pass out to Bank and Lewis was the one closing out on the shot. Great effort.
Sonics are working hard to keep the ball to the baseline
The Sonics offense has gone south. Flip missed Lewis having a mismatch with Banks on him and never let him get to the post for the easy look.


Celtics 97 Sonics 96 with 7:52 left in the 4th Quarter
Paul Pierce returns and the Celtics have gone small and Pierce is playing the 4.
Wilkins enters the game for the first time to guard Pierce.
Fortson has to leave the game due to match-ups.


Sonics 92 Celtics 90 with 10:19 left in the 4th quarter
Sonics have committed two fouls on the first two possessions, that is not looking good for staying out of the bonus.
Do the Sonics have the confidence to make the plays down the stretch?


Sonics 90 Celtics 83 at the end of 3rd Quarter
Sonics put 40 points on the board in the 3rd Quarter
Flip was great offensively and he worked on the defensive end. He had 18 points, 7 for 7 from the field.
Reggie had a brilliant quarter
This is a great match-up for Flip because the Celtics points are terrible defensively and they aren’t a part of the offense as it runs through Pierce and Davis.
The key to the 4th Quarter will be staying out of the bonus for as long as possible


Sonics 82 Celtics 73 with 2:05 left in the 3rd Quarter
Sonics on a 20 to 2
Cetlics have scored on just 2 of last 12 possessions. The Sonics are getting the Celtics to take the shots the Sonics want and the Celtics are forcing.
The Sonics eliminated the Celtics early offense by scoring on each possession.
Flip is attacking the Celtics at their weakest defensive position point guard where Ridnour was not able to. Flip has 21 points.
Offensively Flip is something the Celtics can’t handle.


Sonics 70 Celtics 69 with 6:17 left in the 3rd Quarter
Great energy from the Sonics early in this quarter and most of it from Reggie
Pierce was just in the post on Allen and the Sonics didn’t come to double. Are you kidding?
Why does Reggie Evans make every move with his left hand but shoot his free throws with his right hand?
Celtics have scored on their first 6 possessions
Sonics have answered and scored on 10 of 11 possessions in the Quarter
Reggie Evans just hit another 16 footer. I must admit Reggie has done more offensively tonight then I ever thought I would see in his entire career.


Celtics 61 Sonics 54 with 10:41 left in the 3rd Quarter
Luke Ridnour does not come out for the second half. Flip starts and Luke is not on the bench. He got sick after the loss to Dallas and this may still be affecting him.
Flip Murray’s defense is a miracle. West just got an easy lay-up on the most basic give and go but Murray was no where close.
Luke will not return he has nausea


Celtics 47 Sonics 44 with 3:16 left in the 2nd Quarter
Sonics starting guards are a combined 0 for 9 from the field.
Lewis leaves with three fouls at the 4:16 mark
The Sonics game plan on Pierce is having no impact. He is not getting the ball where they anticipated. He is working from straight away rather then the wing and he is cutting and getting the ball in the paint on the move rather then posting on a side. Sikma told us before the game that he is one of the versatile players in the NBA.


Celtics 40 Sonics 38 with 5:47 left in the 2nd Quarter
Bob Weiss has gone back to the line-up with Lewis at the 2. Radman is at the 3, with Nick and Danny and Flip at the point.
Forston has 10 points and 5 rebounds in 7 minutes


Sonics 31 Celtics 29 with 8:15 left in the 2nd Quarter
Danny Fortson is dominating the game.
Sonics on a 10-2 run with Fortson scoring 8 of those points.


Celtics 29 Sonics 28 with 8:41 left in the 2nd Quarter
In the 1st Quarter the Sonics were 8 of 22 from the field – 1 of 7 from the free throw line and 0 for 8 from behind the arc.
Fortson factor – Sonics are making a run here in the early part of the quarter.
The things Flip misses when he is on the floor with his lack of court vision are remarkable.


Celtics 23 Sonics 17 at the end of the 1st Quarter
The Lewis at the 2 was short lived as Lew got his second foul. It was +1 when it was on the floor.
If the game gets boring I have two seriously gabby women behind me so it could be fun to blog their comments
One of them just said her husband is such a bad shopper that she just bought what she wanted and wrapped and put it under the tree for herself.
Sonics just missed 4 free throws on one possession. Two by Flip and two by Reggie.
Danny enters with the Sonics down by -7
Another no pass possession by Flip and he missed the shot.


Celtics 20 Sonics 14 with 2:20 left in the 1st Quarter
Ray Allen opens the game 0 for 5
Bob Weiss has shown a new line-up. It has Rashard at the 2 with Vlady at the 3 and Reggie and Nick up front. Flip is the point. This is the first time we have seen Lewis at the 2. I would think this works better with a true point guard in Luke. Celtics lead 18-12 when Weiss went to this line-up.


Celtics 16 Sonics 8 with 5:52 left in the 1st Quarter
Defense on Allen off the pick and roll looks like a blast, which is a full double of Allen.
This is a very quick game.
How a guy can come out of high school and go pro with as little offensive game as Kendrick Perkins is amazing.
Reggie Evans just hit a 16 footer from the free throw line and then hit a fade away back to the basket turnaround post shot. If you didn’t know better you would think he is a offensive powerhouse
Both Ray Allen and Ricky Davis should have big offensive games because they are being guarded by each other and neither of them can defend. Ray has had three good looks and missed all of them, Davis on the other hand has beaten Ray badly for two buckets.
Sonics look very poor early in this game.


Pretty clear why the Sonics are struggling. They have a serious point guard problem. Check out the comparision from last season with the on floor performance of the Sonics guards other then Ray Allen.

Sonics Point Guard Issue
+/- per 48 minutes (overall +/-)
Ridnour – 4.4 (-78)
Murray –10.4 (-81)
Cleaves –10.7 (-36)
Total = -195

Last Season
Daniels +4.8 (204)
Ridnour even for the season (+2)
Murray –7 (-128)
Total = 78