CHAMBERS LEAVING WASHINGTON

As he first reported on Thrusday 950, KJR’s Dave Mahler has confirmed that Craig Chambers is leaving the University of Washington. Mahler reports that Chambers meet with Head Coach Tyrone Willingham today and has asked for his release.
Chambers has mentioned the University of Montana as a possible next stop. That makes sense since Bobby Hauck, former Washington assistant and now head coach of the Grizzlies, recruited Chambers.
Chambers lack of work ethic at practice and attention to detail has been a sticking point during his tenure at Washington with both head coach Keith Gilbertson and Tyrone Willingham.
In other Huskies news, 950,KJR Dave Mahler also reported that Willingham decided against playing a 13th game in Hawaii.
Both of these stories show that Willingham is working hard to install a culture to the University of Washington. The largest surprise for Willingham in his first year was the amount he had to coach effort and desire. It is clear that continues to be his focus.

SIMULBLOG FOR SONICS V. CAVS

SONICS 115 CAVS 108 FINAL SCORE
Great win all the way around for the Sonics.
Defense was good when you consider how good the Cavs offense is.
Rebounding was the key. Sonics get 77% of the defensive rebounds and 33% of the offensive boards.
Flip Murray finished the game and was terrific. He played within himself and didn't commit a turnover.
The Sonics played solid defense on LeBron all night despite his 34.


THIS IS THE CHART I KEPT ON LEBRON'S SHOOTING OPS

          1st Q     2nd Q     3rd     4th Q
Jumper     3 for 4   1 for 5  1 for 4  2 for 5
FB         2 for 2   1 for 1  1 for 1  0 for 0
Contained  1 for 1   0 for 0  1 for 2  0 for 0
Penetration1 for 1   1 for 1  2 for 2  1 for 1

Sonics 102 Cavs 98 with 3:14 left in the 4th Quarter
The Sonics kept the Cavs out of transition for most of the game until now. The Cavs are getting free in transition here in the 4th Q
The Sonics have Murray, Allen, Lewis, Radman and Wilkins on the floor.
Wilkins has the assignment on LBJ.

Sonics 94 Cavs 93 with 5:47 left in the 4th Quarter
Nick Collison has five fouls. When will Weiss go back to him?
The Sonics are getting most of the hustle plays.
This game could go a long way to defining the season.


Sonics 89 Cavs 85 with 8:00 left in the 4th Quarter
Here is the amazing thing. I think the Sonics have defended LBJ very well.
He still has 32 points on 11 of 23 shooting. The dude is the whole deal.
Ray Allen is just 5 of 16. Last year against Hughes he was 13 of 40.


Sonics 81 Cavs 79 at the end of the 3rd Quarter
On the final play of the quarter Flip Murray didn’t impede Larry Hughes progress at all and allowed him to get the ball to Marshall for a three at the buzzer.
The Cavs are living at the line
Cavs hit three straight threes to close the quarter and we have a ball game


Sonics 77 Cavs 64 with 2:16 left in the 3rd Quarter
Sonics have taken LBJ out of the game with the zone defense and their double teaming.
Great job from the coaching staff on their game plan.
If the Sonics get anything close from their bench that they got in the first half this is their game.


Sonics 71 Cavs 61 with 3:55 left in the 3rd Quarter
Danny Fortson just got ejected from the game. He pushed Z out of bounds with a harsh elbow and then the confrontation continued and as always Danny couldn’t let it go and got ejected.


Sonics 68 Cavs 57 with 5:49 left in the 3rd Quarter
Cavs in the bonus at the 6:13 mark
The Sonics have been very physical with the Cavs tonight. Let’s see how that plays later in the game.
The Sonics half court offense has been ignited by great screens
The Cavs last 5 points have come at the free throw line.

Sonics 65 Cavs 53 with 6:59 left in the 3rd Quarter
LBJ is 1 for his last 7 on jumpers
The Sonics have only allowed LBJ to drive into the paint three times out of the half court all night.
LBJ’s only misses are on jumpers. Otherwise he has scored every time.
Sonics shooting in this game has been out of the world
The Sonics are very poor at the free throw line 6 of 12.


Seattle 58 Cavs 48 at the half
Seattle is 7 of 11 from 3
LBJ is 1 for 5 on jumpers in the 2nd Quarter
The best half of basketball this season by the Sonics.
Lewis and Allen were great, but the story was the bench
Wilkins was great on LBJ.
Every guy on the team was on top of their game.
Brilliant play call to close the half with Allen and Lewis picking for each other and getting Lewis a mismatch in the post.


Sonics 50 Cavs 41 with 2:17 left in the quarter
Flip checks out with 10 points. He has been brutal in the +/- all year. Tonight he was +11 in his span on the floor.
The bench has been great. Without question the Sonics are getting their best night of the year from the bench. Murray, Wilkins and Fortson have all been excellent.
Sonics have a 21 to 5 bench advantage.
LBJ is just 1 of 4 on his jumpers in the Quarter. That is the game plan.
Cleveland’s offensive rebounding is causing problems.


Sonics 42 Cavs 36 with 6:04 left in the 2nd Quarter
Danny Fortson has brought a ton tonight.
Wilkins has the match-up on LBJ
Cavs only have one stop in the quarter as of the 7:00 mark.
The Sonics are being very physical with the Cavs. This will wear on them later in the game.
Flip Murray is bringing a ton. He has buried two open jumpers off the pick and roll when the Cavs have gone under. In addition, he has been great in transition.


Sonics 35 Cavs 32 with 8:36 left in the 2nd Quarter
Sonics are getting a really good outing from Danny Fortson.
Fortson got their first offensive rebound around the 9:30 mark of the 2nd Quarter
Fortson just got Zydrunas Illgauskas to get a T with his antics
Flip Murray playing well also.
The Sonics are riddling the Cavs defense or lack their of.


Cavs 30 Sonics 26 at the end of the 1st Quarter
The Sonics first bucket was from Collison. The next 22 points came from Lewis and Allen.
Lewis is doing his best to match LBJ in his quiet fashion. Lewis has 14 to match LBJ.
Fortson makes his first appearance in some time.
Cavs lead 28 to 24 when Allen goes to the bench.


Cavs 23 Sonics 20 LeBron 14 with 3:47 left in the 1st Quarter
LBJ is the whole show right now. He is burying the J, hit the drives and finishing the fast break. He has 14 points already.
LBJ has hit 6 in a row
Sonics have answered the LBJ run with 4 straight 3 point shots
This is an offensive extravaganza.


Storylines
1) Cavs are amazing rebounding the basketball.
2) Force LeBron into the jumper.
3) Defensively can the Sonics handle the #1 offense in the NBA. Anything under a rating of 110 is acceptable.

Sonics inactives: Mikki Moore, Rick Brunson and Johan Petro

SIMULBLOG FOR SONICS V. BOBCATS

Sonics 97 Bobcats 87 with 2:46 left in the 4th Quarter
Ray Allen just hit one of those special threes and it puts Seattle back up 12 just when you began to get nervous.
Charlotte can only score at the line and the Sonics are in the penalty and fouling.

Sonics 90 Bobcats 79 with 6:02 left in the 4th Quarter
Seattle in the penalty at the 8:06 mark
Seattle has done a great job of taking care of the ball.
The Bobcats don’t have a single player with a game that translate to the half court game.
The only one is Melvin Ely
Weiss has had a solid night with his rotation.


Sonics 90 Bobcats 74 with 8:30 left in the 4th Quarter.
Sonics have 4 team fouls with 9:15 left in the 4th Quarter
Flip Murray is having a solid night which is really important because without Brunson Murray is going to have to be the guy.
Murray moved the ball well tonight and was not so one dimensional.
Great steal by Vlady put together a large 4 point swing and kept the Sonics in control


Sonics 83 Bobcats 70 at the end of 3 Quarters.
Vlady is not right still and this is the guy that this team must have to be unique.
Ridnour hits two nice shots late in quarter
The Bobcats status as an expansion team is really evident when they go to the bench.
More so when they are without their first round pick Sean May



Sonics 76 Bobcats 65 with 3:18 left in the 3rd Quarter
Fantastic run by the Sonics – 9-0
The Sonics got back to back fast break buckets.
The offensive execution has been very good. Mainly when Lewis has been in the post.
The key to the game is upcoming. When Allen goes to the bench how do the Sonics react.
Lewis is unguardable tonight.


Sonics 63 Bobcats 58 with 7:27 left in the 3rd Quarter
Luke has take 4 of the Sonics 6 shots in the Quarter and he has missed all of them
Official Tony Brothers is having a bad night. Weiss has been working on him every time down the floor for the last 4 minutes. Then Brothers missed a call and got the wrath of the Bobcats.
This was a big play. The Sonics lead 59 to 56 and Knight ran into Ridnour and no foul was called and the Sonics went the other way for a lay-up to go up 61-56. Then a Tech followed but the Sonics missed the free throw.
The Bobcats have all the momentum.


Sonics 56 Bobcats 46 at the half
Sonics go on an 8-0 run with 6 of those points coming on the fast break
Sups force 7 turnovers in the 2nd Quarter for a good defensive quarter.
Rashard Lewis has 19 points and looks awesome.
Very good shot distrubution by the Sups in the first half, Lewis 13, Allen 11, Radman 5.

Sonics 48 Bobcats 44 with 3:01 left in the 2nd Quarter
Off the Topic – Nate Robinson started tonight for the Knicks and played 35 minutes.
Nate had 14-3-2.
The Bobcats are great in transition. When they get out they get 2. They are brutal in the half court
Ray Allen’s strength is not dribbling and he is getting the ball too much early in the shot clock and it allows the defense to put all of its focus on Allen and it is resulting in some turnovers.
The Bobcats are shooting 56% they might not be able to do that in a gym by themselves.


Sonics 44 Bobcats 36 with 5:16 left in the 2nd Quarter
Melvin Ely has a really good low post game for the Bobcats
The Sonics offensive ball movement has been very good
Seattle has gone to a zone and it is causing the Bobcats a ton of trouble.
The Bobcats are committing a ton of turnovers and the Sonics are getting out and going.
The Soncis have done a great job of keeping the Bobcats out of transition
Luke Ridnour left with a slightly sprained ankle


Sonics 30 Bobcats 24 at the end of 1 Quarter
Lewis carries the load with 5 of 6 shooting and 11 points
For the most part the Sonics have done a very good job of keeping the game in the half court and the Bobcats can’t score in the halfcourt.
Okeafor has no jump shot. He is amazingly limited for a guy who won rookie of the year.
Ray Allen went to the bench with the Sonics up 4. One of our storylines is how they do with Allen on the bench.


Sonics 18 Bobcats 9 with 5:53 left in the 1st Quarter
Sonics come out on fire. Hitting their first 6 shots.
Nick Collison gets two fouls by the 8:00 mark. That has always been my concern with Collison is whether or not he can avoid foul trouble as a starting power forward.
Petro replaces Collison.
Sonics are working on containment defensively. Trying to avoid the penetration.
Gerald Wallace and Kareem Rush may have a tough time guarding Lewis and Allen.


STORYLINES
1) The Bobcats can't score the Sonics can't defend
2) Sonics turnovers. The bobcats average forcing 20% of opponents possesions as turnovers.
3) Can the Sonics survive without Ray Allen on the floor.


Some numbers that make you saw wow
In the last 5 losses the Sonics have allowed 187 free throws
In the last 6 games opponents have shot 38 of 78 from 3.
In the last 3 games the Sonics have allowed 105 free throws.
The average defensive efficiency in the NBA is 102. If you allow more then 109 you are in a lot of trouble. In all but 3 games the Sonics have had a defensive efficiency that was over 109. That makes it just about impossible to win.

INACTIVES
Sonics inactives: Mikki Moore, Rick Brunson and Danny Fortson.
Bobcats inactives: Sean May

Locked on Sports: Hawk fans: Loud and proud

Locked on Sports: Hawk fans: Loud and proud: "With each yellow flag fluttering to the ground the energy increased. The vigor of the crowd grabbed you like an avalanche sweeping down the mountainside. It was inescapable.

On the field, players chest-bump and high-five each other after great plays. In the crowd it was no different.

After each false-start penalty, complete strangers exchanged high fives. Buddies punched each other with excitement, screaming, 'We are changing the game!' And we were."

SONICS THE WORST DEFENSIVE TEAM EVER?

The problem with the Sonics defense is not that are bad it is that they are not close. This team is nowhere close to where they need to be defensively. The only way I can explain this is through defensive efficiency numbers. Those are numbers that equate for pts allowed per 100 possessions.

The bottom line is the Seattle Supersonics are the worst defensive team since at least 1994 and it would be a fair argument that they are the worst defensive team in the history of the NBA.

Here is the breakdown.
The Sonics are last in the NBA in defense by a lot. They allow 114.7 points per 100 possessions. Compare the Sonics 114.7 to the league average and the league average is 102.3, that is a 12.5 point difference. That is a larger difference then the 28th team in the NBA and the best team in the league. Let me say this again. The Sonics difference from the average defense in the NBA is more then the difference between the best defensive team and the 3rd worst defensive team.

But here is the real killer. Since 1994-95 which is the last year that I broke down the numbers. So over the past 11 seasons of the NBA no team in the NBA has ever had a defensive rating worse then 111.6. The Sonics are currently 114.7. They are the worst defensive team in over 11 seasons.

Their has only been one team since the lock-out to have a defensive efficiency rating over 110 for a season and that was the Atlanta Hawks last season at 110.3 and they lost 69 games.

THIS GUY IS FLAT OUT FUNNY

i found this guy on the web. I guess he goes to a bar. Watches games and has a running commentatry about what is going on. It is fricking classic.

Enjoy the read.

THIS IS SO GOOD

You can watch this over and over.
Jeremey Shockey's premature celebration

BRUNSON INJURED AT PRACTICE

Sonics point guard Rick Brunson re-injured his foot in practice today. This is bad news for the Sonics. Brunson has had problems with the foot all pre-season and early season. Everyone thought he had made great strides until today when he made a cut and the foot “exploded “ on him. He is seeing the doctors today, but this injury could put Brunson out for months.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE --- November 26TH

Knicks 105 Philly 102 --- Nate Robinson hits the game winner over Iverson. Brown put Nate in the third quarter to shut down Iverson and did a really solid job. Nate played 33 minutes. I have said all year that Philly is a façade and that is showing up …. The Knicks need to bench Antonio Davis. He has the worst +/- of any player in the NBA. The Knicks are -134 when he is on the floor….. Channing Frye is the real deal. All the NBA scouts are talking about him. Look for the Knicks to get much better when Frye gets all of Davis’s minutes.

Orlando 80 Miami 77 --- Has anyone noticed that Miami is just 7-6 without Shaq. All the off-seasons were to make this team survive a Shaq injury and it is not working …. Dwight Howard is developing every game and maybe really big time before

Minnesota 89 Cleveland 85 – Great road win for Coach Casey … Minnesota outscored Cleveland 24-26 in the 4th quarter. Minnesota is playing great D they are just having a tough time scoring … Marko Jaric gave Minnesota 41 minutes at the point. If he starts playing well they will be much improved, he was +10 ….

Charlotte 100 Washington 82 – Washington is suddenly in trouble … Charlotte is a totally different team when Gerald Wallace plays. He has become the real deal. He had 26-14 and 5 blocks. The Bobccats have a winning record when he plays ….
AD has suddenly fallen out of favor with the Wizards. AD was -13 in 15 minutes.

Memphis 112 Dallas 92 -- Great win for Memphis. They may be legit. Gasol gives it to them every night and then they find a way to get enough from other guys … You have to wonder where the Dallas guard defense was when Bobby Jackson and Damon Stoudamire light them up. Jason Terry is that why you only played 23 minutes.

Chicago 94 Houston 89 – The Rockets slide without Tracy McGrady contiues. The Bobby Sura injury is big here as well. They are simply without wing players. The Rockets have been forced to go to Luther Head for 40 minutes a game. .. Juwan Howard was -17. He may have totally lost it.

Detroit 85 Milwaukee 76 – The Pistons went back to their old ways …. The scouting report is out on TJ Ford and the Bucks are no longer nearly as dangerous … Bobby Simmons has yet to get comfortable with the Bucks.

Golden State 117 Toronto 91 – The Sam Mitchell death march continues … Jalen Rose the coach killer is a -120 for the season, the second worst of any player in the NBA,…. The Warriors are 9-6 … When Baron Davis decided to distribute not score the Warriors are really tough … Jason Richardson is becoming an elite two guard in the NBA…. Ike Diogu has been great in his first three game.

THE FLIP PROBLEM PART 2

Yesterday afternoon on the post-game show I was talking about Flip Murray's +/-. In no way is the issue confronting the Soncis a one man issue, but if you feel the need to zero in to problem number 1 the replacement of AD with Flip Murray is a pretty good spot to start.

In yesterday's game when Flip was having a "good game" the Sonics finished -8 when he was on the floor. What is more revealing is he was on the floor in the final 4 minutes when the Sups went on that irrelevant run to cut the lead down. He earned a +5 for that.

Therefore, in the moments the game was decided Flip was a -13 in 20 minutes. That is brutal.

In 109 minutes this season he is -82. In comparison during the entire season last year AD was a +208.

Let's extrapolate this a bit. AD played in 75 games last season. Therefore, he averaged a +2.8 per game. Flip Murray has played 6 games this season and is -82 for an average of -13.7 points per game.

Isolating this substitution change the Sonics seem to be -16.5 points worse per game all because of one change in the rotation.

This leaves us without an explanation for the 6 games Flip didn't play when the team went 3-3.

Honestly, their is something wrong with this breakdown, but regardless it tells a story. I can't imagine the story is that grotesque, but it might be a large part of the answer to what is wrong.

Let Nate Play

New York Post article about Nate and you can tell they are getting the grasp of who this kid is and how amazing he is.
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