SIMULBLOG SONICS V. KINGS

Kings 116 Sonics 99 with 3:30 left in the 4th Quarter
I can’t hear anything the women are saying other then they are excited that Mateen is in the game because one of them went to Michigan State. She said, “I think he is going to make it.” I am not sure what it is but ,…….. Have a good night I am done.



Kings 111 Sonics 89 with 6:17 left in the 4th Quarter
The Kings are 18 of their 24 in the second half.
I will try to give you an update on what the women are saying.
They are currently talking about Sheri’s awful child.


Kings 109 Sonics 89 with 6:38 left in the 4th Quarter
The two women to my left have been talking and gossiping all night about everyone they know and their relationships. They haven’t watched a minute of the game. I am jealous


Kings 105 Sonics 89 with 7:44 left in the 4th Quarter
There really is very little to say. The Sonics performance tonight is very disappointing and nothing they do in the final 7 minutes will change that.
Ray Allen has returned to action.
Up by 18 Rick Adelman can still find a way to whine about everything.
The Sonics have turned Bonzi Wells into Michael Jordan tonight.


Kings 103 Sonics 83 with 9:02 left in the 4th Quarter
Ray Allen just took a scary fall when he was hit going to the basket.
His left leg got bent completely back and underneath his body.
He has left the game after hitting two free throws.


Kings 84 Sonics 64 with 4:07 left in the 3rd Quarter
Once you let a team get in a rhythm it is almost impossible to break the rhythm. The Kings are rolling.
The 5 man sub move is cute, but these 5 are not starters for a reason. They aren’t that good.
This is so bad you just wish it would end. Where is the re-set button?


Kings 75 Sonics 61 with 7:23 left in the 3rd Quarter
The Kings have scored on 17 of their last 21 trips.
Bob Weiss just emptied the entire bench. 5 man substitution.
They should have been benched.


Kings 71 Sonics 61 with 9:18 in the 3rd Quarter
The defensive disaster continues. The lane is the free pass zone.


Kings 62 Sonics 57 at the half
In the last 6:53 of the half both teams only had three defensive stops.
Who ever decided to put out a little effort defensively will win this game.
This is the ultimate two teams playing in a tuxedo game.
There is more defense in an all-star game.


Sonics 56 Kings 53 with 1:33 left in the 2nd Quarter
Sonics defense is a beeping embarrassment !!!!!! They getting beat on basic cuts away from the ball. This is sad !!!!! The only explanation is that they are trying to match the defensive inadequacies of the Kings. The Kings are just as brutal.
Defense is not in the building .
The Sonics have scored on 10 of 11 possessions.
The Kings have scored 9 of the last 11 possessions.

Kings 43 Sonics 40 with 5:51 left in the 2nd Quarter
This is when Flip starts to bug me. He has dominated the 4 of the last 6 possessions. He has only scored on one of those and the other 3 were either turnovers or misses.
Sonics aren’t taking advantage of the Kings bench
Rashard Lewis just got his third foul at the 6:07 mark and heads the bench. Kings up three at this point


Sonics 35 Kings 35 with 8:59 left in the 2nd Quarter
Flip’s drive a moment ago was awesome power. Not many guys in the league have that move.
The next time Flip went for a drive he shot it over the glass. Not many guys in the league have that move.
Both teams are shooting over 60%.


Kings 31 Sonics 29 at the end of the 1st Quarter
The Kings uniforms look like something the University of Washington should be wearing.
Mike Bibby going right is a miss and going to his left is a make.
Now is the time the Sonics must take advantage of the Kings bench


Sonics 23 Kings 23 with 2:59 left in the 1st Quarter
Luke has scored or assisted on the Sonics last 13 points.
Sonics aren’t impeding any progress of the Kings cuts which allows the uninterrupted ball movement.
Lewis had another great steal. He had his career high last night.
Lewis has talked a lot about his team needing to play better defense and he is leading the way. That is impressive leadership.
Reggie Evans is playing hard on the boards.
Luke’s shot looks better then it has all year and most of last year.


Kings 13 Sonics 4 with 8:07 left in the 1st Quarter
Sonics opening offense is as bad as it was last night. Last night they allowed the first 14 buckets to be lay-ups. Tonight it is 4 of the first 5. Brad Miller has been left wide open.
Rotation is not a strength for Reggie Evans and Collison is going to help on the pick and roll and Reggie is not rotating.
It is interesting to see Lewis v. Peja. In my opinion Lewis has become a superior player to Peja. He has more versatility. He can go to the block. His defense is better . His shot is close to the same. That is a pretty tremendous change from where this match-up was a few years ago


STORYLINES
1) Sonics effort
2) Sonics defensive rebounding v. Kings awful offensive rebounding
3) Take away the left hand of Peja and Bibby
4) Handle the spilts off the Brad Miller
5) Take advantage of the Kings Bench

SIMULBLOG FOR SONICS V. JAZZ

Coming to you live from the Delta Center

SONICS GET AN EASY WIN AT THE DELTA CENTER
Luke Ridnour has a terrific offensive game
Sonics dominate the effort and energy all game
Rashard Lewis dominated all moments not guarded by Kirlenko. The question is why Sloan allowed that to happen. Give Weiss credit for creating match-ups that got Kirlienko off Lewis
Vlady and Flip give solid performance off the bench
Fortson likely to get suspended.


Sonics 88 Jazz 72 at the end of 3 Quarters
The sups are playing very well They are taking the game to the Jazz every moment
Luke is having a great game. 16 pts, 6 rebs and 5 assists
Evans and Collison have comboed for 20 rebound.


Sonics 80 Utah 61 with 3:30 left in the 3rd Quarter
What is Jerry Sloan going to say about this?
Rashard Lewis has 5 steals and has been dominate on both ends of the floor.
If you cut off the Utah lay-up they really can’t score.
They have no one who can shoot.
Deron Williams is having his second bad day against the Sonics
Seattle has been able to get and run because they are rebounding.


Sonics 60 Jazz 49 at the half
Sonics score a season high pts against the Jazz
Sonics score a season high pts in the 2nd quarter
Sonics have 17 second chance points
Radmanovic has been very active on both the defensive end and hitting the outside shot.
When Vlady can shoot the Sonics are deadly. The floor looks like it is about 4 feet wider when Vlady is rolling
Flip gets a + for his performance of the bench even if it was loaded with Flipisms.
The defense was not great, but the offense was so good it is absurd.



Sonics 47 Jazz 39 with 5:23 left in the 2nd Quarter
It is amazing when the Jazz aren’t shooting lay-ups how bad a bunch of shooters they are.
They are totally dependent on the offense giving them a good look.
Flip Murray is one of the worst on ball defenders it is shocking..
Murray is having a good offense game, but I wonder if Ray Allen shoots faster when Murray is on the floor because he doesn’t think he will see the ball


Sonics 31 Jazz 29 at the end of 1 Quarter
Every basket by the Jazz in the 1st Quarter was in the paint
The Jazz first 11 field goals were lay-ups.
Lewis is 1 for 4 since Kirlenko came into the game
The Sonics hit 4 of 6 from three.



Sonics 18 Jazz 12 with 5:52 left in the 1st Quarter
Lewis goes 4 of 4 against Harpring what will he do against Kirlenko
The Sonics are giving the Jazz way too many lay-ups. 4 straight at one point.

SIMULBLOG FOR SONICS V. KNICKS

JAMAL CRAWFORD RULES THE DAY -- KNICKS WIN

Knicks 87 Sonics 86 with 3:39 left in the 4th Quarter
Reggie Evans is trying to guard Eddy Curry in the post. This is a problem.
Ray Allen can’t hit anything. This is as bad a shooting night as I have ever seen from Ray.
He was wide open a moment ago. The Knicks had a major breakdown and he missed a wide opn three for the lead.


Knicks 82 Sonics 78 with 6:45 left in the 4th Quarter
Interesting that when it gets to crunch time Larry Brown goes to his best offensive line-up.
Crawford is the best player on the floor right now.
Ray Allen is having a tough night. I thought this would have been a match-up he would dominate. Let’s see what he does down the stretch.
Ridnour in for Murray who had a tough night
Channing Frye is going to be an outstanding pro.
Both teams in the bonus at 6:45 left.


Sonics 72 Knicks 71 at the end of the 3rd Quarter
The reason Seattle looks like they have no rhythm tonight is the bench is not playing well. The Sonics starters played well and got a lead and then the bench didn’t perform tonight and it has been a struggle since.
This game feels like it is slipping the wrong direction.
Jamal Crawford is one of the offensive players I aforementioned and he is hot.
Flip is not letting the game come to him tonight at all.
The Sonics eliminated the Knicks pick and roll with a great defensive game plan, but the Knicks have gone away from it and the Sonics can’t stop what the Knicks are running.

Sonics 66 Knicks 60 with 2:39 left in the 3rd Quarter
Jamal Crawford is a very poor defensive player
Weiss is gambling and trying to get as many minutes he can out of Swift. Evans must be injured. The others are all in foul trouble. Weiss pulled him at 4:43. That is a good run.
Robert doesn’t look like he has any idea how to rebound.
The Sonics are not playing well. I can’t tell if it is the match-up or if is the Sonics lacking.
The Knicks have some offensive players that will make this tough if the Sonics let the Knicks stay in the game.
The Knicks bench is far better then their starters so this becomes time.


Sonics 61 Knicks 48 with 6:54 left in the 3rd Quarter
Robert Swft is starting the second half of action.
This may be the ultimate jinx but Ridnour is doing a really nice job on Marbury
Ray Allen is being guarded by Marbury. He should kill him.
Nate Robinson does not start the second half.
Eddy Curry enters the game at the 9:30 mark because they believe he can go at Swift.
Two possessions later Curry is replaced by Jackie Butler. Larry Brown is all over the place.
This is why the Knicks commit so many turnovers


Sonics 50 Knicks 41 at the half.
Robert Swift enters when Nick Collison gets his 3rd foul.
This is most excitement of the night in a dead arena
Jerome James took it to Swift on two possessions.
Swift missed a tip-jam with two hands. He visibly has too much energy.
You want a jacked up rotation Larry Brown is all over the place


Sonics 47 Knicks 36 with 2:39 left in the 2nd Quarter
Nate Robinson just took a charge (awful call) from Danny Fortson
It was Fortson’s 3rd foul.
Larry Brown is beside himself on the sidelines.
Nate is guarding Luke. Seattle is in a zone
Marbury just pulled up from 20 breaking off a play and missed. Brown was pissed but when he looked down his bench he had no one to go to.
Marbury’s body language is just awful.
This game has no flow the Sonics aren’t playing particularly well.


Sonics 35 Knicks 25 with 7:04 left in the 2nd Quarter
Larry Brown just called a timeout when Jamal Crawford pulled up and took a jumper with 18 seconds on the shot clock without running the set play or making a pass.

Sonics 33 Knicks 23 with 7:50 left in the 2nd Quarter
Curry’s size is a problem for the Sonics down low
The minute Antonio Davis left the game the Knicks became dramatically better.
Vitaly couldn’t handle Curry and got 3 fouls. Why not go Swift at this point?
Knicks in the penalty at 8:05 left in the Q. That is bad because the Knicks can’t shoot so this is the only way they can score.
The Knicks have been brutal at the line 7 of 16.
Sonics are in the penalty at 7:50


Sonics 27 Knicks 17 at the end of the 1st Quarter
Looking at Penny Hardaway reminds me of all the hype around Lil’ Penny. He is barely hanging on.
Eddy Curry is fat.
Nate’s opening quarter was very quiet.
The Sonics played a very strong first half. Their transition was terrific.
Ridnour had 5 assists in the quarter.


Sonics 15 Knicks 8 with 6:06 left in the 1st Quarter
Huge ovation for Nate Robinson. Mixed reaction to Jerome James in the pre-game.
Nick Collison leaves the game with two fouls 2 possessions into the game.
This has always been my concern with him starting. Moreover, with him starting at center.
Luke Ridnour is seeing the floor as well as I have seen him all year.
He has initiated a few fast breaks and is finding the open man with precision.
Keep an eye on Antonio Davis of the Knicks. He is the worst +/- player in the NBA. He starts for the Knicks. Obviously, he is -7


Storylines
1) Sonics improving their defense
2) Nate Robinson back home
3) Sonics bench play from Radman, Flip and Danny
4) How will the Knicks guard Ray Allen?

Larry Brown Effect on the New York Knicks
1) Defensive rating from #27 in the NBA at (108.3) to (102.6) #14th in the NBA
2) Not taking care of the ball. The Knicks are #30 in the NBA in turnovers per possession and they were just #18 last year.
3) They went from the #19 offensive rebounding team to the #1 offensive rebounding team
4) They went from the #14 team in the NBA at forcing turnovers to the #2 team in the NBA

HUSKIES 99 ZAGS 95

I just finished watching the Huskies beat the Zags on my Tivo. This is a brief breakdown of my thoughts. I will have more details and more thoughts tomorrow on the blog as well as when I host for the Gasman starting at 4 pm.

What a terrific game. Important win for the Huskies. For the Zags to play with the Dawgs considering the plethora of injuries is a statement to how good a basketball team Mark Few has this year.

Adam Morrison reminds me of Danny Manning when he was at Kansas. He is imply unguardable. The Dawgs sent Brandon Roy, Bobby Jones and Joel Smith at him. None of them did a bad job and Morrison torched all of them. He is amazing. He is a delight to watch. He is the best basketball player in the country and he may be the best offensive player in decades.

My big picture analysis is neither of these teams are final four 4 contenders until they commit to playing some defense. Thus Huskies defense in the second half was a disaster. A complete and utter disaster. I will build the number and add them tomorrow. Last year, the Zags defense wasn’t high enough quality to win a lot in the tournament and this year is the same. There is a threshold of what level your defense has to perform or you will not be able to win consistently in the NCAA tournament. Both of these teams are on the wrong side of the threshold.

The Zags win this game if Ravolio is not hurt. Pargo made three if not four critical turnovers late in the second half that were freshman errors.

I was very impressed with Justin Dentmon. For the most part he made good decisions. He was fearless late. My favorite play was when he pumped fake the open three to move into a shorter higher percentage three. It showed a high basketball IQ. He is legit and the Huskies are in very good hands with him at the helm.

My biggest concern about the Huskies was how many mistakes would they make late in games without Nate, Will and Tre. Impressively they avoided big disastrous errors. They had a few possessions where they could have been smarter, but you can’t button down the hatches the whole way.

Brandon Roy has to be much better then that if he wants to carry this team. Bobby Jones is the best player on this team until Roy shows me otherwise.

Lorenzo Romar has an amazing feel for this team considering how young they are. He let them play through some tough times. Late in the game he left them keep the flow and then when he had to he called the timeout to get everything controlled and collected.

The Huskies interior defensive rebounding was invisible for huge portions of the game.

Final thought for now. Great game. Super outcome for both sets of fans. The Dawgs needed the win. The Zags have to still believe that they have something special and when healthy they win that game. Adam Morrison is playing a different game. It was a pleasure to see him and he will make every Zag game this year a Tivo event.

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