SIMULBLOG FOR SONICS V. WOLVES

Wolves 102 Sonics 92 – FINAL SCORE
What is left to be said?
The unnerving thing is now the offense is poor – the offense has been below its season efficiency rating for seven straight games
Lewis was totally non-existent


Wolves 86 Sonics 76 with 8:32 left in the 4th Quarter
AGRHHHH this is so ugly
I can’t tell what we are trying to run offensively
The only thing I see is Ray Allen running the Reggie Miller curls but if it doesn’t work I can’t tell what the secondary plays are.
The Sonics couldn’t play worse transition defense if they tried
Rashard Lewis has been absent.


Wolves 80 Sonics 73 at the end of 3 Quarters
Sonics looked like they were on the verge of the nightly wilt and quitting but they fought through and have stayed in the game.
The Wolves have been a terrible close game team and an awful 4th quarter scoring team
All the focus is on Swift and Petro is getting better and better. Both of them make a ton of mistakes and it may be costing us games, but they are getting better. I would like to see him have more of impact on the defensive end of the game.


Wolves 52 Sonics 50 at the half
This game really rolled into a rather non-descript game amongst two not very good teams.
Wilcox hit a nice 16 footer from the left baseline and has 7 points and 3 rebs
Turnovers are silly, Sonics with 8 and the Wolves with 11
Minnesota ranks 29th in the NBA in free throw attempts and the Sonics have put them on the line for 21 free throws in first half


Sonics 37 Wolves 32 with 8:40 left in the 2nd Quarter
Ray Allen has 7 straight points
Wilcox is in with Swift – I want to see this tandem.
Nick is getting beat athletically too many times. It concerns me that he might just be a 3 post off the bench


Sonics 28 Wolves 28 at the end of 1 Quarter
11-4 run to close the Quarter
2-3 zone has been a problem
Sonics were trying so hard to get Wilcox involved they lost the rhythm
Seattle is being sloppy defensively and putting the Wolves on the line


Sonics 18 Wolves 13 with 5:44 left in the 1st Quarter
Swift continues to show athletic signs that he could be terrific. He just slipped a pick got the pass from Lewis and made a really tough catch, collected his body to avoid the charge and went straight up with the shot. This part was amazing for a 7 footer. He missed the shot.
Then on the other side he was out of position on a Carter drive but went up with him and blocked his shot.
The game is very high paced. The Sonics are not doing very well in transition defense
Talking to a scout today he said KG is a shadow of what he once was and it is obvious he has become a jump shooter.


Storylines
1) Chris Wilcox makes his debut
2) Effort and energy
3) Minnesota is poor in three areas, offensive rebouning, getting to the line and forcing turnovers. Keep them that way and you win.