Sonics vs. Clippers: Official Game Thread

Interesting game to say the least.

Needless to say that the only positive that I can take from this game is the play of Johan Petro. I honestly did not expect for him to be as comfortable as he was out there. He banged, he hit the glass, he blocked a shot, he finished, and he ran the floor well. This kid falling to us at pick 25 was a gift. Robert Swift as trade bait?

As far as everything else went, we just didn't look like we played with a lot of passion. Reggie wasn't as active, Fortson looked out of shape, Nick didn't move well, Sweet Lew only wanted to shoot jump shots, Vlad was obviously playing for another team's contract, Luke wasn't penetrating, Damien was forcing shots, etc. Ray played very well but he is going to need some help.

I was happy to see that Bob gave Flip an opportunity down the stretch of the game. He had an uninspiring first half and proceeded to make better decisions in the second half before he decided to dribble the ball into Elton Brands lap. I just don't think that he is comfortable playing point because he almost seems like he abandons the scoring aspect of his game when he is looking to set people up. He just looked like a company man trying to run the offense as opposed to going after his game. As the year goes on I hope that he can balance the combo tag and get people involved while also putting the ball in the hole.

Sam was terrific last night. I would say that he single handily beat us but that would be discreting the contributions of James Singleton. He went right at Sweet Lew and really got the better of him. I remember that he was on our summer league team in 2004 and I thought that he was a lively player. Didn't think that he'd come back to Seattle on another team and have that much of an impact.

Overall, I think that we have a long way to go. I don't like Bob's frontcourt substitution patterns right now. I know that Fortson played terribly but he needs to be on the floor a lot longer than he was yesterday--and Vlad may need to be on the floor a lot less if he is going to be as selfish as he was yesterday.

Bring on Casey and the boys and see whether or not Bob is able to get off the deck and put one in the W column. Hopefully we play with more energy on Friday.

 

Dear Mr. Stern,

Is there anyway you can amend the dress code to outlaw rat tails as well? Much appreciated.

Sonics Fans.


Besides the new cut rivaling a very poor Coolio impersonation during last years playoffs, Rad looked simply disgusting out there. His rebounding #'s were solid for the # of minutes he played however. He had a few solid board games in the preseason as well, lets hope he really concentrates on that this season. Remember when Nate started each game with the first 5 plays or so run for Shard on the block a few seasons ago? Maybe something like this needs to happen for Vladi. A called play a quarter with him posting up and seeing if he can contribute beyond a 3-pt heat check.

Evans seems to have added some post moves during the offseason, but hasn't eliminated the wild "what the heck was that" move from his arsenal yet - hopefully the latter works its way out. It was interesting to see him in the game late though - something Nate rarely ever did last season, likely for the FT shooting.

I think the comments made earlier about Flip by Shiek were spot-on. He needs to find a middle ground. Ways to contribute without dominating the ball, but not totally dissapearing and turning into a guy who just looks like he's trying not to make a mistake. His decision making is extremely suspect at times, but he also played a solid 1st half overall I thought.

Johan gives me hope. If he plays like he did tonight, it will be intersting to see how long it Vitaly to work himself back into the lineup, though he no doubt will. The odd man out might be Mikki Moore, although he contributed more in his DNP-CD than Fortson did last night - absolutely befuddling.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Iron Shiek:</div><div class="quote_post">






Overall, I think that we have a long way to go. I don't like Bob's frontcourt substitution patterns right now. I know that Fortson played terribly but he needs to be on the floor a lot longer than he was yesterday--and Vlad may need to be on the floor a lot less if he is going to be as selfish as he was yesterday.
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5 fouls in 8 minutes..how much longer can Bob play him?

 

If you ever watched Reggie in college MCage, you know that his offensive game isn't actually as bad as it's made out to be - he's just never been given a role in the offense by Nate. Maybe Bobby has told him if he feels he can take a high percentage shot, then he can take it (for now anyway).

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sir Desmond:</div><div class="quote_post">If you ever watched Reggie in college MCage, you know that his offensive game isn't actually as bad as it's made out to be - he's just never been given a role in the offense by Nate.</div>

Sir, I am a huge Evans fan, but not even I am going to say he has any offense. Mainly because he won't even say he has any offense... or at least he knew he didn't in college. Need I remind you of this little gem from the archives?

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">(Iowa City, Ia.) ? Deciding that team success was more important than individual stardom or improving their stock in the NBA draft, University of Iowa men?s basketball players Luke Recker and Reggie Evans have decided not to take a single shot the rest of the regular season.

Recker and Evans had previously been known as "ball-hogs" by their teammates, but now say that making the NCAA Tournament is the focal-point throughout the rest of their senior campaigns.

"After three months of being booed and ripped on message boards, I?ve finally figured out I should stop trying to dribble left-handed through three defenders all the time," said Recker, who leads the Hawkeyes in scoring and turnovers. "The reason I kept doing that is because I didn?t think any of my other teammates were any good. But heck, I figured since we?re losing anyway, I might as well not be the only person who gets blamed. Therefore, it?s time to let my teammates start turning it over and not play defense too."

Evans was a little more blunt in his reasoning.

"I can?t shoot," he said.

Iowa men?s basketball Coach Steve Alford could not be reached for comment.
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<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Iron Shiek:</div><div class="quote_post">I just don't think that he is comfortable playing point because he almost seems like he abandons the scoring aspect of his game when he is looking to set people up. He just looked like a company man trying to run the offense as opposed to going after his game. As the year goes on I hope that he can balance the combo tag and get people involved while also putting the ball in the hole.</div>

I agree 100% with this. Flip didn't seem to realize that he can still look for his shot when playing point guard. He's the best option for our third scorer, but it's like he's lost all his offensive agressiveness from two years ago. To be fair, some of that may have had to do with the Sonics's offensive positioning, which was just horrible at times. Luke, Flip, and Ray would often be at the top of the key and the lane had three other Sonics clogging it up. And the constant screens by the big men from last year were nonexistent. I hope Weiss knows what he's doing with this offense.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sir Desmond:</div><div class="quote_post">If you ever watched Reggie in college MCage, you know that his offensive game isn't actually as bad as it's made out to be - he's just never been given a role in the offense by Nate. Maybe Bobby has told him if he feels he can take a high percentage shot, then he can take it (for now anyway).</div>

Well scoring on college-level players and doing it in the NBA are two different things, especially for an undersized PF. My comment was actually attmpeting to say I saw an improvement from last season - maybe it was simply because Nate had the light stuck on red like you mentioned. But even if he did, I think it was for a reason, and thats because Reggie still has a tendency to throw up wild attempts from close range occasionally. We'll see what he does with the opportunity, hopefully he'll continue to improve - it definately makes us tougher to guard if he can contribute on a consistent basis.

 

Reggie has always had a few games early in the season where he takes his defender by surprise for lay-ups down low on post moves. Generally that disappears by December as his 2 or 3 offensive moves get scouted.

 

More like it disappears by mid-game as his defenders realize he's not doing anything but backing up.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting M_Cage89:</div><div class="quote_post">Well scoring on college-level players and doing it in the NBA are two different things, especially for an undersized PF. My comment was actually attmpeting to say I saw an improvement from last season - maybe it was simply because Nate had the light stuck on red like you mentioned. But even if he did, I think it was for a reason, and thats because Reggie still has a tendency to throw up wild attempts from close range occasionally. We'll see what he does with the opportunity, hopefully he'll continue to improve - it definately makes us tougher to guard if he can contribute on a consistent basis.</div>

Yeah absolutely.

To clarify, I wasn't saying that Reggie has a deadly jumper or is ever going to average 15-20 points each night, just that he does have a semblance of an offensive game and he's not as clueless offensively as people think. His job last season was to rebound, rebound and rebound, and maybe Bobby has said that now he's a veteran, he is entitled to take a shot if he feels it is high percentage.