We looked good, real good. Defensively we're looking a whole lot better, a lot more active, and I haven't looked at the stats but with Swift, Petro, Wilcox and Collison when we do get a stop we're actually able to rebound and get out on the break. The Sonics - the team no one wants to face in the playoffs
I am confused - since when do we win a season series against the Jazz twice in a row? Anyway, it's always a joy to see so many guys scoring in double figures, and 17 assists in the starting back court is unreal. Not to mention seven steals from Damien. Seven! Seven steals! Ahaha!
The Sonics were by far better last night than they have been against any team all year. They were even significantly better than they have been against the Jazz this year. Their offense was above average for the season, and against the Jazz, but their defense was 30 points better per 100 possessions than their season average and 12 points better per 100 possessions than their next best defensive game (which was also against the Jazz). They don't even look like the same team that they looked like 2 weeks ago.
went to the game last night can you say, FREE 8-PACK 12 oz. PEPSI? haha. there was a "bet/deal" from pepsi that if the sonics won, and scored over 108 pts., we'd get free pepsi (not tax included though...) the game was pretty good, a lot of good defense and few good dunks and steals.
Noel Felix was the last guy cut from camp this fall, and they signed him to a 10 day contract. With Danny out, all of the trades and the cuts of Brunson, Russell and Cleaves they didn't have enough players to meet the requirements of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), so they had to sign someone.
I haven't felt so good about this team since we beat Miami at home last year in January--when Fortson was going head to head w/ Shaq on the court and in the papers. If you are a gambling man you need to pick the Sonics to cover every spread for the next week. Collison's injury may end up hurting our team's chances to win 35 games this year but I honestly feel that we have a great chance in our remaining 22 games to go 15-7 if not better. Our dynamic of our team is much different than it was last season but we could have similar results if we execute the game plan correctly. Defensively we are much better perimeter and post defenders than we were last year with the additions of Watson and Wilks along with Wilkins in the backcourt and with Wilcox (and Collison our best defensive player when healthy) and the length of Swift and Petro. We don't rebound the ball as well as we did in 04-05 but we do run a lot better and we have much more polished offensive weapons in the post than we had last season. I know that this sounds like a complete 180 from what I've been saying all season but I look at our front court and the addition of Earl Watson and I see a ton of promise without the possibility of a scapegoat. Flip's offensive aggressiveness really was a divisive component of our team this season and with him gone there is no one who is taking shots away from Ray and Sweet Lew--our most candid finger pointers on the team. When they are getting the attention from the opposition that allows our frontcourt guys to be able to get the ball in transition or single coverage situations where they can showcase their talents without having to worry about taking shots away from Ray and Sweet Lew. Our point guards are pass first guys who aren't worried about shot attempts so they can get the majority of their points from transition looks or ball reversals from the attention that Ray and Sweet get. It is a very good mix of players and there is renewed optimism in the Sonics camp right now. I'm very excited to see how long this good play will last for. As long as we are able to get consistent production from our power forward position there is no doubt in my mind that the last quarter of our season will easily be the best basketball that we will have played since our 17-3 start in 04-05.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Iron Shiek:</div><div class="quote_post"> I'm very excited to see how long this good play will last for. As long as we are able to get consistent production from our power forward position there is no doubt in my mind that the last quarter of our season will easily be the best basketball that we will have played since our 17-3 start in 04-05.</div> You were saying? That was horrible.
