Always nice to kick things off on the right foot. Sluggish first half but came together in the second half, and a 29-17 last quarter. The usual from Lewis and Ray, but it was Damien who came up big down the stretch (he seems to like playing Portland in the clutch). Earl the pearl was also productive off the bench, as Luke hardly played despite starting. Denham Brown was also pretty impressive, with 8/4 in 20 minutes, and no turnovers. Nothing to write home about with our three centres, but Nick was superb, logging a double double off the bench and no foul trouble. Boxscore. Anyone attend/watch the game?
Nothing big beating Portland. Atleast now the Sonics have confidence and could be a good team if the role players step up.
Shiek should be happy, Ridnour and Petro got no run and Collison played the most minutes. What's up with my ex-favorite player Luke? He's gone soft.
Luke injured his thumb and was taken for x-rays (which were negative). Good to see Nick, Earl, and Damien get some solid minutes. Swift didn't show much on the stat sheet with 22 minutes logged in. Looks like Swift will start tonight: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Hill said he did not know who will be in his starting lineup tonight, particularly with Ridnour out, but he did say that, based on merit, Robert Swift would be the starting center.</div> Source: http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/sonic...p-5388648c.html Also the game shows you the difference between Earl Watson and Luke Ridnour. Earl had his tooth knocked out in practice the day before and still contributed the whole game. Luke on the other hand...well yeah...
Glad to see Nick play well and I am optimistic that Robert will continue to improve as the preseason moves along. In the Trib Hill gave Swift the nod over the other two centers for last night's game -- also specifying that he feels like Bobby plays better with Luke. Hopefully as the preseason goes on Swift can continue to impress on defense and offense to earn the starting spot. I have no problem at all w/ Nick coming off of the bench, just as long as he is getting over 25 minutes a game. Nights like these could become the norm if he were given these minutes.
<div class="quote_poster">monty001 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> Also the game shows you the difference between Earl Watson and Luke Ridnour. Earl had his tooth knocked out in practice the day before and still contributed the whole game. Luke on the other hand...well yeah...</div> Last I checked, you don't dribble, shoot or pass with your teeth. A thumb might just come in handy however. Just a thought.
Earl had a day to prepare and decide if he could/should play. Luke was hurt in the game and needed to be tested to make sure they didn't aggravate something and lose him during the regular season over a preseason game. Earl is definitely tough but this is a rather poor choice of an example to compare the two over. The coaching staff likely made Luke's decision in this case anyway.
I understand Luke's was in the game...and the coaching staff made the decision. But getting a tooth knocked out, and then having surgery is pretty painful. Of course you can't compare the injuries...my point was that Earl is tough..and Luke needs to compete with that. Not to say he should have gone in and maybe screw his thumb up even more. My wording probably sucked in my first post. I just didn't like the sarcasm and so I responded with some sarcasm of my own. Don't want to start any stuff with anyone on this forum. Now I probably seem like an idiot...so I'll shut up.
monty- you haven't started stuff...keep posting. disagreement and dissent are the lifeblood of forum discussions.
Interview with Ray Allen during last night's game where he discussed the need for leadership from Lewis and Swift with regard to playing through injury. He said that if you start early in your career sitting out for every little tweak that it becomes a habit for you and then you lose respect of all the top tier players in the league. You need to set an example and play through the pain. Otherwise you are tagged as "soft."
