Preview Details: Who: <font color="DarkGreen">Seattle Sonics</font> (9-8) vs <font color="Navy">New Jersey Nets</font>(9-11) Where: Continental Airlines Arena When: Tues, Dec 9th, 7:30pm TV: YES Projected Lineups: <font color="DarkGreen">Seattle</font> PG: Antonio Daniels/Brent Barry/Luke Ridnour SG: Brent Barry/Ronald Murray/Richie Frahm SF: Rashard Lewis/Ansu Sesay/Vladimir Radmanovic PF: Vladimir Radmanovic/Reggie Evans/Vitaly Potapenko C: Jerome James/Vitaly Potapenko/Calvin Booth Coached by Nate McMillan <font color="Navy">New Jersey</font> PG: Jason Kidd/Robert Pack SG: Kerry Kittles/Lucious Harris SF: Richard Jefferson/Rodney Rogers PF: Kenyon Martin/Brian Scalabrine C: Jason Collins/Aaron Williams Coached by Byron Scott <font color="DarkGreen">Sonic Injury List:</font> Ray Allen: ankle, expected to miss 2 more weeks. Nick Collison: shoulder, season. <font color="Navy">Net Injury List</font> Tamar Slay: on IL. Damone Brown: on IL. Analysis: Seattle come into this in the second game of an East Coast swing, and low on confidence after a nightmare last quarter showing in Toronto. New Jersey on the otherhand have just completed back to back victories at home, including a great win over Phoenix on Sunday. Nate McMillan wants a better effort on defense, and Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson are hot. This will be a big test for the slumping Sonics. Key Factor: What else? Stopping Jason Kidd is the key to stopping New Jersey. Martin, Jefferson and Kittles are all guys who Kidd makes so much better, especially Jefferson who struggles to create his own shot at all times. Sonic guards need to harass Kidd on the perimeter and bigmen Calvin Booth and Jerome James need to provide tight interior defense for if Kidd does get past the first layer of defensive pressure. Stop Kidd and you go a long way to stopping New Jersey. Let him run and you're in trouble. Key Matchup: Antonio Daniels vs Jason Kidd Daniels is Seattle's best perimeter defender, and his impressive showings as a starter recently should see him get the nod in this one too. Daniels will have to have tremendous focus on both ends of the floor, and will have to play tight on Kidd on the perimeter and rely on Seattle's big men guarding the paint. Offensively, Daneils won't be relied upon to be a weapon or to run the offense, but he will have to make sure he hits his shots when he gets open, and force Kidd to respect him. If Kidd is allowed to play the passing lanes because Daniels is no threat when he gets open, then that will trigger New Jersey fast breaks and likely the end of Seattle. X-Factors: <font color="DarkGreen">Seattle</font> Lue Ridnour - has been impressive of late, when he comes into the game he needs to run, run, run. Defensively he'll need help on Kidd, but offensively he can spread the floor and make New Jersey's defenders run. <font color="Navy">New Jersey</font> Aaron Williams - underrated as always, Seattle will need to keep him out of the paint. Once inside, he is a surprisingly effective scorer and a demon on the glass, so Seattle won't be able to relax when Kenyon Martin sits.
Both teams are struggling but it looks like the Nets have picked themselves back up. The Sonics should take advantage of their eastern conference road trip and come out with the win. Whichever team maintains the tempo of the game will come out victorious. The key factor is if the Nets get off to their running game. In that case, the Sonics don't stand a chance. By the way, nice preview sirdez
lost by 13...I know SirDes well give us the boxscore & overview...it was a good game @ the ending...got buncha steals... Seattle were losing up to 30 pts. in the the 4th quarter!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting anadagirlballer4strt:</div><div class="quote_post">lost by 13...I know SirDes well give us the boxscore & overview...it was a good game @ the ending...got buncha steals... Seattle were losing up to 30 pts. in the the 4th quarter!</div> Actually I didn't manage to catch the game (caught some highlights), but looking at the boxscore it seems like the third was our problem AGAIN. Nice games from Flip and reggie Evans, but other than that it looks like Nate emptied the bench. Ridnour is in a nice little run though - apparently we scored the game's final 18, and still lost by 13. That is plain ugly. http://www.nba.com/games/20031209/SEANJN/boxscore.html
