Details: Who: (21-20) vs (18-22) Where: Key Arena When: Saturday, Jan 24th, 7pm TV: KONG Projected Lineups: PG: Brent Barry/Antonio Daniels/Luke Ridnour SG: Ray Allen/Ronald Murray/Richie Frahm SF: Rashard Lewis/Vladimir Radmanovic PF: Calvin Booth/Vladimir Radmanovic/Reggie Evans C: Jerome James/Calvin Booth/Vitaly Potapenko Coached by Nate McMillan PG: Marko Jaric/Keyon Dooling/Eddie House SG: Quentin Richardson/Eddie House SF: Corey Maggette/Matt Barnes/Quentin Richardson PF: Elton Brand/Chris Wilcox/Melvin Ely C: Chris Kaman/Melvin Ely Coached by Mike Dunleavy Snr Injury List: Nick Collison: shoulder, season. Richie Frahm: right knee tendinitis, on IL. Clipper Injury List Bobby Simmons: sprained left hip, on IL. Josh Moore: back spasms, on IL. Olden Polynice: neck strain, on IL. Analysis: Seattle look to continue their good form at home against the visiting Clippers, who can still be a dangerous opponent regardless of their sub-par record. The Sonics played the Clippers twice in Japan to start the season, and a win here would wrap up a potentially important season series. Los Angeles are a bit like the Sonics in many respects; stacked with shooting swingmen, the Clippers know how to score but don't always know how to defend. The difference is they have a dominant inside presence in Elton Brand, who was injured for the second game in Japan. Could he be the difference? Trading draft picks The Sonics drafted Maggette with the 13th selection in the 1999 draft, but immediately traded his draft rights to Orlando, along with Don McLean, Dale Ellis and Billy Owens, for Horace Grant and two second round picks. While Grant was servicable, Seattle have watched as Maggette has developed into a star, albeit in the same position as Rashard Lewis. Olden Polynice was drafted 8th overall by Chicago in 1987, and Seattle traded the draft rights to Scottie Pippen to get Polynice. The rest, as they say, is history. In the 2001 draft, Seattle drafted Bobby Simmons and traded his rights to Washington for the rights to Peja Drobnjak. Ironically, both now are on Los Angeles' roster, but Simmons is injured and won't play in this one. [quoteright]"AD has been solid. Defensively he's good for us. He's the best guard on the ball, he hasn't turned the ball over and is steady and controlled on offense. You know what you're getting when he comes into the game, which is what you want from a veteran guy." - Nate McMillan on Antonio Daniels, a free agent aquisition.[/QUOTERIGHT] Key Factors: - Attack the basket. The Clippers are not blessed with great perimeter defenders, while Seattle have the weapons to exploit this. The likes of Allen, Lewis, Murray and Daniels all attacked the rim against the Warriors, instead of settling for outside jumpers, and the results were telling. - Defense. The Sonics were superb defensively against Philadelphia and the Warriors, but lapsed again against Cleveland. Can they put two good defensive games together? The Clippers know how to score, can Seattle make a dent on their offense? - Double Brand. As soon as he gets the ball, otherwise he will murder Seattle inside and on the offensive glass. This calls for smart perimeter rotations defensively too. Key Matchup: Rashard Lewis vs Corey Maggette The Clippers know all about Rashard Lewis, after he dropped 50 on them in only the second game of the season. While Lewis hasn't continued that form by any stretch of the imagination, he still remains a dangerous opponent and will go in with confidence against an opposition he has torched before. Maggette on the other hand has evolved into an All-Star calibre forward, and will enjoy the challenge of matching against another of the league's best small forwards. Maggette is probably the better defender, but Lewis is the purer scorer, making for what could be a game-deciding match up. X-Factors: Ron Murray - the Clippers aren't a great team by any stretch of the imagination, but they can score, which is exactly what Murray is paid to do. Coming off a few nice games, Seattle will again rely on Murray to spark their offense in the second unit. Peja Drobnjak - After making a name for himself as a Sonic, the Yougoslavian will be looking to act revenge on his former club after they beat the Clippers twice to start the season. The Clippers will look for him to draw Jerome James and Calvin Booth out from under the basket with his range, where they have been effective of late. <font size="1">Player photos and logo images courtesy of NBA.com </font>
Brand goes off, Richardson, Kaman and Wilcox will also be key contributors. Clippers in a high-scoring affair: 113-110.
Clippers played well tonight, but down the stretch Ray Allen was a killer. Hit for a season high 6 threes and 41 points in the Sonics 102-97 victory.
Clippers didn't play a very smart game, they should have got the basket a lot more than they did. I'm very disappointed with their performance, though I have to give credit to Allen and the Sonics. They made their shots down the stretch and held the Clippers off to seal the victory.
