Details: Who: (24-27) vs (25-25) Where: Key Arena When: Thursday, Feb 12th, 7pm TV: KONG, NBATV Projected Lineups: PG: Antonio Daniels/Luke Ridnour SG: Ray AllenRonald Murray/Richie Frahm SF: Rashard Lewis/Vladimir Radmanovic PF: Reggie EvansVladimir Radmanovic/Calvin Booth C: Vitaly PotapenkoJerome James/Calvin Booth Coached by Nate McMillan PG: Alvin Williams/Milt Palacio SG: Morris Peterson/Vince Carter/Roger Mason Jnr SF: Vince Carter/Michael Curry/Lamond Murray PF: Donyell Marshall/Lonny Baxter C: Chris Bosh/Jerome Moiso Coached by Kevin O'Neill Injury List: Nick Collison: shoulder, season. Brent Barry: broken finger, on IL. Injury List Jalen Rose: fractured left wrist, on IL. Robert Archibald: flu, undefined. Michael Bradley, right knee, on IL. Analysis: Two teams that started well, but have died off recently. Toronto are up 1-0 on the season series, winning 108-98 at home earlier in December, and this is a home game Seattle HAVE to win if they want to keep their playoff dreams alive. The lottery seems more likely however, a far cry from the Raptors who with a .500 record after 50 games look destined for the playoffs in the weaker East. Ron Murray enjoyed a return to form against the Warriors, and the Sonics will again look to him for a spark off the bench, particularly with Ray Allen not at 100%. Trade Speculation In the lead up to the 2003 draft, Seattle and Toronto were involved in discussions to a trade that, among other bits and pieces, would have sent Vladimir Radmanovic and Brent Barry to Canada, with the fourth overall pick going the other way. Seattle would have used this pick to select impressive Toronto centre Chris Bosh, but these talks never eventuated into a deal. [quoteright"We have to trust each other. When (Murray) gets beat, he needs to know I'm there, and I want (Ray) Allen to know I'm there if he gets beat. We have to do that collectively as a team, and it's something we're not doing." - Antonio Daniels after the loss to Golden State.[/QUOTERIGHT] Key Factors: - Run the floor. Toronto are a team that likes to slow the game down and play gritty defense. Scoring in transition and using the speed of guys like Lewis, Daniels and Ray Allen for quick baskets is vital. This brings Luke Ridnour and Ron Murray into play off the bench, too. - Zone up. Guys like Vince Carter and Donyell Marshall will kill Seattle if they go one on one with their defenders. This underlines the importance of Jerome James and Calvin Booth being effective in protecting the basket. - Take it to the basket. Too often the Sonics are guilty of settling for the outside jumper, despite having the tools to take it inside. Toronto don't have a lot of presence around the basket, which means guys like Lewis, Allen, Daniels and Murray need to be aggressive. Key Matchup: Rashard Lewis vs Vince Carter Despite the rumours; no heart, soft, injury prone, Vince Carter still remains one of the most naturally gifted players the game has seen in recent times, and still has the tools to take over a game. However, too often he settles for the outside jumper, which means he could easily be mistaken for his counterpart here. Lewis has also endured the 'soft' jibes throughout his career, albeit not nearly as viciously, and is another who doesn't get to the line as often as he should. Carter is often guilty of being a lazy defender, and Lewis needs to take it inside and get the the freethrow line, which in turns means the defense can't concentrate too heavily on Ray Allen, something that has happened in recent times with Lewis not being aggressive enough. Lewis will also want Jerome James and Calvin Booth protecting the basket, as Vince can still beat him off the dribble if he gets aggressive enough. Coach McMillan has benched those two for poor play in recent games, but he may need them tonight. X-Factors: Luke Ridnour - the Raptors like to slow the game down and limit scoring opportunities, and it may take a sparkplug like Ridnour to unlock Toronto's defense. His speed and defense splitting passes can be enough to break down a lot of teams, just ask Phoenix. Morris Peterson - Coming off a 27 point game, the third year swingman has fallen out of favour with coaching staff this season. However he remains a dangerous slasher who gets to the basket, something Seattle have had trouble defending of late. <font size="1">Player photos and logo images courtesy of NBA.com </font>
This will be a good one, the young gun Chris Bosh and VC entering Key Arena... should be entertaining. I think the Sonics could pull out a win and they need to put it together and end this slump. Shard needs to step up his D on Vinsanity.
The keys for the Sonics,in my mind,are containing Marshal and Vince. Donyell can own the Sonics inside if they don't play smart basketball. And Vince can do the same. On the flipside 'Shard and Ray have to have a big game and Flip has to be consistent off the pine. But ultimately this game lies on the ability to hold Donyell and Vince..IMO if the Sonics can do that they got the game. Shard and the interior need some help D but I think they can take it,Sonics by 7.
If Chris Bosh is playing, he'll likely have a rough time with Potapenko (sp). Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis will definitely be an interesting watch, as they are two great scorers playing against one another. However, the Toronto Raptors aren't a defensive powerhouse, nor are they an offensive powerhouse. Seattle definitely has a major upside here because they can produce buckets and easily drop over 100 while the Raps struggle to drop 80, at times. I'll call Seattle by 14.
Is it me or has Seattle looked flat lately? I don't get to see many of their games but the last couple I ran thru, they looked like they were not playing with a lot of energy. Ray Ray seems fine but some others need to step up. I hope Mo Pete can step up in Jalen's absence. He has the skills. Sorry Dez - Toronto by 9.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting VinnyMack:</div><div class="quote_post">Is it me or has Seattle looked flat lately? I don't get to see many of their games but the last couple I ran thru, they looked like they were not playing with a lot of energy. Ray Ray seems fine but some others need to step up. I hope Mo Pete can step up in Jalen's absence. He has the skills. Sorry Dez - Toronto by 9.</div> No need to apologise, I would have a hard time picking the Sonics myself at the moment. As for Jalen, he has a fractured left wrist; Toronto should play him, his shot selection would be better than normal.
Seattle is a team of hit or miss...literally. If they hit a nice #of threes and dont turn it over 20 times...they have a good shot to beat anyone... If they go cold from the arc and start turning it over as they force the offense they will get trounced. Toronto-98 Seattle-102 The streak is over.
I say that Seattle wins by 5 this should be a close game. Toronto might be able to pull this one off, but i'll still say Seattle
Ray Allen v Vince Carter is the main attraction here, they seem to have built quite a rivarly over the years.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sir Desmond:</div><div class="quote_post">No need to apologise, I would have a hard time picking the Sonics myself at the moment. As for Jalen, he has a fractured left wrist; Toronto should play him, his shot selection would be better than normal.</div> Bulls fans on realgm seem to think Jalen's hand has been hurt for a while thats why his shot has been off this season. I hope Ray Allen teaches Vince a lesson or two. Bosh and Marshall vs Evans and Potapemko will be scary for Seattle.
Halftime, Seattle up 49-34. Rashard had all of his 13 points in the first quarter, while in the second half of the second period it was the Ray and Luke show. Ray scored 10 in the second, Luke has 8/5/7 at halftime as they pulled the Sonics away in the latter stages of the second period. Third quarters have been our problem all year, let's see this effort kept up. They have been very, very good thus far.
Great win for the Sonics, most importantly a great win at home. Hopefully they can carry this new momentum into their next games. As for the Raptors, another blow.
Seattle 94 Toronto 74 They run hot and cold, but tonight the Seattle Sonics showed what they're capable of. A fast start and a late second quarter run put them out of reach of the Toronto Raptors, who never recovered from a 15 point half time deficit to go down timidly in the end, 94-74. Seattle enjoyed different cameo roles at different times in this one; Rashard Lewis scored their first seven points, on his way to a 13 point opening stanza and 22 and nine overall, while Ray Allen scored 10 of his 13 first half points in the second quarter on his way to a game high 23. However the highlight for Sonics fans was the performance of rookie Luke Ridnour, particularly in the second quarter as he and Allen tore the Raptors' defense to shreds in opening up an unassilable halftime lead. His eight dimes and six boards were both career highs, while he added eight points for good measure. It was a team effort all around in this one however, as Vitaly Potapenko continued his strong play of late with 11 points, despite being outplayed by Donyell Marshall. Jerome James chipped in with nine rebounds off the bench, while Antonio Daniels continued to look at ease as a starter with eight points and nine assists, while turning it over only once. For Toronto it was the Donyell Marshall show, basically playing a lone hand in putting up 16 points and 17 rebounds, but sorely lacking support. Vince Carter was largely anonymous in adding 19, while Alvin Williams chimed in 20 on efficient 7-12 shooting. Overall, it was a performance that will have impressed both the fans and coach Nate McMillan. Seattle's effective defense forced more turnovers and hounded Toronto into 40% shooting, particularly Vince Carter who mustered only 8-21 shooting. Again Sonics fans must be wondering "why can't we play like this more often?". <font size="1">Box Score courtesy of NBA.com.</font> Next Game: vs 76ers, Thursday <font color="green">GOOD LUCK TO RAY, FLIP AND 'SHARD FOR ALL STAR WEEKEND AND FOR EVERYONE ELSE: SIT BACK, RELAX AND ENJOY THE FESTIVITIES!</font>
wow...raptors stunk up the place. only bright spot was donyell's play, and vince's 3rd quarter play. after the past few games, i got a new name for vince..."half man, half game". seems like he comes out and shoots a disgracefull percentage, and then rips it in the 2nd half. happend in phoenix, happend tonight. shard just owned us...but with his size and athleticism, he could be such a dominant player if he took his game inside and learned some post moves. shuttlesworth took the matchup tonight for sure, better game, his team won. you guys played well, and we played like crap. big up
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dj_premium_plus:</div><div class="quote_post">wow...raptors stunk up the place. only bright spot was donyell's play, and vince's 3rd quarter play. after the past few games, i got a new name for vince..."half man, half game". seems like he comes out and shoots a disgracefull percentage, and then rips it in the 2nd half. happend in phoenix, happend tonight. shard just owned us...but with his size and athleticism, he could be such a dominant player if he took his game inside and learned some post moves. shuttlesworth took the matchup tonight for sure, better game, his team won. you guys played well, and we played like crap. big up</div> Wow, a Raps fan not making excuses, I'm impressed mate
Charles Barkley once said about Vince... "I, I like Vince. Half man, half a season." Great win for the Sonics. I told you they would pimp them.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sir Desmond:</div><div class="quote_post">Wow, a Raps fan not making excuses, I'm impressed mate </div> you should read my posts more often, im not the biased fan i get assumed to be cept for the lakers game...but after seeing that play in a freeze frame, i still think it was a foul :biggrin2:
