Details: When: Friday, March 18th Where: KeyArena, Sea-Town Time (Seattle): 7:30 P.M. TV: Fox Sports, League Pass Projected Starters: <font color="Green">Seattle (42-20) </font> Luke Ridnour Ray Allen Rashard Lewis Reggie Evans Jerome James <font color="red"><font color="RoyalBlue">Orlando (31-33)</font> </font>Jameer Nelson Steve Francis Grant Hill Dwight Howard Kelvin Cato Injury Troubles: <font color="Green">Seattle</font> Mateen Cleaves: Sprained thumb, ruled out. Damien Wilkins: Knee tendinitis, ruled out. Vladimir Radmanovic: Foot injury, gametime decision. Danny Fortson: Foot injury, gametime decision <font color="RoyalBlue"> </font> <font color="RoyalBlue">Orlando</font> Doug Christie: Bone spurs in ankle, ruled out. Andrew DeClerq: Sore knee, ruled out. Brief Notes: <ul> [*]Here lies another chance for Ray Allen to make amends for his shoddy play of late in a home game that the Sonics realistically should have no problem winning. Allen has been spouting off to the media like usual and deflecting the blame for the Sonics recent letdown on to Coach Nate McMillan and the rest of the team. Meanwhile, a true team leader in Rashard Lewis has stepped up to keep the team sane and in ball games. Another big game from Sweet Lew is expected in this one. [/list] <ul> [*]Vlade and Fort may both be out with foot injuries which means a deep cut imprinted in the Sonics' bench which really has been subpar lately along with the other members of the team not named Rashard or Reggie. Could be another chance for Nick C. to make a name for himself with extended playing time. [/list] * Useful/less stat of the day: The Sonics are 2-1 against teams from Florida. Two wins against the Heat and a loss at Orlando. * Word of the Day: Querulous; adj: habitually complaining. "Ray Allen has established himself as one of the more prominently querulous individuals in the sport of basketball." Random Family Guy Quote Meg: Excuse me, Mayor West? Adam West: How do you know my language? All predictions, analysis and discussion relating directly to the game, both before, during and after, to be posted in this thread.
We just can't put a team away that's lost six straight and is a mess. Regardless of missing a few guys, we are playing at home and need to put in a definitive third period. On a positive note, Nick is getting it done in his first career start, big time.
This was the first Sonics game I've seen in a long time, so here are my thoughts from what I saw in the second half. Ray Allen: He doesn't look like he's on the same page as his teammates. He always shoots the ball himself unless he's forced to pass it, and he doesn't really try on perimeter, although his fundamental skills are still there. Basically, he's so good he doesn't even need to try to put up numbers. Ronald Murray: I've become convinced that if the Sonics go the youth route in the offseason, he's our best bet. I don't think he has the skills (specifically ballhandling, shooting, and b-ball IQ) to be a franchise player yet, but he has the attitude for it. If given a couple years as a main scorer, I believe he could become a Steve Francis type guy. What I like is his willingness to do what it takes to compete. He's a lot more physical than Ray on offense and defense. He always attacks the hoop now. He's shorter than the average SG, but that problem is overblown sometimes. Flip is physically strong enough to overcome it. Antonio Daniels: He's not as good at defense as he used to be, but still solid. He needs to take his personality down a notch, because his game seems to be declining at a steady rate right now. Nick Collison: Needs to adapt better to the Supes' offense. He looks like he's still trying to be the same player he was at Kansas. Granted, guys don't look for him enough in the post, but hopefully that will be corrected. Reggie Evans: He looks amazing right now. He's in every play, and not making the dumb mistakes he made early in his career. If every Sonic played like this...well, we'd be the Spurs. Rashard Lewis: The other Sonic who looks really good right now, besides Flip and Reggie. He's posting up in the high post a lot, and TAKING IT TO THE HOOP. He and Nick seem to work well together.
