<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>“Pretty scary, it felt like my knee twisted all the way around…I didn’t hear any pops…I’m fine, I can put weight on it…not as bad as I thought…they put ice on it, and it felt better right away.” Seattle: PG Earl Watson, Sg Kevin Durant, SF Jeff Green, PF Nick Collison (game time decision), C Kurt Thomas Offense: 96.2 Defense: 103.6 Ridnour and Wilcox have been out and both return tonight. Lakers: G Derek Fisher, G Kobe Bryant, SF Luke Walton, PF Lamar Odom, C Kwame Brown Offense: 107.4 Defense: 100.8 Last time they met: …Rookie Kevin Durant had 25 points for Seattle, 12 of them in the final 6:05. But it wasn’t enough to overcome a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit… After this ragged game, Phil Jackson commented on the “unbridled and still undisciplined” aspects of this still developing team. The Popcorn Machine: if you are not familiar with this site, give it a look. Game flows offer a unique comprehensive view of the ebb and flow of games, along with +/- and Help Value hv=Reb+Ast+Blk+Stl-TO. See the last time the Sonics and Lakers played here. About last night… With everyone’s mind on the health of Andrew Bynum, the Lakers lost their defensive focus and allowed a 13-0 4th quarter run. Gutting out an ugly win (with the help of a favorable no call) shows that this team is fighting to be included in discussions about upper echelon clubs. This was a game that they would (and did) lose last year. After letting the Grizzlies score 29 1st quarter points, look for the defense to be sharper tonight. Missing Bynum: Assuming Bynum doesn’t play. With Kwame starting and Turiaf coming off the bench (or vice versa depending on the whims of one Phil Jackson). Jackson will get his wish of having Brown start, get more minutes, and hopefully get him in a groove. “Right now, we’re trying to get Kwame going, get him back in basketball shape,” Jackson said. “If he can’t do it, Ronny (Turiaf) is going to have to take his spot. If coming off the bench is that difficult for him, we’ll have to move on without him.” In a perfect world, Jackson would rather start Brown and keep Bynum as a productive backup. Bynum’s standout play while Brown was injured earlier this season had made Jackson’s plan impossible to carry out, however. Bynum had won the starter’s spot until he was injured Sunday. “Andrew seems to be sustaining his conditioning and his energy pretty well right now,” Jackson said. “He’s able to play 35 minutes now. His productivity, you just can’t turn away from it as a coach. He’s just too productive to not have him on the floor.” Update per ESPN: Bynum out 8 weeks. Hat tip to 33.</div> Source: ForumBlueandGold
SCOUTING REPORT Lakers at Sonics- 1/14/08 Monday, Jan 14 The Sonics continue to struggle through the first half of the season. Seattle won six games in a three week period between the end of November and December 21. But since then, Seattle has suffered through a rash of various injuries and the losses have mounted. The Sonics have now lost eight of their last nine games. Seattle now starts Watson, Durant, Green, Collison, and Thomas. The bench players getting regular time include West, Szczerbiak, Wilkens, and Petro. Chris Wilcox has not played in their last five games due to a dislocated right pinkie finger. Ridnour has not played in two weeks but is available. Seattle still does a good job of pushing the ball and running the lanes. Their bigs really run the floor. They will set random screen and rolls. This team will play hard from beginning to end. We cannot let their record lull us into not respecting them. The have players with offensive capabilities and can have big nights. Durant and Szczerbiak are Seattle’s main weapons and they both have the extremely green light to shoot whenever they want. They both have 3 point range, can drive, or will pullup for shots. Seattle needs at least one of them to have a big night in order to win so we must contain them. Wilkens lost his starting job to Green at the end of December, and he has struggled with his confidence since then. He has played well against us so we must keep him in check. Green had a big game against us at the end of November. He was able to attack the basket off the dribble so we must do a better job on him. Defensively, Seattle will use a combination of zone defenses and they even played a box and 1 on Kobe in our last game. We need to make sure we attack their zone and not just settle for the quick/early outside shot. They want teams to settle for these long shots so we shouldn’t fall into the trap. Seattle runs two pretty standard NBA sets. First, they run a basic FLEX continuity. The other one is a UCLA action with Szczerbiak at the elbow. If the Sonics cut hard it creates opportunities for the shooters.
Just our luck both Wilcox and Ridnour return tonight for the Sonics. Kobe Bryant will begin his 40+ points per game streak tonight.
Good thing we have 2 or 3 days off before playing PHX, then another 2 before playing Dallas i think... Pls Bynum!!! Prove them wrong!!! Dont be back in 2 months! Heal within a Month please!!!
Lets play a game... how many assists do you think Kobe will have without Bynum to pass to??? LOL i say around 3 - 5
J Farmar = instant points off the bench!!! We should NEVER trade Farmar AND Critt!!! Both these players are compliments of each other!
