http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=...?gid=2006102525 ^ Boxscore. Seven guys in double figures, and strong showings yet again off the bench from Damien and Nick. Probably Luke's best game of the preseason, while another subpar Wilcox effort. Swift started but only played 77 seconds before spraining a knee, will have an MRI tomorrow.
Copped an elbow in the mouth from Kevin "Dikembe" Martin with eight minutes to go. Lewis with a great defensive job on Artest too - hopefully he steps up that part of the game this season, as with his long arms and athleticism there is no excuse not to be a better defender than he currently is. Neither Watson or Swift will travel to Golden State for our last game.
The timing couldn't have been worse for Swift. If it takes time for him to come back and someone steps up and plays well in his absence, he could find himself being a permanent reserve. Hopefully it is just a matter of him having a knee bruise and he won't miss much action. I heard that Danny got whistled for a flagrant foul for trying to slide over and take a charge on Ron Artest. They said that Artest looked like he hit a brick wall and that Danny got the flagrant on reputation alone. Artest shrugged it off but that would be worth the price of admission to see those get into it. My money would be on "the baddest man in pigtails."
Yeah...well Danny tried to step in front of Artest to draw a charge and while he was putting his arms up, he put them up in Artest's face. Arest looked as if he got rammed by a 16-wheeler. Sure it may have looked as if Danny was trying to break his nose, but 80% of that call was only because of Fortons rep. The Sacramento Announcers were annoying me all night. They sure as hell don't like Fortson, or the Sonics for that matter. After the "Flagrant" foul: Sac Announcer #1: The guy just doesn't get it! Sac Announcer #2: He's a dirty player, let's just say it how it is. He's a dirty player! I'm sure if Artest did something like that, they would have been like "Nice agressive play to try to get in front of the driving player". Welcome back Danny Fortson.
posted elsewhere, but thought I'd drop it here, too.. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting psheehy:</div><div class="quote_post">my thoughts on the game? Robert looked ready to go. He sprung up to get that first rebound and then dove for the loose ball. You don?t want an injury off the energy, but it was great to see him fired up. They were trying to get Wilcox going in the first, but he just seemed to reserved and laid back on offense. He looked a little lazy but seemed a bit more energized after halftime. Ray and Luke offered up some lobs to him that looked like bad passes, but I think the problem was that Chris was a beat slow last night and they threw the pass for pogo stick man, not jump rope boy. Luke looked good, though his shot was off early, he kept shooting which was good. Luke played some strong pick and roll defense at times and the help was in the right place when Nick and Danny were playing, but not always when it was Sene, Wilcox or Petro. However, this was not Bibby or that caliber of guard, so I will reserve judgement. I liked his decisions about going under or over?he seemed to be making the right choice almost all the time. Lewis played some strong defense in the second half on Artest in the post blocking or stripping him twice on one possesion. That is great to see. Artest doesn?t play soft down low. Ray?the guy is moving around, playing the game?getting team mates involved but not doing much offensively. The fourth quarter starts and the Kings make a run to get the lead under 10. Ray takes over at both ends and that is it?there is never another threat. I see the cool commercial on arena vision where Ray talks about coming to work and thinking about the history of the franchise, the players who have played here and the fans who grew up with this team and are raising there kids with this team. He talks about playing for them, and being worthy of wearing his Sonics jersey for them when he steps on the floor. Then I read the Jerry Brewer article on Ray in the Times today. Ray Allen is the DEFINITION of class. He is worth a dozen Ron Artests or 6 dozen Stephen Jacksons. He is worth 2 Kobe Bryants or 1.5 Shaqs. He is someone the league should be parading in front of everyone as the face of the NBA because he is someone kids CAN and should look up to and admire. I hate rooting for the stars, and never buy the star?s jersey. I love the underdog?the undrafted rookie who fights their way through every phase and earns a starting spot in the NBA. Ben Wallace?Reggie Evans, these are the guys I cheer for. In the case of Ray Allen, though, I just want to shake that man?s hand and say thank you. Thank you for being someone that my kid can look at and say ?I wanna be like Ray.? I can respect that choice, cause, dammit, I wanna be like Ray, too. Nick and Danny were slower than the King bigs, but they out smarted them. If Nick keeps hitting that open jumper on the left side he will be playing A LOT of minutes this season. Damien was smooth and confident. PLEASE let him maintain that poise into the season. He looked GREAT out there the whole time. Petro played way better after he realized Bobby wasn?t coming back. Sene is a freak. He was dunking during warm ups, and it was like he wasn?t even expending any energy to do it. His arms look like he could touch his toes without bending over. Gelabale?s shot was off but he handled the ball well, passed well and defended well. He could either be a simple but solid role player or turn into a Tayshaun Prince like player from back in his rookie year. He is long and thin and seems to do a lot of things well. He looks like he needs seasoning and playing time but I can tell why the scouts tagged him and the coaches like him. He just looks like he belongs on the court?but you barely notice him right now, except for the hair. The whole game seemed to go in slow motion until the third quarter. The second unit rocked. This team has some real potential this season. I am READY. </div>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting psheehy:</div><div class="quote_post">In the case of Ray Allen, though, I just want to shake that man?s hand and say thank you. Thank you for being someone that my kid can look at and say ?I wanna be like Ray.? I can respect that choice, cause, dammit, I wanna be like Ray, too.</div> You should have higher expectations for your son and yourself.
In the case of Flip Murray, though, I just want to shake that man’s hand and say thank you. Thank you for being someone that my kid can look at and say “I wanna be like Flip.” I can respect that choice, cause, dammit, I wanna be like Flip, too.
hey, i don't the man personally...but what I see I respect. just sick of seeing the bad side of the league in the press when there are good role models out there...ray isn't the only one deserving, but I know Ray will always be the Flip killer for you.
A dozen Artests would be awesome. A couple of them could go nuts and get suspended for the year and I'd still win the championship easily.
