Losing Rashard Lewis, on top of Ray Allen and Nick Collison before the season, showed just how shallow the Seattle Supersonics can be, especially if their shot is not falling. Seattle suffered their 8th straight loss to a Raja Bell Utah side that is near unbeatable at the Delta Centre. For Seattle, it was the reliable Brent Barry who showed up, but sadly he was the only one. Barry scored 20 points on 6-8 shooting, including 4-5 from downtown. Vladimir Radmanovic added 14 and 5, whilst Luke Ridnour was the only other Sonic in double figures with 11 points off the bench, including 3 treys and 4 steals. For Utah, Raja Bell was huge off the bench, posting a career high 25 points on 7-12 shooting and 10-12 from the stripe. Matt Harpring posted a double double with 24 and 10, and Kirilenko had 11, 12 and 6 dimes. Utah outscored Seattle in every quarter, and outshot then 50% to 40, and nailed 29 freethrows to 15. Rebounding numbers of 44-30 and assist numbers of 22-14 showed just how dominant Utah were in this one, and just how impressive they are under timeless coach Jerry Sloan. http://www.nba.com/games/20031128/SEAUTA/boxscore.html Next game: vs Houston, Sat Nov 29, 7pm
How ironic, I fly home for Thanksgiving, and the Sonics go to the state where I attend college. I'll never get to see them play again...... I watched the game on Kong though, horrible play. Murray seems to be falling back into the role that we expected him to be in. I still think that once Ray returns, we'll easily make the playoffs.
Murray's been playing at a level that absolutely belies his level of experience in the pro game. With Lewis and Ray out, it was pretty obvious tonight that he felt pressure to score and forced his shot a little. I think he'll actually be more effective when Shard and Ray are back, because then he'll have a little more freedom with opposing defenses.
