Details: Who: (22-23) vs (13-35) Where: Key Arena When: Monday, Feb 2nd, 7pm TV: None Projected Lineups: PG: Antonio Daniels/Luke Ridnour SG: Ray Allen/Ronald Murray SF: Rashard Lewis/Vladimir Radmanovic PF: Reggie EvansVladimir Radmanovic/Calvin Booth C: Vitaly PotapenkoJerome James/Calvin Booth Coached by Nate McMillan PG: Kirk Hinrich/Rick Brunson SG: Jamal Crawford/Scottie Pippen SF: Scottie Pippen/Ronald Dupree/Marcuz Fizer PF: Antonio Davis/Jerome Williams/Tyson Chandler C: Eddy Curry/Tyson Chandler Coached by Scott Skiles Injury List: Nick Collison: shoulder, season. Brent Barry: broken finger, on IL. Injury List Chris Jeffries: sprained right ankle, on IL. Kendall Gill: right achille strain, on IL. Analysis: Two teams on the brink of self destruction. Seattle have slipped below .500 after yet another painfully close loss to Sacramento, and with another game against the Kings tomorrow, a loss to Chicago could really make them collapse. Chicago on the other hand have already died and been buried, losing 10 of 11, already changing coach and having the worst record in the NBA. So much for a team many had penned in for playoff action at the start of the season. Unfortunately a combination of injuries and players not stepping up have meant Chicago have slipped back to the dark days of a few seasons ago. Can Seattle stay in the playoff hunt, or can the Bulls start to ressurect a forgettable season? Homecoming In 1998, Jamal Crawford led Seattle's Ranier Beach High School to the State Championship. This led to an invitation to Michigan and then a top 10 pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers, before being traded to Chicago. But the memories of being a winner still remain with Crawford, and his Seattle roots are still strong. [quoteright]"I just had a small look and that's all I need at that point of the game. It looked like it was going in, but it was in and out. That was the story of the game for me. It's frustrating." - Ray Allen after missing a potential game-tying three in the closing minutes of Saturday's loss to Sacramento.[/QUOTERIGHT] Key Factors: - The Start. How Seattle begin here is vital; Chicago are a team low on confidence, and is the Sonics come out of the gate early it could be the straw that breaks the donkey's back, so to speak. On the other hand, Chicago have enough weapons to capitalise on a fast start, despite their dismal record of late. - Target Eddy Curry. Despite being in his third year of NBA basketball and a decent low post scorer, Curry's defense and passing from the post are still mediocre. Doubling him on the defensive end will likely cause turnovers and fastbreak baskets, while feeding it to the crafty Potapenko on the offensive end should result in baskets down low. - Pressure. Run the full court press, double team a lot and do all these things that cause pressure defensively. Chicago are a team on the brink and very low on confidence, this is usually a recipe for turnovers. Key Matchup: Antonio Daniels vs Jamal Crawford While the Kings focused on Allen and Lewis, they let Antonio Daniels slip under their guard, and he responded with the best game of his career. Sacramento had enough weapons to cover this, but Chicago don't. Daniels is having the best period of his career, shooting over 50% from the field, 40% from behind the arc and leading the league in assist/turnover rating, and provides another dangerous option that Chicago need to cover. On the other hand, Crawford represents a dangerous task. On his day, he is one of the most dangerous scorers in the league, and Daniels faces a tough task trying to stop him. Crawford can shoot the three fairly well, but the key to stopping him is preventing him getting into the paint, where he is at his most creative. Both are tall and athletic combo guards, in what could be the most important match-up on the floor. X-Factors: Jerome James - on the bench as a result of Potapenko's play, Seattle could use a boost from this talented, but frustrating seven-footer. Could be the perfect foil for Eddy Curry, and will hopefully provide a valuable back-up big off the bench in this one. Ronald Dupree - after bursting onto the seen from the NBDL, Dupree has made his mark firmly in Chicago. He provides inside scoring and rebounding from the small forward position, and gives the Bulls another option in an offense that is breaking down too often. <font size="1">Player photos and logo images courtesy of NBA.com </font>
Nice preview, like all the little things you do with them to make it amazing. The Sonics look to be in prime condition now and I believe they'll hand it to the Bulls. Seattle by 11.
I'll take Seattle in this one, Bob. Chicago's defense just isn't tough enough and they're not exactly know for being able to try and stop more than two scoring options in a game. Lewis should have a field day while they're trying to toy with Ray Allen. Antonio Daniels will drop 20 on them, too.
I don't know what the refs were thinkin when Frahm held Chandler and Tyson got a tech.( ot that we would have won, but i wish we were able to get Tyson used to playing again)
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SEATTLE, Feb. 2 (Ticker) -- The Seattle SuperSonics take a lot of 3-pointers - a strategy that works just fine when they are on target. Ray Allen made four 3-pointers en route to 27 points and Rashard Lewis buried five and scored 20 as the SuperSonics rolled to a 109-97 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Seattle attempts more than 24 3-pointers per game and makes more than nine - leading the league in both categories. It had made just 12-of-46 shots from the arc in its previous two games before sinking 15-of-36 against Chicago. "The No. 1 thing that we wanted to try to do is to stop their threes," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "We failed at that right from the beginning. We were really, really soft on them from the perimeter. We allowed them just to dress up wide-open shots." Lewis made 5-of-10 attempts from 3-point range and Allen was 4-of-6 as the SuperSonics snapped a three-game losing streak, winning for just the fourth time in 12 games. "Offensively, we stayed with our stuff," Allen said. "We executed and got some easy shots. Defensively we weren't great but we were consistent. We created a lot of mismatches tonight and tonight it worked for us." Lewis capped the third quarter with a 3-pointer for an 82-72 lead and Seattle opened the fourth with a 10-4 run. Rookie Richie Frahm opened the burst with a 3-pointer and Vladimir Radmanovic capped it with a shot from the arc to give the SuperSonics a 92-76 cushion with 8 1/2 minutes to go. Radmanovic scored 20 points off the bench and rookie Luke Ridnour had all 12 of his shots on 5-of-6 shooting in the fourth quarter for Seattle. </div> <font size="1">Full Story and Box Score courtesy of NBA.com. </font>
Well, Daniels didn't drop 20, but they sure couldn't stop him passing as Ray and Shard dropped 27 and 20, respectively. 109-97, Seattle.
