Details: Who: (25-27) vs (22-32) Where: Key Arena When: Thursday, Feb 19th, 7pm TV: TNT Projected Lineups: PG: Antonio Daniels/Luke Ridnour SG: Ray AllenRonald Murray/Richie Frahm SF: Rashard Lewis/Vladimir Radmanovic/Ansu Sesay PF: Reggie EvansVladimir Radmanovic/Calvin Booth C: Vitaly PotapenkoJerome James/Calvin Booth Coached by Nate McMillan PG: Eric Snow/Aaron McKie SG: Allen Iverson/John Salmons/Kyle Korver SF: Glenn Robinson/Greg Buckner/Willie Green PF: Kenny Thomas/Amal McCaskill C: Samuel Dalembert/Zendon Hamilton Coached by Chris Ford Injury List: Nick Collison: shoulder, season. Brent Barry: broken finger, on IL. Injury List Derrick Coleman: fractured finger, on IL. Marc Jackson: flu, left foot stress fracture, on IL. Todd MaCulloch, foot neuropathy, on IL. Analysis: Controversy and trade talks as these two teams meet for the second and last time this season, in Seattle. Both teams have been embroiled in trade rumours involving a variety of players, none less than Allen Iverson in some cases. To add to this, Philadelphia recently fired head coach Randy Ayers, a one-time Larry Brown assistant, and promoted Chris Ford into an interim role. Strangely enough, Seattle have a worse record against the East than the West this season, which is just one of the factors in them falling behind in the playoff race. These are the games they must win if they want to stay in touch with the final seedings, otherwise they will head in the same direction Philly are currently. Well, moreso. Last Time On January 19th this year, Seattle travelled to Philadelphia on a four game losing streak. After giving up a first quarter deficit, the Sonics kept the Sixers to under 20 points in each of the remaining three periods, and came away with a 90-81 win. Ray Allen struggled early, but exploded in the last to finish with 28 points and seven rebounds. [quoteright]"Part of that is my fault, and I accept that. ... But if I'm not going to play, why have a guy making as much as I do sit on the bench when you can do something and help your team? So I understand how this works. And if it's my time, then it's my time." - Jerome James on the subject of inconsistant minutes.[/QUOTERIGHT] Key Factors: - Zone up. Philadelphia possess two excellent guys in terms of one on one offense, in Iverson and Robinson. Seattle don't have the defenders to match these guys one on one, something that is too often the case with the Sonics. Again this means guys like James and Booth need to man the middle and guard the basket effectively. - Run the floor hard. Philly like to play team defense, and limit the opposition by slowing the game down to their pace. Crashing the glass and playing in transition as much as possible is the way to break down the Sixers offensively, and Seattle have the players to do this. - Get a body on the big guys. Kenny Thomas is comingh off a big game, and Dalembert has been very impressive of late too. These guys will eat Seattle alive on the boards at both ends unless Booth and James step up to Potapenko's example of playing tough and boxing out. Key Matchup: Ray Allen vs Allen Iverson Two team leaders, two All Stars and two superstars of the game. While they may not see a lot of time directly opposed to eachother, the battle between the two-guards will go a long way to determining the outcome. Both sides rely on their respective man to keep the offense flowing, and bring others into the game. Ray destroyed the Sixers in the fourth quarter the last time these teams met, while Iverson endured a poor shooting game, further underlining the influence these guys have on their respective teams. Iverson comes in fresh off a 27 point, 14 assist performance after being benched for m issing practice, while Allen has had time to recover after playing a key role in the West;s victory in the All Star game. Both will shoot the ball from the start and look to get on a roll; whoever does that better will be vital in affecting the game's result. X-Factors: Luke Ridnour - Philly play gritty, and often it takes something spectacular to break a team like that down in the right frame of mind. Ridnour has stepped up in Barry's absence, and played perhaps his best game against the Raptors before the All Star break. He linked up well with Allen on numerous occasions, and will again be a key component off the bench to break down Philadelphia's tough style of defense. Samuel Dalembert - quickly becoming a fan favourite in Philly, Dalembert is young and very active, particularly on the defensive end. He blocks shots and rebounds particularly well, utilising his athleticism to block a lot of shots. He is also a danger on the offensive glass, something that has killed Seattle all season. <font size="1">Player photos and logo images courtesy of NBA.com </font>
Great preview. I can see Seattle taking this one. Just have to play a good zone defense to limit leaving one of their big guns open. Seattle by 8.
The big guys need to play well for us to win...but how many times have we said that before? Sonics by 10.
Nice Preview Sir Dez.The Sonics are going to win this one by 5-10.If AI has a off game the sixer are probably going to lose but if the whole team plays with heart and effort, they might win.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting choppa22:</div><div class="quote_post">if Philly can contain Ray they have a good chance to win</div> No? You're kidding, right?
AI will give Allen some trouble tonight and may drop 40+ on the Sonics, but Seattle should win this one.
Like the previous 52 games, I am predicting a win. Radman has hit the court. It will be intriguing whether or not he goes out to make a post-trade deadline statement... I wouldn't be complaining.
Radman has hit the court. It will be intriguing whether or not he goes out to make a post-trade deadline statement... I wouldn't be complaining.
Well Seattle are living up to that tag. Allowing 60 to Philly in a half?! Even Orlando shouldn't do that.
And Philly hit 100 with five minutes to go. This team should start tanking to avoid getting a pick in the 11-13 range, there is no chance of making the post-season with this sort of defense. It borders on embarrassing.
Not to mention the absolutely pathetic shooting in the second half. Horrible shot selection and again it constitutes I think to the lack of a big man to score in the paint.
