HOOPLOG: Ray Allen

Sound of Sam

Wed, 03 May 2006 11:29:20 -0800

We love Sam Cassell, and it's not just because he's unafraid to slip in a "Coming to America" reference while addressing 19,000 people.

The guy's a winner. (A winner who closed his thank-you address to the Staples Center fans before the final regular-season game by saying "Sexual Chocolate!")

In Cassell's rookie year the Houston Rockets won the first major professional championship in the city's history. The next year, they won the second.

In 2000, Cassell was in Milwaukee when the Bucks went to the conference finals for the first time in 14 years.

In 2004, his first year in Minnesota, the Timberwolves made it out of the first round - and all the way to the conference finals - for the first time in franchise history.

And now he has guided the Clippers to the second round for the first time since the franchise came to California in 1978.

Cassell arrives, sets up shop, and the team gets better. It keeps happening.

"Ain't that something?" Cassell said.

Here's his five-minute explanation, while standing in the middle of the Clipper locker room after the Clips eliminated the Denver Nuggets Monday night.

"One thing about me, I need five guys that's willing to give it up, man. To every night take that court and fight hard. If you do that man, I swear, I can't predict the future, but I can tell you one thing: we're going to win some basketball games. We're going to win more than you won last year.

"People don't realize, when I went to Milwaukee, Ray Allen was a good player. I made him an all-star. I'm not saying I did it all by myself, but I had a big part in him and Glen Robinson becoming all-stars when I was there. I went to Minnesota, Kevin Garnett was not mentioned for the MVP. He was first team, but was he mentioned for MVP candidate? I make him the MVP. He will make me a second-team all-NBA player and an all-star, but I had a whole lot to do - Sprewell and myself - with his development in becoming an MVP. Know what I'm saying?"

What does it take to draw it out of these guys?

"Push 'em. Push 'em Elton Brand's an example. I said, 'Elton, if you want to be a top 10 power forward, you've got to be able to hit the 15-foot jumper. Everything else you do is cool, you've got to take your jump shot. Because people only play you inside.' Now he took his game out 15 feet, I said, 'You make six jumpers, that's 12 points. You get 10 points inside, 22. Free throws, now you've got 26.' It's simple. And you shoot uncontested jump shots, because in the pick-and-roll, his guy double-teams me.

"Nick Van Exel's my best friend. He said, 'Boy you've got a chance to take that team somewhere that they never in their wildest desire thought they could reach. He said, 'Man, you're what the doctor ordered for those guys.' A guy who won't put up with some (stuff), a guy who won't let us feel sorry. I'm not going to. No, [bleep] that. You know what I'm saying? We walk into an arena, we're not going to walk into an arena and say, 'Okay, we're going to play for 44 minutes and lose in the last four minutes.' [Bleep] that. You walk into an arena, we say, 'We're going to beat these [bleeps].' Cause there's nothing like beating somebody on their court. Makes the plane ride better, know what I'm saying? That's all it's about, man. We're going to represent well here. But on the road? That's where your pride factor is.

" Who would have thought that this team would advance in the playoffs? Don't give me the credit for it. I'm just going what I've been doing. I'm just doing what I've been doing my whole [bleeping] career. Elton Brand. Corey Maggette was playing all-star basketball until he [bleeped] is foot up. Cuttino Mobley. When Corey got hurt, I had to become the second scorer. Now I can sit up here and play 24 minutes and see the development of Shaun. I'm well rested. So I know I've got to play big from here on out, or it won't be successful. I'm cool. It's all about winning for me. I've done scored points, I've done had assists. It's all about winning for me. Because I want to coach in this league.

"I look at Avery Johnson, what he accomplished, and I want to be that same kind of coach. Here's the job. Do your job. If you can't do your job, somebody else got to come do it.
We ain't throwing you away. But for a minute or two - or three or four - somebody else'll step in and do it.

"I tell them, do what you do. Everybody on this team. Do what you do."

A Ray of Hope

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 09:44:41 -0800

(AP Photo/Ron Wurzer)" />The season's over, but Ray once again made this team worth watching:

SEATTLE (AP) -- Ray Allen broke the NBA record for 3-pointers in a season, finishing with 269, and the Seattle SuperSonics wrapped up their disappointing season with a 109-98 victory over the playoff-bound Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Read the rest here.

Other great Ray moments from an otherwise forgettable season? How about his 42 points and game-winning shot in that insane double-overtime game against the Suns? Or what about his fight against the insane Keyon Dooling? Ah, such sweet memories.

So, what are your favorite moments of this terrible, terrible season? Danny Fortson fouling himself out so he could get back on the exercise bike? Bob Weiss' disappearing act? Let's hear it!

Wilcox Named WC Player of the Week

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 14:44:56 -0800

CHRIS WILCOX NAMED WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

SEATTLE – The NBA announced today that Sonics forward Chris Wilcox has been named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, April 3 through Sunday, April 9. Wilcox averaged 23.0 points and 15.3 rebounds while shooting 75.0 percent (27-of-36) from the field during the week to help the Sonics extend their winning streak to a season-long four games. The league honor is the first of Wilcox’s career and the first for a Sonics player this season.

Wilcox began the week by posting 26 points and a career-high 24 rebounds in a 104-87 win over Houston on April 4, becoming the first Sonics player to post a 20-point/20-rebound game since Shawn Kemp did so on Nov. 15, 1995. Wilcox’s 24 rebounds were also the most by a Sonics player since Jack Sikma grabbed 25 boards on Feb. 10, 1983. Wilcox also dished out a career-best six assists at Portland last Friday, April 7, and has recorded double-doubles in scoring and rebounding in four consecutive games.

After averaging 4.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 48 games with the Clippers this season, Wilcox has posted 15.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game since joining the Sonics on Feb. 23.

The New York Knicks’ Jamal Crawford was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 26.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.25 steals per game. He hit two game-winning jumpers to lead the Knicks to a 3-1 record during the week. Crawford grew up in Seattle and was a prep basketball star at Rainier Beach High School

Other nominees for Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Cleveland’s LeBron James, Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, New Jersey’s Jason Kidd, Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Sacramento’s Mike Bibby and Seattle’s Ray Allen.

The Seattle Sonics & Storm organization manages the Puget Sound region’s professional basketball franchises – the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. The organization oversees all sales, marketing, finance, public relations and basketball operations for the teams. The Basketball Club of Seattle LLC owns both teams.

Requiem for Three

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 09:42:39 -0800

Last week, Glenn Robinson took another small step in the most unnoticed retirement in the history of sport . If the absence of fanfare seems unfair, it is also unsurprising. Despite being physically present for over 10 seasons, Robinson’s moral significance was exhausted in just three. His 1999-2002 seasons with the Bucks were the one and only time that Robinson’s single-minded dedication to the jump-shot was successfully translated into an effective team offense. But as historians of the millennial era will doubtlessly note, the story of the Big Dog is also a story of the larger, more mysterious animal he helped inspire: I am speaking of course of The Big Three.

The Big Three of Robinson, Ray Allen and Sam Cassell was forged in the summer of 1999, and disbanded just three years later. In their first season, they went 42-40 and lost in the first round. In their second season, they transformed into the league’s #1 offensive team, went 52-30, and came within a few baskets of making the NBA Finals. Then in their third and final year, they regressed back to .500 and failed to make the playoffs, despite adding a fourth All-Star to their roster (Anthony Mason) during the previous off-season. How should we understand the Big Three’s tumultuous tenure, and the role of the Big Dog therein?

When considered in the abstract, nothing about the Big Three makes even the slightest bit of sense. The majority of great teams have been built around 1 or 2 centers of gravity, with additional talent organized into supporting roles. The 80s Celtics are the notable exception. Yet given the particulars of the Milwaukee triumvirate, the precedent they provide is little more than numeric. Though glory and power was equally distributed among Bird, Parish and McHale, their contributions on offense were differentiated by both personality and position. In contrast, Allen, Robinson and Cassell seemed to have sprung from a single, interchangeable mold, and appeared functionally, positionally, and even stylistically indistinguishable.

Perhaps more than any team in the history of professional basketball, Milwaukee was forced to construct its identity without a single, meaningful precedent or guide. The only principle available to the team was that of “The Big Three” itself. Indeed, if any thesis should emerge from these reflections, it is that the Three-as-Spirit was no less important than the Three-as-Flesh. Whereas most teams can define success against existing objective models, the Big Three offense was sui generis. The only idea to which the Big Three could appeal was its own understanding of what the Big Three should be. Put somewhat differently: Milwaukee’s offense succeeded only when Robinson, Allen and Cassell could believe in the Big Three, and believe in themselves as part of it.

The players’ faith in the Big Three was by no means guaranteed, and was often undermined by objective and subjective pressures. Among the later were ambiguities inherent in the Big Three itself. When the nickname was first introduced, the sole rationale was that Cassell, Robinson and Allen combined for 60% of Milwaukee’s offense. But whether this was a function of actual offensive prowess, or merely a consequence of a crappy bench always remained unclear. This inherent ambiguity in the value of the Big Three was coupled with an inherent ambiguity in its boundaries. Insofar as 60% was an arbitrary cut-off point, why shouldn’t there be a Big Four (based on 75% contribution) or Big Two (43%) instead?

These inherent, subjective ambiguities – when triggered by unfavorable objective events – had the potential of undermining the Big Three’s faith in itself, and thus to derail their collective achievements. For instance, the selection of Robinson and Allen – but not Cassell – to the 2000 All-Star Game triggered a subjective crisis over the boundaries of Big Three membership. After starting the season an impressive 25-20, the Bucks spiraled into one of the worst loosing streaks in years, loosing 9 of 11 games after the All-Star announcements.

Depending on whom you talk to, Cassell sulked after he was left off the team and didn't distribute the ball, or Allen and Robinson got a little too full of themselves after their selections and never gave the ball up once they had it – The Capital Times (Madison)

The absence of any rational and objective logic underlying the Big Three’s offense meant that team chemistry lived or died with players’ faith in the Big Three itself. When the subjective coherence of this belief was undermined, the 2000 season was essentially lost. Two years later, when the Bucks signed Tim Thomas to a $65 million contract and then added Mason - a former All-Star - to Bucks’ starting lineup, the boundaries of the Big Three were once again blurred to the point that Cassell, Allen, and Robinson could no longer command it. This in addition to injuries and infighting made the third and final Big Three season even worse than the first.

The second season was the closest the Big Three would come to an unconditional faith in its own self-determination. And throughout this season, no player’s faith was as strong as Glenn Robinson. Ray Allen may have been the spark behind the Big Three, and Cassell the glue, but Robinson was its chief architect and prophet. When George Karl threatened to bench one of the three (it didn’t matter which) in order to teach them a lesson about teamwork, Robinson was defiant. Speaking in what can only be described as the 9th person, he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

You can't afford to bench one of the Big Three…When he says benching one of the Big Three, I don't know why. I know the chemistry of this team is shooting jumpers. That's our identity. That's what we are”

And while Robinson often resisted sharing with Allen and Cassell as individuals, sharing with the Big Three was an entirely different story. Commenting after one game, he told reporters:

"It was one of the better games for the Big Three," he (Robinson) said. "I like the games when I see all of the Big Three with 20 points or more. When we score like that, it's hard to beat us”.

Given how closely Robinson identified with the Three, it makes sense that his post-Three fortunes would be the dimmest. Interestingly, all three players went on to form Big Threes with their subsequent teams (as defined by 60% offensive contribution). Yet while the recent era has seem its share of imitators, none can rival the original Big Three, or the Man who once inspired it. And if the owl of minerva flies only at dusk, our understanding of both has only just begun.

Oh no you didn't!

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 11:18:01 -0800

(AP Photo/ Mark Weber)" />For the second game in a row, Ray Allen won a game with a buzzer-beater, proving once again that anyone who thinks the Sonics would trade Ray-Ray for Ben Gordon is a retard. (Yes, Sam Smith, we're looking at you!)

3/21/06 Box Score: Sonics 96 Kings 105

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 09:17:22 -0800

The unofficial box score from tonight’s game and PopcornMachine’s GameFlow.


	1	2	3	4	Total

Seattle	29	31	22	14	96	Final

Sacramento	23	35	30	17	105	ss="yspscores">

Seattle
Name	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	Off	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	Pts
R. Lewis	33	5-12	1-4	4-4	0	4	2	3	2	1	2	15
C. Wilcox	39	7-12	0-0	2-2	5	19	1	3	2	0	2	16
J. Petro	21	3-9	0-0	1-3	3	5	0	3	1	0	4	7
R. Allen	41	8-19	3-10	4-4	0	7	5	4	1	2	2	23
L. Ridnour	33	2-10	0-3	2-2	0	1	10	1	0	1	4	6
M. Wilks	15	0-4	0-0	6-8	0	1	2	1	1	0	1	6
D. Wilkins	12	2-6	0-1	1-1	1	2	0	0	0	0	3	5
R. Swift	23	6-7	0-0	1-2	4	9	0	2	0	0	2	13
N. Felix	5	1-2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	2
M. Moore	10	1-2	0-0	1-1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3
N. Collison	DNP - Coach’s Decision
M. Fizer	DNP - Coach’s Decision
D. Fortson	DNP - Coach’s Decision
E. Watson	DNP - Throat Injury

Totals	232	35-83	4-18	22-27	13	48	20	17	8	4	23	96
Percentages:		.422	.222	.815		Team Rebounds: 6

Sacramento
Name	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	Off	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	Pts
R. Artest	42	10-18	3-4	11-15	3	8	6	3	1	2	1	34
K. Thomas	33	5-8	0-0	1-1	3	11	4	2	2	1	2	11
B. Miller	40	4-12	0-1	0-2	1	14	1	2	1	0	3	8
K. Martin	19	2-10	0-4	2-2	0	2	1	2	1	1	4	6
M. Bibby	39	9-20	5-10	7-7	2	4	8	2	2	0	5	30
S. Abdur-Rahim	15	2-4	0-0	0-0	1	1	3	1	1	0	2	4
J. Hart	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
F. Garcia	8	1-3	0-2	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
B. Wells	22	4-12	0-1	2-2	3	6	3	2	2	0	4	10
S. Monia	DNP - Coach’s Decision
V. Potapenko	DNP - Coach’s Decision
R. Price	DNP - Coach’s Decision
J. Sampson	DNP - Coach’s Decision
C. Williamson	DNP - Coach’s Decision

Totals	219	37-87	8-22	23-29	13	46	26	14	10	4	22	105
Percentages:		.425	.364	.793		Team Rebounds: 9

Game Info

Technical Fouls:
Seattle - C. Wilcox 1, M. Moore 1
Officials: Bob Delaney, Tommy Nunez, Tony Brothers

_____________________________________________________

PopcornMachine’s GameFlow (not yet available)

Plus/Minus
The Good: Mike Wilks +8, Damien Wilkins +5, and Robert Swift +2. The Bad: Mikki Moore -1, Noel Felix -2. The Ugly: Chris Wilcox -8, Rashard Lewis -10, Johan Petro and Ray Allen -11, and Luke Ridnour -17.

Help Value (hv=Reb+Ast+Blk+Stl-TO)
Wilcox led the team with a very strong +19 on the back of his rebounding. Ray Allen and Luke Ridnour were both +11.

Swift/Petro line of the night: 44 minutes, 20 points, 14 boards (7 offensive), 6 fouls.

Sonics: 20 assists, 17 turn overs.

Ray Allen Now Has a Bodyguard

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 15:11:11 -0800

In the SEATTLE TIMES, Percy Allen writes, "Ray Allen declined to confirm whether he has received a threat, but he did not deny it and was vague when asked why he has hired a bodyguard who began accompanying him during All-Star Weekend in Houston."

Michael Redd scores 19 points as Bucks beat SuperSonics 106-91

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 09:36:09 -0800

Michael Redd was happy to face former teammate Ray Allen. Redd scored 19 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 106-91 victory over Allen and the Seattle SuperSonics on Tuesday night.

Sonics send No Defense to Clippers for No Interest

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 09:35:36 -0800

Link: SI.com - NBA - Sonics send Radmanovic to Clippers for Wilcox

The LA Clippers are doing very well this seasons. Most people would assume the mirage will go away eventually. The Clippers never seem to get out of the basement of mediocraty in most people's minds, but finally, they are a respectable team. In some ways, you can parallel this season to Seattle's season last year. The team is surprising with every victory and looks positioned to be in the playoffs and bow out to the Suns, Spurs or Mavericks.

The trade completed sends Chris Wilcox from the Clippers to Seattle for Vlad Radmanovic. What either team gains in the shooting or rebounding column the other loses in defensive ability and lack of passion for the game. That being said, it's more important these days to have the size under the basket than it is to get a player who loves to shoot. Who doesn't love to shoot?

Radmanovic has complained this season about playing time. The guy honestly hasn't earned the kind of time he's expecting this season. The thought in Seattle is to try a little on defense and be smart with the offense and with gunslingers Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis in Seatlle, the team didn't exactly need a gunslinger on the bench that doesn't make an effort on defense.

Wilcox has been an enigma himself. He's had spots in his career where he could dominate a game and be an animal under the basket. Undersized a bit, but plenty strong to compete. Why hasn't his game taken off? It seems like he doesn't really care enough to try. Any team should be interested in Wilcox, if that team can light a fire under him and get his butt in gear. Can a trade be that fire?

Allen Selected for the Three-Point Shootout

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 12:41:02 -0800

It has been announced that Ray Allen has been selected to participate in the Three-Point Shootout at this year’s All-Star game. He joins Quentin Richardson (the defending champion), Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Chauncey Billups and Raja Bell in the competition. I like Allen’s chances this year. He probably has the purest shot of the bunch.

Recap: Warriors 105, Lakers 106

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 13:39:06 -0800

Sure the Warriors lost, but this isn't a loss I mind. A one point overtime loss on the road without JRich is nothing to be ashamed about. For the most part they played tough. Are they headed to the playoffs? Well that's another story.

Boxscore

"What I have to pass the ball?"

Most of hoops nation had their eyes on their game to see how many points Kobe would drop. Pietrus played some pretty solid defense on Kobe on the first half (5 points) and then Monty used Derek Fisher to guard him for most of the second half (25 points). Yeah don't ask. I'm over simplifying it, but basically Monty doesn't have a clue about shutting down the other team's best offensive threat. Kobe didn't really seem to be trying in this game till the 4th quarter. Maybe the unfair criticism about his 81 point game got to him.

Air France took off!

Mikael Pietrus started in place of the injured JRich and showed some flashes of why many teams in the league are interested in him. Finally getting some minutes (39), MP2 dropped a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The points are nice, especially the 2 dunks, but what I like most about Pietrus' night was his rebounding. He's a big, athletic wingman. MP2 should be rebounding like this more often. Mikael can do wonders for his offensive game if he wasn't so in love with the three pointer, developed a midrange game, took it to the hole more, and focused on rebounding.

His 1 steal and 1 block hint at the defense he's capable of. With Monty foolishly going with Fisher on Kobe in the second half, Pietrus pretty much shut down Lamar Odom. Odom was going at Dunleavy before he was knocked out of the game with a rolled ankle (keep reading), but looked like a scrub against Pietrus.

Monty- START PIETRUS INSTEAD OF DUNLEAVY. Dunleavy has had every chance in the world and still hasn't shown he deserves to be starting. Pietrus gives the Warriors defense and aggressiveness- something they need to avoid being down by so many points early in games.

T-Double had 15 points and collected 14 boards. His defense has really picked up the past few games. Aside from one perfectly timed block on Odom late in the game, Foyle had a pretty bad night. 4 rebounds in 27 minutes from your starting center is unnaceptable.

Derek Fisher really likes to shoot. No, I mean he really likes to shoot. He took 15 shots, but at least he went to the line 10 times. Have you noticed that every time he plays the Lakers he tries to be like Kobe (more so than usual)? My theory is that Fish wants to play for Phil and the Lakers real bad and he's trying to put on a show for them.

Before he rolled his ankle, Dunleavy looked like he was headed to another bad game. He's usually a pretty solid free throw shooter, but he missed both of his attempts last night. But for the first time, I think I saw why maybe some clueless Warriors fans think he's so smart. I always thought people believed this because a) his dad is a coach (which is dumb since intelligence is not genetic) and b) he's white (which is dumb because race has nothing to do with intelligence). It's because he has a big head.

His head is 3x the size of Smush's!

Dunleavy rolled his ankle in the first half after landing wrong when trying to collect a rebound. If you've ever played hoops, rolling your ankle is pretty painful. It's usually not a serious injury, but one that lingers and isn't fun. On a side note- is Mike Dunleavy Jim Barnett's love child? After Dunleavy landed wrong, he blamed Mike's ankle roll on Andris Biedrins (aka the Human Foul Film) for being out of position. Huh? Look Andris might be pretty uncoordinated (his free throw stroke makes Ben Wallace's look like Ray Allen's), but how is he responsible for Dunleavy's rolled ankle? Just insane.

Baron: "Get this scrub out of here!"

Hate to say this, but the Warriors are a better team without Dunleavy getting 30+ minutes a night. Even Jessica Alba who sat courtside seemed happy to waive Dunleavy goodbye.

Jessica: "Seeya Mike! My post up moves are more fantastic than yours!"

Tough loss, but good effort. Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?! Let's not get into that.

Warrior Wonder
Aside from jacking up an impossible shot at the end of the 4th when he was triple teamed, Boom Dizzle played like a superstar last night. 29 points, 10 dimes, and 3 steals without JRich is incredible. Baron took it to the hole, set up his teammates, and played pretty good defense. Great game.

Boom Deazy even had time to tickle Devean George behind his knee as he drove past him!

SIMULBLOG SONICS V. KNICKS

Sun, 08 Jan 2006 10:56:07 -0800

Sonics 55 Knicks 53 with 2:50 left in the 2nd Quarter
Sonics are 7of 11 from 3
Nate the great is on fire – 8 straight points for the Knicks
Vlady commits back to back terrible turnovers and then doesn’t grab a rebound and gives the Knicks another two points. He has the jumper going today, but he is making it tough on Coach Hill to keep him on the floor.
Once again the Sonics struggled with Ray off the floor.

Sonics 44 Knikcs 39 with 6:54 left in the 2nd Quarter
Petro gets his 3rd foul – he really is having a tough time today.
On the other hand, Swift is playing very well
Sonics lead by as many as 10
Reminder – Allen and Marbury were traded for each other on draft day
The Knicks have brought in Trevor Ariza to guard Ray Allen who is on fire

Sonics 35 Knicks 25 at the end of 1 Quarter
Great offensive quarter from the Sonics
Swift and Collison are setting very good picks.
Jerome James has quickly reminded me of why he drove us batty. Does I. Thomas actually watch the NBA or have anyone who watches the NBA before he signs players?

Sonics 26 Knicks 21 with 2:33 left in the 1st Quarter
Robert Swift is holding his own in the post.
He hit a really nice 9 foot turnaround jumper. He shot the same shot the other night and in the simulblog I mentioned how nice it looked. It really could be a dynamite move.
Jerome James is in the game to guard Swift.
Sonics are hitting the three’s – 4 in the Q

Sonics 19 Knicks 14 with 5:46 left in the 1st Quarter
Not a lot of stops in the early going. Knicks have scored on 7 of the first 8 possessions and the Sonics have scored on 7 of their first 8.
Eddy Curry is crushing Johan Petro. Curry has beat him deep in the block and they have crushed the Sonics on the high pick n roll
Swift replaces Petro at the 7:00 who committed two fouls.
Sonics are without Danny Fortson and Vitaly Potapenko

Weiss v. Hill
• Effective Field Goal % defense, which weights 3 pts shots, has gone from 30th in the league at 54.2 to 2nd in the league at 45.9 almost a 10% difference.
• Offensive rebounding has disappeared from 32.7 % 3rd in the NBA to 26.4% of offensive rebounds
• Sonics aren’t shooting under Hill, their effective field goal % is 44.3 which would be last in the NBA
• Under Hill Sonics defense has been entirely making the other team miss, they are not rebounding and not forcing turns

Sonics F Fortson suspended one game (AP)

Sat, 10 Dec 2005 19:38:17 -0800

Seattle SuperSonics forward Danny Fortson was suspended for one game by the NBA on Saturday for verbally abusing an official and not leaving the court in a timely manner following an ejection. Fortson was ejected in the fourth quarter of Friday's 106-91 win over Utah. He had to be restrained by teammate Ray Allen, coach Bob Weiss and assistant Jack Sikma after receiving his second technical foul.

Sonics Facing King-Size Task With LeBron in Town

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 14:18:59 -0800

Percy Allen writes in THE SEATTLE TIMES, Ray Allen ultimately chose to remain a Sonic, but he had a fleeting chance last summer to sit next to the throne in Cleveland and rule the NBA alongside the prematurely anointed King James.

SIMULBLOG FOR SONICS V. BOBCATS

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 20:23:48 -0800

Sonics 56 Bobcats 46 at the half
Sonics go on an 8-0 run with 6 of those points coming on the fast break
Sups force 7 turnovers in the 2nd Quarter for a good defensive quarter.
Rashard Lewis has 19 points and looks awesome.
Very good shot distrubution by the Sups in the first half, Lewis 13, Allen 11, Radman 5.

Sonics 48 Bobcats 44 with 3:01 left in the 2nd Quarter
Off the Topic – Nate Robinson started tonight for the Knicks and played 35 minutes.
Nate had 14-3-2.
The Bobcats are great in transition. When they get out they get 2. They are brutal in the half court
Ray Allen’s strength is not dribbling and he is getting the ball too much early in the shot clock and it allows the defense to put all of its focus on Allen and it is resulting in some turnovers.
The Bobcats are shooting 56% they might not be able to do that in a gym by themselves.

Sonics 44 Bobcats 36 with 5:16 left in the 2nd Quarter
Melvin Ely has a really good low post game for the Bobcats
The Sonics offensive ball movement has been very good
Seattle has gone to a zone and it is causing the Bobcats a ton of trouble.
The Bobcats are committing a ton of turnovers and the Sonics are getting out and going.
The Soncis have done a great job of keeping the Bobcats out of transition
Luke Ridnour left with a slightly sprained ankle

Sonics 30 Bobcats 24 at the end of 1 Quarter
Lewis carries the load with 5 of 6 shooting and 11 points
For the most part the Sonics have done a very good job of keeping the game in the half court and the Bobcats can’t score in the halfcourt.
Okeafor has no jump shot. He is amazingly limited for a guy who won rookie of the year.
Ray Allen went to the bench with the Sonics up 4. One of our storylines is how they do with Allen on the bench.

Sonics 18 Bobcats 9 with 5:53 left in the 1st Quarter
Sonics come out on fire. Hitting their first 6 shots.
Nick Collison gets two fouls by the 8:00 mark. That has always been my concern with Collison is whether or not he can avoid foul trouble as a starting power forward.
Petro replaces Collison.
Sonics are working on containment defensively. Trying to avoid the penetration.
Gerald Wallace and Kareem Rush may have a tough time guarding Lewis and Allen.

STORYLINES
1) The Bobcats can't score the Sonics can't defend
2) Sonics turnovers. The bobcats average forcing 20% of opponents possesions as turnovers.
3) Can the Sonics survive without Ray Allen on the floor.

Some numbers that make you saw wow
In the last 5 losses the Sonics have allowed 187 free throws
In the last 6 games opponents have shot 38 of 78 from 3.
In the last 3 games the Sonics have allowed 105 free throws.
The average defensive efficiency in the NBA is 102. If you allow more then 109 you are in a lot of trouble. In all but 3 games the Sonics have had a defensive efficiency that was over 109. That makes it just about impossible to win.

INACTIVES
Sonics inactives: Mikki Moore, Rick Brunson and Danny Fortson.
Bobcats inactives: Sean May