Mixed feelings

Spree thinking about his starving family, and Wally thinking about more bench time


Seattle 109, Minnesota 94

Some quick thoughts:

- Ray poured in 34pts and 10 boards, Rashard had 28, and Ridnour had 10pts and 11 assists with no turnovers. The two teams combined for just 19 turnovers and hovered at 50% FG shooting, implying to me that either both teams were playing extremely efficient offensively and/or, true to the common perception of the teams, they really were unimpressive defensively.

- I feel for Kevin Garnett. Read what Matt at San Antonio Spurs Blog had to say about his whole situation. That goes ditto for me. KG is simply one of those players, like A.I, that I genuinely root for and enjoy watching regardless of what team he’s on. Probably shouldn’t say this on this blog, but I was actually hoping that the Wolves would pull off the miracle and grab the 8th seed from Memphis (meaning I was also partially rooting for them to beat the Sonics today,) if simply to give KG something to reflect positively on.

- In further regards to Garnett, I always felt bad for him when Charles Barkley (whom I absolutely love watching/listening to and who is deserving of his own column by me at some point.) and the rest of the TNT crew would get on him for not being a true superstar because he couldn’t get the T-wolves past the 1st round of the playoffs for all those years. I was glad when they finally gave him his due credit last year, and found him absolutely blameless in the Wolves excruciating loss to the Lakers in the Western finals last year.

- A great Division Championship soundbite from Jerome James here. He must’ve missed that Crash Davis interview course.

"It's like a high, a rush. I can understand why MJ [Michael Jordan] and [Scottie] Pippen worked so hard after they won their first one," said Jerome James, who was flanked by sons Mason, 2, and Dallas, 4. "This is so sweet. You wait all of your life as a professional athlete to accomplish something like this.
"It's what all the sweat and tears, all of the hard work, the pain pills, surgeries and ice and film and all of that crap and fussing and cussing and fighting and pulling and everything combined — it's worth it all today. To see my teammates and to be in this room of brothers and to enjoy each other on this level. The camaraderie, the love, the passion. It's like church.

Just guessing, but I don’t think Jerome James attends Catholic mass. Maybe his church doles out 40’s with communion or something cause it sounds like a party up in that motha.


- Vlad watch day 151:
Vladimir Radmanovic, who is on the injured list because of a stress fracture in his lower right leg, walked on a treadmill wearing a weight-bearing vest yesterday in Seattle. McMillan said there's a 50 percent chance of him returning for the start of the playoffs.