Playing for a penny (or two)

Half-man/Half the Offense

Seattle 115, Sacramento 102
Sonics lead series 3-1
Next Game: Tuesday at Sacramento 7:30PM Pac time

Player of the game:
Ray Allen was simply sensational: 45pts, 4 boards, 6 assists, & 4 steals. Regardless of the play, defender on him, or defensive scheme, Allen scored at will. In a segue/interview shot before the game by TNT that was almost an omen of his performance Ray Allen said something to the following extent when describing the deceptive quickness/ease of his shot: It’s like a man trying to catch a fly with his hands; he thinks that he’s got the fly (with his quick hand movement) but the fly escapes. To the fly, the hand is in slow motion. Everything feels like it’s in slow motion when I’m shooting. Again, I’m paraphrasing, but you get the idea.

Breakdown:
-Repetitive, I know, but Allen & James great play in the series has the Sonics on the verge of advancing to the next round. Would the Kings stars play any better had they been in contract years, as Allen and James are? Sounds reasonable to me. And, another thing, how great would it be if corporate America handed out guaranteed multiyear contracts to cubicle gophers? Can you imagine the discrepancy in performance from workers with and without contracts?
-After his heroic game 3, Bibby came back with a suspiciously quiet game 4: 13pts on 4-17. Read and react: the mantra of the playoffs.
-The broken record: Jerome James coming through again with 17pts, 8 boards & 4 blocks. To my eyes his play in games 1 & 4 were slightly more energetic & valuable to the team (being a more offensive, rebounding, and defensive presence) than his play in games 2 & 3. Really though, WTF is that to nitpick over? My apologies Bizarro Jerome. You can be my wing man anytime. (Bulls**t Ray, you can be mine...)
-I am the first to scream the belief that A.D. is the superior option at PG over Rid, but Luke has clearly been the better option in the series. Take a look at these numbers for further info.
-Radmanovic had a terrible defensive performance. Kings’ players were totally taking advantage of him at times. Also, there was one play where Rashard was defending Peja 1-on-1, and could’ve taken a slow moving elbow/clearout to the face for an offensive foul, but didn’t. He saw it coming and moved his face out of the way to avoid injury. I doubt I would’ve taken it, I’m sure many star players wouldn’t have as well, but the Artests, Bowens, & Wallaces of the league sure would have.
-horn-tootin’: I predicted Allen & Lewis would combine for 60pts and Seattle would win 113-108. Final numbers: The duo got 64pts and the score was Seattle 115- Sac 102.

Question of the night:
Let’s try this one more time: What now are our adjusted expectations for the series, heading back to Seattle up 3-1?