Notes From (Another) Loss

Notes from last night’s game – the 11th (!) consecutive loss for your Seattle SuperSonics.

1. Houston outscored Seattle 24-16 in the 3rd quarter. Not that that’s unusual; during the Sonics’ 11-game skid, they have been outscored in 3rd nine times, by a cumulative score of 295-242. The two exceptions were the other night’s game against Dallas (where the Mavs lead by 400 points at halftime and were obviously on cruise control), and the first game of the streak when the Sixers let the Sonics sort of get back in the game. The Sonics won that third in convincing fashion, 28-27. I believe that third quarter will be available on the 2nd disc of this season's DVD. I'm especially looking forward to the bonus features, where Mickael Gelabale gives the french language version, Wally Szczerbiak provides hair grooming tips, and Mo Sene fills us in on the Senegalese cuisine available in the NBA D-League.

2. Nick Collison now ranks 5th in the league in rebounds per 48 minutes in January (18.5), trailing Joel Pryzbilla, Erick Dampier, Marcus Camby, and DeSagna Diop. And, yes, you could have gotten 1,000:1 odds that that would come true had you walked into Bally’s last October.

3. Luke Ridnour is now averaging 11.9 assists per 48 on the road and 7.9 per 48 at home. Do you think Earl Watson calls Luke's hotel room and hangs up at 4 am the day of the game? Me, too.

4. Wally S. averages 13 ppg in Sonic wins and 13.2 ppg in Sonic losses, and also shoots almost the exact same percentage from the field, the only Sonic registering sizable minutes to do that. I believe that’s called “getting yours” in the vernacular, yes?

5. With yesterday’s loss, the Sonics have equaled Dennis Kucinich’s win total for 2007. At this point, I’m not sure who I expect to get one sooner.