The Sonics will look to make it consecutive wins against teams in desperate need of their own wins with a game tonight against the Mavericks in Dallas. Game time is 5:30 Seattle time.
When I think of the Mavericks and Sonics, I think of, naturally, the classic series from 1987 when Seattle whipped Dallas in four games, including three in a row to close out the series. Everyone remembers three Sonics averaging 20+ points per game (and if you don't know their names, why are you reading this site?), but do you remember the fourth-best scorer in the lineup?
Tonight's game will be interesting, but the oddsmakers are not as impressed with the Sonics' stellar effort against the Nuggets as the rest of us are. The Mavs are an 18 point favorite tonight, and I'm inclined to agree. Even being a Sonic fan, you only have to look at the two games these teams have played to see how badly Seattle has done against Dallas. The first game was a 90-70 shellacking, and the only reason the Sonics came close in the second was because the lopsided first half score and some nice shooting from Wally Szczerbiak.
The Sonics have gone 2-22 in their past 24 road games, and have lost nine consecutive away from home. Obviously, the trend will continue tonight, my guess for the final score: Dallas 119-Seattle 90.
My favorite quote from the NY Times article you linked:
ReplyDelete"A former Mavericks' reserve, Dale Ellis, had 21 points in the game played before a crowd of 8,150 in the University of Washington's Hec Edmundson Pavilion."
8,150! I don't know what capacity is at Hec-Ed, but holy cow! People complain about crowds this year!