Sonics crush Nuggets, 108-88

Danny "The Fortress" Fortson puts the clamps on Kenyon.

The Sonics Smackdown Express just keeps on a-rolling:

DENVER -- There was a team that didn't play much defense here last night.

A team that looked out of touch with its coach, resembled little more than a speed bump as its opponent raced to 100 points and was incapable of matching up with a strong breeze beneath the basket.

Sounds like the Sonics a week ago, right?

Not anymore. They have won three in a row after giving the Denver Nuggets the business end of the stick in a 108-88 skewering at the Pepsi Center last night.

Ray Allen scored 30 points, Rashard Lewis had 27, and the Sonics (3-1) led by double figures the final 17 minutes to win their third game in a row by 19 or more.

Read the rest at the Seattle PI

So, is this team for real, or are they just another early-season mirage for desperate Sonics fans like me?

Sonics Spank Spurs, 113-94

"Damn right I got the ball, bitch!"

Wow.

The Sonics cruised by the Spurs 113-94 last night. Yes, this is the same Sonics team that was picked by almost everyone to finish near the bottom of the NBA this season, that had their worst pre-season record in 20 years, and got waxed by the Clippers last week by 30 points.

Yes, those same Sonics shut down the perennial powerhouse Spurs by 19. The Supes looked good on both ends of the floor, shooting near 50 percent for the second game in a row, while holding Tim Duncan to 4-16 from the floor.

Danny Fortson had his best game as a Sonic, getting his first double-double of the year (15 points, 13 boards), and setting some bone-crushing picks on anyone dumb enough to get in his way.

Fortson wasn't the only Sonic on the hustle board. Jerome James got four blocks for the second game in a row, and I swear to god, I saw Ray Allen diving for a loose ball late in the fourth quarter with his team up by twenty.

I know it's early in the season, but... wow.

Sonics win suckfest

"Gimmie that ring, Frodo!"

In a battle of two of the suckiest teams in the NBA, the Sonics stepped up and put the smackdown on Atlanta, 106-85 last night at The Key.

After getting their gills handed to them Wednesday by the Clippers, the Sonics came out last night looking to put the hurt on someone, even if that someone was the lowly Hawks.

Like an abused child who turns into the playground bully, the Supes kicked Atlanta to the ground and stole their lunch money. Despite a slow start (actually, a slow first three quarters), The Sonics played defense like Ye Olden Days, highlighted by a career-best five blocks from Rashard Lewis (Yes, that Rashard Lewis!).

Are the Gods of Basketball© finally listening to Nate's defensive prayers? Will this new found toughness carry on tomorrow against the Spurs? Probably not, but it beats the hell out of losing to The Clippers.

Sonics get Clipped, 114-84

Ouch.

If there's one thing we pride ourselves in here at Supersonicsoul, it's our brutal honesty. And the brutal, honest truth is I stopped watching this game at halftime:

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Bobby Simmons scored a career-high 30 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Seattle SuperSonics 114-84 to win their season opener for the first time in eight years.

The win also was the most lopsided in an opener in franchise history for the Clippers. Their previous most one-sided victory to start a season was a 133-112 win over Milwaukee in 1976, when the Clippers were the Buffalo Braves.

Read the rest at Yahoo!

Not only was it a Clippers record, but it was the worst opening night loss for The Sonics since 1977.

Still, I feel a little bad for turning the game off. I should've been there for the team on opening night. When the team's down to the Clippers by a couple dozen, though, and you just got the Buffy: Season Five box set from the library... I mean, really, which would you rather watch?

(If anyone out there DID actually watch the entire game, please share your thoughts. It's part of the healing process.)

Halftime...

The all-new Sonics "D" held the Clippers to "only" 60 points in the first half. Seattle trails by 19 heading into the second half.

Oh yeah, and Craig Ehlo sucks.

Game One: A Bad Start

8:00 left in the 1st quarter, Sonics down 8-0 already...to the Clippers!

Sonics on TV tonight. Woo.

Say hello to our new (fake) dance team!

The Seattle Supersonics close out their pre-season tonight against the Portland Trailblazers at Key Arena. Because most of the roster is injured, The Sonics will be starting only three players: Damien Wilkens, Mateen Cleaves, and Squatch.

The "game" will be shown on FSN tonight, and I will be watching because I am too stupid not to.

New kids on the block.

There's a new Supersonics fan site in town : Sonics Nation. So go check them out already, will ya?!

Could it get any worse? (Don't answer!)

Couldn't we just bubble-wrap him?

Add another name to the Sonics' mile-long injured list.

Ray Allen sat out last night's 117-91 exhibition loss to the Lakers. At first, it was believed he might be sitting to avoid any more Kobe-Gate incidents, but it turns out he might actually be hurt:

A few around the Lakers wondered if Allen's injury was legitimate, but unfortunately for the Sonics, it likely will keep Allen out of tonight's game in Phoenix, and he may not play again until the regular-season opener Nov. 3.

Allen didn't practice Sunday because of a sore lower back, an injury that has caused him to miss as many as two workouts since the start of training camp.

read the rest at Yahoo!

Sonics' forwards stuck in reverse.

No wonder he can't shoot: He's only got 3 fingers!

Going into the preseason, everyone knew the Sonics had a mammoth, Benoit Benjamin-sized hole in their frontcourt. Now, with Rashard Lewis injured, Vladimir Radmanovic missing shots, and newly acquired Danny Fortson on the "too flabby to play" list, that hole has turned into a... well, something bigger than a hole:

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Nick Collison and Vladimir Radmanovic were picked at the same number in the draft, chosen No. 12 overall by Seattle, albeit two years apart.

They were both born in 1980, and at times share the number on the floor, playing the "four" which is basketball-coach code for the power-forward position.

Collison and Radmanovic shared one more number this weekend in San Antonio: zero. As in oh-fer since neither made a field goal in Seattle's loss to the Spurs, a less-than-encouraging sign for two players figured to be prominent parts of Seattle's frontcourt rotation. Just where they'll fit into that rotation is a question looming beyond tonight's preseason game against the Lakers at the San Diego Arena.

Read the rest in today's Seattle P.I.

Sonics Put Bad Foot Forward?

Sonics' forward Rashard Lewis has a bum wheel, and he could miss half the season. Ouch.

Rashard Lewis has missed three practices and two preseason games in the week since he was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

He was out again yesterday and still doesn't know when he might be able to play again. In fact, no one does, which is precisely what makes it such a difficult situation, said Sonics coach Nate McMillan.

"That's exactly what is hard about it," McMillan said. "What I've experienced with that injury is you don't know how long it will take to get better."

Lewis went through a shooting workout on Monday and said his foot was sore and tender afterward. He was told yesterday by Mike Shimensky, the team's trainer, that he probably won't be ready to play on Saturday against San Antonio, and McMillan said it wouldn't be a problem if Lewis missed the remaining four preseason games.

Plantar fasciitis kept Wally Szczerbiak out the first 3 1/2 months last season as he missed 44 games. The injury bothered Mateen Cleaves for half a season in Sacramento, getting so severe he couldn't walk without limping.

Read the rest in the Seattle P.I.

They are the champions, my friend.

"I'm not sure what it is, but we won it!"

A much belated congrats is due to the Seattle Storm, who did something last week no Seattle team has done since 1979: win a championship.

Meanwhile, our beloved Sonics (You know, the other Seattle basketball team?) lost their third straight pre-season game, 100-84, to the Utah Jazz last night.

Hmmm. I wonder what the NBA/WNBA policy is regarding inter-gender trades? Maybe Jerome James for Betty Lennox?