James Juiced?

Did Big Game get Crunked?

According to the Seattle P.I., the mind-boggling play of Jerome James in the playoffs may be due to a new "energy drink".

Apparently, Big Game James used to drink coffee before games, but it upset his delicate constitution, so he switched to an unnamed caffeinated beverage before game one of the playoffs. The results, of course, were stunning: 17 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks in game one; 19 points and 9 rebounds in game two.

So, what kind of magical elixer could produce such results? Here are some likely suspects (courtesy of this month's Wired):

Lil Jon's Crunk!!!
Wired: Blend of ashwagandha, horny goat weed, and caffeine really delivers. Fresh pomegranate flavor.
Tired: Get ready for a sleepless night; no wonder Lil Jon always seems so amped. WHAT!?! OK!!! YEA-YA!!!
$2, www.crunkenergydrink.com

Ice-T's Liquid Ice
Wired: Pleasantly long-lasting pick-me-up. Super sweet. Lightly carbonated. Goes well with vodka.
Tired: Tastes like a melted Otter Pop. Bright blue color not keeping it real (unless you're a Crip, of course).
$2, www.liquidiceenergydrink.com

Nelly's PimpJuice
Wired: Noncarbonated. Mellow tropical flavor. No aftertaste. Contains 10 percent actual fruit juice!
Tired: Not much pep. Packs 140 calories (20 more than Crunk!!! and 10 more than Liquid Ice).
$2, www.letitloose.com

Russell Simmons' DefCon3
Wired: Each can is filled with 10 ounces of liquid upper, versus the other brands' trifling 8. Only 45 calories per serving.
Tired: Mediciney aftertaste. Too fizzy. Yielded only a mild rush.
$2, www.defcon3.com

I don't know about you, but if a drink can make a modern day Moses out of a poor man's Benoit Benjamin, I wants me some.

Sonics whack Sac, take 2-0 lead

Not the 1-2 punch I was expecting…

Seattle 105, Sacramento 93
Sonics lead series 2-0
Next Game: Friday at Sacramento 7:30PM Pac time

Player of the game:
Let's give props to both Allen & James. Allen had 26 pts, and several shots at the end to seal the deal and Jerome.... well, I really don't know what more to say about him right now. For the 2nd straight game Bizarro Jerome showed up with these silly stats: 19pts (on 9-11 shooting) and 9 boards. His average over the two games is now 18pts, 12 boards, & 3 blocks. It was rightly mentioned by chunkstyle that foul troubles have often been the bane of his game, and for the first two games he's held himself in check on the hacking...

By the way: The TV crews at both TNT & Foxsports have been beating this news bit of Jerome James being cut by the Kings, given his clothes in a plastic bag, and coach Adelman advising him to think of a career change to death. It is an interesting tidbit, but I'm hoping they come up with something new come game 3.

Reasons to feel good:
1) There were contributions to be seen from all the guys that played minutes tonight. Aside from Reggie, who contributed with 8 boards, and Wilkins (who got in for only 1 minute) every player scored at least 8 points.

Reasons to be cautious:
1) The Kings scoring trio of Bibby, Stojakovic, and Mobley combined to shoot 14/37 for 34 points and were not even involved in the late 4th quarter Kings run. I don't know if others will see this as a good or bad thing (maybe it's neither) but the Kings stars/go to guys have not really played well as of yet in these two games. Can we really expect this to continue? From my seat, I didn't see stellar defense being the cause of this.

Fun stat of the night:
Luke Ridnour had an efficient floor general performance with 6 assists and 0 turnovers.... and 2 blocks! If you can recall seeing those blocks in the game please let me know cause those totally passed me by.

Other notes on the night:
-After game 1 Rick Adelman decided to attempt to take Lewis on the post out of the equation early, with repeated aggresive double teams that forced the ball out of Lew's hand. For the few situations where Lewis had Peja 1 on 1, he resorted to the jab step-fall back J instead of driving or backing him further in for an easy shot. This crap may be O.K. vs. the Kings but it just won't do come round 2. Lewis needs to be a little more aggresive in the post.
-Mike Dunleavy on Jerome James: "you can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him." Discuss amongst yourselves.
-During halftime Kenny "the Jet" Smith stole my material!! On Vlad's contribution to the team he mentioned the Sonics record pre & post Radman injury. Heeeyahhh!!! Now gimme some candeee!
-The officiating was horrible for the Nets vs Heat game, with a majority of the close/questionable calls going the Heat way. I hate seeing that crap happen.

I'm dying to throw some new predictions, questions on the series outcome here, but some superstitious folk may consider that bad luck... For those brave readers who don't carry around crosses and cloves of garlic, what are your thoughts? Are the Kings done? Can the Sonics s...., sw.., swe.., well you know what I'm getting at.

Supersonicsoul at SPORT!

Chunkstyle and myself will be catching the game at SPORT! tonight. Stop on by and say hi - I'll be the one slumped over on the bar wearing a Wheedle costume.

Take your pick

Vegas has the Kings at +3 for tonight's game, and yours truly thinks that that's the smart money for this here contest. Seattle had a chance to put the hammer down in game 1, didn't, nearly let the Kings come all the way back, then eked out a win. Add in Bibby's unbelievably bad game, the annual "Road Team Recovers in Game 2" that always seems to happen, and I like the Kings in this game.

My pick? Kings 102 - Sonics 95.

Now, as they say on talk radio, let's hear what our audience has to say!

Closer Look

Inevitably, the daggers will be drawn if the Sonics' performance in Game 2 matches their performance in the 2nd half of Game 1. After all, if Seattle drops a home game to the Kings, Sac takes home-court and stands to be the favorite in the series, right?

Well, that's what the experts will tell you, but they'd be wrong. They may even trot out this figure: 22-8. That's what teams that won Game 2 are in the past 2 seasons as far as winners and losers of series go (that is to say, of the 30 teams that won game 2, 22 of them won the series).

Interestingly, though, that standard doesn't hold for road teams that win game 2. In the past 4 seasons, road winners in game 2 won a meager 5 of 15 series. That's a small sample size, admittedly, but it should give Sonic fans a chance to breath easier if Seattle plays poorly in Game 2.

Of course, if Jerome James continues to impersonate Dikembe Mutumbo circa 1994, we'll have no reason to worry for the rest of the playoffs.

Savvy

I'll make this brief.

Game 1, Spurs lose to Nuggets.

Brent Barry: 2 turnovers, 0 points.

Ah, veteran savvy, you can't beat it.

Sonics win by a hair, 87-82

I passed out in the fourth - did we win?!

SEATTLE (AP) -- Ray Allen scored 28 points and Seattle center Jerome James added 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, leading the SuperSonics to a 87-82 win over the Sacramento Kings in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Saturday night.

The Sonics blew a 21-point second-half lead but held on with big baskets in the closing seconds by Allen and James.

Read the rest at Yahoo!

Game One: Bring it, Fools!

The second half just started, and the Sonics are spanking the Kings 63-42. Big Game James showed up tonight (13pts, 12 boards, 5 blocks so far), and he's feasting on Sac's soft, creamy middle. Also, Radman has a new hair-do. Discuss.

Why the Sonics Will Win

"Gasp! Chocolate! Ooh, half price!"

Since no one else on the supersonicsoulsquad had the guts to go head-to-head against the P-Bomb, it basically fell on me to take the opposing view in this two-parter. Me, chunkstyle, the supersonicsoul Fashion Correspondent/Production Artist. Talk about lambs to the slaughter.

Luckily for me, Mr. Nussbaum did me the favor of going first with his “Why the Sonics Will Lose” troll. This had the predictable result of fomenting the customary wave of dissension and controversy from people way more informed than I. Which gave me a nice foundation of commentary to build my half-baked notions on.

Like Paul mentioned in his Sportsbloggerlive.com interview, I too base a lot of my opinions not so much on stats as on gut and emotion. And is that so wrong? If you want cold-blooded, objective sports analysis, go somewheres else. This site is called SUPERSONICsoul.com, dammit, not HEYLETSCHECKTHEFACTSBEFOREWEMAKEUPOURMINDS.com. Yes, we’re Homers. Ain’t no shame in our game. Why the hell else would we do this?

I did make a few feeble attempts to back up my “Why the Sonics Will Win” arguments with some token stats. And came up empty. Much like my colleague Booth52’s recent failed thought exercise, the numbers didn’t support my theories either.

I was going to contend that since the Sonics already play a very efficient, low-possession style (totally biting David Locke here) built around their excellent 3-point shooting, offensive rebounding and low turnover rate, surely that style would serve them well in the playoffs. Throw in the Sonics superior defense and bench strength and it’s a clean sweep, right?

Turns out, most of those categories were a wash. Sure, the Supes have the edge in rebounding and turnover differential:

DIFF CATEGORY	SEA	SAC
Rebounding	+3.02	-1.9
Turnover	+0.34	-1.59

Big whoop. Though the Sonics rank only behind #1 team Detroit in rebound diff, the #3 team is Cleveland. Who led the league in turnover differential? The Los Angeles Lakers. So much for leading economic indicators.

Even what I considered the Sonics’ other advantages also happened to be areas in which the Kings are almost equal or better. Three point shooting? Dead heat. Opponent field goal percentage? Same. Bench production? Their bench contributed 42% of the points. Ours? 39%. No matter how hard I tried to get the stats to prove that the Sonics would undoubtedly prevail, all I could get out of them was a resounding “Eh, it could happen.”

So I got nothing. No proof, no statistical mumbo-jumbo to back me up. But something's going to prove to be the edge in this series. Hell, it'll probably end up being those time-honored and beaten-to-death Sports Cliches. Intangibles! Experience! Clutch...ness! And let's not forget the dreaded Who Wants It More! You can't tell me a supposed expert with a pile of stats is any more prescient than the Sports Cliches.

Here's what I'll do then. I'm just gonna go ahead and say what I think (hope) will happen, at the risk of being mocked later for how far off I was when the Sonics lose. Mm-kay? Greeaat...

Game 1 @ SEA: Kings 1-0.

The Kings make all the pundits look like geniuses by taking game 1 on the Sonics’ home court. The Sonics will fall behind, scrap enough to make you think they can come back, but ultimately fall short.

Game 2 @ SEA: Sonics 1-1

The Supes redeem themselves and even the series.

Game 3 @ SAC: Kings 2-1

In a raucous Arco Arena, the Kings dismantle the Sonics. Out of disgust, I turn off the TV in the 3rd quarter. Vlad-Rad returns, but goes something like 0-11 from the field. Here come the I-told-you-sos.

Game 4 @ SAC: Sonics 2-2

What’s this? Vlade and the Sonics catch fire.

Game 5 @ SEA: Sonics 3-2

In a triumphant return reminiscent of Game 6 of the 1993 Western Conference Finals vs. Phoenix, the Sonics blow the Kings out. No! Not In Our House!

Game 6 @ SAC: Sonics 4-2

The Maloof Brothers watch in disgust as the Sonics do their Sister Sledge huddle thing on the Kings logo. Arco empties quietly.

Sonics win in 6. Somewhere in the distance, I can hear Marge Simpson shaking her head, muttering.

Holy Crap! The Playoffs are here!

Quick, call Vegas! The Pope has laid out his playoff picks!

For those of you who were out visiting another planet this week, there was some rather big news occurring on earth. Yup, that’s right, the Western Playoff Seeds were set! Here they are:

Contenders, toe the line:
1) Phoenix Suns vs. 8) Memphis Grizzlies
2) San Antonio Spurs vs. 7) Denver Nuggets
3) Seattle Supersonics vs. 6) Sacramento Kings
4) Dallas Mavericks vs. 5) Houston Rockets

As promised, we got THE exclusive interview with the highest authority possible: The newly elected Pope Benedict XVI.

For those questioning the validity of this interview: trust me, it’s legit. I met Joseph (Jo, I called him then) Ratzinger on a train while traveling Europe in the summer of 95. The train stopped at Vienna, where I was to switch to another one, but Jo came to me with a unique proposition: get off with him in Vienna to spend the remainder of the night continuing our talks. I agreed. It was magical… At the end of it, we parted ways and lost contact… that is until I caught him on TV becoming the most powerful being on the planet. Through some hard work, I was finally able to get into contact with him and he accepted my proposition for an interview. Anyways, here’s the transcript:

-Booth52: First off, congratulations on the whole pope thing. Must have been a big day for you.
-Pope Benedict XVI: Yes, thank you. I feel truly blessed to be given this responsibility to lead the people of the world to the light of God. In fact, I have been given the message to direct the church in a radical new path, which includes… (The remainder of this particular dialogue has been edited due to article length restraints. We now fast forward to the more interesting portion of the interview.)
-Booth52: Alright Pope, down to business. Many folks don’t know this, but you are a HUGE NBA fan. Care to drop some insight on the playoffs?
-Pope Benedict XVI: (chuckling) Yes, you are right. In fact, most of the Cardinals are. The reason the voting actually took so long was because we had the games showing in the room. Once the playoff seeds were set, Cardinal Arinze set up the church pool for the playoffs and we got back to the whole voting thing. It’s unfortunate about Arinze’s gambling problem; I think it’s what cost him the vote… Anyways, the questions: proceed, my son.
-Booth52: Let’s focus on the Western Conference: In the 1. vs. 8. match up, we have the Suns vs. the Grizzlies. Your thoughts?
-Pope Benedict XVI: Yes, of all the matchups in the west, this is the one I find least intriguing. I just don’t see Memphis offering any competition for Pheonix. They come into the playoffs losing 5 out of 6, and having no true go-to player on their team. Gasol? He’s untested. I see a monster series from Stoudamire and an easy Suns victory in the series.
Pope’s Verdict: Phoenix advances 4-0
-Booth52: Can’t argue with you there Pope. Now 2 vs. 7: San Antonio vs. Denver.
-Pope Benedict XVI: Ahh yes. There always seems to be one of these matches with a top seeded team facing the surging at the right moment team. On paper, this looks like the match up with the most potential for an upset and I see many pundits foreseeing a competitive series. Alas, God doesn’t show his divine plans to the weak and the foolish. When the Nuggets are on, they get a lot of points off of drives into the lane, wide open dunks & alley oops by K-Mart, Camby, & Co. That type of stuff is just not going to happen vs. San Antonio. They’re way too sound defensively. San Antonio should take this in 5. That is unless Duncan is hurt, but my sources tell me he is going to be fine.
Pope’s Verdict: San Antonio advances 4-1
-Booth52: Alright, let’s switch off here and go to the 4-5 matchup: Dallas vs. Houston.
-Pope Benedict XVI: Yes, now this is an interesting match-up. While Phoenix & San Antonio are rightfully deserving of their elite status, I believe these two teams should be considered as the second tier of teams in the race, being clearly superior to Seattle, Sacramento, Denver, and Memphis. They both have legitimate superstars that will demand the ball down the stretch in Mcgrady and Nowitski. It'll be a close series and if the NBA ends up showing all four Miami-New Jersey blowout games over this series, may the Lord have mercy on their souls. I’m not too sure who’s gonna take this ser… wait, what’s that? (looking up) Oh. Houston in 7.
God’s Verdict: Houston advances 4-3
-Booth52: Wow! Really? The 4-3 upset huh? O.K., time for the series that matters: Seattle vs. Sacramento.
-Pope Benedict XVI: I’m sorry to bring you bad tidings, but your Sonics shall not prevail over the Kings. Bibby’s sick tattoo will be rewarded by the Lord with repeated one-on-one defense from Luke Ridnour, and he will average 25-5-8 for the series. His prayers for a miraculous healing of Stojakovic, Miller, & Jackson have also been answered, and they too will perform well. The series will go the distance, but the Kings will prevail.
Pope’s Verdict: Sacramento advances 4-3
-Booth52: WTF! You gotta be kidding me! You can’t say that on this site! I don’t know if you’ve been truly paying attention, but the Sonics, while not an elite team, are good and certainly capable enough of disposing of the Kings. Lewis seems recovered from his injury, and I expect he & Allen to average 55pts between the two of them, with Lewis scoring some key buckets in the 4th quarters of several games. Along with solid supporting performances by A.D., Collision, Ridnour, and Fortson/Evans, I see the Sonics taking the series in 7.
-Pope Benedict XVI: I find your lack of faith disturbing my son. I’ll pray for your soul.

Well, there you have it folks. NBA picks from the Holy one himself. Now go call your bookies and cash in on the scoop.

Why the Kings will win

"Let's get ready to... uh... line?"

Somebody find Michael Buffer, because I’m ready to rumble. The Kings and Sonics are ready to go, and I can’t wait.

One problem: the Sonics are going to lose.

I know, Brad Miller’s ready to guest star on ER he’s been so banged up this year. And Bobby Jackson’s recalcitrance about playing hurt leaves many in Sacramento wondering if he should even bother coming off the IR. And their best shooter’s groin is strained, putting his status in doubt for the playoffs.

Forget about it. This Sonics team isn’t ready for the playoffs. They aren’t ready for the night-after-night sprints, not when Rashard Lewis is wondering if he can handle the 7-games-in-2 weeks strain, not when Ray Allen is begging his coach to let him rest up. Not when Radmanovic’s health status is as unknown as the late Pope’s was.

In Dreaming War, Gore Vidal’s book of essays on America, Bush & Co., and September 11th, Vidal touts something he labels as “Received Opinion.” ROs, as he calls them, believe only what they are fed; by the media, by their friends, by their family. In the ROs world, 9/11 happened because of angry Muslims, Pearl Harbor because of angry Japanese, and so on.

Well, ROs will tell you the Sonics will win because “they spread the floor,” because “they’ve got the Kings’ number,” and any number of silly reasons. Here are the facts:

· The Sonics are 13-13 since March 1st. The Kings are 13-10. If anyone can see an edge there, feel free to let me know.
· Ray Allen led the Sonics in scoring in every game of April. The Kings had 5 different guys lead them in scoring in that time. Depth isn’t important when you’ve got MJ, Shaq, or Iverson, but sure as hell is when your best player’s advanced beyond the first round exactly one time in his career.
· What happens when the Sonics go down 1-2? Is Allen going to be focused on sacrificing his points for better team play, or is he going to be focused on how his play is going to affect his next contract?
· Greg Ostertag has seen the light. After a talking to from a Kings’ assistant late in the season, Ostertag shook off the rust, dropped 15 pounds, and grabbed 8 boards in consecutive games, including a 4-block performance against the Jazz. A healthy Ostertag is a huge presence that will limit the Sonics’ ability to grab offensive boards.
· Kenny Thomas is playing better than any of the Sonics’ PFs. He’s averaged 15 points with 9 boards since the all-star break and at 76% from the line, he’ll make the Sonics pay there, too.
· Bobby Jackson is clearly healthy. Anyone who watched him go off against the Suns last night can tell he’s back to his energetic self. With Radman out and Daniels gimpy, the Sonics don’t have anyone to match his presence off the bench.

Tomorrow, Chunkstyle will tell you the Sonics will find a way. I say no way.

Kings in 6.

Hear me Rock the Mic (again)

See that flashing light on the phone? That's ME!

Yes, the Supersonicsoul publicity wagon just keeps on a-rolling! Last week, we were featured on KPUG Sports Radio in Bellingham, and today I was interviewed on Sportbloggers Live on AOL. Unlike last week, however, you can actually listen to this show on the web, so head over there and download an MP3 of the Podcast. No, I don't know what a "Podcast" is.