Sweep the leg!

Game Five. Sonics vs. Kings. In the words of my favorite Seattle Electro-Robotic Band , "It Is On".

Now, let the smack-talking (and Karate Kid references) begin!

Game 5: Pickin' Time

Is DaFort Da Key? Probably not.

To me predicting game 5 is equivalent to predicting the Sonics playoff chances in its entirety. True contenders take out the pretender Kings in 5. As Barkley says, championship teams stomp on their necks when they have 'em down. Should the Sonics end it in 5, optimism will blow the roof off the joint here at the Soul, and maybe it’s justifiable. That trophy would feel oh so tantalizingly close to our grasp…

I’m sorry to burst this post game 4- bubble of euphoria, truly I am, but I just can’t see it: This team is not there yet. There are the Spurs, Heat, & Pistons at the top, and the Sonics are at a rung somewhere below them (yeah, I know, I doubt I could come up with a wimpier statement!)

Reasons I’m still pessimistic after game 4:
-To beat the dead horse yet again, I believe A.D. is by far a better player/option at point guard over Rid. The fact that Ridnour has been outperforming him leads to one of two conclusions: Ridnour has been playing basketball at a higher level than he did in the regular season or Daniels has been playing at a worse level than his regular season performance. Of those two, and based on watching their playoff performances, I’m going with the latter. Daniels 2nd half performance in game 4 was promising however.
-Lewis has not played to a level that is required of him for this team to truly take it to the next level. C'mon Lew! Don't fight that feeling anymore! Remember? The one where noone could stop you? Please say you remember. (Oh yeah, maybe that whole injury thing is a factor too.)
-The X-factor, Radmanovic, has been playing below average to downright awful. He’s clearly not in full form yet (did you see the errant pass directly thrown at Peja for a 2 points at the end of the Game 4 1st half? I couldn’t even imagine a retarted kid learning how to play basketball doing that.)
-Danny... Daniel Fortson (you come into this house right now mister!! You’re in big trouble!) over the past 3 games: 17 points… in 31 minutes of play… due to FOURTEEN personal fouls. The game-changer refuses to drop his hack-act. Sure, you can blame the officiating, but let’s be honest, it’s THE glaring flaw in his game and he refuses to adjust.
-And Jerome… seriously, I could write a whole book on my feelings about this guy. To summarize, I don’t trust the mirage. Wish I could, but I just can’t do it.

Prediction:
Game 5: Bibby reads and reacts, Jerome settles down, Kings make a valiant last stand, & Sonics provide us with inconsistency yet again. And I get the strangest feeling we're gonna see a mini-fracass with an imploding Fortson in this game as well.
Final Score: Sacramento 104- Seattle 103

Nussbaum Tags in Simmons to Finish Off Nash

Is P-Nussbaum ghost-writing for the Bill Simmons, or what? I'm surprised P-Nussbaum hasn't mentioned this himself, but everyone's favorite Sports Guy has chosen sides in the Steve Nash vs. P-Nussbaum Canadian Steel Cage Match:

After watching last night's Suns-Grizzlies game, I came to the conclusion that this whole "Steve Nash for MVP" thing is the dumbest argument in the history of basketball. How can anyone argue that Amare Stoudemire isn't the most important player on that team? For instance, let's say you replaced Nash in Phoenix with Kirk Hinrich for the entire season. Would the Suns still be a top-five team? Of course they would. Even if you replaced him with Jason Williams or Tony Parker, they're still probably a top-five team – they're just too loaded. But who could possibly fill Stoudemire's shoes on that team? Is there another athletic big man in the league who brings as much to the table? He's an absolute force of nature.

I just don't understand this whole thing. Seriously, I'm flummoxed. And why hasn't anyone written the "If Steve Nash were black, nobody would be mentioning him as an MVP candidate" column yet? If the late Ralph Wiley were still around, he and the Road Dogg would have had three 4,500-word conversations about this topic already. Do you honestly think Steve Nash would be considered a top-three MVP candidate if he looked like Baron Davis? Come on. He's not even the best player on his own team. This is crazy. I wish I could use the pseudonym "William X" on Page 2 and write an entire column about this.
(More Cowbell: April 28, 2005)

The only way it would be more uncannily Nuss-like is if he'd said "Allen Iverson" instead of "Baron Davis."

In the coming weeks, you can count on each member of the Double-S-Soul having his final say on the end-of-season awards, in our first-ever SUPERSONICSOUL-GLOW AWARDS.

The Big Three

Who wears short-shorts? Dale did!

After Ray Allen tied the Sonics’ all-time playoff scoring record with 45 points in last night’s win over Sacramento, several newspapers listed the other top playoff performances in Sonics history. In case you missed it, they were:

#1 May 1, 2005 - Ray Allen - 45
(tie)
#1 April 15, 1976 - Fred Brown - 45
#2 April 28, 1987 - Dale Ellis - 43
#3 May 23, 1987 - Xavier McDaniel - 42
#4 May 14, 1987 - Tom Chambers - 38
#5 April 18, 1979 - Gus Williams - 38

(courtesy of Wayne)

Now, look at numbers two, three, and four: same season, three different players going for 35+ points in a game. Has that ever happened for ANY team EVER? Doubt it. That's why I love the 1987 team more than any other (yes, even more than the 1979 World Champs). The Big Three: Dale Ellis, Xavier McDaniel, and Tom Chambers (who won the All-Star Game MVP that year… in Seattle… as a RESERVE!), along with rookie (!) Nate McMillan and shot-blocker Alton Lister, made up the starting five. The bench consisted of several tough journeymen role players like Clem Johnson, Kevin Johnson, and former all-star Maurice Lucas.

Like this year’s squad, no one thought much of the 1987 Supersonics. They only won 39 games and barely squeaked into the playoffs. After getting blown out by the Mavericks 151-129 in game one, most of the media (including Steve Kelly, I vividly recall) counted the Sonics out. In the next game, however, Dale Ellis scored 43 points to exact sweet revenge against the team that dumped him (sound familiar?) and the Sonics won the next two games to win the best of five series.

The next round was against Houston Rockets and the original Twin Towers: Ralph Sampson (before his knees disintegrated) and Hakeem Olajuwon. This series will be forever remembered for game six, a double OT thriller that the Sonics won despite Olajuwon’s 49 points and 25 rebounds. Tom Chambers scored his 38 somewhere in this series, but all I can remember is Olajuwon going off for 49 and 25 – that’s just filthy.

And X-man’s 42, you ask? That came against the Lakers in one of the most painful losses that I can remember: Game 4, 1987 Western Conference Finals. After upsetting Dallas and Houston in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Sonics were down 3-0 against the Magic/Kareem/Worthy Lakers. All appeared lost going into game four in Seattle, but, once again, the Sonics shocked everyone by sprinting out to a 20 point lead in the first half, punctuated by one of the greatest breakaway dunks of all-time by the X-man to close the half. Yes, the Sonics were surely going to upset the great Lakers and win the rest of the series, just like against Dallas and Houston. Right? RIGHT?!

The Lakers came out in the second half and calmly tore into the Supes like a giant tearing machine, leaving Sonics fans across the northwest feeling like they just got kicked in the nuts.

So will the 2005 playoff run end in joyous celebration (1979) or beer-filled depression (1993, 1994)? It’s too soon to tell, but either way, I’ll be wearing my cup.

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?

It's pickin' time for Game 4!

The folks at ARCO arena have the prescription to Rashard’s fever… More Cowbell!!!".

Before reading any further please read this link.

Alright. It’s funny what a 1st lost game on a road trip may do to expectations. From dreams of a possible Kings sweep & of unleashing the monster that be Jerome James to the rest of the unsuspecting playoff teams to now contemplating a potential 1st round exit…

To start with, I always felt the following:
-Sonics at full strength vs. Kings full strength would result in Seattle advancing in 7 (or 6)
-Sonics weakened (i.e. Lewis & A.D. injured to partially effective) vs. Kings weakened (i.e. 2 of Peja, Miller, B-Jax trio injured to partially effective) would result in Seattle advancing in 7 (or 6)
-Sonics with a gimpy Lewis & A.D. vs. Kings full strength would result in Kings in 7 (or 6)
Updated:
-Sonics full strength w/Bizarro Jerome: 2nd round, taking the Spurs to 6 games (or 7) and with EVERYONE playing at their absolute peak, possibly winning the ‘ship.

That said, the Rashard injury/absence to me is the single most dominating series/playoffs subplot for the Sonics. From the Seattle Times :

Lewis declined to answer questions after the game, but he was asked if he was OK physically and nodded.

It is in the volume speaking absence of words that Rashard showed after that demoralizing game 3 loss that I took the most solace in.

That folks, sounds like someone who feels like he has a gargantuan chip on his shoulder... Someone who has a hunger for nothing short of redemption in game 4… Peja & Co. beware...

Rashard Lewis has a fever, and the only prescription is MORE COWBELL!! And since they’re still in the bell-clanging friendly confines of ARCO arena, in the immortal words of generic baseball broadcasters everywhere: Let’s play two!

Prediction:
Kings yet again perform admirably with the backing of the homecourt crowd, but…
Sonics bounce back with overall inspired play & Lewis comes back in a major way & combines with Ray Allen to score 60+ points min. Result?
Seattle 113 - Sacramento 108

It's pickin' time yet again folks... You make the call, what's the game 4 outcome? The prize: free soup for you!

Oh yeah, and there’s this fun little tidbit:

"And Evans -- you talk about Vlade [Divac] being a flopper? This guy is taking it to a whole new level. He goes down when the air conditioning comes on.
"They're doing their jobs, but I think there's times when they go overboard, and I think the officials should be aware of that."

-Adelman on the atrocious officiating and ridiculous flopping job done by the opposing team in the Sacramento-Seattle series. I’m Crash Davis, letting you, the loyal reader/batter, know that a fastball is coming up straight down the middle… Please, take this present, and hit it out of the park. And please don't go disrespecting my pitcher by lollygagging before running the bases...

Kings refuel at Arco, take Game 3

Bibby taking it to the Sonics

Sacramento 116, Seattle 104
Sonics lead series 2-1
Next Game: Sunday at Sacramento 7:30PM Pac time

Player(s) of the game:
Mike Bibby and the Elbow (see below) Brothers: Kenny Thomas & Brad Miller. Final numbers: Bibby- 31pts, 6rebs, 4asts. Thomas & Miller- 36pts & 10 rebounds. As Simmons would say: And it’s NOW a two to ONE game series. Re-write the state of the union Lewis, it’s a whole new ballgame.
For the Sonics Allen poured in 32, and Jerome James, much to Cuttino Mobley’s ire, had another great performance with 22pts and 9 boards.

Breakdown:
-Pre-game decision: Mike Tirico & (ughhhh) Tom Tolbert or Calabro & Ehlo. Hmmm… Tough call.
-Pre-game decision #2: Fortson going with the ponytail over the pigs.
-As you may all know Sacramento runs this Princeton style offense. Super-duper All Star Chris Weber used to handle the task of hanging out at the elbow of the FT line and decide whether to a) drive, b) dish to guards in motion all over the place (especially off the curl) or to Peja chillin’ at the arc, or d) shoot the open J. Because of his versatility from the 4 spot (especially pre-injury) he was good at this. Well now that he’s gone Thomas & Miller are the primary guys taking this job on. The Sonics dared the big men to shoot the open shot in games 1 & 2 and for the most part this “defense” was effective. Today, in game 3, James & Co. were once again giving the shot to them, only this time Miller & Thomas were making them pay. 1st half? 9-16 for 23 points. Sacramento: 54 points.
-We may never again see the incompetent Jerome we’ve all come to know and love over the season. If, due to this, he gets the Wally Walker 5year multi-million $ blue plate special like McIlvaine & Booth did, please proceed to the Seattle Center with a loudspeaker and try to talk me off the edge of the Space Needle.
-Speaking of oddities, Ridnour now has back-to-back games with 2 blocks. Yikes.
-In the 2nd qtr, during a Sonics run, Ray got several 3-point plays by aggressively taking it to the hole. If he ever added a consistent desire to drive and look for the foul (aka The Fortson Special), it would add a significant addition to his game by allowing him to utilize that gaudy FT% of his.
-Adelman had Jackson & Bibby out on the floor together for extended periods of time. This combo worries me since it leaves either Allen or Ridnour forced to defend a playmaker with a quicker 1st step than them. Of course, this is only a concern if Jackson has his pre-injury speed.
-Rashard, yet again, played passively, going 0-6 in the 1st half, with very few aggressive moves to the rim. He finished with a very quiet 9 points.
-I believe the 3rd qtr went as most pundits predicted the series would: scoring in bunches off of great shooting & smooth offensive execution/questionable defense: Seattle scored 36 & Sacramento 38.
-So let me get this straight, Kings shoot (or are held to, whichever you prefer) 39 & 42% in games 1 & 2 and lose, and in game 3 shoot 50% and win. Really?

Question of the night:
Can the Sonics take the series with Bizarro Jerome taking over Lewis’ production should Lewis fail to assert himself throughout the series and should Jerome continue to play at this ridiculous level?

Bitches Brew

It appears the Kings are now resorting to the tactic typical of a team on the verge of seeing its' season end: Griping.

From Rick Adelman:
"I looked at the tape, and he made three moves where he walked five steps," Adelman said of [Jerome] James. "But when you're playing well, they let it go."

From Cuttino Mobley:
"It takes seven years to get (him) fired up?" Mobley said, questioning James' career scoring average. "Four points (per game), three points? (It's actually 4.9.) I've averaged 18 for my career. Come on, Jerome."

In all seriousness, how great is it to be on the other side? With Adelman's puzzling benching of his starters in game 2, it's inevitable that if things go slightly bad in game 3, the Kings will start biting each other, rather than the Sonics.

Pickin' Time

Well, apparently Vegas is on the Kings' side, as they've got Sac as a 5.5 favorite for Friday's tilt. After removing the egg from my face after a disastrous pick in game 2, I'm going to go with the Sonics to cover in game 3.

Fact is, the Kings look as played out as my Stevie Wonder "Songs in the Key of Life" album. Brad Miller is done for this season, regardless if he plays or not, Peja - healthy or not - is apparently incapable of producing in the playoffs, and all the stupid giveaways in all of Sacto aren't going to help the Kings play interior defense.

I see Ray-Ray continuing his strong run with another solid game, further improved play from Braidzilla, and some desparate "intensity" from Sacramento. Despite all of their tough talk after game 2, the Kings won't stop the Sonic rebounders because, well, they can't. Yeah, the Kings will start out hot, and they may even lead after 1 quarter, but the Sonics will overcome.

Here come da smack: Sonics 101 - Kings 97.

Inside the NBA (and Capeside)

Sorry, I just couldn’t resist

Some topics here at Supersonicsoul are just lightning rods for controversy: Luke vs. A.D., Dreads vs. Headbands, Ray Allen: superstar or soon to be super overpaid, Bizarro Jeromes: fact or mythical being… I’ve said my peace on most of these and I’ll leave it upon the smarter minds here to decide.

Some other thoughts-

-The 2 games on TNT last night went as predicted with Pheonix beating the Grizzlies 108-103 and the Spurs rebounding in a major way, blowing out the underrated, why is nobody giving us our respect, blah-blibbity-blah-blah uber-team Denver Nuggets 104-76. Please remember to get back on the wagon you started on folks, buckle your seatbelts, and await the no smoking sign to be turned off as we exit this small amount of turbulence to clearer skies ahead.

-I had to check on our neighborhood blogger Matt’s health the other day after the Spurs game 1 loss. Seriously, emotional wreck and nervous breakdown are understatements when describing his status. He’s busy on a project deadline, and actually left me a stern, jittery, slightly incoherent voicemail warning me not to call him with results of game 2 because he wasn’t gonna find out the outcome till he went home and watched the TIVO recording and didn't want me to spoil it. Please light a candle for him, he needs help…

-John Thompson during the phoenix game: speaking of defense, “I just love the way that Sonics team plays defense….” Huh?!?

-John Thompson… announcing a Phoenix game, talking about great defense, and referring to the Supes. Is this funny? May I laugh at this? (I absolutely HATE those commercials.)

-Dallas vs. Houston game 3 tonight 6:30 Pac time on TNT: I know you’re all diehard Sonics fans in here, but please do yourself a favor and get involved in this series. It’s the clear AND cream of the 1st round crop.

-Chuck, don’t listen to EJ and Kenny. Spurtability is too a word! My ex used it do describe my bedroom skills. (Gotta give them that O-face! Oh-yeah! You know what I’m talking about!)

-Oohh that Veronica! She's so arrogant, I hate her! What a b***h!

-I’ve been much too preoccupied of late analyzing the backs of my eyelids, but today I actually got up early and caught up with The Creek:

Creek updates:
-Dawson is filming a movie: it’s a rip-off of Saturday Night Fever and he’s shagging the hot lead actress.
-Pacey is sporting a wicked goatee and going out with the token hot girl with an English accent (Shouldn’t the show be giving royalties to Friends by now??)
-Holy crap! Token hot English girl’s name is Emma! Can..., I..., BEEE…, any more unoriginal?
-To give her an edge, they’ve got Joey working as a waitress in some dive bar… and she’s also banging the dark and mysterious bartender with a chip on his shoulder. Cliché’s galore folks.
-Dawson’s mom started doing acid and joined a biker gang… Just kidding. It was crystal meth…
-It’s the Christmas episode and the cast is sporting outfits 58c-64b from pages 24-26 of ye olde J. Crew catalog. How nice. Subliminal promo tie-ins. Please, just shoot me. And also get me that periwinkle blue scarf with the frolicking reindeer knitted in while you’re at it.
-Joey’s dad is apparently done serving his 5-10 for being the drug czar/crime lord of good ol’ Capeside (that premise always KILLED me) and is participating in the yuletide shenanigans.
-Huge shocker here, Dawson’s conscience forces him to drop the smoking hot actress. Young Leary must hold the record for most amount of ‘tang left untouched due to moral obligations.
-Joey’s roommate and Pacey’s ex-girlfriend came home with them; She’s apparently now an alcoholic and pill-popper and just crashed Pacey’s car into a picket fence. The new car was purchased from some illegal funds Pacey’s been obtaining. I’m trying to read between the lines but I’m still not sure if he’s now been turned into a pimp, hitman, or consigliere to some Mafia overlord.

Please note: All of the preceding occurred in just two episodes.

I’m sorry to keep on with this topic, but on a previous post I said that the wheels fell of the show sometime. Well, I was only halfway right. The wheels were actually taken off by West Coast Customz, replaced with deuce-deuce w/ Pirelli tires, they turbo-supercharged the engine, gave it a whole new cherry red paint job (with flames)… and Mad Mike threw on like fifteen 30” HDTV screens on that mutha… and a cappuccino maker.

Dawson’s Creek: Congratulations… you’ve officially been pimped.

And now back to our regular NBA/Supersonic schedule.

Sonics Fashion Corner: Slick & Twisted

They still haven't retired your jersey, Slick, and now this?!

[Somewhat off-topic but fairly time-sensitive, methinks...]

Thanks to a team policy, the world has been blessed with a swarthier, decidedly less-sexy Yugoslavian version of Bo Derek in "10":

(Radmanovic) used to wear a headband when his hair got long, but McMillan implemented a no-headband rule last year, saying yesterday: "I didn't like all the retro stuff that goes on. You play basketball. Style is for the sidelines."
That's what led to Radmanovic's first hairdo in Game 1, a homemade version designed and braided by his sister.
(Seattle P-I, 04/28)

I guess this is "one of Nate's million rules" that Danny Fortson mentioned a while back.

Nate has had well-nigh Papal Infallibility in my book all year, but I gotta draw the line here for a couple reasons:

1. What do you mean you don't like all the retro stuff that goes on, Nate? Up until the beginning of this season when you went to the Taye Diggs, your box cut was retro to 1987! You still wear your shirt tucked into your sweats! You wear booty shorts! You are as retro as they come, Coach!
2. Slick Watts, one of the greatest Sonics ever, was the man who popularized the headband! The headband is possibly the most enduring contribution to The Sport of Basketball to emerge from this franchise (c'mon, name another?), and you're telling me no one on Slick's old team can wear one? Christian-Frickin'-Laettner can rock the headband, but not, say, Flip Murray or Reggie Evans?

Hey, if the braids are working for Vlade, then more power to him. Hope he hits 10 treys on Friday and signs an endorsement deal with Avon. But any policy that inflicts us with pony tails on grown men and Venus Williams* braids on a white dude has got to go. Please. Give us headbands!

--chunkstyle23
Supersonicsoul.com Fashion Correspondent

*goodlookinout to my little bro for that one

Crazy Times

As someone who grew up in Seattle during the 80s, I am well aware of what it was like to be a Mariner fan when no one else was. M's games on September Sundays were routinely bumped from KIRO for the Seahawks, and the city had as much interest in the team as a Baptist minister does in a David Lynch film.

Well, times have changed. Believe it or not, FSN has decided that Game 3 of Sonics-Kings ranks below a meaningless April game between the A's and Mariners. That's right, the Sonics will be on KONG while the M's play out their crucial match with Oakland on FSN. With only 120 games left in the season, this could be the one that makes all the difference, right?

Keeping in mind that I was a member of the Pepsi Junior Mariners, understand me when I say that I am sick of the Mariners and wish that Safeco Field would fall into the earth, with Chuck Armstrong, Pat Gillick, and all those stupid fans inside of it. Bring me the days of 13,000 announced attendance, of Ed VandeBerg, of the Non-Alchol (sic) Section, of the Kingdome.

I return you now to your regularly scheduled Sonic talk.