Curiouser and Curiouser

Two weeks ago, the Sonics demoted Mo Sene to Idaho, with PJ Carlesimo telling us pinheaded Sonic fans that the reasoning was to get a better read on the alleged “skills” of Francisco Elson and Donyell Marshall.

At the time, I went off and wrote a (in retrospect) overly critical piece about how ridiculous it was to deny time to someone who has a possible future with the franchise so that you can evaluate 30+-year-old players who have already clearly established what their skills are, when clearly those skills are speaking Dutch (Elson) and braiding hair (Marshall).

What happened in the meantime? Well, Mo Sene got hurt playing in Idaho, with an injury that will possibly cost him the opportunity to play in the summer league a couple of months for now.

Oh, and Donyell Marshall, the guy Carlesimo said he “needed to evaluate” in the final weeks of the season? Here are his minute totals per game for the past five games:

0, 10, 7, 0, 0

Marshall is suffering from “right knee soreness,” causing him to miss the past couple of games, but is that really a surprise? And what about the games before that, including the double-overtime game when he played all of seven minutes?

But wait, it gets worse. Apparently, when Francisco Elson was dealt from San Antonio to Seattle in the Kurt Thomas trade, he was told that he would not get much playing time, in that the Sonics were looking to develop their own youngsters (this info thieved from Eric Williams at the TNT). And after getting the start over Johan Petro last night (in the Sonics 103-80 loss to Houston; there’s your game re-cap, folks), this is what Elson told Williams, in regard to receiving the starting nod:

“There’s four games left. I don’t understand it. I mean I didn’t expect [to get regular playing time], but why would you want to do it now? It ain’t like we’re going anywhere.”

I’ve been watching the NBA for 25 years now, and that must be the first time I’ve ever read a player complaining about getting a starting spot. How dumb is this coaching staff, when even their own players think they don’t know what they’re doing?

Honestly, I don’t think Carlesimo is trying to tank the season, and I don’t the think the players are giving any less effort than they were earlier in the year. But this whole idea of giving time to people like Elson and Marshall at the expense of Petro and Sene is just baffling.

At this point, I give up. If anyone can shed light on why the Sonics would go down this road, I’m all ears, because I’m just about done trying to figure out PJ Carlesimo and Sam Presti.

"I am a man possessed!"

Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive

—Sir Walter Scott

The Seattle Times is on top of the story, with Jim Brunner explaining how Clay Bennett, Aubrey McClendon, and Tom Ward were excitedly discussing moving the Seattle Sonics to Oklahoma City last April, six months before the October 30 deadline they had given Seattle for coming up with a new arena.

There is plenty to read in the emails (here and here), but I believe everyone would agree the most telling is a missive from Bennett dated April 17, 2007. Bennett was responding to another email from Tom Ward (you remember Ward, the guy who thought the best way to use $1 million was to spend it fighting gay marriage), wherein Ward asked if there was any way possible to relocate the team prior to the 2007 season. Sayeth Bennett:

"I am a man possessed! Will do everything we can. Thanks for hanging with me boys, the game is getting started."

Remember that phrase "do everything we can," because it gets repeated in an email to David Stern, with a slightly different connotation. Bennett's email to Stern came in August, fresh on the heels of the McClendon gaff about the new ownership group always intending to move the team to Oklahoma City. Sayeth Bennett to Stern:

"The deal for me has NEVER changed; we will do all we can in the one year time frame ... to affect the development of a successor venue to KeyArena."

In addition to lying to Seattle, Bennett lied to Stern, telling him that the ownership group had NEVER discussed moving the team to Oklahoma City, when in fact they did just that in the emails from April of that year, four months prior to Bennett telling Stern they never discussed it.

It makes you wonder, if Stern fined McClendon $250,00 for the quote in the Oklahoma City Record, what sort of fine will he impose upon Bennett for his misleading remarks?

But back to the "all we can" remarks. Remember those coaches that told you in high school that giving 100% isn't enough, that you must give 110%? I always wondered how it was physically possible to give more than all you could, it just seemed idiotic to me.

But I stand corrected, because while Clay Bennett was giving "all he could" to keeping the Sonics in Seattle, he was also doing everything he could to move the team to Oklahoma City.

For two years now, we've been searching for a proper nickname for Clay. There's been Clay-Clay, Gay-Clay, Okie, and so on. None have fit properly, but that changed today. From henceforth, only one nickname will fit for Clay Bennett:

Clay "110%" Bennett.

Free Drinks at the Ocean Club

Last night we took a trip down memory lane to revisit the classic Mavs-Sonics series from 1987, back when 120-115 scores were commonplace events in the NBA.

It’s only fitting, then, that we recall the great Sonics-Rockets series which that Mavs series preceeded. After taking the first two games of the series, the Sonics split the next two to make the series 3-2 Seattle, setting up the classic Game 6 finale on a Thursday night in Seattle.

“[Game 6] has to be our best game,” Tom Chambers said after the Sonics lost Game 5 in Houston. ''Because we'd have no chance if we have to come back here for a game seven.”

The subplot for Chambers’ comments was obvious to someone following the series back then, but not to people reading the boxscores now. In addition to the fact the Sonics would be on the road for a game seven, they would also be carrying the baggage provided by Dale Ellis and Kevin Williams, who had mixed it up with off-duty Houston police officers at a local nightclub on a Sunday night following Seattle’s game one win in Texas.

After spending the night in jail, Ellis and Williams returned to the court for game two. Williams was the main cause of the problem (according to bar patrons, he refused to leave his area) but it was Ellis who endured the taunts, including one sign with “Free Drinks at the Ocean Club” written on it. The greatest shooter in Seattle history managed to keep it together enough to continue his torrid outside shooting that had begun in the Dallas series a week earlier (and, yes, I see you raising your hand over there, Ray Allen, but, no, Dale was better) .



With the series on the line, then, game six promised to be a classic, and it was. [Side note: Paul will fondly recall, as I do, that we were let out of band practice early that night so that we could take in the game on television. Back then, teachers had their priorities right.] The magnificent trio of Chambers, Ellis, and Xavier McDaniel put 97 points on the board, but it would take double overtime for the Sonics to overcome Hakeem Olajuwon’s 49 points (!), 25 rebounds (!!), and six blocked shots.

There will be little if any of that excitement tonight, though, and what little excitement to be found will be coming solely from the Rockets, who are in the midst of a dogfight for playoff seeding. Gametime for the matchup is 5:30 Seattle time.

Last Friday, the Sonics dropped a miserable game 79-66 to the Rockets, one of their worst offensive showings in an offensive season. Houston is desperate to gain an edge in the playoff matchups to come, as well as to get their ship a little bit more aligned properly. The line started with the Rockets as 17-point favorites, but that has dropped to 15.

Considering how well the Sonics have played in the past two games, I’d be inclined to take Seattle and the points. But when you factor in this being the second in a back-to-back, well, I think the smart wager is to take the Rockets and give up 15. Final score: Houston 99-Seattle 81.

Durant In the Clutch

Anyone who witnessed Kevin Durant’s fantastic performance against the Nuggets last weekend has to be rejoicing at how the young man came through in an ultimate NBA clutch situation, and not just once, but twice.

That showing is backed up by a recent stat revelation from 82games.com, which, as always, has provided basketball junkies with a treasure trove of statistical goodness. One recent article listed the “clutch” stats of all NBA players, sorted by various categories (clutch being defined by 82games as “4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points”).

Before we get into the details, let me offer an interesting piece of information gleaned from the tables: Kevin Durant has played more “clutch” minutes this season than, among others, Chris Paul, Manu Ginobili, Chauncey Billups, and Carlos Boozer. For a player on a team enduring a season-long slump, that’s a bit surprising, no? Obviously, players on great teams don’t play close games very often, but the flip side of that same coin is players on lousy teams don’t play nail-biters very often, either. It’s not a hugely important statistic, but reassuring for those of us hoping to see KD develop his skills in the ultimate crucible of NBA development – crunch time.

But back to the numbers. The following is a list of the top 10 players in points per 48 minutes of crunch time:

LeBron James
Kobe Bryant
Dirk Nowitzki
Manu Ginobili
Michael Redd
Ben Gordon
Chris Paul
Stephen Jackson
Steve Nash

and

Kevin Durant

You read that right, Kevin Durant is among the 10 best in the NBA at getting his in the final minutes of close games – better than Baron Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Dwyane Wade, or Amare Stoudemire.

As you can no doubt figure out, there are other factors at play here. For one, most great NBA players have someone else who can take the burden off their shoulders, as evidenced by Golden State’s duo of Jackson and Davis (not to mention Monta Ellis, etc, etc). Durant, however, has no supporting cast, and the Sonics’ dearth of 3-point shooters means Durant is often confronted by double teams, regardless of where he sets up on the floor.

A closer look at the numbers reveals some other tidbits as well. For example, Durant’s scores come with an assist 59% of the time, a rather high number, especially when compared to Bryant and James (23%), Redd (30%), or Nowitzki (46%), indicating KD is less capable of finding his own shot than those players. Bear in mind, though, that Durant is still barely out of high school and doesn’t have the strength of those players, nor the respect from the officials that enables him to drive the lane with the confidence of a man who knows he’ll be getting a foul call when contact is made.

This is further evidenced by his relatively low number of shot attempts. Durant’s average of 23 attempts per 48 minutes isn’t even in the top 20, illustrating the Sonics need to: 1) get him some help and 2) get him a point guard who doesn’t think he’s the best option on offense. (On the shot attempt note, here’s an easy bar bet to win – Which five players take the most shots in clutch situations? The first four are easy, LBJ, Kobe, Dirk and D-Wade. The fifth? Jamaal Tinsley. Proving, if nothing else, than while Mr. Tinsley has plenty of other problems, self-esteem is not among them.)

Also interesting to note is Durant’s below-average number of 3-point attempts per 48 minutes, relative to the other players in the top 10, as well as his astounding success rate from long-range (66%!). True, it’s a small sample size, but welcome nonetheless (in fact, Durant’s remarkable accuracy rate from deep is the best in the entire league outside of Milwaukee’s Charlie Bell, who has taken much fewer shots).

Best of all is the young man’s success at the free throw line. There is no greater test of clutch ability than success at the charity stripe in the dying moments of close games (see Tigers, Memphis). Of players who have average 10 or more FTA per 48 minutes in these situations, only seven have a better accuracy rate than Durant, among them the most renowned clutch players in the game (Ginobili, Rip Hamilton, Billups). Vince Carter also checks in ahead of KD’s FT mark, but we’ll ignore that comparison for the time being.

What does it all mean, then? Naturally, extrapolating one small part of one season’s statistics into a career is a foolhardy mission, and I won’t begin to suggest that Kevin Durant is the second coming of Robert Horry, but I believe it’s fair to say that Durant, while mired on a miserable team in a miserable situation, has proven himself capable of succeeding in clutch situation this season.

Will Seattle fans be able to witness the fruit from this tree in the playoffs, the ultimate clutch situation? Too soon to tell, but let’s hope that last Sunday’s coming out party proves to be a portent for many more clutch three-pointers to come for Kevin Durant in a Seattle jersey – ones that are made in May and June.

60 Not so Nifty

60 losses, that's what this season has come to. In more than 40 years of Sonic basketball, no team had cracked that plateau, but the Bennett Boys managed to carry it off thanks to a 99-83 defeat to Dallas in Texas last night.

The Sonics hung tough for a good portion of the game, but a late Dallas run in the fourth quarter keyed the loss. Jeff Green returned to earth after his phenomenal performance against the Nuggets, contributing only 11 points on 13 shots.

On the plus side, Seattle didn't fold as they have in so many games in the second half of the season. The Denver win - coupled with the tough loss to the Mavs - gives me hope that Durant, Green, et al still have some pride, a hope that had all but been extinguished with the dismal showings in the games prior to that. It's a optimistic sign for next season, assuming, well, you know how that sentence ends, right?

So, with the loss, there are four games remaining in the season. Three road games, one home game (this Sunday against Dallas) and the 2007-08 season will be complete. Will it also be the end of the Sonics' tenure in Seattle? Mark Cuban hopes not, but even he admits that the relocation vote will be overwhelming in favor of moving. So it comes down to the court case this June in Seattle, and whether Mayor Nickels will be able to resist the 30 pieces of silver offered to him by Clay Bennett after the decision is rendered.

Stay tuned.

Game Night: Mavericks

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.

Tuesday News

It appears the four horsemen who rode in to save the Sonics may be headed back to the corral, at least if one believes what one reads in Greg Johns' PI article today.

Matt Griffin, speaking for the group, indicated, however, that should the April 10th self-imposed deadline pass, the group will not necessarily give up on helping the team out in the next year, should the city win its lawsuit against the NBA and a funding plan for the missing $75 million come to fruition.

Eric Williams at the TNT chimes in with a note that the city will hold a press conference this morning to discuss the health status of the KeyArena revamp.

Ironically, in another story penned by Johns, we find out that Dave Bean and Fred Brown aren't having any trouble finding money for their project, they're just having trouble finding a spot in which to build it.

UPDATE:
It's now official - the Ballmer group deal has fallen through. See Times story here and TNT story here. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels reiterated that the pending lawsuit against the team will not be rescinded, despite the city's problem in coming up with $75 million for the KeyArena revamp. Jim Brunner at the Times made this insightful comment at the end of his story:

"Nickels was asked several times at the morning news conference whether the city will reconsider letting the Sonics out of the KeyArena lease in exchange for a larger cash payment or the promise of a potential future NBA franchise.

"Nickels repeatedly answered 'We have a court date in June' and refused to elaborate."

Color me pessimistic, but when politicians refuse to answer yes and no questions with a yes or no answer, that usually means that they are positioning themselves to make an unpopular decision. Does this mean that Nickels is getting ready to accept a cash payment from Clay Bennett in exchange for letting the Sonics out of their KeyArena lease? For now, only the mayor knows the answer.

Ewing in the Hall

We all remember the incredible, marvelous season Patrick Ewing spent in Seattle, don't we?

Of course not. But Ewing has become the second former Sonic player to be inducted in the Hall. In addition, two (or three, depending on how one looks at it) former Sonic coaches are also in the Hall of Fame.

It's bizarre, in a way, that a franchise with 40 years of history has such little representation in the Hall. Dennis Johnson was denied this year, but he may get in someday. Gary Payton is a lock, but Shawn and Det and all the other great guys from the 90s, or X or Chambers or Ellis from the 80s, or Gus and Haywood and Downtown and the 70s contributors - none of them will get in.

Sadly, if Clay Bennett manages to yank the team out from Seattle, 100 years from now there won't be much to remember of these 40 years of Sonic basketball, will there?

If you know the other three Sonics HOFers, prove your smarts in the comments section.

Forget the Sonics, Let's Drink!

There are times when even the most loyal Seattle Supersonics fans must resort to unsavory means to drown the pain of such a horrific season. How about drowning it with an ice cold can of Pabst Blue Ribbon?



(Film by Travis Vogt and Kevin Clarke, "acting" by yours truly)

Rockets

The Sonics have played surprisingly well against Houston this season, coming within 7 on the road and within 2 at home. Yes, pointing to how much you lost by as a sign of success is pathetic, but that's this year's Sonics.

Sadly, the Rockets are desperate for a win, and they must be looking at Seattle the way Drew Carey looks at a platter of wings. Tracy McGrady went off for 32 against the Blazers on Thursday, and there's no reason to doubt he'll do the same against the the defenseless Sonics tonight.

Kevin Durant - who aspires to be T-Mac-like - will also be expected to produce 25+ points tonight, but who else will contribute for the green and gold bunch? With the crucial Robert Swift, Mickael Gelabale, and Damien Wilkins all sidelined, how will the Sonics recover the magic that lead them to their stellar start to the season?

Ah, I kid. The Rockets are 9-point favorites, and that's money in the bank if you ask me. Final score? Rockets 105-Sonics 90.

Sene Back to Idaho

Mo Sene is headed for Idaho, so that he can participate in their playoff games.

Before I get too hot and bothered, this was the plan from the outset, that Sene would be summoned to Seattle to play for a few weeks, but that he would head back to Idaho in time for the D-League playoffs.

But, still, the whole situation is ridiculous. Here you have the Sonics, mired in futility, with nothing to lose or play for, and yet Sene can't get any time on the court. In the 13 games he spent in Seattle, Sene got a grand total of 60 minutes of playing time.

60 minutes!

As if that wasn't enough, PJ Carlesimo told Eric Williams of the TNT that the team needed to spend the next few weeks "evaluating big men Francisco Elson and Donyell Marshall."

Now, I've written for this blog for four years now. In that time, I have yet to curse once in any article. To my way of thinking, using swear words in your writing is just illustrating that you have no talent, that you are resorting to cursing because you cannot find the proper adjective to do the work for you.

But evaluating Donyell Marshall? Are you fucking kidding me?

Donyell Marshall has been in the NBA since the first half of the Clinton Administration. He has played almost 25,000 minutes in this league. What in holy hell do you need to evaluate, PJ? Are you that much of an idiot that you can't figure out what Marshall can do after 25,000 minutes, not including the time you saw him as a college coach at Seton Hall?

You know, I'd say the Sonics are working my last nerve, but that nerve packed up and left three months ago. What is happening in this city is a disgrace and the league out to be ashamed of itself. If PJ Carlesimo and Sam Presti were members of Congress, they'd be in front of a Senate Subcommittee right now. If they were on Wall Street, the SEC would be calling them. If they were doing anything other than destroying a sports franchise they'd be fired.

The worst aspect of the whole deal is lack of regard for the fans. I know Carlesimo is not dumb and I know that Presti is not, either. As someone who has spent as much time around basketball as PJ has, he knows full well what Donyell Marshall can and cannot do, what his strengths are, the best way to utilize him, and what he's likely to do next year. And yet, he parrots this inanity about "evaluating" Marshall as a reason for not using Sene.

Look, Sene is not the answer to the Sonics' problems, not by a longshot. But he is a uniquely talented big man, and last time I checked, the Sonics are not exactly overrun with quality centers. To completely ignore the possibility of running him out there this season because you want to evaluate Donyell Marshall and Francisco Elson is patently ridiculous.

I hope you enjoy the money, PJ, because, honestly, this will probably be your last shot as an NBA head coach.

You, Me, and Dupree

The Sonics signed small forward Ronald Dupree to a 10-day contract on Thursday. Parade routes for championship celebration will be announced on Monday. Eddie Gill's 10-day deal was not renewed.

Dupree, an LSU grad, has spent parts of five seasons in the NBA, including this one in Detroit, and will likely fill the gap left by Donyell Marshall's injury and Damien Wilkins absence.

In other words, he'll get paid to sit on the bench and watch the Sonics lose, as opposed to the rest of us, who have to pay for the privilege.