Sonics Burn Atlanta

Oh, man, that's an awful reference, and if it were disparaging to any part of the country other than the Deep South, I probably wouldn't have done it.

But, hey, the Sonics kicked some Hawk butt in what is now my all-time favorite Thursday afternoon victory in Sonic history.

James and Fort both got booted, although, to be honest, James was going to foul out in another 3 minutes anyways, so it was kind of a foregone conclusion. Nice efforts from Collison (double-double), Allen (for rebounding from a lousy first half), Ridnour (nice overall game), and Rashard (10 points in 2nd quarter).

Charlotte's up next. It'll be nice to see Bernie Bickerstaff and Co. Little known fact: Bernie's kid is an assistant for the Bobcats, as is Bob Kloppenburg's son.

Almost forgot; Ibo Kutluay got in for 4 minutes in garbage time - no points, though, so he's still o-for-the season.

Game Night # 27 : Atlanta Hawks

A couple of months ago, it was this same Atlanta team that proved to be the springboard for the Sonics' ascent to the stratosphere. Coming off an embarrassing loss to the the Clippers in the season opener, the Sonics destroyed the Hawks by 21 at Key Arena in game two.

The Hawks have been better of late, but they're still an awful team. Meanwhile, the Sonics have stumbled at the holidays, losing three of their last six after losing only three of their first 20. It remains to be seen if McMillan can find a way to keep his four guards happy, or if Flip Murray will have to be sat in order to preserve the beginning of the season flow.

Good Sign: Antoine Walker still can't find his conscience; he's hitting only 40% of his shots over the last 10 games.
Bad Sign: With the Sonics traveling across the country to play a bizarre Thursday afternoon game, I just don't like the looks of this one.

Notes: The Sonics have forced 50% more turnovers on bad passes than they've committed ... Allen is rated as the 6th-best player in the NBA by the Roland Ratings ... If Allen continues this pace, he'll be the first Sonic since Dale Ellis to average 23 ppg or more for three consecutive seasons. Of course, Ellis saved alot of energy by not playing any defense ... This is the first of five games in eight days on the road for Seattle ... According to the News-Tribune, Murray is going to see his minutes decrease as McMillan looks for ways to right the ship.

Trivia: Who was the last Atlanta Hawk to average 10 assists per game?

Vegas line: Sonics by 9 1/2
Prediction: Sonics 103 - Hawks 91
Record Against the Spread: 10-5

Money Shot

In between games, I thought this may be of interest to Sonic fans; a breakdown of this year's salaries (in millions):

Ray Allen, $14.6
Rashard, $7.8
Potato, $6.1
Fort, $5.9
James, $4.5
Radman, $2.3
Daniels, $2.2
Collison, $1.7
Ridnour, $1.5
Swift, $1.6
Kutluay, $1.6
Evans, $0.9
Murray, $0.7
Wilkins, $0.4
Cleaves, $0.4

What those numbers don't tell you is production. So, listed below is how much the Sonics paid each player for a point in the Tendex rating system (a complicated measure that incorporates almost every aspect of performance). For example, the Sonics currently pay Jerome James $16,140 dollars for each tick on the rating system he produces (note that the Tendex system is on a per game basis, hence the money paid in this chart is as well):

Swift, $97560
Potato, $82650
James, $16140
Fortson, $8560
Allen, $8240
Collison, $5450
Lewis, $4780
Cleaves, $4570
Wilkins, $3050
Radman, $2440
Murray, $2030
Daniels, $2010
Ridnour, $1390
Evans, $1020
Kutluay, incomplete

Obviously, Reggie Evans is the best deal on the Sonics, and, I would guess, one of the best deals in the NBA. I found two items surprising:

1. Rashard is a great bargain
2. Da Fort isn't as great a bargain as we would have thought

Of course, Fortson's lack of minutes is the reason here, and not his production. Still, the Sonics are paying him a full salary, not a "we'll just pay you for the 1st and 3rd quarters" salary, so Fortson must take his share of criticism for his quick fouls.

One last item. The Sonics pay Ibo Kutluay $19,512.20 every game. So far, he's played in one game, lasted two minutes, and contributed a turnover. Since the Sonics have played 26 games, Ibo has received $507,317 so far this season.

Or, put another way, $253,658 per minute.