Game Night: Rock Steady

Is anyone else's all-time favorite Sonic memory the incredible run they made back in the spring of 1987, knocking off the Mavs and the Rockets before falling to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals? I vividly recall racing home after baseball practice to watch Seattle take on Sampson, Olajuwon & Co. For crying out loud, a double OT deciding game, Bernie Bickerstaff getting named coach of the year, Dale Ellis is most improved ... man, the good times were gonna roll for us weren't they?

Well, it didn't quite happen as expected. Ellis, X, and Chambers couldn't maintain the glory they achieved that year, and it took almost ten years before Seattle rose to that sort of level again.

With my rambling done, let's look at tonight's game. In their only meeting this season, Seattle knocked off Houston 87-85 thanks in part to 10 more FTAs, a 50-37 rebounding edge, and in spite of hitting only 4 of 25 3 pointers. Yao took the Sonics to school, scoring 30 points before fouling out - a big reason why Seattle outscored Houston 26-19 in the 4th quarter.

Some writers will lead you to believe the loss to the Sonics was the switch that turned off the Rockets' red glare. After all, before their loss to Seattle, Houston had won 8 straight. Following that game, they went on a slide the featuring 3 straight losses.

I think the real culprit is Bobby Sura's back, though. After putting up Oscar Roberston-like numbers (or at least Fat Lever-like) for a couple of months, Sura's back has caused him to miss the last 6 games, during which time Houston's gone 2-4. A coincidence? I think not.

Since it looks like Sura won't play tonight, I think the smart money is on the Sonics. Hey, if they can knock off the Pistons at home, they shouldn't have any trouble with the Rockets.

Spread: Sonics by 4
Prediction: Seattle 96 - Rockets 87
Record against the spread: 15-11

Reggie the Rebounder

Seriously, can we get working on a nickname for Reggie Evans? According to this article from espn's John Hollinger, the guy's having an historical rebounding season, among the rarified air of Dennis Rodman. It's a good article, written by a guy who's knowledge of basketball stats is Rainman-esque.

I think I heard Calabro call him "The Collector," but while that's a wonderful name, it conjures up - at least to me - an image of the fat comic book store guy on The Simpsons. How about "The Recoverer?"

SLAM Cover Boy: Ray Allen

Cribbed from Slamonline.com

This month's SLAM magazine features none other than Seattle's own Ray Allen on the cover (West Coast, anyway). For someone who sports zero tattoos, Ray gets a decent write-up from a mag that panders a bit much to the white kids who like the gangsta rap 'cuz it frightens their parents. (I love to read the letters to the editor, where suburban kids hilariously try out their flimsy grasp of Ebonics.) (Despite all that, I've been a fan since Issue #1 with Larry Johnson and only missed a coupla issues during the strike year, but I digress.)

Bonus Seattle Content! On page 39 there's a shot of Kevin Calabro droppin' knowledge as a part of their rave about NBA League Pass. Excerpt:

League Pass is all about tuning in to Sonics games to hear Kevin Calabro, probably the best play-by-play announcer in the League not on national TV. His smooth, laid-back delivery and constant command of the action is one of League Pass' greatest pleasures.

Slam hasn't given Seattle this much love since Shawn Kemp rocked the high top fade. This almost makes up for the ugly-ass Gary Payton cover they ran a few years back, where he looks like a velociraptor.

For some reason, I got mailed the East Coast version with Dwyane "Dwayne" Wade. Last I checked, Renton was on the Left side of the map. But I ain't complainin'. If you're not a subscriber, the issue should be on store shelves soon, so keep an eye out.