Game Night: Lake Show

Is tonight the night the Sonics clinch a Northwest Division title? The Magic 8 Ball on my desk says yes, and who am I to argue?

The Sonics haven't swept the Lakers since 00-01, but with AD, Rashard, and Radman out with injuries, even this seemingly easy game looks difficult. Still, the Lakers are 11-26 on the road, Kobe's at less than full strength, Lamar Odom will be watching from the bench, and Los Angeles is obviously playing out the string. I'll take the Sonics and give the 9 1/2 points.

On a more interesting note, this comes from George Karl in Marc Stein's NBA column at espn.com:

"So much of what has happened here reminds me of when I went to Seattle," Karl told us on Tuesday night's NBA Nation, recalling his first playoff series as Sonics coach against another team (Golden State) that had fired him. "There's so much karma between the two situations that I think that's where destiny is pushing it."

Curious George is referring to the possibility of a Sonics-Nuggets first-round matchup. Now, this is going to sound strange, but watching George matched up with Wally Walker gives me mixed emotions. I love the Sonics like a fat man loves donuts, but I can't say I feel the same towards Walker, especially the way he torched a championship team of its 3 main ingredients (Karl, Payton, and Kemp). Anyone else a little conflicted about this possible matchup?

Reigned Out

The increasingly sad and bizarre Shawn Kemp story continues in this column by the P.I.'s Robert L. Jamieson:

The big city sports star was lost in a constellation of booze, clinging to a fraying string of fame.

"Don't you know who I am?" he asked a woman who happened to sit next to him in a Belltown bar a few months ago.

The pretty woman shook her head.

"I'm the Reign Man," the gentleman boomed, a bucket hat slung low over his head like an uneasy crown.

"The weather man?" replied the woman. She thought the guy was a meteorologist or something.

Read the rest here.

I am so depressed. If this keeps up, we're going to be talking about how levelheaded Danny Fortson is!

In related news, it turns out Kemp got busted about a mile away from my house. I can't believe he was in my neighborhood and didn't even stop by - how rude!

Dare We Ask?

This is going to sound crazy coming from a Sonic blog, but I'm going to say it nonetheless.

I hope the Sonics lose tonight.

I know, it's blasphemy, but of the following three teams, who would you rather play in the 1st round: Houston (Yao! T-Mac!), Denver (17-2 since the break), or Sac.?

That's what I thought. And, with Denver and Houston both within 2 games of the Kings and only a week to go, maybe the Sonics ought to give Sacramento a helping hand toward locking down that #6 slot.

So, if Mac-10 is reading this, don't worry about Rashard missing the game, give Ray some rest, and how 'bout taking a look at that Swift kid?