Take your pick

Vegas has the Kings at +3 for tonight's game, and yours truly thinks that that's the smart money for this here contest. Seattle had a chance to put the hammer down in game 1, didn't, nearly let the Kings come all the way back, then eked out a win. Add in Bibby's unbelievably bad game, the annual "Road Team Recovers in Game 2" that always seems to happen, and I like the Kings in this game.

My pick? Kings 102 - Sonics 95.

Now, as they say on talk radio, let's hear what our audience has to say!

Closer Look

Inevitably, the daggers will be drawn if the Sonics' performance in Game 2 matches their performance in the 2nd half of Game 1. After all, if Seattle drops a home game to the Kings, Sac takes home-court and stands to be the favorite in the series, right?

Well, that's what the experts will tell you, but they'd be wrong. They may even trot out this figure: 22-8. That's what teams that won Game 2 are in the past 2 seasons as far as winners and losers of series go (that is to say, of the 30 teams that won game 2, 22 of them won the series).

Interestingly, though, that standard doesn't hold for road teams that win game 2. In the past 4 seasons, road winners in game 2 won a meager 5 of 15 series. That's a small sample size, admittedly, but it should give Sonic fans a chance to breath easier if Seattle plays poorly in Game 2.

Of course, if Jerome James continues to impersonate Dikembe Mutumbo circa 1994, we'll have no reason to worry for the rest of the playoffs.

Savvy

I'll make this brief.

Game 1, Spurs lose to Nuggets.

Brent Barry: 2 turnovers, 0 points.

Ah, veteran savvy, you can't beat it.