Red Alert!

As acting director of home team security, it is my duty to inform you that Bob Hill's head could explode tonight. Due to the intense pressure of a near-record losing streak and the apparent inability of the team to fire him, the chance of cranial explosion tonight in Phoenix is extremely high. We advise all team personnel to keep their distance from the coach and to stock up on duct tape.

Luke's Cool Hand Hurting Sonics

The big story with the Sonics right now – other than their ability to take suckiness to new and previously unseen levels – is Earl Watson usurping the starting PG role from Luke Ridnour.

Now, hey, I like a good usurping as much as the next guy, and Lord knows I’ve rattled on and on for more than anyone about how Earl is more deserving than Luke to hold the reins of this team, but with the Sonics playing the Suns tonight, I thought it might be a good idea to take a look at how Ridnour compares to Steve Nash, the White Man’s Favorite Basketball Player.

Per 40 minutes, First 3 Years

Assists (year 1, 2 and 3)
Ridnour (5.9, 7.5, 8.4)
Nash (8.1, 6.3, 6.9)
Mystery (9.4, 7.9, 6.3)

Points
Ridnour (13.7, 12.8, 13.8)
Nash (12.5, 16.6, 9.9)
Mystery (10.5, 12, 17)

TOs
Ridnour (2.9, 2.3, 2.5)
Nash (3.7, 2.4, 2.6)
Mystery (3.2, 2.7, 2.3)

Steals
Ridnour (1.9, 1.5, 1.9)
Nash (1.2, 1.5, 1.2)
Mystery (2.9, 2.3, 2.8)

FG%
Ridnour (41, 41, 42)
Nash (42, 46, 36)
Mystery (45, 45, 49)

3FG%
Ridnour (34, 38, 29)
Nash (42, 42, 37)
Mystery (8, 13, 21)

TS%
Ridnour (50, 50, 51)
Nash (54, 56, 47)
Mystery (48, 48, 53)

Assist Rate
Ridnour (26, 33, 34)
Nash (35, 27, 34)
Mystery (40, 34, 25)

PER
Ridnour (13, 15, 16)
Nash (11, 16, 11)
Mystery (13, 13, 17)

Looking at the numbers, you can see Ridnour is in Nash’s ballpark for alot of the stats – with the notable exception of 3-point shooting, ironically the same demon which has propelled him to the bench this season.

Bob Hill’s thinking is obvious: Luke Ridnour must start knocking down jump shots for him to be a starter in this league. Hill’s reasoning for benching Luke is, to me, a good one: Part of a being a good shooter is confidence, and until Ridnour figures out that he must take open shots he won’t be a starter. It’s important to know that Luke’s not being benched for missing shots, he’s being benched for not taking them. If Ridnour was shooting terribly (which he has been recently) and that caused the benching then I would disagree with Hill, inasmuch as that might destroy his confidence.

But Luke’s a grown man now, and he’s being paid a grown man’s (actually, about 358 grown men’s) salary. He needs to start acting like it.

Wild Weekend

Holy crap, what a weekend. The Seahawks utilize Tony Romo's inept ball-handling skillls for a playoff win (and Martin Grammatica's poor blocking abilities - re-watch the play folks, and you'll see Martin give the ole to Jordan Babineaux), the Oregon Ducks knock off #1 UCLA at Mac Court (and, yes, I know they lost to SC on Thursday, but still), Bob Hill benches 3/5 of his starting lineup, Ray Allen drains 7 of 11 3's ...

And the Sonics keep losing.

It's at 11 straight now on the road, and here's Seattle's next slate of road games:

Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Washington, Indiana and Sacramento. Not until they play the Hornets on Feb. 23 will the Sonics have a reasonable shot at winning a road game, which means the road skid could approach 18 games.

Hill’s desperate move of benching Ridnour, Wilkins, and Fortson/Petro helped a bit in the loss to the Warriors, but I still get the feeling Hill’s time in Seattle is growing short. Honestly, I can’t see the Sonics winning any games – road or home – until they play the Bucks 11 days from now.