Sonics Win Back-to-Back on Road; Hill Wants More

Got to take issue with this from an otherwise fine article from Jayda Evans at the Times:

Hill and his staff have drastically improved five players — Chris Wilcox, Nick Collison, Earl Watson, Johan Petro and Damien Wilkins, and Allen was averaging a career-best 26.4 points on two bum ankles.

I don't know that any of those guys - other than Collison and possibly Petro have "drastically improved." Watson's play has been erratic, Wilkins seems to have flatlined, and Wilcox has put up inferior numbers to the ones he had during his spring fling with the Sonics last year. And, if you think about it, shouldn't Petro be improving regardless? Wouldn't he get better just standing in a gym by himself taking free throws, considering his relatively sparse experience in competitive basketball?

I also enjoyed this bit from Hill, culled from Frank Hughes' piece at the TNT:

I am not the kind of person who runs in his office and starts pointing fingers at other people.

Oh, please, Bob. Hey, I wanted you to get the job and I thought you got unfairly tossed in San Antonio, but if you're going to stand there and say that you haven't thrown players under the bus this year, well, you're flat out lying.

Enough of that. The more pressing news is the Sonics' second consecutive win on the road, a 3-point triumph over the Answer, Melo, Nene, and the Ball-grabber. Once again, the story was Rashard Lewis, who dominated the end of the fourth quarter and carried the Sonics to the win. Once again, Luke Ridnour proved he and Bob Hill are not even in the same book, let alone on the same page.

It's puzzling, you know, how Hill is able to get these guys to play so hard when they have so little for which to play. In fact, it's given me an idea: Maybe the Sonics ought to try an innovative strategy next year: Hire Rick Adelman to coach the team from November until March, fire Adelman, and let Hill guide them the rest of the way. This way, the Sonics get Adelman's regular season brilliance, none of his craptacular playoff failures, and they get Hill's obvious ability to win in spring-time with none of the fall weather doldrums.

Sonics to fire Bob Hill, hire Lenny Wilkens?

From the Chicago Tribune (via Yahoo!):

Seattle SuperSonics coach Bob Hill continues to throw players under the bus, which would seem to eliminate him from future NBA coaching consideration. In recent losses, he blamed Earl Watson and Chris Wilcox for costing games by blowing plays and said the Sonics should give up if they lose Rashard Lewis in free agency. The word around the NBA is Lenny Wilkens will return to coach in a transition season as the team considers a move next season.

Read the rest here.

Sonics Dominate in 4th Quarter; Pope Announces Conversion to Judaism

Yes, you read that box score correctly. The Sonics dominated a 4th quarter and THEY were the team that rallied from behind.

Earl Watson and Rashard Lewis were the keys to victory, especially EW's 24 points off the bench. And who would have guessed that Mike Wilks would get nearly as many minutes (17) as Luke Ridnour (24)?

Add it all up, and the Sonics seem bound and determined to get the 7th pick in the draft this year. For one night, though, it all seems oddly worthwhile.