Live From The Press Box - Sonics vs. Detroit
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Sonics Win!
Posted at 10:00 p.m.
After some overly aggressive play by the Pistons in general and Ronald Dupree and Carlos Arroyo in particular (both ended up with highly suspect double-digit point totals), the Sonics run out the clock on a 95-87 victory to go to 41-16 on the season and guarantee a non-losing season. A very solid victory for the Sonics tonight against the defending champs, and they’ve set up a great showdown with Phoenix on Sunday.
The Capper …
Posted at 9:55 p.m.
As Antonio Daniels drives to the lane and draws two foul shots and Larry Brown concedes by emptying his bench, Squatch silly-strings the Pistons Superfans. What better way to cap a victory?
Phoenix Sunday
Posted at 9:52 p.m.
If you thought tonight's game was good, the Sonics have something just as entertaining in store Sunday, when the Phoenix Suns come to town. The Suns and Sonics are the NBA's top two offensive teams, and they've played a pair of thrillers so far with the road team winning each time - Phoenix 112-110 in Seattle and the Sonics 113-105 in the Valley of the Sun. This is the last matchup (in the regular season) and could potentially have tie-breaker implications.
Get your tickets now!
JJ’s Night
Posted at 9:50 p.m.
You can’t stop Jerome James this evening, you can only hope to contain him. After the ball is batted away from Rashard Lewis, James picks it up, dribbles through traffic (while nearly having the ball stolen), gets to the right side of the lane and throws up a half-hook to beat the clock. Naturally, it goes in. On the other end, James blocks a layup attempt. Rashard Lewis follows with a jumper, and the Sonics lead 87-76 with 2:22 to play and this one looks close to down. Great night for the man in the middle, who hasn’t gotten enough credit for his fine season.
Focus?
Posted at 9:48 p.m.
The Pistons, not that they can entirely be blamed, have seemed preoccupied by the refereeing throughout much of this fourth quarter, most recently after Ray Allen went to the free-throw line. It’s not the kind of focus you expect from a championship club. And, since I know you’re asking, Rasheed Wallace has not been the main culprit.
Rip Cord
Posted at 9:45 p.m.
After two Rashard Lewis free throws gave the Sonics their biggest lead of the game, 82-73, Rip Hamilton came up with a huge three-point play to bring Detroit back within six. It looked like Tayshaun Prince might get it to four leaking out after a Sonics miss, but Lewis hustled back to block the shot out of bounds. 82-76 with 4:05 to play. Note that the Sonics just picked up their third team foul a second ago, while they’re already in the bonus on offense.
Momentum: Sonics
Posted at 9:40 p.m.
After trailing 73-71 a moment ago, the Sonics have seized control of this game with a 9-0 run. An Antonio Daniels three-point play has given the Sonics the largest lead either team has enjoyed during the second half, 80-73, at the six-minute mark. Detroit has followed with a timeout. The Sonics have their starting lineup on the floor with the exception of Nick Collison at power forward instead of Reggie Evans, while Detroit’s entire starting five is in. Danny Fortson is cooling off at the moment after some battling with Ronald Dupree, but his night may not be done quite yet.
200 For Nate
Posted at 9:35 p.m.
The Sonics win at Cleveland Wednesday night was the 200th of Nate McMillan’s coaching career. I assure you that I full intended to ask Nate about this before tonight’s game, but completely forgot about it during pregame media availability. Instead of risking my job by speculating on what Nate might say, I’ll save that question for another day.
The game you ask? Still tied, now at 73. Great block by Nick Collison on what seemed like a sure layup for Ben Wallace to keep it that way. Ray Allen scores to make it 75-73. He’s still shooting poorly overall, but now has 12 points.
Celebrity Spotting
Posted at 9:30 p.m.
It’s only fitting that, with the defending champs in the house, the Sonics honored one of the members of their own championship team. Gus Williams, the leading scorer during the 1979 Finals, is back at KeyArena for the first time since his number one jersey was retired last March 26.
To the Fourth
Posted at 9:26 p.m.
The Sonics don’t have a quarter-ending breakdown in this quarter, and the result is that they have a lead after the quarter for the first time, 69-67. That does nothing to change my opinion that this game will come down to the last couple of possessions. Great battle on the boards between Ben Wallace and Danny Fortson since the latter checked in. Wallace dew a couple of loose-ball fouls on Fortson early (but didn’t hit the free throws), but Fortson had a putback and drew a loose-ball foul on Antonio McDyess to score four points.
Fortson Time
Posted at 9:19 p.m.
At the 2:30 mark of the third quarter, just before an Antonio Daniels free throw puts the Sonics up one, Danny Fortson checks in for the first time during the second half. We’ll see what effect the pig tailed one has on the game. He’ll have to work hard to match the energy of Reggie Evans, who has 12 rebounds in 24 minutes. Led by Evans, the Sonics have outrebounded one of the NBa’s best boarding squads 32-24 thus far.
Back and Forth
Posted at 9:12 p.m.
Last year’s Sonics-Pistons season series was a very strange one, as both games were won by the road team, and both by 21 points (and the losing team tied a franchise scoring low in both games - that means something, but I’m not sure what). Tonight’s game has been very different. The biggest lead by either side is eight by the Sonics in the first quarter; since then, neither team has led by more than six, and the game has been within two points virtually the entire third quarter. This game looks like it’s going to come down to who makes the plays down the stretch, and the Sonics have to feel reasonably confident about that scenario.
Change of Pace
Posted at 9:04 p.m.
It’s certainly very different from the last few games when Luke Ridnour emerges as the Sonics leading scorer with 11 points early in the third quarter after hitting back-to-back jumpers. (Jerome James has subsequently passed him on a flush off a Ridnour feed). Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups is looking to score right now and has taken Detroit’s last four shots. He hit the first two but missed the next two as the Sonics tied the game at 53. It’s back and forth right now, depending on who can hit some shots. James continues to play big; he’s now got a season-high 14 points.
Q&A With Brown
Posted at 8:52 p.m.
Larry Brown is a coaching legend, and winning his first NBA Championship last June only cemented his legacy. Any time you get a chance to speak to a guy like that, you take it.
Has this season been trying for you with missing time and the slow start?
It’s been different. It’s the first time I’ve had an illness during the season, first time I’ve missed any appreciable time, so from that standpoint … and then the incident in Indiana was something that I don’t think you ever can prepare for. That will always be something that is hard to deal with. Other than that, I’m doing what I love with a great group, so I don’t look at it as a job. During that one period after the fight, every day picking up the paper and answering questions and watching it on TV and understanding the damage it did to some good guys - Indiana’s franchise and our reputation - that was tough.
Are you where you need to be right now as a team?
We’re playing better. We’ve really improved. We’re still trying to figure out where we are without Corliss and Mike James and Elden - now we’ve got Elden back - and Memo. These guys have come in and done a great job. Carlos will be a big contributor with us. We’ve got to get Ronald Dupree playing a little bit more because he’s a really conscientious kid. We’re starting to play better. We’ve made lots of improvements.
How has being the defending champion changed things?
Yeah. Every night now, we’re a pretty big game. Before, without a team that, maybe in the public’s eye, didn’t have a lot of star power, now all of a sudden they recognize Ben and Rip and Chauncey and Rasheed, Tayshaun. So you’ve got to be ready to play every single night. You’ve got to be at your best because you know the people you’re playing against look at it as a pretty good opportunity and a measuring stick. That’s an adjustment.
Can you compare the Sonics and the Suns, who you played last night?
They’re a little different. I think they (the Sonics) can play a lot of different styles; Phoenix plays one way. They can play a big lineup. They can play James, and Fortson plays big. They can go big or they can go small and put Radmanovic out there. Nate tries to take advantage of mismatches; Phoenix just plays. I think the biggest thing is, we’ve got to make most people put the ball on the floor. And then that’s an issue, you’ve got to defend dribble penetration.
At the Half
Posted at 8:42 p.m.
Again, Detroit wins the end of the period - this time more modestly, finishing the half on an 8-4 run - to take the lead. It’s 45-42 Detroit as we head to halftime, but certainly both teams feel like the game is theirs for the taking. The Sonics are shooting 41.7%, 27.3% (3-for-11) from 3. Detroit is at 45.0% but hasn’t made a 3 in three attempts. The Sonics have forced only three turnovers, and they’ll have to do better than that. But they can feel good that they’re playing right with the Pistons despite Ray Allen shooting 1-for-7 and scoring four points in the first half. Rashard Lewis has 10 points, but has also committed five of the Sonics eight turnovers. Rasheed Wallace (10 points, nine boards) has been key for Detroit.
The pace of this game is incredibly slow: 44 possessions for the Pistons, 43 for the Sonics. (League average is about 94 for a game.) That usually has favored the Sonics, but Detroit likes that style as well, so call it a draw.
Get to the Line
Posted at 8:32 p.m.
When a game becomes a defensive battle - and, tied at 39 as the first half comes to an end, this game qualifies - getting to score without defense becomes even more important. Despite some poor free-throw shooting, Detroit has outscored the Sonics 6-2 at the line in this quarter, and the home team needs to take a lesson and get to the free-throw line. As I say that, Reggie Evans is fouled away from the ball, giving him two shots because of the bonus. However, he misses them both.
Unusual Lineups
Posted at 8:27 p.m.
Even though Sonics Coach Nate McMillan has stuck to his typical nine-player rotation tonight, he’s put out some combinations that haven’t seen much action together. Earlier, that was Nick Collison and Danny Fortson with the starting perimeter players. Now, the starting lineup itself is in, which certainly doesn’t qualify as unusual, but the timing is - that group rarely plays together after the start of a half. In between, McMillan used Fortson and Jerome James together. According to 82games.com - and I can think of nothing that would make me doubt this conclusion - it’s the first time all season those two guys have shared the court.
You don’t usually think of Nirvana with the Sonics Boom Squad, but they made it work during the last timeout. That is really an immensely talented group of guys.
Nick at Night
Posted at 8:17 p.m.
A nice long run here in the first half for rookie Nick Collison, who has four points and two rebounds. Collison and Danny Fortson are the only Sonics reserves left on the court as we approach the midway point of the second quarter with the Sonics holding a perilous 33-31 advantage. Nate McMillan raved yesterday about Collison’s basketball IQ, and it would seem a slightly larger role is in the offing for him during the second half of the season.
Pistons Superfans
Posted at 8:11 p.m.
The most vocal of the Pistons fans in attendance tonight are a pair of guys sitting behind the Detroit basket, near press row. They’re wearing jerseys of the two Wallace as well as Ben Wallace tribute Afros. How to describe these two guys and their antics? Well, think of the SNL Chicago Superfans (you know, ‘Da Bulls’, ‘Da Bears”, all that), but even more over the top than the characters were. Speaking of SNL characters, the skin-tight plaid pants Vladimir Radmanovic wore to tonight’s game (and that hung in his locker room as evidence) were obviously purchased straight from SNL after the “Wild and Crazy Guys” skit finished its run.
Pistons Comeback
Posted at 8:04 p.m.
Plus-minus ratings quite clearly pinpoint the Pistons bench as far and away the weakest part of the roster, but the Detroit reserves have led a comeback tonight, as the Pistons scored the last nine points of the quarter to turn a 22-14 deficit into a 23-22 lead after one quarter. This really shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, as something similar happened last night in Phoenix (though there the absence of Steve Nash played a huge role in that). If the bench can keep it up, the Pistons are going to be very tough to beat.
Pistons “Fans” In the House
Posted at 7:56 p.m.
A remarkable number of Detroit fans are in attendance tonight. Only Sacramento has had as many for a visiting team in recent memory. What’s more interesting about this fact is that the Pistons weren’t nearly so represented in years past. Amazing what a championship will do for your national fan support is. The Pistons fans have had some things to cheer about, namely three powerful dunks by Wallaces Ben and Rasheed. Unfortunately for Detroit, those shots only count two points the same as the Sonics shots. Jerome James has gotten the home crowd fired up with a ferocious throwdown of his own and a sawt of Tayshaun Prince. James has six points and two rebounds thus far, a strong effort.
Shoot the J!
Posted at 7:51 p.m.
Luke Ridnour buries another three, and suddenly this game isn’t quite as ugly as it was early on. The Sonics lead 18-11 as we go to a Detroit timeout with 3:49 to play in the first quarter. Five rebounds for Reggie Evans (to Ben Wallace’s one).
Uglying It Up
Posted at 7:47 p.m.
Well, the Sonics can’t make a shot right now, but they still lead 5-4. Credit has to go to their scrapping - Reggie Evans in particular. The Sonics have outrebounded Detroit 7-2 thus far. While this team is at its best when it plays pretty basketball, it certainly doesn’t mind winning ugly. As a reminder to myself, I should ask Nate McMillan about the topic. Storm Coach Anne Donovan said last year her (eventual champion) team was too good to win ugly, which I found very interesting.
Defensive Struggle
Posted at 7:44 p.m.
Only one of these two teams is a good defensive one - for our newer readers, that’s the Pistons - but so far, both teams are playing solid defense, and we’ve only seen five points scored as we pass the three-minute mark. The Sonics points came on a big three for Luke Ridnour, who’s in a shooting slump. It only feels like the first one he’s hit in a month; he actually did hit one at Milwaukee.
Flipless
Posted at 7:38 p.m.
The Sonics will be without guard Ronald “Flip” Murray tonight. Murray came down with flu-like symptoms yesterday and is still ill tonight, so he is still at home. Nate McMillan theorized that Murray might have been vulnerable because the Sonics went directly from frigid temperatures in the Midwest to the relative California-style warmth Seattle has experienced this winter. Nate will be mandating coats after future practices. (Not really, that’s a joke.)
Signing On
Posted at 7:25 p.m.
It’s the second-best in the NBA on the offensive end of the court versus the second-best defensive team tonight as the Sonics square off with the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons at KeyArena. Before losing last night at Phoenix, the Pistons were on fire, winning eight straight games, four of them by 20+ points. Now they complete one of the NBA’s most difficult back-to-backs tonight in Seattle. It promises to be a great game, so stay with us all night long and make sure to hit refresh so you’re getting the latest from the Key.
