Saturday, December 20, 2003
SONICS 115, NUGGETS 106
And now, the second and final oblivious-toward-obvious-baseball-happenings post...
This wasn't a game I thought the Sonics would win. This was their fourth game in five nights, and I bet they were giving a big thanks to the NBA's schedule makers, who put the fourth game of the stretch IN DENVER. The fatigue is bad enough, but the altitude...that's brutal. Add to that the fact that Antonio Daniels (inspired play of late) and Brent Barry did not play.
But I guess it doesn't matter if somehow Richie Frahm scores 31 points (10 of 11 shooting) off the bench. Not bad for the former Gonzaga guy, who drained six from downtown. Ron Murray also added a double-double, with 24 pts and 10 dimes. The Sonics also managed to get to the line 33 times (hitting 26), which is a decent indicator of the team taking the ball to the hoop.
One play inparticular showed the smartness of Ron Murray. Holding the ball for the last shot of the 3rd quarter, Murray stood still in backcourt before dribbling toward the top of the arc, guarded by Andre Miller. He started his forward movement to draw contact from Miller, and then he put up a shot and was fouled. Three shots. Miller couldn't believe the call, but it was a smart move by Murray.
Luke Ridnour of the town of Blaine and the University of Oregon (town of Eugene, which stinks) got his first NBA start and turned in a line of 17 pts, 4 assists, and 4 boards. He might not be able to defend too well, but man, the guy can just run circles around people, and if they find a way to bottle that up, he could be special. Vladimir Radmanovic, however, is crap. For the rap that Ridnour has gotten for not being able to defend people, Vlad Rad is worse. Some people talk about how most of the Euro players have a great shot but can't defend for beans -- this guy is the epitome of that school of thought.
Rashard Lewis also turned in his obligatory 17 points, but only getting to the line for one free throw.
Big kudos to the Nuggets equipment managing staff (or whoever was in charge) for putting the correct Portuguese accent mark on the back of Nene Hilario's jersey. The mark is a hat, or a "^", over the second "e" in "Nene." And yeah, Portuguese, Brazil...he's taking the one name (Nene) like all those soccer stars.
The Amare Stoudemire-less Phoenix Suns come to KeyArena on Tuesday. The Sonics have the distinction of having lost to them already. The Suns are Marbury, Shawn Marion, and jack without Stoudemire.
One last basketball-related note for everyone...if you managed to sneak a peek at that Wake Forest/North Carolina game that was on Fox Sports Net, then you and I saw quite a battle. Whew, man. A triple-OT barnburner, that one was...
This wasn't a game I thought the Sonics would win. This was their fourth game in five nights, and I bet they were giving a big thanks to the NBA's schedule makers, who put the fourth game of the stretch IN DENVER. The fatigue is bad enough, but the altitude...that's brutal. Add to that the fact that Antonio Daniels (inspired play of late) and Brent Barry did not play.
But I guess it doesn't matter if somehow Richie Frahm scores 31 points (10 of 11 shooting) off the bench. Not bad for the former Gonzaga guy, who drained six from downtown. Ron Murray also added a double-double, with 24 pts and 10 dimes. The Sonics also managed to get to the line 33 times (hitting 26), which is a decent indicator of the team taking the ball to the hoop.
One play inparticular showed the smartness of Ron Murray. Holding the ball for the last shot of the 3rd quarter, Murray stood still in backcourt before dribbling toward the top of the arc, guarded by Andre Miller. He started his forward movement to draw contact from Miller, and then he put up a shot and was fouled. Three shots. Miller couldn't believe the call, but it was a smart move by Murray.
Luke Ridnour of the town of Blaine and the University of Oregon (town of Eugene, which stinks) got his first NBA start and turned in a line of 17 pts, 4 assists, and 4 boards. He might not be able to defend too well, but man, the guy can just run circles around people, and if they find a way to bottle that up, he could be special. Vladimir Radmanovic, however, is crap. For the rap that Ridnour has gotten for not being able to defend people, Vlad Rad is worse. Some people talk about how most of the Euro players have a great shot but can't defend for beans -- this guy is the epitome of that school of thought.
Rashard Lewis also turned in his obligatory 17 points, but only getting to the line for one free throw.
Big kudos to the Nuggets equipment managing staff (or whoever was in charge) for putting the correct Portuguese accent mark on the back of Nene Hilario's jersey. The mark is a hat, or a "^", over the second "e" in "Nene." And yeah, Portuguese, Brazil...he's taking the one name (Nene) like all those soccer stars.
The Amare Stoudemire-less Phoenix Suns come to KeyArena on Tuesday. The Sonics have the distinction of having lost to them already. The Suns are Marbury, Shawn Marion, and jack without Stoudemire.
One last basketball-related note for everyone...if you managed to sneak a peek at that Wake Forest/North Carolina game that was on Fox Sports Net, then you and I saw quite a battle. Whew, man. A triple-OT barnburner, that one was...
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