Monday, January 31, 2005
GAME 43: SPURS 103, SUPERSONICS 84
Spurs 103, SuperSonics 84
(final content posted ~10:05p)
No Ray Allen tonight. Ron Murray is starting. Nate McMillan will be out the rest of the week (or indefinitely, depending on what source you have) to tend to his family after his mother passed away.
Anyway, here's what I have for tonight's game.
1st qtr
11:34 Lewis beats the shot clock from long range for first basket of game. 8:32 Murray baseline pass Lewis left corner three TIE 7-7. 7:27 Popovich technical. 4:31 nice running James hook SA 16-12 (airball next trip down). 3:17 James offensive rebound, weaves through defenders for easy layup SA 16-14. 2:44 James from midrange TIE 16-16. 1:09 Murray actually does something, drives to rack and gets fouled after 0-for-4 start, hits one SA 20-17. 0:13 Murray three SA 23-22.
After one quarter -- San Antonio 25, Seattle 22
Jerome James warmed up, but so far it's kind of a weird game, and not just because James had 8 in the first quarter. I use he term "flow" a lot, but the Sonics don't have much flow on offense again, though we can cite Ray Allen's absence this time as a cause. Ron Murray missed his first four shots, which is never good. However, they've held Tim Duncan to just one jumper from about 18 feet and that's it. However, Bruce Bowen nailed a couple threes, and the Spurs got a few second-chance points.
2nd qtr
11:00 Murray dribble turnover, 6th for the Sonics. 9:34 Seattle timeout after big San Antonio run and a fourth-chance possession SA 33-24. 8:40 James hits over Duncan in the key SA 34-26. 7:13 James in te key again beating the shot clock SA 34-28. 6:45 Radmanovic deep two SA 36-30. 4:24 Radmanovic moves to the rack SA 38-32. 3:38 Lewis puts back a James miss SA 40-34. 2:11 Spurs pull off another run, Sonics outscored 14-8 on the break SA 44-34.
Af halftime -- San Antonio 48, Seattle 34
The Spurs ended the half on an 8-0 run. Up until that point, the Sonics were pretty much hanging with the Spurs and kept within reach. Now, I'm not so sure.
Jerome James was the only consistent offense in the first half for the Sonics, scoring 12 points and also grabbing 6 boards. Rashard Lewis added 7 points. The rest of the Sonics, however...no one's stepping up offensively. Ridnour and Murray are a combined 2-for-11.
The Sonics have gotten off 34 shots, but the Spurs have shot the ball 49 times. This is partly due to the fact that the Sonics have 15 defensive rebounds and the Spurs have THIRTEEN offensive rebounds. The Spurs are only shooting 42%, but they're leading because they're not missing on their second, third, or fourth chances.
As for the offense, there's absolutely no flow. Nothing's happening, they're forcing up shots, the passes are going into traffic and getting tipped away, etc. Just nothing. The Sonics had 10 first-half turnovers.
This is a really weird game so far, but before the Spurs went on that run to end the half, I was convinced that the way the game was going, it was the exact type of game the Spurs usually win. After the big run, well, I know the Sonics' shooters can get hot, but they have to get something going and keep the Spurs off the offensive glass.
Oh yeah, the Sonics are late rotating too, resulting in a lot of long-range looks for the Spurs.
3rd qtr
11:06 Evans offensive board, layup and foul, hits SA 52-37. 8:45 nice ball movement, Evans layup and foul again, SA 59-43. 6:49 Ridnour hits a shot (wow) SA 63-45, got turnover on other end, pass to Lewis intercepted. 6:00 Murray cuts through lane SA 65-47. 5:27 Fortson finally to the line SA 67-49. 3:33 Radmanovic dunk from Lewis off a fast break SA 67-53 (6-0 run) SA timeout. 3:00 Radmanovic three SA 67-56. 2:29 Daniels lane layup SA 70-58. 1:23 off Lewis block, Daniels blows uncontested layup.
After three quarters -- San Antonio 76, Seattle 59
The Sonics went on a 9-3 run, but that only got them within 12. The Spurs ended the quarter on a 6-1 run and may have just put the game out of reach. Of course, the fact that Vladimir Radmanovic took an elbow near the right eye during that run really sucked away some momentum, as it appeared he might have finally been getting warm.
That said, James and Radmanovic are the only Sonics scoring in double figures.
4th qtr
10:35 Collison found inside for a dunk SA 81-63. 10:06 Collison again down low SA 84-65. 9:31 Murray driving lane SA 84-67. 8:20 Daniels falls away SA 86-69. 7:21 Daniels foul and one SA 86-72. 5:44 Lewis fastbreak dunk off broken play SA 88-74. 2:20 Ginobili fouls, and it's garbage time.
Final -- San Antonio 103, Seattle 84
Where to start...?
Obviously, not having Ray Allen takes out a key cog against a tough team. The offense didn't have any sense of consistency except for the run late in the third quarter.
The defense still can't stop anybody. In the first half the Spurs cleaned up on the offensive glass, but all game long the Sonics were late rotating out to the open shooters on the perimeter, and the Spurs were hitting a lot of those shots.
Ron Murray is a zoo, even taking into account that he was facing the Spurs tonight. His shot was consistently short. He started in place of Ray Allen. Let's just say there was a considerable drop-off. He's not a pass-first guy, as we know, though now it appears he will pass if nothing is available shot-wise. But if he catches the ball and doesn't see a shot right away, he'll try to break his man off the dribble. The usual result was his shot being short or off the side of the rim. I haven't even gotten to the turnovers.
But overall, not enough people stepped up on the offensive end. Jerome James got way more points than we're used to seeing, but other than that, it just wasn't happening tonight. There was no consistency, no giddyap, no pizzazz on the offensive end at all.
So what happens if you can't stop the Spurs from scoring and you can't get anything going in your offense? You get royally trounced, of course! Manhandled, even. That's basically the game tonight.
Thank goodness January is over. What a mediocre month.
Maybe the defense will return after taking a month off. They better start tomorrow night, though, because they have to go to Sacto. Yikes.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ron Murray 13 pts/4 reb/3 ast (5-17 FG, 2-4 3pt, 38 min), Rashard Lewis 9 pts/6 reb/3 ast (4-9 FG, 1-3 3pt), Luke Ridnour 6 pts/4 ast (2-11 FG, 0-2 3pt), Reggie Evans 6 pts/6 reb (15 min)
bench
Vlad Radmanovic 13 pts/3 reb/2 ast (5-11 FG, 1-3 3pt), Antonio Daniels 13 pts/4 reb/5 ast (3-6 FG, 7-9 free throws, 26 min), Nick Collison 10 pts/4 reb (4-6 FG, 14 min), Danny Fortson 2 pts/2 reb (7 min)
Jerome James Watch
12 pts/6 reb/4 blk (5-10 FG, 2-2 free throws, 2 fouls, 30 min)
team
shot 30-for-73 (41.1%) from the field, shot 4-for-13 (30.8%) from downtown, shot 20-for-25 (80%) from the line, were outrebounded 42-36, turned the ball over 15 times, bench outscored San Antonio bench 38-28 (outrebounded them 13-10)
The Sonics scored 84 points tonight. I said they didn't have any flow to the offense, which I think is true even though the Sonics scored 25 points each in the third and fourth quarters. Something just seemed like it wasn't there tonight. Obviously, Ray Allen wasn't, but if you saw the Sonics play this season before the calendar turned over to 2005 (removing all the Ray Allen memories from your mind), the team that played tonight was virtually unrecognizable.
You could argue that this game was over at one of two points...
A) when the Spurs reeled off the 8-0 run going into halftime, holding the Sonics to a 12-point quarter in the process. The Sonics scored 25 points each in the third and fourth quarters, but as has been typical of the defense this month, they allowed 28 and 27 points in those quarters.
B) when Brent Barry started going nuts to start the 4th quarter
C) before it started, with Ray Allen not in the lineup
Okay, so maybe I was a little hard on Ron Murray there, even though he did have a crappy night. Still, he scored 13 points (though he needed a billion shots to do it) to tie with Radmanovic and Daniels for the team lead.
Rashard Lewis, however, did not step up whatsoever. When one All-Star goes down, I'd presume that Lewis would step up like the All-Star that this region wants him to be. That definitely didn't happen tonight; he didn't even crack double digits. This team could have used a go-to guy or a hot hand tonight, and it would have nice for it to have been Rashard Lewis. However, Bruce Bowen has given him fits in the past, which just donned on me as I typed that last sentence. Still, he's supposed to be an All-Star, this is the year where we thought he was finally being consistent, and then this.
Luke Ridnour isn't getting away either. He missed 9 of 11 shots from the floor, though he only turned the ball over once.
Oh yeah, I mentioned Ron Murray's turnovers back there. He had five. At least when Tony Parker turns the ball over six times he can score 17, pull down 10 boards, and dish out 6 assists.
Yes, Tony Parker did win the matchup between himself and Luke Ridnour.
But enough about that, I'm sure all you want to know about is Jaleel White's reasoning on why Yao is not the answer in Houston.
I asked Jinkies when the hell the Sonics are going to start playing defense again. His reply: "I am sorry to hear about your problem. I would say to take a short nap, then scratch something expensive or spray your essence on somebody's clothes. This works for myself all the time."
(final content posted ~10:05p)
No Ray Allen tonight. Ron Murray is starting. Nate McMillan will be out the rest of the week (or indefinitely, depending on what source you have) to tend to his family after his mother passed away.
Anyway, here's what I have for tonight's game.
1st qtr
11:34 Lewis beats the shot clock from long range for first basket of game. 8:32 Murray baseline pass Lewis left corner three TIE 7-7. 7:27 Popovich technical. 4:31 nice running James hook SA 16-12 (airball next trip down). 3:17 James offensive rebound, weaves through defenders for easy layup SA 16-14. 2:44 James from midrange TIE 16-16. 1:09 Murray actually does something, drives to rack and gets fouled after 0-for-4 start, hits one SA 20-17. 0:13 Murray three SA 23-22.
After one quarter -- San Antonio 25, Seattle 22
Jerome James warmed up, but so far it's kind of a weird game, and not just because James had 8 in the first quarter. I use he term "flow" a lot, but the Sonics don't have much flow on offense again, though we can cite Ray Allen's absence this time as a cause. Ron Murray missed his first four shots, which is never good. However, they've held Tim Duncan to just one jumper from about 18 feet and that's it. However, Bruce Bowen nailed a couple threes, and the Spurs got a few second-chance points.
2nd qtr
11:00 Murray dribble turnover, 6th for the Sonics. 9:34 Seattle timeout after big San Antonio run and a fourth-chance possession SA 33-24. 8:40 James hits over Duncan in the key SA 34-26. 7:13 James in te key again beating the shot clock SA 34-28. 6:45 Radmanovic deep two SA 36-30. 4:24 Radmanovic moves to the rack SA 38-32. 3:38 Lewis puts back a James miss SA 40-34. 2:11 Spurs pull off another run, Sonics outscored 14-8 on the break SA 44-34.
Af halftime -- San Antonio 48, Seattle 34
The Spurs ended the half on an 8-0 run. Up until that point, the Sonics were pretty much hanging with the Spurs and kept within reach. Now, I'm not so sure.
Jerome James was the only consistent offense in the first half for the Sonics, scoring 12 points and also grabbing 6 boards. Rashard Lewis added 7 points. The rest of the Sonics, however...no one's stepping up offensively. Ridnour and Murray are a combined 2-for-11.
The Sonics have gotten off 34 shots, but the Spurs have shot the ball 49 times. This is partly due to the fact that the Sonics have 15 defensive rebounds and the Spurs have THIRTEEN offensive rebounds. The Spurs are only shooting 42%, but they're leading because they're not missing on their second, third, or fourth chances.
As for the offense, there's absolutely no flow. Nothing's happening, they're forcing up shots, the passes are going into traffic and getting tipped away, etc. Just nothing. The Sonics had 10 first-half turnovers.
This is a really weird game so far, but before the Spurs went on that run to end the half, I was convinced that the way the game was going, it was the exact type of game the Spurs usually win. After the big run, well, I know the Sonics' shooters can get hot, but they have to get something going and keep the Spurs off the offensive glass.
Oh yeah, the Sonics are late rotating too, resulting in a lot of long-range looks for the Spurs.
3rd qtr
11:06 Evans offensive board, layup and foul, hits SA 52-37. 8:45 nice ball movement, Evans layup and foul again, SA 59-43. 6:49 Ridnour hits a shot (wow) SA 63-45, got turnover on other end, pass to Lewis intercepted. 6:00 Murray cuts through lane SA 65-47. 5:27 Fortson finally to the line SA 67-49. 3:33 Radmanovic dunk from Lewis off a fast break SA 67-53 (6-0 run) SA timeout. 3:00 Radmanovic three SA 67-56. 2:29 Daniels lane layup SA 70-58. 1:23 off Lewis block, Daniels blows uncontested layup.
After three quarters -- San Antonio 76, Seattle 59
The Sonics went on a 9-3 run, but that only got them within 12. The Spurs ended the quarter on a 6-1 run and may have just put the game out of reach. Of course, the fact that Vladimir Radmanovic took an elbow near the right eye during that run really sucked away some momentum, as it appeared he might have finally been getting warm.
That said, James and Radmanovic are the only Sonics scoring in double figures.
4th qtr
10:35 Collison found inside for a dunk SA 81-63. 10:06 Collison again down low SA 84-65. 9:31 Murray driving lane SA 84-67. 8:20 Daniels falls away SA 86-69. 7:21 Daniels foul and one SA 86-72. 5:44 Lewis fastbreak dunk off broken play SA 88-74. 2:20 Ginobili fouls, and it's garbage time.
Final -- San Antonio 103, Seattle 84
Where to start...?
Obviously, not having Ray Allen takes out a key cog against a tough team. The offense didn't have any sense of consistency except for the run late in the third quarter.
The defense still can't stop anybody. In the first half the Spurs cleaned up on the offensive glass, but all game long the Sonics were late rotating out to the open shooters on the perimeter, and the Spurs were hitting a lot of those shots.
Ron Murray is a zoo, even taking into account that he was facing the Spurs tonight. His shot was consistently short. He started in place of Ray Allen. Let's just say there was a considerable drop-off. He's not a pass-first guy, as we know, though now it appears he will pass if nothing is available shot-wise. But if he catches the ball and doesn't see a shot right away, he'll try to break his man off the dribble. The usual result was his shot being short or off the side of the rim. I haven't even gotten to the turnovers.
But overall, not enough people stepped up on the offensive end. Jerome James got way more points than we're used to seeing, but other than that, it just wasn't happening tonight. There was no consistency, no giddyap, no pizzazz on the offensive end at all.
So what happens if you can't stop the Spurs from scoring and you can't get anything going in your offense? You get royally trounced, of course! Manhandled, even. That's basically the game tonight.
Thank goodness January is over. What a mediocre month.
Maybe the defense will return after taking a month off. They better start tomorrow night, though, because they have to go to Sacto. Yikes.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ron Murray 13 pts/4 reb/3 ast (5-17 FG, 2-4 3pt, 38 min), Rashard Lewis 9 pts/6 reb/3 ast (4-9 FG, 1-3 3pt), Luke Ridnour 6 pts/4 ast (2-11 FG, 0-2 3pt), Reggie Evans 6 pts/6 reb (15 min)
bench
Vlad Radmanovic 13 pts/3 reb/2 ast (5-11 FG, 1-3 3pt), Antonio Daniels 13 pts/4 reb/5 ast (3-6 FG, 7-9 free throws, 26 min), Nick Collison 10 pts/4 reb (4-6 FG, 14 min), Danny Fortson 2 pts/2 reb (7 min)
Jerome James Watch
12 pts/6 reb/4 blk (5-10 FG, 2-2 free throws, 2 fouls, 30 min)
team
shot 30-for-73 (41.1%) from the field, shot 4-for-13 (30.8%) from downtown, shot 20-for-25 (80%) from the line, were outrebounded 42-36, turned the ball over 15 times, bench outscored San Antonio bench 38-28 (outrebounded them 13-10)
The Sonics scored 84 points tonight. I said they didn't have any flow to the offense, which I think is true even though the Sonics scored 25 points each in the third and fourth quarters. Something just seemed like it wasn't there tonight. Obviously, Ray Allen wasn't, but if you saw the Sonics play this season before the calendar turned over to 2005 (removing all the Ray Allen memories from your mind), the team that played tonight was virtually unrecognizable.
You could argue that this game was over at one of two points...
A) when the Spurs reeled off the 8-0 run going into halftime, holding the Sonics to a 12-point quarter in the process. The Sonics scored 25 points each in the third and fourth quarters, but as has been typical of the defense this month, they allowed 28 and 27 points in those quarters.
B) when Brent Barry started going nuts to start the 4th quarter
C) before it started, with Ray Allen not in the lineup
Okay, so maybe I was a little hard on Ron Murray there, even though he did have a crappy night. Still, he scored 13 points (though he needed a billion shots to do it) to tie with Radmanovic and Daniels for the team lead.
Rashard Lewis, however, did not step up whatsoever. When one All-Star goes down, I'd presume that Lewis would step up like the All-Star that this region wants him to be. That definitely didn't happen tonight; he didn't even crack double digits. This team could have used a go-to guy or a hot hand tonight, and it would have nice for it to have been Rashard Lewis. However, Bruce Bowen has given him fits in the past, which just donned on me as I typed that last sentence. Still, he's supposed to be an All-Star, this is the year where we thought he was finally being consistent, and then this.
Luke Ridnour isn't getting away either. He missed 9 of 11 shots from the floor, though he only turned the ball over once.
Oh yeah, I mentioned Ron Murray's turnovers back there. He had five. At least when Tony Parker turns the ball over six times he can score 17, pull down 10 boards, and dish out 6 assists.
Yes, Tony Parker did win the matchup between himself and Luke Ridnour.
But enough about that, I'm sure all you want to know about is Jaleel White's reasoning on why Yao is not the answer in Houston.
I asked Jinkies when the hell the Sonics are going to start playing defense again. His reply: "I am sorry to hear about your problem. I would say to take a short nap, then scratch something expensive or spray your essence on somebody's clothes. This works for myself all the time."
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