No. 8 IN THE BOOKS --- Sonics lose 103-76. It's easily their worst game of the season. Collison had 15 points, Green 12 and Durant 10. Seattle shot 34.4 percent from the field. Lewis scored 22, Turkoglu 17, Bogans 16 and Howard 13.

IT'S UGLY --- The Supes have erased large deficits before, but they're headed to their 8th straight loss. Seattle trails 85-56 at the start of the 4th. Carlesimo has put C Johan Petro in to slow down Howard (13 points and 12 rebounds). Not sure why he didn't go to Petro earlier.

THREE-POINT BOMBING --- The Sonics are paying so much attention to Howard in the middle that they're leaving Keith Bogans and Lewis alone outside. Orlando has drained 10 of 20 3s. Bogans has 5 and Lewis 5.

GETTING UGLY --- Nelson just shook West with a nifty crossover dribble and drained a mid-range jumper that gave Orlando a 68-48 lead. The Sonics have stopped playing zone and Howard is able to get the ball freely in the post and overpower Wilcox. When the Sonics double, Howard is passing out and finding open shooters.

RIDNOUR OUT --- Luke Ridnour has a left quad strain and will not play in the second half. West is starting and expect to see more of Watson.

HALFTIME --- Seattle is down 49-36, but it could be worse. Lewis has 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting. He also has 5 rebounds. Green leads Seattle with 12 points. Durant (4 points) is struggling. No starter has more than 5 points. Seattle has converted just 15 of 51 FGs (29.4 percent). The Sonics have been outrebounded 34-22. They forced 11 second-quarter turnovers. Orlando has 16, Seattle 6.

ZONE CAUSING FITS --- Seattle's zone has contributed to many of Orlando's 14 turnovers. The Magic are trying hard to get the ball inside to Howard, but PG Jameer Nelson can't get the ball through a thicket of arms. Green is also keeping the Sonics in the game with 12 second-quarter points.

BLOWOUT IN THE MAKING? --- Carlesimo said the two games he worries about most in a long road trip are the first one and the last one. There's few favorable matchups offensively for Seattle. Luke Ridnour has trouble with Jameer Nelson. Turkoglu is giving Durant difficulties. And Chris Wilcox and Damien Wilkins have yet to get on track. Look for Jeff Green to assert himself in the second period.

SLOW START --- Before the game, coach P.J. Carlesimo talked about poor first quarter in Sunday's loss to Detroit. Well, the Sonics have started slowly once again. They trail 28-14. For some reason, they seem to have forgotten that Lewis is a pretty good three-point shooter, allowing him to drain 2 treys enroute to a game-high 12 points.

DURANT VS. LEWIS --- With 5:46 remaining in the first quarter, Orlando's Rashard Lewis got paired against Kevin Durant. The rookie drove right and spinned towards the baseline before the ball was swiped away by a Magic player. Durant and Lewis are not defending each other. Lewis is holding his own at the 4. Durant has been exposed a couple of times by Hedo Turkoglu.

SWIFT OUT, COLLISON STARTS --- C Robert Swift's sore right knee prevents him from starting tonight. He played just 12 minutes Sunday against Detroit and is questionable for tomorrow's game in Miami. Nick Collison will start, but Kurt Thomas will get a lot of time at center against Orlando's Dwight Howard.

Post/read Comments (5) »

Comments

I'd like to trade Luke, Wally and a conditional draft pick to the Warriors for Daron Davis. If they don't get more than 15 minutes a game trade them. That's to much money sitting on the bench.

Posted by chris at 3:47 PM, Nov 13, 2007

pj is an idiot he has his best players coming of the bench. West should be starting and getting 30 min a game. Ridnour just sucks he cant shoot or defend. Green looks better that wilkins. the sonics will keep losing until these guys start

Posted by Robert at 5:21 PM, Nov 13, 2007

The more PJ looks for the right combinations, the less confidence the players are getting. I think Ridnour is a perfect example of this. Last year toward the end of his season his confidence shriveled because he didn't know what to expect. I think it'd be nice if everyone knew their role, but the Supes just have so many mediocre players, it's understandable that PJ has no idea what to do with them all.

Posted by nySonicsFan at 8:42 PM, Nov 13, 2007

Luke, Wally, and a draft pick for Baron Davis...are you on drugs? The Warriors are not trying to rebuild, and certainly not interested in taking on two overpaid players that don't play defense.

I agree with Robert when he says that Delonte and Green need to start. That being said, I don't disagree with much of anything PJ has done thus far. Using Luke's mask as an excuse, PJ was able to get an extended (6games) look at what Watson can do. It was not impressive! Now Luke is getting his chance along with Delonte.

Green will certainly start sooner rather than later. If were as bad as I expect at midseason, 7-34, than Green will start the entire 2nd half of the season. At this point, he seems like a great fit as the 1st or 2nd man off the bench.

The biggest problem with the Sonics right now is not PJ...it's Durant. We all know he's a superstar in the making, but right now he's playing like the 19 year old he is. He was never timid in college, but he seems overmatched by NBA defenders and settles on too many outside shots while shying away from contact when taking it to the hole. I never thought the 180 pound bench press was an issue, but I may have changed my mind. I don't want to give Durant a hard time at 19 years of age, but I think it's safe to say, we all expect more.

Posted by J-Herz at 9:38 AM, Nov 14, 2007

J-Herz...give K.D. a break...he's 19....what were you doing at 19?? Yeah, we expect a lot...but we also knew coming in, he wasn't going to instantly be Jorden-like. Let's make one thing clear.....he's NOT a superstar.....he's a superstar IN THE MAKING which = early struggles. nySonicsfan hit it right on the head when he said ..... "but the Supes just have so many mediocre players" If we had a vet like Ray Allen still on the team, that'd take a huge burden off Durant.....but with the current roster, you're expecting a 19 year old to carry this entire team? Impossible. Also, it's way too early to blast PJ for anything. There's not a single coach in the league right now that could turn this type of roster into a serious threat....so if you're going to follow this team this year, expect more lows than ups....but that doesn't mean it's not going to pay off down the road. As for now, the road is bumpy as hell, so you better get used to it until things smooth out. Go Supes!!!

Posted by Michael C. at 11:36 AM, Nov 14, 2007

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