With six games under our belt, some of statistics start to have some meaning. The Sonics are playing at the fastest pace in the NBA, and use over 105 possessions per game. This was surprising to me, as I expected the Sonics to rank in the top ten in pace factor, but not first. The pace that at team plays with isn't as important as long as they are efficient with their possessions. The Sonics...are not. In fact, by scoring an average of 94.5 points per 100 possessions, the Sonics rank in the bottom 5 of the league in offensive efficieny. So despite playing at the fastest pace in the league, the Sonics are only averging the 14th most points in the league. Things aren't any better on defense, where the Sonics rank 24th in defensive efficieny, allowing 104 points per 100 possessions. This coupled with the fast pace the Sonics play at leads to other teams scoring almost 109 points per game.
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Game 7 Preview
Who: Detroit Pistons (3-1) @ Seattle Supersonics (0-6)
When: 7:00 pm
Where: Key Arena
The Sonics take on their almost perfect opposite tonight in the Detroit Pistons, who are 2nd in defensive efficieny at 93.7, and 7th in offensive efficiency at 106.1. No team has scored more than 97 points on the 3-1 Pistons, who play at the 4th slowest pace in the league at 93.3 possessions per game. They are extremely balanced with their top four players (Chauncy Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince) all scoring between 14 and 19 points per game. In terms of PER, Billups (25.68) and Hamilton (24.19) both rank in the top 25 in the entire NBA. They are a tough veteran team, whose core has played together for several years. Needless to say, they will provide one of the toughest tests for the Sonics so far.
The Pick: Pistons 103 Sonics 90. The Sonics will breakthrough at some point. Its just going to be really tough against the Pistons.
Picks tonight
Detriot (-6.5) over Seattle
New Orleans (+1) over Philadelphia
Milwaukee (+11) over San Antonio
(1-3 from Fridays picks, 1-3 overall)
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