Watching Oklahoma's once (the Hornets) and future (the Sonics) teams face off in New Orleans was a strange experience, especially as Seattle was never in the game. The Hornets jumped out to an immediate lead, outscoring the Sonics 30-18 in the first quarter, and pushing the lead to 19 at halftime. The Sonics tried to crawl back in the game, cutting the lead to 10 in the middle of the 3rd quarter, but their momentum quickly evaporated, and the Hornets cruised to a dominating 31 point win. Losing to the Hornets wasn't a surprise, after all, they are one of the best teams in the West (as long as everyone stays healthy; I'm looking at you Peja). It was disheartening to be so badly outplayed, especially coming off of a painful loss to the Lakers. This was the Sonics 8th straight loss, and their 7th of 2008. We're barely halfway through January.
Tyson Chandler continued to make the Hornet's look like geniuses for stealing him from Chicago by scoring 14 points and ripping down 21 rebounds. 21! Chandler has almost no offensive game, living off of putbacks and Chris Paul passes for layups, but his unbelievable athleticism allows him to convert a great % of shots (he was 7-9 on the night). Basically, 'Blackjack' Chandler is everything Seattle wishes Chris Wilcox could be, though Wilcox isn't and won't ever be anywhere near the rebounder that Chandler is. Watching Chandler dominate the glass, makes you wish Wilcox could just give consistent double digit rebounds.
What went right? Almost nothing. The Sonics outshot the Hornets from the free throw line, and equaled their blistering 55% shooting from three-point land, but were outplayed in every other statistical area. ALL of them. Earl Watson had his best game of the season, scoring 17 points and matching his season high in assists with 11, breaking out of a 5-game slump. Kevin Durant rebounded from his nightmare outing vs. the Lakers (6-26 shooting...Allen Iverson circa 1999 would even be embarrassed with that performance) by scoring 20 points on efficient 60% shooting. He also stuffed the stat sheet with 7 rebounds and 6 assists, albeit in a meaningless game. Wally kept up his strong play with 14 points. Coach Carlesimo narrowly avoided an aneurysm. That sums up the positives.
What can this team do? When will the next win come? They play a very winnable game against a Memphis team which has seemingly had Seattle's number this year on Friday, and follow that up with a game vs. the Maverick's on Saturday. I think it's safe to say that the Sonics aren't going to beat Dallas playing their second game in 2 nights, but they will then get to play 2 consecutive games against Houston in a scheduling quirk (1 home, 1 away). If the Sonics can't put away a bad Memphis team, they should be able to steal 1 of 2 vs. Houston. I hope.
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