Haywood. Spencer Haywood. You gotta read this. What a life.
"With the players, it still pains me. They don't give me any respect for what I went through for them. Jackie Robinson had support. I didn't."
Hill's Will For Wilcox To Chill
"Hill said the primary reason Wilcox isn't scoring at his pace from last season is he is not getting the ball on fast breaks. In 2005-06, Wilcox dazzled Sonics fans with his array of alley-oops and vicious putback dunks.
Now, Hill said, he either gets passed up on the break or is settling for a still-developing outside jumper.
"If he picks his spots within our offense, his scoring will go way up," Hill said. "And we've missed him some running to the rim. And he's such a nice guy, he won't make any of his teammates accountable for that. That has to be me because he won't do it."
I agree they could find Chris more on the break. I will say that I don't think there's a faster PF from endline to endline than Chris Wilcox.
"He pushes both buttons, good and bad," Karl said. "There are times when you are happy with him when you walk out of the arena and other times you would like to strangle him."
Hi pot, my name's kettle!
Props to P for this interesting primer on the Lenovo stat.
Well, let's start with an easy question. Which two Sonics players work best together?
If you answered Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, the NBA's top-scoring duo (49.6 points per game), you're not even close. In fact, according to the Lenovo Stat, there are nine two-man Sonics combinations that are more efficient.
And there's so much more. Click on the "Stat Geeky" links on the left hand side of the front page if you'd like to know more, or just ask TK, who is clearly the site MVSP (Most Valuable Statistician/Poster) and an invaluable resource on such things. :)
And a long running Sonic soap opera appears to be over for now. Frank Hughes writes that Sene won't be sent to the NBDL. Yet. Lot of nice tidbits by Frank today.
The team was considering sending Sene to the Idaho Stampede, the Sonics’ developmental league affiliate near Boise, to develop. The Stampede begins its season this Friday.
However, with the recent knee pain that Danny Fortson is experiencing and the team’s already evident lack of depth at the center position, general manager Rick Sund said he does not foresee Sene being sent to Idaho.
Has Andreas Gluteus Maximus or whatever his name is even played once yet?
Luke Jackson's Bad Back:
Though Luke Ridnour’s college teammate Luke Jackson is a free agent and available to sign, Hill said the Sonics have had no conversations about acquiring the player taken 10th in the 2004 draft.
“We have talked about him before,†Hill said. “We talked about him last year. We have not talked about him this year at all. He has been injured is the biggest thing. The kid says his back is fine, but the back is a significant thing and if we were ever to be involved there would have to be a very thorough examination of his back. I loved him in college. And I think he can be a good pro in the right setting. He is skilled.â€
And finally:
“The Luke-Earl dilemma is a riddle inside a mystery wrapped up in an enigma. That’s what it is. If they ever get on the same page and accept being a Sonic and playing hard for all the right reasons, we will be better because of it. Luke is there. Earl for whatever reason hasn’t found his rhythm.â€
– Sonics coach Bob Hill on his point guard situation with Luke Ridnour and Earl Watson.