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March 27, 2007

Hey There Sonics, Been A While

After a somewhat lengthy hiatus, I caught three games in five days at Key Arena

It's been a while (almost two months) since I've posted in re: the Sonics. Odd confluence of circumstances there. The last couple games I watched in February were just disheartening enough to convince me that the only possible topic for a post would be the official announcement of the Sonics' participation in the Greg Oden/ Kevin Durant sweepstakes. Then they went on the road for a bit, I didn't have many tickets, and, well, ThatKid went radio-silent on the Supes.

Then, amidst minimal fanfare, I attended a whopping three games in five days. Whilst I'm not entirely sure that much has changed from mid-February in terms of the team's prospects, I was at least treated to two semi-exciting NBA games over the past couple days. That is, the Sonics definitely aren't making the playoffs, but not by enough to actually have a legit shot at Oden or Durant, and so they look locked in for the number nine pick in the draft and second-straight meaningless final month of games.

Sigh.

On the bright side, the team will be in Key Arena for at least one more year, and has unveiled its plans for a proposed new arena in the Puget Sound area. They even have a spiffy new web site called Event Center Facts where you can learn The Facts about the new arena and how it won't actually cost any taxpayers any more money (except for the parts where it will).

My big takeaways from the last five days of professional basketball here in C@L:

The Hibachi isn't terrible, though I find his free-throw routine completely boring and infuriating: whilst I was a little late to the party on the Gilbert Arenas blog, I will currently count myself amongst the many recent converts to Hibachi-related enthusiasms. Arenas schtick hasn’t yet gotten old for me, and is a refreshing counterpoint to the pro-wrestling conspiracies that can plague the NBA (here I mean the free-throw thing with the Mavs and the Heat in last year’s Finals). In fact, instead of pro-wrestling conspiracies, Arenas infuses the Association with a bit of pro-wrestling bravado. And though he came up short the evening prior in Portland, Arenas had a huge game against the Supes. Good for him. My one nit on Arenas is the absurd free-throw routine. It’s a little too precious.

The most exciting fan contest of the year so far: after almost a full season at Key Arena, it takes a lot for the TV-timeout entertainments to engage me. So let me tip my cap to the guy who made the shot from half-court as his 60 seconds expired (in which he needed to make a layup, a free throw, a three-pointer and a half-court shot) last Wednesday to win the 50-inch plasma (and it was a Samsung – not even a cut-rate brand). That was an outstanding little sliver of entertainment – and the arena definitely responded, arguably with more vigor and gusto than had been elicited by the play of the Sonics that evening. No comment.

I guess Ray-Ray is going to shut it down for the season: with the Sonics careening toward the lottery, it looks like Ray Allen will be opting for ankle surgery and ending his season. I mean, we can’t really blame him too too much. Apparently the ankle’s been bothering him for a while, and there really isn’t a point for him to be thrashing it around out there. He’s done his duty. See you next fall, Ray.

Rashard is playing for money right now: the converse of Ray Allen shutting it down is that Rashard Lewis most definitely is not. In fact, with trade rumors swirling and phrases like “max contract” being bandied about, well, Rashard has something to play for. And play for he is! With the exception of the stinker against the Spurs (“Looks like Rashard had a big night last night…”), he was dominant against the Wizards and the Wolves. It’s just really hard to guard 6’10” dudes who have post moves and shoot the three. He’s going to make a lot of money this summer.

David Foster Wallace needs to write a fawning essay about Kevin Garnett: I think I may have mentioned this before, but Kevin Garnett is a completely underappreciated pro athlete. Beyond the obvious “he’s really good” parts and the fact that he’s surrounded by a cast of complete assclowns (I imagine that every time one of his teammates scores a basket or collects a rebound, Garnett must experience a moment of silent relief: “Whew, that’s one fewer thing I have to do tonight”), he’s just incredibly graceful to watch. I don’t mean to go all David-Foster-Wallace-On-Roger-Federer about him, but it’s pretty nifty. Anyhoo.

Key Arena Pub Crawl: Friday night was one of those nights where I treated the stadium like one big bar. Specifically, one big sports bar. This was due to the fact that I hadn't really seen enough college basketball last week, and wanted to catch at least the Friday Sweet 16 games. Thus, I spent the first qurter in my seat watching the Sonics lollygag around. For the second quarter, we rolled to the bar on the first level on the Queen Anne side and caught the two-A hoops. Halftime meant the compulsory jaunt to Seatle Sips. For the third quarter, we checked out the Fox HD lounge (my first time ever!), which was bouncing and filled with enthusiastic Oregon fans. And then we rolled back to our seats for the end of the game we had paid ($12.50 scalped!) to see. Whew. Usually you only pull a stunt like that at a baseball game!

The Storm Dance Team...umm, they're children: I guess it's just a, ahem, different market for the WNBA. That is, check out the Storm version of the dance team. I had no idea:

The Spurs are wildly better than the Sonics; it really isn't close: the Spurs wiped the floor with the Supes on Sunday, showing them how it's done to the tune of a 41-point win. That's 41 points ON THE SONICS' HOME FLOOR. Ugh. The most disheartening part was how well the Spurs actually played, especially on offense -- they just play so well. The ball. Just. Keeps. Moving. And then someone's open and they make a jumper. Also, Tim Duncan was completely toying with the succession of folks who attempted to defend him. But it isn't just talent that makes the Spurs better -- they actually have "a plan" on offense and play hard on defense. Turns out that makes a difference! Who knew!

Also, I’m in Japan now. More on that later in the week.

Sonics Attendance Record: 9-7 (still over .500!).

Posted by thatkid at March 27, 2007 8:47 PM under Sonics

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