Finally, the Wolves beat a team that they should. It should’ve been a lot closer than it was though. The Sonics couldn’t buy a basket in the fourth quarter and Ray Allen looked exhausted. They showed him running back down the court of defense and he looked like maybe he wished he was somewhere else. The Sonics played the night before and have had a difficult season, so I can’t blame the man for being tired. Rashard Lewis didn’t get anything done last night either. He’s battling a nagging injury and was double teamed almost every time he touched the ball. KG and Ricky did their thing and that was enough for the Wolves to hold on, then eventually pull away with the win.
Thing I Saw
Passing – Marcus Banks, once again, showed us how good of a passer he can be, and how bad a decision maker he can be. Two silly fouls and a turnover, countered by a great dish to Ricky for a dunk. He picks Ridnour’s pocket, then botches a reverse dunk but gets his own rebound and makes a contested lay-up. A guy who’s passing has been overlooked this season is Trenton Hassell’s. He’s really become a solid passer – see ally-oop to KG late in the game. We know he can play defense and can score when needed, but he’s shown that he can be a reliable distributor as well. Luke Ridnour is a good point guard. He plays for a crappy team, which is too bad for him because I believe that on a better team, he eventually becomes an All Star. He’s not overly flashy, but he’s a smart player who gets his guys the ball where they want it. He needs to develop more of a jump shot, but he’s a classic pass-first point guard.
Ricky, Ricky, Ricky – He started the game 5 of 6 from the floor and scored 14 points. He then proceeded to miss his next 8 shots. He hit three of his last six to finish the game. Some call him a poor man’s Latrell Sprewell and with that we also get Spree’s streakiness. I love what Ricky brings to this team, most of the time. He’s still prone to taking some bad shots and has shown his Huddy-like ability to “heat check” at any given moment. He’s lead the team in scoring 5 of the 12 games he’s played for us and has had some good shooting nights and some bad ones. I guess we'll take the good with the bad.
We Want These Guys? – The two players that seem to keep coming up in the trade rumors that our coach apparently wants on his team, play for his old squad. Ronald “Flip” Murray and Reggie Evans. I’m not sure why we want either of these guys. Flip was 4 of 11, 9 points, 3 assists and 3 turnovers in 24 minutes. Not bad, but we have enough guys at that position that all he’d do would sit on the bench. Reggie Evans had 2 points and 3 rebounds in 4 minutes. Sure, he’s a banger, but I don’t see what he would do to help this team besides not play defense and take shots away from KG. Clearly, if he’s only playing 4 minutes a game, there’s something wrong. I know Seattle is a mess, but when they lack rebounding and inside presence and the guy who’s supposed to provide that isn’t hardly getting into the game, there’s got to be something else there.
You Don’t See That Every Day
The Wolves made 30 of 35 free throws. In two of their past three games they’ve shot 35+ free throws. The last time they shot 30 in a game prior to that was January 27 against Houston. They don’t shoot a lot of free throws in general, but the new guys have helped that a little bit, even if the officiating hasn’t helped them out at all.
Did you see AC last night? He made 2 3’s, which considering he’s usually shooting 50% for the rim, is pretty miraculous. He also had a tip dunk on a Ricky Davis missed lay-up. It was awesome. I’m watching and Ricky misses and then the ball gets dunked. I’m thinking it was KG or Hass, but no, it’s the little guy from Hawaii throwing it down on Rashard Lewis and Nick Collison. GIT SOME KID!!!
Maybe I’m the only one who didn’t know, but Seattle apparently signed Bizzy Bone from Bone Thugs N Harmony. Yeah, he wears 54 and plays power forward. Oh, that’s Chris Wilcox? He’s Bizzy Bone!? Oh, no, it’s not Bizzy Bone. Okay, well I’m glad we got that cleared up. Boy is his hair bad.
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