Monthly Recap: JanuaryPart One: Team Report, Results, League Standings Monthly Recaps are divided into several parts in order to give readers a quick and organized overview. Part One of the Monthly Recap provides the league standings; divided into the two conferences. It also features the Seattle Stealth’s’ team report and schedule of games played in the last month (links are included to game recaps where applicable). Part Two will feature Player Statistics.Team ReportCoach George Karl is not the first member of the Stealth to say it: that the team has been in this position before. As the middle of the season lies just ahead, Seattle once again finds themselves high in the Western Conference Standings after a surprisingly successful January. The team went 10-4 for the month, including some nail biting wins and heartbreaking losses.
The best win of them all would have been the one to end the month. An Adam Morrison jumper at the buzzer sent Nuggets fans into stunned silence and the Stealth closer to the mantle of being Division leaders. “We want that home court advantage for the playoffs,” Durant stated after the game against Denver, “We’re pretty close to achieving that.”
That’s when Karl told Durant to not get ahead of himself, “If I recall correctly, this is a similar situation as last season when the team suffered a breakdown in the second half of the season. I think we all need to take a breather and take it one game at a time.”
The veteran coach is correct; Seattle has shown that they can mix it with the best when they have a full and healthy squad but one must admit that the January schedule has proved favorable for the side. The second half of the season would be tougher and if Seattle is to make the playoffs, they will need to dig in deep especially with such an injury prone roster.
Jason Kidd, who dislocated his finger in a game against the Phoenix Suns just two weeks ago, reiterated on what his coach said, “We can’t treat it as if we are already there (in the playoffs), and we still have another two and a half months of games left. Anything can happen between now and the postseason.”
The month of January saw the addition of Sebastian Telfair and that move was followed by the team winning eight of their nine games since the move was completed. Make no mistake though as Telfair isn’t going to win games by himself but he has proven to be a valuable backup for Kidd, notching 7 points and 7 assists in both games that Kidd was hurt.
As the season begins to reach its most exciting stage, the playoff race where teams jostle to get in good positions, Seattle needs all of its role players to step up. The likes of Telfair, Adam Morrison, Jeff Green, Chris Wilcox all need to step up to support Kevin Durant, Jason Kidd, and Jeff Green. “It’s vital everyone supports each other the rest of the way,” Coach Karl states.
January ScheduleJan 2 – Uth @ Sea: 103-101 L
Jan 6 – NJ @ Sea: 120-128 W
Jan 7 – Sea @ Min: 1222-127 L
Jan 9 – NO @ Sea: 120-95 L
Jan 10 – Sea @ Mil: 120-108 W
Jan 12 –
Sea @ NY: 87-82 WJan 14 – Den @ Sea: 101-114 W
Jan 16 – Det @ Sea: 107-111 W
Jan 18 – Orl @ Sea: 117-119 W
Jan 21 –
Sea @ Pho: 62-79 LJan 23 – Sea @ Sac: 129-101 W
Jan 26 – NY @ Sea: 104-129 W
Jan 28 – Dal @ Sea: 102-114 W
Jan 30 – Sea @ Den: 104-103 W
Western Conference Standings1. New Orleans Hornets (37-11)*
2. Denver Nuggets (31-17)*
3. Houston Rockets (29-17)
4. Seattle Stealth (28-19)
5. Minnesota Timberwolves (26-20)
6. Utah Jazz (26-21)
7. Los Angeles Lakers (26-22)*
8. San Antonio Spurs (22-22)
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9. Phoenix Suns (24-24)
10. Portland Trailblazers (23-23)
11. Dallas Mavericks (23-23)
12. Memphis Grizzlies (21-25)
13. Golden State Warriors (19-26)
14. Los Angeles Clippers (17-29)
15. Sacramento Kings (16-31)
Eastern Conference Standings1. Detroit Pistons (31-15)*
2. Atlanta Hawks (30-17)*
3. Boston Celtics (28-21)*
4. Orlando Magic (26-20)
5. Miami Heat (26-20)
6. Indiana Pacers (26-22)
7. Cleveland Cavaliers (26-25)
8. Chicago Bulls (23-23)
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9. Washington Wizards (23-24)
10. Philadelphia 76ers (20-26)
11. New Jersey Nets (19-27)
12. New York Knicks (16-32)
13. Toronto Raptors (15-34)
14. Charlotte Bobcats (14-33)
15. Milwaukee Bucks (13-35)
* Denotes Division Leader