Grand Theft 2K11 : DUB Edition wrote:Is it just me, or do the Stealth jerseys on the pic have no team names?
Sit wrote:Thanks for supporting my team X
Sit wrote:Next game: Wolves @ Stealth.
Updated: January 12, 2014
Proving To Be Worthy Contenders?
Seattle are on the verge of joining a select group and pushing league followers to really believe that they can win a title.
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Andrew Bogut has been an underrated player in the Stealth’s recent dominance
By Woody Hannes
ESPN.com Writer
The Seattle Stealth ended up winning 18 games in a row with their stumble across the finish line against the Charlotte Bobcats. That finish against the Bobcats was reminiscent of the team’s early form to start the NBA season. That was when Seattle hovered around the .500 mark for all of November. A few nights later, Kevin and ‘Krew’ would make up for their sloppy form in a 19th straight win and demolition of the Washington Wizards in the country’s capital.
Back in November, everyone knew that Seattle looked pretty average but dismissed this as another slow start to the season and no need to worry. Although everyone had pretty much conceded that the Stealth were going to get better as the season went on; who could have guess that they would be THIS good?
Seattle had tied three other teams who have held 18 game winning streaks.
After their win against the Wizards, the Stealth tied the 1999-2000 Lakers’ fourth best mark of 19 straight wins. The only winning streaks that are longer than the Stealth’s current one are the following three:33 game win streak: 71-72 Lakers
22 game win streak: 07-08 Rockets
20 game win streak: 70-71 Bucks
If you ignore the Rockets (who were knocked out in the first round that season and were playing without Yao Ming), this is some pretty elite company.
This is some pretty historic company.
Actually, this is NBA championship-winning company.
The 70-71 Bucks and both Lakers teams mentioned won championships during the seasons that they set record length regular season winning streaks. Jason Kidd will be happy to hear about that.
Could the Stealth add themselves to the list?
The Stealth aren’t just winning games against bad teams; they’ve been doing it against good teams too (Portland, Dallas, Indiana, Miami just to name a few). And against the bad teams; the Stealth are outright destroying them (Check the past drubbings against the Houston and Washington – these two are the most impressive wins this season).
The cause for Seattle’s success has to be the play of NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant. Durant struggled early on in the season and it was no coincidence that the team struggled as well. Ever since vowing to play a more aggressive game of basketball, Durant not only has set himself up for solid MVP consideration but has also lifted his team to new heights. After two back to back trips to the Western Conference Finals; it’s hard to think of anything other than winning it all for Seattle to really impress followers. However, the team is doing it right now by writing a little bit of history as they position themselves for home court advantage and easy passage to the NBA Finals. This is all thanks to Kevin.
After Kevin, the next most important piece of the team is Andrew Bogut. The Australian center is proving his billing as a superstar of the game ever since being selected with the number 1 overall draft pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. His story is well known and what is understated is his worth to this team. Bogut’s court smarts and knack for making the right passes are what sets him apart from the typical NBA center. A lot of players in this league can score the rock or play solid interior defense. Only a few can do both. And then there’s Bogut who is the quintessential NBA superstar center of the modern day. Bogut does all of that plus more.
Jason Kidd continues to threaten to average a double double even though he is in his 40s. Reshawn Tyson is continually rising as a superstar. Allen Iverson can give you 20-25 points on any given night, whether he is starting or not. David Lee is an All-Star masquerading as a role player and Adam Morrison even has his moustache again.
Can these guys win a title even though they have pretty much had the same team for nearly 5 years now? This season is different to the past two for one significant reason: George Karl. Karl is revered by all of his players (Said Durant, “The return of Coach Karl is the best thing to happen to us as a ball club.”) and that is the biggest move that the team could have made last summer after another 7 game series defeat to the eventual champion Kings.
The Western Conference Finals was always going to be the furthest the team would have gotten with Will Sit at the helm. Sit tried too hard to get his team to do something they didn’t want to do – play defense. It drove him mad and it drove his players mad. Karl is the opposite; he doesn’t care about defense. And this all-attack attitude has the team sailing. Karl has the potential to guide this team to an NBA Finals; he’s done it before after all.
Once there, the Stealth will face a very valid concern though. Even if the Stealth romp their way through the regular season; are they tough enough to win in the playoffs?
Seattle has a number of strong opponents to knock out before they punch their tickets to collect that silverware. The Western Conference still has the likes of defending champs Sacramento. New Orleans, Utah and Golden State are strong teams as well. The Eastern Conference champions aren’t going to be walkovers with revamped squads in Cleveland and New Jersey. All of these teams can score and we all know that old-adage: ‘defense wins rings’.
In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy this Seattle Stealth win streak as it doesn’t appear like it’s going to end any time soon and it is a joy to watch these guys play their brand of basketball. Their pedigree as championship contenders grows with every win.
If Seattle wins it all this season – quote me in June.
Axel. wrote:Great article. You guys are in top form to win the championship. Don't go the way the Rockets went with their win streak.
Houndy wrote:Nice article, your team has the pieced to go all the way
Thierry • wrote:I'm gonna pretend I didn't read that. I know Tyson might have a small voice in his head "GO TO NY", but you gotta keep him, that quartet is just too good.
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