Hov's Kings - Retired

[Grandmama Johnson]

Lakers-Heat:

Must-see game, considering the Lake Show's slow start and Heat still a curiosity to the rest of the NBA

[Axel The Great]

Yep, Fakers-Cheat. Hoping to see the Heat anhilate.

[Houndy]

Lakers-Heat

[hova-]

Despite improvements of players like Demarcus Cousins, the Sonics still haven't won a game this season.

With four games played, Seattle is still looking for it's first win of the season
Sonicsfan88 for Sonics.com
Posted on November 2nd 2011 6:16PM

Hello fellow Sonics supporters. The season is still looking pretty fresh and there is definitely no reason to panic, but our Seattle Supersonics sit at the last place of the Pacific Division (behind the 0-4 Suns and 0-3 Lakers, who would have thought that) and so far the team played with a little misfortune starting the season at home vs Denver and loosing four games in a row, three of them at home.


Close games in West coast battles

It all started with a neck breaker right at the beginning when our Sonics lost their home opener against the Denver Nuggets by a buzzer beating three pointer from Danilo Gallinari. Despite all the disappointment of loosing a game that seemed pretty much sealed for the Sonics, it was good to see rookie Luis Chase playing like he's been in the league for years. The 6-2 guard had 27 points on 8-12 shooting and added 7 dimes, 3 rebounds and 3 steals in the loss.

Only two days later on Saturday, the Sonics visited the Golden State Warriors for the first road game of the season and once again the team led until the last minute of the game.

"It's those situations that still show our inexperience", Coach Hova said later.

Leading by four, the Sonics defensive rotation stood still and allowed Stephen Curry, who had 24 points in the game, to knock down a three pointer with 40 seconds left. On the next possession, the Sonics turned the ball over and fouled Monta Ellis on the break who hit both free throws. Down by 1 with 14 seconds left, Tyreke Evans couldn't deliver and the Sonics had to foul Curry. He hit both free throws and the Sonics fell short, 116-119.

Next to Luis Chase, who stroke again, putting up an all-around 18 points, 6 boards, 8 assists and 3 steals, Omri Casspi put on work. The young Israeli had 36 points. Tyreke Evans added 21 and 5 steals, but the Warriors' trio of Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry and David Lee all scored more than 22 points and the Warriors shot a decent .48% from the field to beat Seattle.

Even more shocking was Jason Maxiell rolling his ankle after grabbing a rebound, landing on Ekpe Udoh's foot. Maxiell, who had 4 points and 5 boards at that times sprained his ankle, but x-rays were negative. Nevertheless he would miss the following two games being listed day-to-day.


Going South-West, Sonics vs Grizzlies

As if it wasn't bad enough to loose the starting power-forward to an injury (power forward is without a doubt the thinnest spot on our rotation), Donte Greene, backup forward and energizer off the bench, went down against Memphis after going to the basket in a heartbreaking scene.

Greene, who averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 boards per game in 17.0 minutes, had to be carried off the court and a backbone injury was speculated, but the Sonics medical staff diagnosed a serious muscle injury, causing the 6-11 forward to miss at least three weeks.

On a side note to this shocking moment, the Sonics lost 103-88 against 2-2 Griizzlies, loosing the 2nd half by 11 points. Luis Chase was flirting with a triple-double (14/8/9), but also had 6 turnovers. Tyreke Evans had a team-high 25 and 6 boards, but he also struggled with 5 turnovers. Both guards combined for 11 of the team's 13 turnovers.

Rudy Gay looked rock-solid for Memphis as he stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and Marc Gasol had 13 points and 15 rebounds.

Without a real power forward (Dante Cunningham played most of the minutes), the Sonics were outrebounded 61-42.


With Seattle hampered by injuries, the Mavs come to town

The Dallas Mavericks were not the right team in the right moment for Seattle when they visited Key Arena on Tuesday.

Without Jason Kidd, the Mavs look pretty much changed on offense spreading the floor and sharing the ball more often. Dirk Nowitzki scored 13 of his 20 in the 3rd quarter, when the Mavs grabbed a five point lead. The german played as efficient as a heat pump, shooting 10-14, mostly unblockable fadeways and also grabbing 8 rebounds and adding 7 assists.

"You can't guard him. He has this signature shot you can't block, and when we double teamed him he passed the ball quickly", Coach Hova praised his fellow countryman.

For the Sonics, who kept up with the Mavs until the third even leading by two points at the half, Tyreke Evans scored a season-high 36 points and Luis Chase added 11 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. The rookie only shot 3-11 from the field though and once again struggled with turnovers, having six TOs for the second time in a row.

"I think you all see his classy play, but at times he's too explosive and tries to do too much, leading to turnovers especially in transition", Hova stated later.

Demarcus Cousins had 9 points and 12 boards, almost averaging a double-double for the season with 8.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. The 21-year old center is crashing the boards (2.0 ORPG), but only shooting .32% from the field.

"It's difficult to find a balance between post-play and giving the ball to our very talented guards on the perimetre", co-Captain Nazr Mohammed said.

The Sonics will face the Thunder at home on Thursday before going on a four-game road trip meeting Portland, Utah, New Orleans and Dallas. Let's hope we can grab our 1st win in the next few games and decide those close games for us. Jason Maxiell will be back in action for the Thunder game and should give us a lift on the glass.

So far, take care, Sonics fans!







Billups has surgery, could miss up to six weeks ...
Andray Blatche breaks arm in Wizard's win over Pacers ...
Clippers beat Warriors behind Griffin's 32 points and 15 boards ...
Howard has 37 and 17 in win over T-Wolves ...
Spurs sloppy start into season (1-4) ...


Check Sonics stats and League Standings here ...

[kibaxx7]

Looking good man, sucks that you couldn't win yet. I think it was X or Lamrock that said this was his favorite association, I gotta agree, there's something I really like here

[hova-]

Thierry •, thanks man. I'm not so sure about those long written recaps without many pics and stuff, does not seem to attractive. But I don't have time & muse to recap every game.

About the team, it's really tough to win right now. Cousins can't hit shit (slightly over .300% FG) and although I like Chase, Evans is still the only real reliable option on offense. That's rebuilding I guess.

[Valor]

Oh shoot, your players need to step up if you want your job Hov

[kibaxx7]

I'm not so sure about those long written recaps without many pics and stuff, does not seem to attractive. But I don't have time & muse to recap every game

I had time before back in December, I was on vacations. But right now I'm struggling too. So I wanna post the last games and the playoffs, and for next season I'll start with weekly recaps or I'll never get through the three seasons!

[Grandmama Johnson]

Tough luck so far. I'm sure things will turn around, but playing the Thunder is unfortunately not the best way to end a losing streak. Still keeping the faith!

[hova-]

The Sonics surprisingly beat the Thunder, but cooled off loosing three straight.

Sonics grab first win, can't correct start to the season
Sonicsfan88 for Sonics.com
Posted on November 8th 2011 4:46PM

Eight games have been played so far this season and our Sonics still look pretty off, considering that they could only win one out of these eight games. Surprisingly, the Thunder were the team that fell short to Seattle. A beautiful win because of the - not regional - but definitely existing rivalry between two teams, but still not enough to get out of the cellar in the Western Conference.


The first win of the season - an act of balance

With Jason Maxiell back in the line-up, the Sonics were only missing Donte Greene against the Thunder.
OKC
came into the match on top of the Western Conference at 3-0 and Kevin Durant was looking as sharp as ever averaging close to 27 points and 9 boards per game. He wouldn't score that much against the Sonics, although he still managed to notch a double-double, 19 points and 12 rebounds. But the 2nd place in MVP votings last year only shot 9-23 from the field and 1-4 from downtown being defended very well in a collaboration of the Sonics' wing defenders.

Seattle grabbed a five point lead in the first and showed the most balanced scoring this season so far. Delonte West led the team with 17 points as the Sonics had six players in double-figures.

Leading by two at the half, the Sonics came straight out the gates and won the 3rd quarter 15-24. Dillon Rogers, the Sonics 2nd round draft choice, had 8 of his 12 points during this 3rd quarter run, which pretty much sealed the deal for Seattle.

The Thunder shot 31-75 and only had 9 assists. Russell Westbrook had 18 points and new acquisitions Thad Young and Aaron Brooks added a combined 29 off the bench.

For Seattle, Demarcus Cousins kept struggling with his shooting. The Kentucky big man scored 10 points and added 8 boards, but shot an horrendous 3-16 from the field.

"I think it was really a team effort. We defended Kevin Durant together, and we moved the ball around and scored together, all in all, a great win", Coach Hova said at the press conference.




The Sonics have yet to find a hierarchy to stay consistent.

Lacking an identity

After winning the first game of the season, the Sonics went on the road for three games, against Portland, Utah and New Orleans.

This first road trip of the season (which will be capped off by the upcoming match @Dallas) pretty much showed that the Sonics are still looking for their identity.

Playing a mixture of fastbreak basketball and half-court play, it's tough to answer which style fits more to the team right now.

Against Portland, the team was forced to play more slowly, resulting in many passes for Demarcus Cousins down low. The starting center had 16 points and 7 rebounds against Greg Oden, but also committed 4 turnovers in 37 minutes.

Whilst the Blazers took their own, usual path, playing their slow two-man game with Brandon Roy (16 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists) and an once again overwhelming LaMarcus Aldridge (27/12), the Sonics two topscorers Tyreke Evans and Luis Chase had problems to find open shots and possibilities to run the break.

Evans finished with 22 points shooting only 7-19 from the floor, Chase continued to struggle shooting 1-8 en route for 5 points (adding 5 boards and 2 assists).

The Sonics were outscored 16-28 in the third and lost the game 85-101.


One day later against Utah, the Sonics had the same problems. "We just don't have that set of plays which works on all occasions so far", Omri Casspi said after the game, which the Sonics lost 89-94.

Casspi himself is one of the major points of critique for Coach Hova, as the young Israeli still hasn't learned to attack the basket.

"His post game has gotten better, but we need him to attack the basket and get to the foul line", the Sonics Coach says about his small forward. Casspi has only gone to the line 12 times in 8 games so far this season. (compared to 28 three point attempts). He is averaging 14 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, shooting .436% from the field.

Demarcus Cousins seemed somewhat rehabilitated as he shot 6-10 from the floor at Salt Lake City, putting up 16 points, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Still, he could not stop Al Jefferson who came to play and had 31 and 12 boards. Paul Millsap added 16, 9 and four dimes to lift the Jazz to their 2nd win of the season.


Jarvis Hayes (l.) had 25 against New Orleans and will start in the next match. Rookie Dillon Rogers (m.) surprised recently with his good play.

Getting blown out by the Hornets, announcing a new starter

Visiting one of the best home teams, the New Orleans Hornets, was not the best way to snatch that loosing streak for the Sonics.

The Hornets led by 9 after one, by 16 at half, and 93-119 in the end.

Trevor Ariza had a great shooting night scoring 28 points in 31 minutes and the ever consistent David West, who will be a free agent this summer added 18 points and 8 rebounds.

Chris Paul was pretty cool from the field (3-10) but dished out 10 assists and grabbed 3 rebounds.

Coach Hova only had great praise for the upcoming free agent. "For sure it'd be great to get a guy like him into our boat, but that's still too far away. We have to show him how attractive it is to play here first. I also think David (West) played really great. New Orleans will try everything to keep those two guys".

But the Coach also did not save up nice words for Demarcus Cousins. "He's so aggressive and really matured these days. Instead of partying he's working out with me, Jason (Kidd) and the other coaches. He struggled starting the season, but right now, he's playing very well for us", Hova said.

Cousins, had 8 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and a career-high 5 blocks against New Orleans. The big man went to the line 24 times in the last three games and had 8 blocks, showing his energy and aggressiveness.

For the Sonics, it was the bench that showed some signs of resistence. Delonte West had 18 points and Jarvis Hayes convinced with 25 points and 6-9 from three point range. Rumours are spreading that the former Wizard, Piston and Celtic will grab Omri Casspi's starting spot.

Luis Chase had his third game with six turnovers this season but showed off some hoops when he dunked on three Hornets in the 2nd quarter. Watch out for an interview with the rookie on Sonics.com soon.

Let's hope we can turn things around against the Mavs.

So far, take care, Sonics fans!







Dejuan Blair breaks jaw, out for six weeks ...
JR Smith will miss four weeks with a strained calf ...
Heat stay undefeated, go 7-0 with win over Wizards ...
Meredith explodes, posts 27/10/8 in blowout win over Warriors ...
Rockets stay on top in the West (5-1) with win over Wolves ...


Check Sonics stats and League Standings here ...

[kibaxx7]

I'd keep starting Casspi, but that's me. Hopefully you can win some more games soon, man.

[hova-]

Thierry •, we're in a position where I have to try everything that could help us. Hayes is really better than you all think. My suggestion for anybody looking for a solid defender and shooter on the three.

[Valor]

I'd keep starting Casspi, but that's me. Hopefully you can win some more games soon, man.

I say stick with Casspi too

[Axel The Great]

At least the team got its first win. Nice job holding Durant to poor shooting, I hate going up against him in 2K11.

[Martti.]

God, I love those jerseys.

[The X]

1-7, pretty sorry start there. I think my T-wolves can one up that

[Justine.]

Meredith! Sucks about the team record, but good job containing Durant.

[hova-]

Valor, Hayes will get his chance, but Casspi will see significant minutes nevertheless, he can score in a hurry and I know that.

Axel., actually it was the only simmed game of the weak, so my "good" wing defenders like Hayes and West could contain him on paper. Had I played, it might have been another story.

Martti., thanks man

The X, really a weak start to the season. I hope we can bounce back or Hova might get fired

Justine., meredith's playing better recently, but still shooting horribly from the field. The game vs the Warriors was his first top game.

[Lamrock]

It's a shame to see such a poor start. Hope you can get DMC's shooting back on track. I only used the Kings a couple times in 2K, but I always had atrocious shooting games with 'Reke and Cousins (and dominated with Udrih, who I don't think you have anymore)

[hova-]

Lamrock, I do have Udrih, but he's out of the rotation. He averaged 9 points and 5 dimes on .39% shooting last year, and has fallen behind Chase, West and Dooling in my rotation. Maybe I'll give him a chance one day.

Cousins worst shooting night (3-16) was the game I simmed, I rarely shoot under .50% with him because his hook is solid and his drop step quite powerful.

I have a trade in my mind at the moment, simply because I don't want to miss the Playoffs again. We'll see. thanks for following.

[hova-]

"Once you are in the NBA you notice that everybody is playing injured."

Starting the season the wrong way - Luis Chase about the Sonics' struggles, injuries and dunking on three guys
Sonicsfan88 for Sonics.com
Posted on November 10th 2011 7:16PM

The Sonics are struggling at 1-8 right now, a record worse than anybody expected from a team stacked with talented players like Tyreke Evans (All NBA 3rd team last year), rookie Luis Chase or big man Demarcus Cousins (All Rookie 2nd team last year). The Sonics played against Dallas for the second time in nine days capping off a four-game road trip. Our team did not come away with one win on this road trip and is still winless away from Key Arena. We had the chance to talk to top rookie Luis Chase after the game.


Recap: SEA @ DAL 98-102

The Sonics had a pretty good start into their 2nd meeting with the Mavs (4-2) and a lot of it had to do with rookie Luis Chase. The Indiana State product scored 12 of his 19 points in the first quarter to give the Sonics a three point lead. Seattle led by as much as 10 in the first, but the Mavs came back, thanks to a career night by a guy they call "tough juice".



Butler with new career-high

Caron Butler had a career night shooting 17-28 from the floor and 13-15 from the free throw line en route for 47 points in 39 minutes. He scored 29 in the first half and the Sonics just could not find an answer to him.

"I just went hot, but I gotta give a lot of credit to Dirk, passing the ball out of double-teams and stuff", Butler said later.

Indeed, Dirk Nowitzki was the focus of the Sonics' defense, maybe a bit too much of a focus. Seattle did everything to contain the German, who still shot 7-10 from the field and added 16 boards and 3 assists to his 14 points.

"Well, the goal was to not give him any open looks, and considered that he only took 10 shots, we did a good job. We just have to watch out that we don't allow other guys to score too easily", Coach Hova told the media later.

Butler scored on drives, post-ups and mid-range shots, showing off his versatility and complete repertoire. The Mavs went on a scoring spree in the 3rd outplaying the Sonics 21-29.



Caron Butler(l.) was all over the place. Demarcus Cousins(r.) with one of his 2 blocked shots.

Evans tattered, Hayes convincing, Casspi satisfied

The Sonics stayed in the game in the fourth where they scored 32 points, but it was pretty obvious that they could not cut the deficit to any further than six points. A reason was definitely Tyreke Evans' injury.

The Memphis alumni played with a bruised hip and only logged in 31 minutes, the lowest total this season. He went 6-15 from the floor and only scored 16 points. Things became even worse when Luis Chase got called for the blocking foul as Caron Butler went right into him with his shoulder bumping Chase's chest.

Chase had to leave the court but returned later. He only scored 5 points after the accident, which Coach Hova described as an "obvious charge".

A better story was the starting spot for forward Jarvis Hayes. The 30-year old scored 17 points on 8-14 shooting and also added 9 boards to the stat sheet. Omri Casspi, who lost his starting spot after some criticism from Coach Hova, scored 14 points in 19 minutes off the bench. The young Israeli said that he has "no problems coming off the bench" and sees it as "a big chance to have a different impact to the game".

Demarcus Cousins had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, but still doesn't look efficient on his shooting (5-16). Jason Maxiell added 9 points and 13 rebounds.

phpBB [video]

Point guard Luis Chase is so far averaging 13.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 30.3 minutes per game. He is also adding 1.7 steals per game. His shooting has gone down in the last few games as he is shooting .420% from the field and .125% from three point land (1-8), .745% from the charity stripe. He's averaging 3.3 turnovers per game (4th in the league).


Sonics.com: Hey Luis, nice to have you here after that tough loss against the Mavs. Any words about the game?

Chase: Hi, I'm glad to be here. Right now it's tough to find any words. I mean we once again weren't able to snatch a win and are at 1-8 right now. Loosing always hurts and it hurts me in a special way because I'm not used to it. Let's hope we can bounce back at home against the Pistons.

Sonics.com: Right now, it seems like you've lost your rhythm from the beginning of the season. Can you imagine any reason?

Chase: Well, I think that guys noticed that I can play in this league. The defenses are giving me a hard time. I remember the Blazers game were Eric Maynor did a good job defending me. He ended up with like 5 fouls, but he got me to miss my beat. I have to work on that, because it hurts my team.

Sonics.com: What about your injury? Caron Butler bumped into you and you had to leave the court.

Chase: It definitely affected my game and it's still hurting, but I tell you something. The first thing you notice when you come into this league, is that everybody is playing with injuries. It's normal for a professional athlete. No one is at 100%. You just cannot let it affect you too much. I have never been injured seriously at all, but it will come to me and that is what I'm training for. I changed my diet completely. When you look at my first college year pics, man I was quite fat (grins). Now, I feel like I have to care about my body and you will see it on the court.

Sonics.com: You're one of the explosive guards in the league and there was a scene against the Hornets where you dunked on three defenders in one play. Will we see you in the dunk contest?

Chase: (laughs) Absolutely not. I'm an ingame dunker. I can hurt people when I come off the dribble and have enough space to elevate. But I doubt that I have enough hops to outdunk Blake (Griffin) or the other guys. Also, I like it more when it counts. You don't get two points for your bucket in the dunk contest.

Sonics.com: Cool, so the Sonics have been part of trade rumours recently, looking for a big man. What do you think about it?

Chase: Honestly, I like it. It will be tough to see someone leaving, because I like everybody on this squad. But with the injury of Donte (Greene) we are pretty undermanned down low. The front office knows what to do and I have trust in them.

Sonics.com: One last question, Luis: Can you promise a win against the Pistons and how many points will you score?

Chase: (serious) I can do that. For sure. We will win against the Pistons, I mean they are in an even worse situation than we are (0-6). I don't give anything about my numbers though. If I score one point and we win, it's okay. But you might watch out, I'm getting used to all the bumps and fouls and I'm sure I can help us winning.




Wall has 31/6/11 in Wizards 102-110 win vs Milwaukee ...
LeBron and Pau named Players Of The Week ...
Amar'e scores 39 as Knicks blow out Bobcats 67-104 at home ...
Manu's triple double (24/11/11) sparks Spurs past Grizzlies for first win of the season ...
Heat win again, go for 8-0 ...


Check Sonics stats and League Standings here ...

[shadowgrin]

Really love seeing those green jerseys.

[hova-]

Everybody seems to like the jerseys

Totally forgot to embed the youtube highlights. Enjoy !

[Axel The Great]

Man, great job limiting Dirk's attempts; I find it difficult doing that in 2K11. Too bad about Caron's Melo-esque explosion like in my D.

Nice interview with Chase, I think this should become a famous quote:

The first thing you notice when you come into this league, is that everybody is playing with injuries.

[hova-]

Axel., I was double-teaming Dirk all the time but he either made the quick pass or just took an unblockable fade-away that went in too often. Butler was on fire, I mean really on fire. It wasn't like when players take 30 shots in this game and make 15, scoring 35 on you. He really could not be stopped, was either fouled (and made the shot) or just took mid-range shots and quick pull-ups. I did not know what to do against him. Doubling perimetre players is risky imho, because when they pass out of the double-team it often happens that a big man down low is completely unguarded which is a high percentage shot.

About the quote, I read it in an interview with a rookie IRL. Won't tell who it was though, because now it is Chase's quote.