Sonics fall to 0-2
SEATTLE — The outcome was about as predictable as a superhero flick. The Sonics hung in there for three and a half quarters before the Suns just tightened up at both ends and ran away with the win. While the Sonics were looking for a go-to guy late, guys like Marcus Banks and Steve Nash and Grant Hill and Amare Stoudemire made sure to seal it on offense. Raja Bell did his thing to seal it defensively, coming up with a big charge call on Durant in the final three minutes. While you can’t ask for too much out of Durant, he looked to be too passive in the second half. He had 18 at the half and sat on 22 for much of the final 24 minutes. He drilled a baseline jumper and a deep 3 from the top of the key to give him his final total of 27. He deferred way too much. At some point, though, he will learn to take over like he used to do at Texas. He tried during that brief five-point stretch. But that was all he had. For now, he’ll need more help from his teammates. He’ll still be a star.
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The Good and Bad of KeyArena
SEATTLE — The ironic thing about KeyArena is that, for all its shortcomings, it’s a great place to watch a ball game. There isn’t a bad seat in the building. It gets loud (and these fans are loud and proud tonight). And it’s not massive like, say, Dallas’ American Airlines, so it’s a great atmosphere and you don’t feel like you’re a state away from the action. The problem for owners is that it’s so small, (the smallest in the NBA) that it doesn’t have the biggest money makers of today. Not enough suites. Not enough concession space. Not enough VIP areas. And no space for restaurants. It’s the same thing that’s going on in Oklahoma City right now with the Ford Center.
That’s a tricky balancing act. Owners need to make money, but fans deserve a great atmosphere and a good time. Houston’s Toyota Center has a great mix. Denver’s Pepsi Center is considered one of the best. You also won’t get many complaints about Staples Center in L.A. or FedEx Forum in Memphis. The only thing keeping the Hawks’ Phillips Arena off the list is that that will never be considered a great atmosphere until the place draws more than 5,000 a night. I’m quite fond of Milwaukee’s Bradley Center, which is a great place to watch a game and provides a great atmosphere but is widely considered sub par.
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I've Spotted Bennett
SEATTLE — Clay Bennett is indeed in attendance, sitting in a suite with, of all people, Bill Russell. There are only two other people in the suite with him, a woman who might be his wife, and a man who looks to be a suite attendant or security. He is almost directly across from the Suns’ bench, a few suites over from center court. No commotion has been seen from that direction, but the folks right in front of him has to know he’s there. I’m at the opposite side of the arena, so I can’t see his facial expressions or make out that many details. He looks to be having dinner or maybe just a drink. All I can make out is he wiped his mouth with a napkin and is chatting it up a lot with the Hall of Famer. Another ”Save Our Sonics” chant just broke out late in the third quarter, but there’s not telling what kind of reaction he has had to the two messages. Of a lot less importance, Kid Rock, Warren Moon and about four members of the Seahawks are also in attendance.
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I’ve Spotted Bennett
SEATTLE — Clay Bennett is indeed in attendance, sitting in a suite with, of all people, Bill Russell. There are only two other people in the suite with him, a woman who might be his wife, and a man who looks to be a suite attendant or security. He is almost directly across from the Suns’ bench, a few suites over from center court. No commotion has been seen from that direction, but the folks right in front of him has to know he’s there. I’m at the opposite side of the arena, so I can’t see his facial expressions or make out that many details. He looks to be having dinner or maybe just a drink. All I can make out is he wiped his mouth with a napkin and is chatting it up a lot with the Hall of Famer. Another ”Save Our Sonics” chant just broke out late in the third quarter, but there’s not telling what kind of reaction he has had to the two messages. Of a lot less importance, Kid Rock, Warren Moon and about four members of the Seahawks are also in attendance.
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Halftime at KeyArena
SEATTLE — After several technical difficulties. I’m up and running. I had no internet connection for the entire first half. The Sonics lead the Suns 58-55 at the break. Kevin Durant has 18 points. Make that 18 impressive points. He’s done it all. Hit step back jumpers. 3-pointers. Dunks. Attacked the rim. Got to the foul line. This guy’s going to be great. What’s most impressive about him is his basketball IQ. You can tell he knows the game. Hearing it from coaches and seeing it are two totally different things. He ran a pick and roll one time down the court in the first quarter with Nick Collison and hit him at the perfect time for Collison to get a wide open layup. He looked a little winded in the first half. Probably a result of his first NBA back-to-back. Big difference in a back-to-back against the Nuggets and Suns than AAU two years ago or OSU and Kansas last year.
As for the off-the-court stuff. There’s one sign that I see. It says NOklahoma on one side and Trade Bennett on the other. The two guys who came to the game together are pretty passionate about their cause. The only other occasion that something happened was halfway through the second quarter when half the arena began chanting “Save our Sonics.” It got pretty loud and passionate. No sign of Clay Bennett, although he’s said to be here. I definitely don’t see him sitting courtside like previous owner Howard Schultz once did or behind one of the baskets like he did at so many Hornets games at the Ford Center. I think he might be in a suite.
There is a nice crowd for the game. Several seats in the lower bowl end zones have gone unoccupied, but all in all it’s a good turnout. The report out of the Seattle papers was that there were 1,500 tickets remaining this morning. A lot of it might be because of Steve Nash and the Suns. There are a lot of Suns fans in here and some cheers from the crowd each time they score. My early impression is that there won’t be any sort of lame duck season up here. Of course there are 40 more home games to be played so anything can happen. But this team looks as if it will play hard every night. I suspect the fans here will come out and support hustle, dedication and Durant. Even if the losses pile up.
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At The Sonics Home Opener
SEATTLE — I made it to Seattle early Wednesday evening. Got a chance to talk to some sports fans last night and found an interesting mix so far. Some were in favor of building a new arena. Some thought renovations to KeyArena would be enough. Some wanted the Sonics to leave, that’s right leave, just to stick it to Seattle. I talked to a few guys who had absolutely nothing against Clay Bennett and had it out for Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. I’ll be running around town all day trying to survey the landscape and climate. I’m not that technologically sound, but the goal is to post pictures and video on this blog and NewsOK to provide some images of who certain people are and what things look like. I’ll also try to blog live from courtside at tonight’s game against the Phoenix Suns. The game is on TNT at 9:30, so you can tune in. But I expect the game to go a lot like last night’s in Denver, 120-103. The Sonics are in store for a lot of those this season. More to come.
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