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Win or lose in their previous exhibitions, the Sonics learned a little bit about themselves and the identity they're trying to develop.
If they weren't perfecting their up-tempo offense, then Rashard Lewis was taking
baby steps to becoming a dominating player or Brent Barry was continuing his
mid-career transition from shooting guard to point guard.
Last night, the Sonics gleaned little from their 88-71 loss to Golden State at the Lawlor Events Center on the Nevada campus.
They were good at the start, but the game soon deteriorated into three quarters
of turnovers, missed shots and blown assignments. Ticketmaster
Without their trademark perimeter scoring (3 of 16 on three-pointers), the Sonics
couldn't produce enough points to keep pace with the Warriors and were thoroughly
beaten in nearly every phase of the game.
Seattle was outrebounded 32-20 and had fewer assists (24 to 12).
"It looked like this was our first preseason game," coach Nate McMillan
said. "We weren't sharp at all."
The Sonics (3-2) might console themselves with the fact that three starters
— Ray Allen, Vladimir Radmanovic and Jerome James — did not play
because McMillan wanted to rest them after playing extended minutes the night
before.
However, the Warriors (3-1) were also without three starters: Nick Van Exel
(left knee tendinitis), Troy Murphy (plantar fasciitis in his right foot) and
Mike Dunleavy. In essence, both teams were equally matched. Ticketmaster
The first quarter provided a few insightful moments.
During one sequence, Lewis showcased his refined open-court game. With the ball
on the wing, he used a nifty cross-over dribble and spin move to separate himself
from Calbert Cheaney and convert a running short jumper late in the first quarter.
Otherwise, the exhibition was a total loss, and the biggest losers might have
been the Sonics' four free agents who wasted an opportunity to impress.
The Sonics lost control of the game in the second quarter when the reserves
came in and squandered a 26-23 first quarter lead built almost solely by Barry,
who made his first four shots, including a pair of three-pointers, for 11 points.
Barry finished with a team-high 16 points and Lewis had 11. Ticketmaster
Once the bench players took over, the momentum swung toward Golden State.
The Sonics didn't have a lineup that could consistently produce points. Point
guard Ronald Murray and Vitaly Potapenko, two players expected to anchor the
reserves, played major minutes with a trio of free agents (Jason Hart, Galen
Young and Mikki Moore) fighting for a roster spot.
The combination didn't work because no one took the scoring lead and no one
could stop Warriors point guard Avery Johnson, who scored 14 points in the second
period to lead Golden State to a 52-35 halftime lead.
"Sometimes it's tough when you get free agents playing together,"
Sonics free agent Richie Frahm said. "We get out there and we try to show
what we can do, and things get a little out of control."
Frahm, however, wasn't to blame. He didn't enter the game until roughly four
minutes remained in the third quarter, when McMillan inserted the three-point
specialist for an ineffective Calvin Booth, who missed all six of his shots
and had one rebound in 15 minutes.