How's the crack?

The odds line for most of the games has been around 5 to 6 points favoring the Spurs. That's understandable, they have a better record, they are a good team, most prognosticators pick them to be in the finals.

So, why would the odds line be 10 for the game in San Antonio?

The lines before that had the Spurs by 6.

Is it because Rashard Lewis might be out again?

He was out of last night's game and somehow the Sonics won.

I just don't see either team winning by that much the rest of the way. Both teams play hard every play and the Sonics, unlike the Spurs, know what the other team wants to do. I don't know if I can say that the Sonics will win another game on the Spurs floor but I would be shocked to see them lose by 10 to anybody, anywhere, right now.

Maybe

Maybe they lose game five and after win two against the Spurs and that has been done before. Maybe they need to get a win on the Spurs home floor and that has been done before. Maybe the Spurs have gone up 2-0 and lost a series, like last year, it's been done before.

Maybe the Sonics are just better?

Maybe not, but right now, it is a fair question. There is an argument to be made and that argument is being made by the Sonics to the Spurs in front of anybody watching it.

Maybe it really is all about one game at a time. Maybe the Sonics do not fear them as maybe they did in the first game.

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supersonicsfan

 

It's a Learning Machine

It's a learning machine that self replicates the parts in needs. Need a wing defender for 10 minutes? Wilkins. Need a post defender for your fouled out center for a possession with less than a minute to go? Potapenko. Need to occasionally score with something other than a put back or long range jumper? Luke scores a floater in the lane. Need a all around front court effort for an extended period of time to slow down Timmy? Collison. Need Danny Fortson to play basketball without chirping at the refs? Done. Need to compete without fear? Done.

All very good.

Just as a young player is inconsistent I suspect that this young team will be inconsistent until the collective team is more mature. One game isn't enough in the maturation process, but two? Maybe not. If the series ends up tied 2-2 then I think the Spurs turn the fear of repeating last year into wins. Hmmm, this might go 6 games, regardless, it will be worth watching.

What is unique about the playoffs as a learning experience is that what you learn in one game you can apply against the same team a few days later. I do not have a notion one way or another about which team will win the next game yet but I do have a new measuring stick, the fans picked the stick up off the floor when they walked out of Key Arena at the end of last nights game. it had SuperSonic finger prints on one end and silver and black uniform threads on the other, spots of blood, a few hairs. I'm not sure how to explain a one point win as giving the other team a beating but that's what it was last night. Hopefully the fans return on Sunday with the new measuring stick, give it back to the players to use again with even more confidence. I don't know if they will win the game but hopefully they can compete with this new armor. This one game does more for the future than beating the kings and winning the first round series.

What did they learn from this? Hopefully they learned that role players win regular season games by exploiting their proficiency at the skill that has landed them their current role and that in the playoffs proficiency must be proved out to be mastery or you lose. There are two seasons.

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supersonicsfan