Sunday night brought the nascent Laker dynasty to Key Arena, giving Sonics fans and a surprisingly large contingent of Kobe jersey-clad Lake Show frontrunners a glimpse of the team that should be hoisting the championship trophy in June. Though the young, new-look Supes were clearly fired up, they were nevertheless easily dispatched by the Kobe Bryant/Pau Gasol score-at-will juggernaut, with the game essentially decided by the second quarter. (Final score: 101-81)

Kobe was his usual intense self, hand-fighting with Jeff Green and Mikael Gelabale and riding the officiating crew so hard (with a 25 point lead) that he was ejected in the third quarter, producing the loudest Sonics fans cheers of the game.

Gasol, on the other hand, seemed to be just going through the motions, albeit quite effectively. His is a peculiar athleticism, with a physique that’s part Big Bird and part America’s Next Top Model and a vertical jump that would be lucky to hit 24″. He also runs the floor like an awkward JV center. Nevertheless, he dominates his 7′ competition, displaying a a quick first step, a remarkably agile dribble game, and great body control around the basket.

As for the Supes, Mikael Gelabale continues to be a revelation. Whereas before his recent D-League stint, he seemed entirely incapable of hitting a jumper and intensely aware of that fact, he now shoots confidently and accurately, which, combined with his impressive hops and high release, makes him a dangerous offensive player. Moreover, his athleticism makes him a nuisance on defense and an effective rebounder, despite his slender build. More Jelly, this commentator says.

The rooks also showed some progress. Jeff Green was occasionally flustered by Kobe Bryant’s quick hands, but nevertheless kept attacking both Bryant and Lamar Odom, shooting well from the perimeter, continuing to show a nice finishing touch on the break, and finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds.

Kevin Durant faced a Lakers defense that seemed keyed on stopping him, but he played aggressively, getting himself to the foul line and, in the third quarter, providing the night’s Sonics highlights by driving baseline and dunking on Ronny Turiaf and then Pau Gasol in subsequent possessions.

Finally, a big Buzzer Beater welcome to Ira Newble and Adrian Griffin, who made their Sonics debuts tonight, combining for 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, and 1 assist in 14 minutes of play.

A Lakers fan pops his Kobe jersey during a break in play. Note the shooting sleeve on his left arm.

A riveting account of a riveting game between two middling NBA teams.

The Wally Z/Ira Newble interregnum took a turn for the better last night, with your Seattle SuperSonics avenging Thursday’s defeat to the Portland Trailblazers, 99-87. On a night when Kevin Durant and UW alum Brandon Roy both struggled from the floor, recent D-Leaguer Mikael Gelabale stepped into the stardom void, lighting the Blazers up for 12 points in just six field goal attempts in just 20 minutes. No Look Luke Ridnour was similarly efficient, using his only outstanding NBA skill–his court sense–to set up Chris Wilcox for his only outstanding NBA skill–right-handed tomahawk dunks.

In other encouraging news, Jeff Green rebounded and defended well and continues to show an improving left hand. The progress isn’t fast, and it’s clear he has some confidence issues, but he also has the requisite tools, work ethic, and–when he relaxes–instincts to be a good NBA player.

Finally, the Supes recent ten-game stretch of .600 ball has PJ offering some unique musings on semantics, and posturing like the ol’ Zen Master. From Percy Allen’s Sonics blog at the Seattle Times:

When asked if the Sonics are better now than they were at the start of the season, Carlesimo chuckled.

“We’re not better,” he said. “Better would imply that we were good at that point.”

Lest any of you worry that this newfound pseudo-cleverness suggests that PJ’s losing his edge, please know that last night he wore his beige blazer and spent the better part of a second quarter timeout screaming at Kevin Durant, who mostly just looked at the scoreboard.

One last thing: Robert Swift has a torn meniscus in his right knee. It looks like we’ll have to wait at least another few months for the Wild Bobby Ginger era to truly begin.

This one got linked by a bunch of places, best of all True Hoop. Hooray me!

click play for musical accompaniment

Goodbye, Wally Z
Though know you I did not
You had the boy band looks
And a nice looking jump shot
The haters tried to hate
They whispered into your brain
Goddamnit Wally, pass…
To the refs you did complain

And it seems to me that in your head
You’re still prom king number one
Never knowing who to pass to
When the doubles come
But those triples look too good
Too good to resist
Your ankles gave out long before
Your ego ever did

Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Miami created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
When you called timeout
Oh the press, they hounded you
All that PJ had to say
Was @#(*&$#@#($*&@#($*&@!!

Goodbye, Wally Z
From the young man in the 25th row
It must be lonely at the top
But to Cleveland you must go

You know that this Sonics team has the stuff of of a feature length movie, but did you know that it has the stuff of a great boy band as well?

NBA fans and bloggers around the globe: I challenge you to come up with any set of four (or more) players from your team who could make a better boy band than the following Sonics foursome.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, it’s

Coast2Coast!

Kevin D: The youngest Coast2Coast!er does funny impressions of his coach and has a crush on Beyonce.

Mickael G: The shy Frenchmen has a cute smile, is good with kids…and, oh, that hair!

Wally Z: Even though now he has a lot, he’s still Wally from the cul-de-sac.

Luke R: The clean-living kid with the golden locks and voice is ready to dream big!

Big ups to Panamaniac and the rest of the original Coast2Coast crew

Wednesday saw the arrival of the Utah Jazz, a 1st place team and legitimate NBA title contender. For the few of you who don’t know, the Jazz franchise originated in New Orleans (the birthplace of the eponymous African-American art form), was transplanted to Salt Lake City (one of American’s whitest cities), and plays in Energy Solutions Arena (named after a radioactive waste storage company). As Don King would say, “only in America.”

The Jazz roster features, among others, Kyrylo Fesenko, the eminently quotable Ukrainian who currently toils in the D-League, and who on Monday outplayed our own, Van-Damme-loving, Senegalese center, Mo Sene, in a battle of the goofy, likeable foreign big men. The Jazz roster also contains the only two NBA players named Ronnie–Ronnie Price and Ronnie Brewer. Both of them are very athletic.

While Kyrylo couldn’t make it, tonight’s game did feature the Ronnies, who were considerably spryer than their more highly-touted teammates, who knew how to do just enough to dispose of the Sonics. The game seemed close throughout, with the home team deflecting passes, scrambling for loose balls, fighting for offensive rebounds…and, if you looked at the scoreboard, steadily slipping further behind as the fourth quarter progressed. The Jazz were just takin’ care of business: Deron Williams skipped the crossovers and instead just used his bulk to get what he needed; Carlos Boozer stoically got the better of Chris Wilcox; Paul Millsap made everything in the paint difficult, etc.

It should be clear by now to Sonics observers that, insofar as the team has one, Earl Watson is the answer to the point guard question. Luke Ridnour has quick hands and sees the court well, but he’s simply physically overmatched by most NBA point guards (most NBA everythings) and can’t score.

He does, however, help make Sonics roster the most boy-bandish in the league.

Finally, in one of the many lulls in the action created by Jerry Sloan’s hack-happy defensive scheme, I examined, out of relative boredom, the fine print on the back of my press pass. It seems I’m entitled to entry at any regular season Sonics home game as well as to Sonics home games in the first three rounds of the NBA playoffs. But not the finals. Bummer.

Final Score: Jazz 112, Sonics 93

Special thanks to the young girl in the Rashard Lewis jersey who kept up the “DE-FENSE!” chants throughout the game. Way to bring the intensity, kid.

Now it’s time for some shameless self-promotion. In case you don’t live in Seattle or haven’t heard, I got the cover story in this week’s Seattle Weekly. Click on the mini-cover below to read it:

As always, should you be inclined, leave a comment (at the Weekly site) and/or use the e-mail the article to a friend feature, so the wonderful folks at the Weekly can see how wonderful I am, too.

My good friend Jason “Reidster” Reid and I also made a video trailer for the article:

And finally, a version of my blog post on Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels ran in the print edition as well.

As the Sonics learned with the arrival of each game in January, you can’t call a timeout on a season spiraling out of control. And as Wally Szczerbiak learned with 15.1 seconds left in last night’s game, you can’t call a timeout when your team doesn’t have any. Channel Z’s error cost the team a technical foul and a shot at winning the game–they were down only one to the Phoenix Suns and had the ball when he made it. They ended up losing 103-99.

Wally’s gaffe obscured a solid effort by the Supes, who kept pace with the Suns from buzzer to buzzer (it helped that small forward extraordinaire Shawn Marion had departed and Shaquille O’Neal not yet arrived–and let’s not forget that it was the also-traded Marcus Banks who killed the Sonics in the teams’ first meeting this year).

Notable performances:

-It looks like Weezy is back to his early season form, knocking out a 22 and 15 double-double in a dunk happy battle with Amare Stoudemire (and the rest of the Phoenix front line). This is his 5th double-double in the last six games–and it’s worth noting that the Supes have won four of those.

-Earl Watson brought a little Steve Lavin-era UCLA flavor with a between the legs, no look pass to Chris Wilcox for the fast break dunk.

-While struggling mightily from the floor, Johan Petro continued to provide energy and shot-blocking off the bench, grabbing seven boards and erasing three shots in 22 minutes.

-Jeff Green hit another three-pointer, making him 4-25 on triples for the season, but 3 for his last 4. Sure, it could be just random statistical variation, but it’d be nice to think that all his work on his shot is paying off.

-Despite a bad night shooting, Kevin Durant had a solid fourth quarter, scoring five consecutive points to get the Supes back into striking distance and showing off his emerging defensive prowess in harassing Steve Nash into a key fourth quarter turnover.

I was talking with a friend the other day about overseas professional soccer and how the bad teams get bumped down to a lower league. At least the Sonics are starting to look like a team that shouldn’t be bumped down.

The D-League ain’t big enough to hold Gelly

Whither Mickael Gelabale? Why, Boise, of course–with the Sonics’ D-League affiliate, the Stampede. Sent down to make room for the Supes’ current crop of overwhelming guards and swingmen, he’s been having his way with the lesser competition, most recently going 10-12 from the floor and hitting the game winning jumper in a defeat of the Anaheim Arsenal.

That he was unable to crack the Sonics’ anemic rotation at the age of 24 does not bode well for his career prospects, but Gelabale’s showed signs, in his short time with the Stampede, of turning a corner. Particularly encouraging are his numbers from long range (45.5% from three in the small sampling thus far). Last year, Gelabale ranked as the NBA’s best finisher around the basket, believe it or not. (Perhaps his success was a result of his remarkable physical fitness.) This year with the Supes the slight Frenchman was less dominant in the paint and also struggled with his jumper–the latter most likely the reason he was sent down. Thus, it’s good to see him knocking them down in Boise. Here’s hoping we’ll see him and Sene back in Seattle before long.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the Stampede lineup is stacked with players of interest to hoop historians and local fans–Randy Livingston, who was robbed of stardom by multiple knee injuries that erased his trademark vertical jump; Cory Violette, formerly of Gonzaga; and Roberto Bergersen, the Decatur High Alum who, if I recall correctly that their schools were in the same classification at the time, battled Federal Way star and future lottery pick Michael Dickerson in what had to be considered a heyday for South Sound basketball.

Perhaps he was avenging his hometown of Kansas City’s 1985 loss of the Kings franchise to Sacramento (we could all sympathize with that), but whatever his motivation, Earl Watson played one of the best games of his career last night, getting his first ever triple double (23 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) in leading the Supes to a 105-92 victory over a lackadaisical Kings squad.

Besides The Earl’s magic, Johan Petro flaunted his emerging confidence and offensive game in abusing Mikki Moore throughout the second half, even driving to his left on a couple of occasions. (He nevertheless tried to finish with his right.) As Calabro and Snapper noted, at this point, Petro looks to be the most promising of the trio of seven-footers (Petro, Swift, Sene) the Supes drafted in the mid-oughts. And “Sacre Bleu!” is among my favorite Calabro catchphrases of all time. If I had DVR, I’d rewind time and again just to hear him say it.

Don’t look now, but the Sonics have now won four of their last five. Sacre Bleu!

If there’s an NBA team that most resembles the Sonics, it is unfortunately not our immediately Southern neighbors, the similarly youthful Portland Trailblazers, whose front office has spent the last several years running circles around ours. Nor is it the fellow bottom-dwelling Miami Heat, who at least have a championship to show for their current train wreck. Nor is it the tragic Memphis Grizzlies, who would have been booted from a fantasy league for collusion after their last trade. No, the team that most resembles ours is the Minnesota Timberwolves, that sad bunch in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Like us, Wolves fans have been beaten senseless by a senseless front office. While Wally Walker (with some help from Rick Sund) signed Jim McIlvaine, traded Shawn Kemp for Vin Baker, and drafted Robert Swift over Al Jefferson, Kevin McHale signed Joe Smith to an illegal contract that cost his team $3.5 million and five 1st-round draft picks. For this and other mishaps, McHale’s been pilloried across the land, most memorably by “The Sports Guy” Bill Simmons in his hilarious Atrocious GM Summit.

Since True Hoop published an e-mail from a fan who got booted from Key Arena for voicing his displeasure to a luxury-boxed Clay Bennett the other day, I figured it was time to share some similar stories I received from a deep Minnesota source who was not eager to go on the record. So consider these accounts unsubstantiated:

1) There’s an unwritten directive within the Wolves organization to crack down on fans carrying anti-McHale signs. If a fan is found with such a sign, not only is it confiscated, but the fan is kicked out. By contrast, a fan who brought a sign mocking Ruben Patterson (a convicted sex offender) with the following text “Ruben the rapist Patterson” was allowed to stay, because, as Celebrity Jeopardy’s Sean Connery has taught us, the terms “the rapist” and “therapist” are easily confused, so the fan may have intended the latter. “The space between them was small enough,” according to the Wolves.

2) Just to give a sense of McHale’s skills as a talent scout, there’s this tale of one of his former first-round picks: Ndudi Ebi was selected by the Timberwolves in the first round of the 2003 draft. While Ebi didn’t stick around the league, he did manage to lose badly in a game of one-on-one to a 6′2″ Target Center security guard.

Somebody sign that security guard!

There you have it, Sonics fans. Misery loves company, so I hope it helps to know that you’re not alone.