In a change of pace for our game preview, rather than me trying to explain the amazing start for Seattle I found someone who follows the team daily:
Howdy, Lakers fans. I’m Paul from Supersonicsoul.com. With Kobe and the Gang set to face the shockingly super Sonics Tuesday night, Kurt was wondering if I could lend some insight into the mind-boggling start Seattle has gotten off to.
Well, I can’t.
In all honesty, I’m as perplexed as you. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the Sonics would be over .500 at this point in the season, let alone have the second best record in the NBA. In fact, the whole reason we started Supersonicsoul was to have a place for long-suffering Sonics fans to commiserate over the lousiness of our once great team. Now, the Sonics are one of the hottest teams around, and we’re stuck with a box full of unworn “Sund Sucks” t-shirts.
So, what’s the dealio? How did the Sonics, who were picked by nearly every publication in America to be the worst team in the NBA, suddenly become one it’s best?
There are a lot of obvious factors, of course: the super-natural shooting of Ray Allen, the immergence of Rashard Lewis (finally!), the surprisingly non-sucky play of Luke “Frodo” Ridnour.
The MVP of the team so far, though, has to be Danny Fortson. Yes, the journeyman forward we got in exchange for Calvin Booth last summer has added a desperately needed toughness to the wallflower Sonics. Every great team needs an enforcer, and the Sonics haven’t had one since Frank Brickowski. While Fortson’s Rodman-esque antics can grow tiresome at times, there’s no way the Sonics would be in first place without him.
The question is, of course, will the Sonics still be in first place at the end of the season? Maybe not, but for now, this long-suffering Sonics fan is going to enjoy the ride while it lasts.
This was part of an exchange program for bloggers, my post one the Lakers so far is up for Sonics fans.