Sonics Not So Super
The Seattle SuperSonics hope to avoid setting a dubious franchise record for a second time this season Sunday night when they host the Sacramento Kings.
The SuperSonics (9-34), holders of the second-worst record in the Western Conference, tied a team record Friday with their 13th consecutive loss – 99-90 to Atlanta.
That record had been set with an 0-8 start to this season after ending 2006-07 by losing its final five games.
Seattle has been outscored by an average of 13.5 points during its current slide and hasn’t won since Dec. 29, a 109-90 victory over Minnesota – the team with the worst record in the NBA.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Sacramento -4 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 212.5 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 84% of bets for this game have been placed on Sacramento -4 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
"We’ve got to find something that’s going to help us win," said Sonics forward Chris Wilcox, who had 18 points and seven rebounds Friday. "It’s rough right now. It’s rough on all of us."
Kevin Durant, the team leader with 19.4 points per game, is struggling of late, averaging 15.0 points on 37.7 percent shooting – 1-for-11 from 3-point range – over the last four games. The rookie swingman went 7-for-21 from the field and missed all four of his 3-point attempts to finish with 17 points Friday.
"That’s what frustrates me the most, wide-open jump shots," Durant said. "But you can’t put your head down. You need to keep shooting and keep being aggressive."
Durant scored 27 points in his team’s only meeting with the Kings (18-24) this season, but Seattle lost 104-98 at Sacramento on Nov. 6.
Wally Szczerbiak scored a season-high 32 points in that game, and now looks to bounce back from one of his worst performances of the season. The swingman was held to two points and shot 1-of-8 from the field Friday after averaging 19.0 points in his previous six games.
This could be Seattle’s best chance to avoid going winless in January, considering its only other two games this month will be at home against last season’s NBA finalists – San Antonio and Cleveland.
However, the Sonics have lost six of seven to Sacramento, including three straight in Seattle.
The Kings are looking to avoid going winless on a three-game road trip after losing 127-113 at Utah on Friday and 111-85 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. They are 6-15 on the road.
Ron Artest is having a dismal road trip. He was held to eight points on 4-of-12 shooting in the loss to the Clippers, and was ejected from Friday’s loss after picking up two technical fouls – one for a minor altercation and the other for a hard foul.
"We won’t let anybody push us around and they were out there being physical and stuff and that’s where everything started, so we can’t let them push us around," said Kings point guard Mike Bibby, who had 11 points Friday.
Artest and Bibby both missed the last meeting with the Sonics as Kevin Martin engineered the win with 31 points.
Martin, the team’s top scorer with 24.4 points per game, is averaging 29.0 points in the last four games against Seattle. He had 32 points Friday.
Some Trends for This Game:
– Sacramento is 4-0 against the spread versus Seattle over the last 3 seasons
– Seattle is 19-24 against the spread this season
– Seattle is 25-43 against the spread at home against teams who average 99 ppg or more since 1996
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
More NBA Basketball Coverage from theSpread.com
– NBA Basketball teams
– NBA Basketball standings
– NBA Basketball schedule
– NBA Basketball scoreboard
– NBA Basketball injuries
– NBA Basketball matchups
– NBA Basketball stats
– NBA Basketball odds
– NBA Basketball public betting chart
– NBA Basketball news wire
– NBA Basketball top stories
– NBA Basketball trends
– AccuScore NBA Basketball predictions
– Expert NBA Basketball picks
– Comments and discussion
– Signup for theSpread.com daily newsletter
– NBA Basketball Home
