Jazz 103, Sonics 101

The Sonics lost tonight because it took P.J Carlesimo a full half to realize what should've been obvious before tip-off--that Earl Watson vs. Deron Williams was a terrible mismatch.

Watson, who's season plus/minus is now -36, was posted up and generally manhandled by the bigger Williams, while Delonte West pwned Williams both on offense (draining jumpers in Williams' face) and on defense (twice blocking Williams' layup attempts).

Had West played 35 minutes instead of the 24 he eventually got, the Sonics wouldn't be winless anymore.

Jeff Green had his best game as a pro, scoring 19 points including two key fourth-quarter buckets.

Chris Wilcox had a 14 point first half, then disappeared, as he is wont to do, in the second, scoring only three points. The Sonics didn't do a particularly good job of getting him the ball, but, then, Wilcox didn't exactly demand it either.

Robert Swift was an unmitigated disaster. In 17 minutes, Swift managed only one rebound and didn't score. For the season he has 8 points and 12 boards in 67 minutes. During warmups, I watched him miss shot after shot from four feet away. He can't shoot, he can't rebound, he can't defend, he can't block shots...sure, he's bulked up, but so has Ryan Reynolds--that doesn't mean he's a good basketball player.

When the Sonics played zone, Swift was spectacularly awful, seemingly unaware of what you learn in sixth-grade basketball--when you play zone you can't just stand in an area, you have to guard the man in your zone. It's not that difficult a concept, but Swift's inability to grasp it was partially responsible for the 27 points and 15 boards that Carlos Boozer dropped on the Supes.

Still, they had a chance to win in the last second when West stole a Jazz inbounds pass. He tossed an outlet to a streaking Durant (20 pts on 7-20 shooting, 1-8 from three), who twisted around a defender at the rim but couldn't hit the tying shot.

The Sonics are now 0-6, tying the worst start in franchise history. That doesn't bother me, this wasn't going to be a winning year anyway. What's frustrating is that without Watson and Swift, they probably win this game.