Bucks (8-9, 2-7 road, 8th East) @ Sonics (4-15, 2-8 home, 14th West)
Gametime: 9:30 PM CT
TV: FSN Wisconsin/League Pass/NBA LP Broadband
Radio: 620 WTMJ/Stream Free @ NBA.com
Bucks Stats: Offense 17th (101.4 pts/100 poss), Defense 27th (107.0 pts/100 poss), Rebounding 7th (.513 rr), Pace 21st (93.2)
Sonics Stats: Offense 29th (95.6 pts/100 poss), Defense 20th (104.2 pts/100 poss), Rebounding 19th (.495 rr), Pace 4th (101.7)
Bucks Lineup: Mo Williams / Michael Redd / Desmond Mason / Yi Jianlian / Andrew Bogut
Sonics Lineup: Earl Watson / Damien Wilkins / Kevin Durant / Chris Wilcox / Kurt Thomas
Bucks Injuries: Mo Williams is listed as day-to-day with a sprained right thumb but is expected to play. Michael Ruffin is out 1-3 weeks with a fractured wrist. David Noel is out with a tear in his wrist that may require surgery.
Sonics Injuries: Luke Ridnour is out with a torn thigh muscle. Delonte West missed the last game with plantar fasciitis. Robert Swift has been out with knee tendinitis.
06/07 Series: 1-1. The teams held serve, the Bucks winning 94-93 on December 12 and the Sonics returning the favor and then some with a 99-72 laugher on January 19.
Key Points:
- Normally a Western road trip would be a recipe for disaster for a team like the Bucks, but tonight they take on a struggling team for the second time in three days, with two more sub-.500 teams left on the trip. In other words, there's no time to fret about the loss in the Bay Area.
- Both the Sonics and Bucks last victories came against the Clippers, the Bucks on Tuesday and the Sonics on Wednesday. The Sonics won only their second home game of the season against LA, squeezing out a 95-88 decision. The Bucks and Sonics are both owners of 2-7 road records, but while the Bucks have gone a very respectable 6-2 at home, the Sonics have won just twice in 10 home contests.
- Chris Wilcox started on Wednesday but Nick Collison was the main threat for the Sonics, scoring 18 along with 17 boards in 35 minutes. I've always been a big fan of Collison, who makes up for a lack of flash by bringing solid play on both ends as either a PF or C.
- The most-hyped matchup will be between Yi Jianlian and Kevin Durant, two of the top rookies in the league. Durant is taking the volume approach to scoring, easily leading all rookies with 19.5 ppg but shooting just .397 from the field. Yi had one of his better performances of the last couple weeks in Oakland, putting up 9/10 along with two blocks.
- Check out SuperSonic Soul and Sonics Central for more on the Sonics.