Sonics add Pavlovic
The Sonics traded Robert Swift for Aleksander "Sasha" Pavlovic to their roster.
"I'm going to keep adding shooters to this team. Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Ridnour, Daniels, Watson, Wilkins, Fazekas and Gelabale can all step out and hit that 3. Oden, Wilcox and Sene are all good rebounders, so if they miss, chances are we're going to have an offensive rebound. We're going to start shooting more 3s now."
@ Orlando
W120-100
Nelson scores 48, but Sonics regain control in the second half and top Magic
The Sonics got off to a great start in this game with 35 points in the 1st Quarter. Oden managed to contain Dwight Howard to 2 points on 1-5 shooting to start the quarter off.
The second quarter was when Jameer Nelson went off. The Sonics played decent on the offensive end but just were not playing defense. Nelson only had a 3 pointer in the 1st quarter but added 25 to give him 28 1st half points. Dwight Howard put up 10 rebounds in the second quarter, 4 of them were offensive. The once comfortable lead was down to 3 heading into the second half.
Coach Jordan yelled at the team at halftime, and preached defense. The Sonics held the Magic to 19 points, partly because Nelson shot his shooting touch and also partly because of solid execution, especially from Chris Wilcox. Wilcox only had 6 points in the season opener on 3-9 shooting but never missed a shot from the field.
When Nelson finally found his shooting touch again, it was already too late. He made a push late in the 4th but the Sonics were able to respond with solid production from the bench.
New acquisition Sasha Pavlovic was decent with 7 points in his first game in a Sonics uniform.