Why There's Less Panic in Seattle

The Sonics' slow start, which included three blowout losses, had players, sportswriters, and local hoops bloggers freaking out.

People, people. Calm yourselves. It's only eight games into the season. And, after last night's convincing win over the Celtics, we are beginning to look on the bright side. To wit:

--Those blowout losses were against Cleveland, Washington, and Memphis. True, these are not traditional NBA powerhouses, and losing to them sounds bad, but these three teams are a combined 17-7.

--The other two teams that beat the Sonics, the Clippers and the Nets, are 10-6 combined. So the total record of the Sonics' vanquishers is 27-13. It's not just the Sonics they vanquished.

--Though the Sonics are in last place in the Northwest Division, they are only one game back of first place Portland.

--There are 74 more games to play.

The Sonics play next on Friday, at home against the Bulls. Buy tickets.