Season Previews Begin

Four weeks away from Opening Night at KeyArena, season previews are already beginning to pop up on the Internet. NBA.com's Preview Section features breakdowns of all 30 teams, including the Sonics. An anonymous scout offers his take on Kevin Durant:

"I love Kevin Durant. He would be my choice for Rookie of the Year going in. The
biggest thing is he is almost 6-10 and he has a 7-5 reach and he has skills of a
three-two. He can post up, he will rebound, block shots, he can run. He is a gym
rat. Will he have a rocky year? He will definitely have a rocky year. He is only
19 years-old. He is going to be their man. He is going to have plenty of
opportunity to shoot and score. I think he will end up having a good year."

One interesting aspect of the NBA.com previews is the NBA Live 08 simulated season, complete with predicted stats leaders. My brother just picked up NBA Live 08 and I beat him with the new-look Celtics in our first matchup. (Yes, yes, there will be plenty of time to play with the Sonics.)

ESPN.com turned its season previews over to John Hollinger. If you have Insider, there is a ton of material available. From Hollinger's take on the Sonics:

"This might be as deep a lottery team as the league has seen in years. The
Sonics don't have much for star power besides Durant, but they go 12 deep and
should be able to withstand the 82-game regular-season grind as well as
anyone.

"In fact, few teams can boast a frontcourt rotation as deep as
this one. Wilcox, Swift, Collison, Thomas and Petro all are decent players,
while the 6-11 Durant and 6-9 Green also can shift to the frontcourt. That's
seven potential bodies the Sonics can use in their rotation up front, and not
one is a stiff."