ducks
01-22-2004, 02:09 PM
Sonics see 20-20 as not so bad at midway point of season
Jayda Evans, Seattle Times staff reporter
The carnage of a 1-3 trip was all around the Sonics. Outside their camp people are alarmed, calling for coach Nate McMillan to be fired, players to be traded and for the franchise to start over, a la Phoenix.
Tonight the Sonics face Golden State at KeyArena, the same team that started Seattle's downward spiral two weeks ago.
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Starting with a 113-110 overtime loss at Golden State on Jan. 10, the Sonics have lost five of their past six games, all played against teams with sub-.500 records. Yet, they are even (20-20) heading into the midway point of the season and only two games back from the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
That makes the franchise pleased.
"We wanted to be somewhere around .500," said Sonics general manager Rick Sund, admitting he'd rather be a few games above the mark. "What's kind of surprising to (Nate) and I is the road we took to get to .500.
"We've shown great effort against some superior teams, but in our losses at times we've been lethargic. If we turn that around (the losses), we're right there in the playoffs."
The road, which seems more like a collision course, included a fast start while All-Star guard Ray Allen had surgery and rehabilitated his right ankle, missing 25 games. The Sonics won seven of their first nine games once Allen returned, including victories over Sacramento, the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston. But they've struggled since. And the Sonics are just 7-12 this season against the Eastern Conference.
Sprinkled in the middle are 10 different lineup changes (the team had 17 last season), a player squabble between Allen and teammate Antonio Daniels on floor positioning and an Allen miscue on a game-deciding play in Cleveland on Tuesday night.
"Any player that doesn't take the play out of the huddle (gets fined)," McMillan said of the undisclosed penalty he assessed Allen yesterday. "That's a team rule, that's nothing set on Ray. (Former Sonics coach Bernie) Bickerstaff used to put that on us years ago because a number of guys would be watching the cheerleaders instead of listening to the coach. Then they'd come up to me and say, 'What did the coach just say?' "
Still, McMillan remains calm.
"I'm always calm," he said. "I'm totally with the direction of this club. My goals are high, but we know where we are. They (the owners) haven't called my house yet. Rick was talking to me, giving me some encouragement so ... "
What to do remains a mystery, however. McMillan is leaning toward tinkering with his lineup again tonight, returning forward Vladimir Radmanovic to the starting lineup over one of the two centers — Jerome James or Calvin Booth.
In the Sonics' first meeting with the Warriors, Booth started alongside Radmanovic and played 16 minutes. The lineup had its faults, though. Golden State's Clifford Robinson said after the game that he was left open, giving him a clear view for seven three-point attempts, making a career-tying six.
"What we do with our team may be night to night," McMillan said of his changes despite wanting a consistent eight-player rotation. "We have two, three starters and who will play those (power forward and center) spots could depend on matchups. I want to get a set rotation, but who our players are going up against makes a difference."
No matter how optimistic the Sonics are about their first-half showing, defense remains a problem. They were outrebounded 55-35 against the Cavaliers and are the worst rebounding team in the league.
Sund points to how rookie Nick Collison could have made a difference. Instead he's dealing with shoulder surgeries. And while the team is active in trade talks, there isn't any urgency despite the Sonics' apparent issues.
"We're certainly disappointed with the way we played on the road trip," Sonics guard Brent Barry said. "We're 40 games into the season and there's a lot more to be done. The games we've won shows us there is something in us that will allow us to be on that level again. We just have to find it."
Notes
• Barry and forward Rashard Lewis will participate in the three-point contest at the All-Star Game in Los Angeles next month. Both were participants last season. Barry ranks sixth in the league in three-point field-goal percentage (44.0) while Lewis is 18th in the league in threes made (68) .
Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company
U
Jayda Evans, Seattle Times staff reporter
The carnage of a 1-3 trip was all around the Sonics. Outside their camp people are alarmed, calling for coach Nate McMillan to be fired, players to be traded and for the franchise to start over, a la Phoenix.
Tonight the Sonics face Golden State at KeyArena, the same team that started Seattle's downward spiral two weeks ago.
ADVERTISEMENT
Starting with a 113-110 overtime loss at Golden State on Jan. 10, the Sonics have lost five of their past six games, all played against teams with sub-.500 records. Yet, they are even (20-20) heading into the midway point of the season and only two games back from the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
That makes the franchise pleased.
"We wanted to be somewhere around .500," said Sonics general manager Rick Sund, admitting he'd rather be a few games above the mark. "What's kind of surprising to (Nate) and I is the road we took to get to .500.
"We've shown great effort against some superior teams, but in our losses at times we've been lethargic. If we turn that around (the losses), we're right there in the playoffs."
The road, which seems more like a collision course, included a fast start while All-Star guard Ray Allen had surgery and rehabilitated his right ankle, missing 25 games. The Sonics won seven of their first nine games once Allen returned, including victories over Sacramento, the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston. But they've struggled since. And the Sonics are just 7-12 this season against the Eastern Conference.
Sprinkled in the middle are 10 different lineup changes (the team had 17 last season), a player squabble between Allen and teammate Antonio Daniels on floor positioning and an Allen miscue on a game-deciding play in Cleveland on Tuesday night.
"Any player that doesn't take the play out of the huddle (gets fined)," McMillan said of the undisclosed penalty he assessed Allen yesterday. "That's a team rule, that's nothing set on Ray. (Former Sonics coach Bernie) Bickerstaff used to put that on us years ago because a number of guys would be watching the cheerleaders instead of listening to the coach. Then they'd come up to me and say, 'What did the coach just say?' "
Still, McMillan remains calm.
"I'm always calm," he said. "I'm totally with the direction of this club. My goals are high, but we know where we are. They (the owners) haven't called my house yet. Rick was talking to me, giving me some encouragement so ... "
What to do remains a mystery, however. McMillan is leaning toward tinkering with his lineup again tonight, returning forward Vladimir Radmanovic to the starting lineup over one of the two centers — Jerome James or Calvin Booth.
In the Sonics' first meeting with the Warriors, Booth started alongside Radmanovic and played 16 minutes. The lineup had its faults, though. Golden State's Clifford Robinson said after the game that he was left open, giving him a clear view for seven three-point attempts, making a career-tying six.
"What we do with our team may be night to night," McMillan said of his changes despite wanting a consistent eight-player rotation. "We have two, three starters and who will play those (power forward and center) spots could depend on matchups. I want to get a set rotation, but who our players are going up against makes a difference."
No matter how optimistic the Sonics are about their first-half showing, defense remains a problem. They were outrebounded 55-35 against the Cavaliers and are the worst rebounding team in the league.
Sund points to how rookie Nick Collison could have made a difference. Instead he's dealing with shoulder surgeries. And while the team is active in trade talks, there isn't any urgency despite the Sonics' apparent issues.
"We're certainly disappointed with the way we played on the road trip," Sonics guard Brent Barry said. "We're 40 games into the season and there's a lot more to be done. The games we've won shows us there is something in us that will allow us to be on that level again. We just have to find it."
Notes
• Barry and forward Rashard Lewis will participate in the three-point contest at the All-Star Game in Los Angeles next month. Both were participants last season. Barry ranks sixth in the league in three-point field-goal percentage (44.0) while Lewis is 18th in the league in threes made (68) .
Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company
U