ducks
11-19-2004, 08:49 AM
Surprise squad of NBA
Percy Allen, Seattle Times staff reporter
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York crowd, a cynical bunch, traversed the Lincoln Tunnel to the Meadowlands intrigued by the quirky team from the Northwest that has stormed to the top of the NBA standings.
They had seen electronic bits and pieces of the Sonics on late-night sports broadcasts and they read the record next to the team's name in their newspapers, but it must have been a misprint.
Could it be? 5-1, 6-1, 7-1 and, in a few hours, a victory against the New Jersey Nets would push the Sonics' unbelievable start to 8-1.
So the New York media stormed inside a tiny visiting locker room beneath Continental Airlines Arena, spotted Ray Allen, the lone All-Star on a team filled with projects and rejects, sitting alone in a corner and surrounded him.
"How are you guys doing this?" they asked.
"How long can this last?" they wanted to know.
"Is this for real or is it, you know, like last year and the year before that?"
The questions came in bunches, and Allen tried as patiently as he could to give the hungry pack a smorgasbord of amusing anecdotes, long-winded explanations and irrelevant historical data that might satisfy their appetites.
He extended credit to his teammates, his coach, his general manager, his CEO, his owner, the trainers, the players' wives, significant others and their families, the ballboys, the people who drive the buses and fly the planes and anyone remotely affiliated with the team.
Then he offered this one last nugget of advice: "Sometimes, some things can't be explained, and maybe this is one of them. We're playing good basketball. And it might seem a little unconventional by some people's standard, but that doesn't mean it can't work."
And with that, the New York crowd shuffled away and one observer whispered to another: "So let me make sure I got this right, did the ballboys have more of an impact than the trainers?"
Suffice to say, there is no lucky rabbit's foot responsible for Seattle's best start in 11 years. No gimmick. No superstitious trend.
The genesis to this fast rise cannot be traced to a fiery locker-room speech, a blockbuster offseason trade or the Sonics' 2-6 exhibition record.
The seeds to this improbable beginning were planted during the ruins of a 37-45 debacle last season. Days after the final game, coach Nate McMillan reviewed the statistics.
At that moment, he decided on a starting lineup.
His job would be easier if the Sonics landed a high-priced free agent, but management told him that he'd have to produce a playoff contender from what he had available.
So McMillan mapped out the season in his mind.
Allen and Rashard Lewis would start, but he needed to surround them with players committed to defense. He decided on point guard Luke Ridnour and power forward Reggie Evans, neither a popular choice because their backups were more experienced.
"I can't say that all of this is a surprise because it's not," McMillan said. "I'm not saying I thought we could be 8-1 and have this record, but I thought we could play this kind of basketball. This is what I wanted from the very beginning. We're just now starting to do some of those things."
Essentially, the Sonics have the same cast as before, with the notable exception being forwards Danny Fortson and Nick Collison.
The script has been altered and the results are improved.
"It's surprising for everybody, not just for me," Vladimir Radmanovic said. "After the first game of the season (a 114-84 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers), everybody thought it was not going to be a great season, but somehow we find a way to play ball the right way.
"Everybody is doing their job. That's the main reason. Everybody is playing hard. Everybody is motivated."
But there's something more.
The Sonics are adept offensively and kings of the three-pointer, but their defense is vastly improved from last season.
Seattle is allowing 91.3 points per game, fifth fewest in the NBA. After 10 games last season, they allowed an average of 98.1.
With the addition of Fortson and the maturation of Evans, the Sonics are averaging six more rebounds than their opponents, the largest differential in the league.
"I think what's happening, and what didn't happen before, is everybody seems to know their roles," guard Antonio Daniels said. "And guys aren't stepping outside of that."
Said McMillan: "We had a lot of guys doing a lot of things last season and really, I didn't want that. That's one big difference."
Allen has been guilty of trying to do too many things in the past. At times last season, he was scorer and playmaker, which led to his career high of 4.8 assists per game, but also to too many turnovers.
"You know I may not want to admit this, but maybe it's better if I don't have the ball in my hands as much," Allen said. "I'm definitely not working as hard and other guys are carrying their load. It feels like more of a team."
Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or [email protected]
Percy Allen, Seattle Times staff reporter
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York crowd, a cynical bunch, traversed the Lincoln Tunnel to the Meadowlands intrigued by the quirky team from the Northwest that has stormed to the top of the NBA standings.
They had seen electronic bits and pieces of the Sonics on late-night sports broadcasts and they read the record next to the team's name in their newspapers, but it must have been a misprint.
Could it be? 5-1, 6-1, 7-1 and, in a few hours, a victory against the New Jersey Nets would push the Sonics' unbelievable start to 8-1.
So the New York media stormed inside a tiny visiting locker room beneath Continental Airlines Arena, spotted Ray Allen, the lone All-Star on a team filled with projects and rejects, sitting alone in a corner and surrounded him.
"How are you guys doing this?" they asked.
"How long can this last?" they wanted to know.
"Is this for real or is it, you know, like last year and the year before that?"
The questions came in bunches, and Allen tried as patiently as he could to give the hungry pack a smorgasbord of amusing anecdotes, long-winded explanations and irrelevant historical data that might satisfy their appetites.
He extended credit to his teammates, his coach, his general manager, his CEO, his owner, the trainers, the players' wives, significant others and their families, the ballboys, the people who drive the buses and fly the planes and anyone remotely affiliated with the team.
Then he offered this one last nugget of advice: "Sometimes, some things can't be explained, and maybe this is one of them. We're playing good basketball. And it might seem a little unconventional by some people's standard, but that doesn't mean it can't work."
And with that, the New York crowd shuffled away and one observer whispered to another: "So let me make sure I got this right, did the ballboys have more of an impact than the trainers?"
Suffice to say, there is no lucky rabbit's foot responsible for Seattle's best start in 11 years. No gimmick. No superstitious trend.
The genesis to this fast rise cannot be traced to a fiery locker-room speech, a blockbuster offseason trade or the Sonics' 2-6 exhibition record.
The seeds to this improbable beginning were planted during the ruins of a 37-45 debacle last season. Days after the final game, coach Nate McMillan reviewed the statistics.
At that moment, he decided on a starting lineup.
His job would be easier if the Sonics landed a high-priced free agent, but management told him that he'd have to produce a playoff contender from what he had available.
So McMillan mapped out the season in his mind.
Allen and Rashard Lewis would start, but he needed to surround them with players committed to defense. He decided on point guard Luke Ridnour and power forward Reggie Evans, neither a popular choice because their backups were more experienced.
"I can't say that all of this is a surprise because it's not," McMillan said. "I'm not saying I thought we could be 8-1 and have this record, but I thought we could play this kind of basketball. This is what I wanted from the very beginning. We're just now starting to do some of those things."
Essentially, the Sonics have the same cast as before, with the notable exception being forwards Danny Fortson and Nick Collison.
The script has been altered and the results are improved.
"It's surprising for everybody, not just for me," Vladimir Radmanovic said. "After the first game of the season (a 114-84 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers), everybody thought it was not going to be a great season, but somehow we find a way to play ball the right way.
"Everybody is doing their job. That's the main reason. Everybody is playing hard. Everybody is motivated."
But there's something more.
The Sonics are adept offensively and kings of the three-pointer, but their defense is vastly improved from last season.
Seattle is allowing 91.3 points per game, fifth fewest in the NBA. After 10 games last season, they allowed an average of 98.1.
With the addition of Fortson and the maturation of Evans, the Sonics are averaging six more rebounds than their opponents, the largest differential in the league.
"I think what's happening, and what didn't happen before, is everybody seems to know their roles," guard Antonio Daniels said. "And guys aren't stepping outside of that."
Said McMillan: "We had a lot of guys doing a lot of things last season and really, I didn't want that. That's one big difference."
Allen has been guilty of trying to do too many things in the past. At times last season, he was scorer and playmaker, which led to his career high of 4.8 assists per game, but also to too many turnovers.
"You know I may not want to admit this, but maybe it's better if I don't have the ball in my hands as much," Allen said. "I'm definitely not working as hard and other guys are carrying their load. It feels like more of a team."
Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or [email protected]