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eattle on major skid as playoffs approach
By TIM BOOTH, Associated Press Writer
April 14, 2005
SEATTLE (AP) -- After nearly two weeks the ice has long melted and the champagne in the Seattle SuperSonics' locker room is getting awfully warm.
A Northwest Division le seemed like a certainty on April 2 when Seattle held a 9 1/2 -game lead over Denver. But after a six-game losing streak, the division le and the Sonics' confidence heading into the playoffs seem to be in question.
``There is a lot of tension. The gorilla is getting heavier and heavier,'' forward Danny Fortson said. ``We just need to focus and get a win. Once we get a win, we'll be OK.''
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Seattle is still in a favorable position. The only way the Nuggets can pass the Sonics for the division le is if Seattle loses its last four games and Denver wins its last four -- including games at Houston and Phoenix.
Still, it's not the way the Sonics wanted to be playing heading into their first playoff appearance in three years. The Sonics have not won since beating Portland 89-87 on April 1. Following a five-game winning streak between March 18 and 25, Seattle has lost eight of 10.
Seattle's most recent loss came Wednesday, a 95-90 setback to Dallas. All-Star forward Rashard Lewis and key reserves Antonio Daniels and Fortson all returned from injuries against the Mavericks, but the Sonics still fell short.
Seattle has not won a division le since 1998 when the Sonics ended a run of three-straight Pacific Division crowns.
``It's been tough for us,'' Seattle coach Nate McMillan said. ``It gets tougher every time you drop a game. We've dropped six games and we're not happy at all about that.''
The Sonics' best chance at wrapping up the division themselves should come Friday when they play their last regular season home game against conference-worst New Orleans. Seattle closes the season with games at Minnesota, Dallas and Houston.
The Hornets have lost five straight, and lost to Seattle by 17 and 18 points earlier this season.
``We need to start slowly shifting into playoff mode,'' Daniels said.
After being relatively healthy for most of the season, Seattle has been victimized by injuries at the end. Reserve forward Vladimir Radmanovic went on the injured list March 18 with a stress fracture in his lower right leg.
Ten days later, Lewis went to the sidelines with a deep bone bruise in his right foot and missed the next eight games. Daniels had missed three games with a left knee injury and Fortson was out for two games with a left shoulder sprain before each returned Wednesday.
``This team has shown what it can do when its healthy and we've seen who we are when we're not,'' McMillan said. ``It's just happened to us at a time when it's toward the end and we're getting ready for the playoffs.''
Lewis was averaging 20.7 points before being sidelined and served as a second offensive option to guard Ray Allen. Without Lewis in the lineup, more of the offensive has fallen to Allen. The Sonics have averaged just 93 points per game and have shot only 29 percent on 3-pointers during the losing streak.
Defensively, Seattle has allowed more than 107 points per game in the last six contests.
Radmanovic is not expected to return before the end of the regular season, but could be available in the playoffs. McMillan is hoping that with everyone else available and back in the rotation, Seattle can use the final four games to build momentum into the playoffs.
``I think you can gain some confidence in four games,'' McMillan said. ``We've all got to get into a rhythm.''
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id die laughing if they lost there last 4 and Denver won its last 4.
IMO, that would work out perfect.
Nuggets VS Seattle Nuggets with the home court.
But then youd have to play the winner where the Spurs are
Seattle was a house of cards. They only have two kinds of players: gorillas and shooters. They'll probably win the division, but they ain't goin' very far. I think what happened is they lost sight of this year, and those eight FAs started thinking about their contracts.
Seattle isn't good.
Actually, what really happened is a ridiculous amount of injuries. Allen was hurt for a while. Radmanovic has missed about 20 games. Lewis missed over 10. Antonio Daniels has missed some. Fortson has missed some. They've had more injuriy problems than the Spurs.
You'd think they would be relived after all that weight was lifted
Ray Allen has played 75 games! And Fortson for them is like Rasho to us: shouldn't be missed for anything less than half a season. He's only bringing 7.6/5.8 this year. They still have Collison, Evans, and James to do their goon work.
SA had Tim Duncan miss 16 games this year, and SMOKED them in the standings. It's not too hard to figure though, when your "leadership" is a crying pussy like Ray Ray.
Rashard is what makes that team tough, and he's been out hurt.
They'll still be tough when they get everyone back healthy. I like our match up with them the least of all the teams...our defensive movement of funneling towards the bigs doesn't work as well against them as it does against most of the other teams.
Lost 6 2-8 last 10
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