Where does Rashard Lewis go from here?
This is a question that is still in the process of being answered, but the 25 games Sonics All-Star Ray Allen sat out provided a great deal of insight into Lewis’ future. He certainly has become the “consistent twenty-point scorer” discussed in that article; he’s almost averaging twenty a night and has hit the mark twelve times this season. However, Lewis has struggled under the pressure of physical defense, especially with other teams focusing on him. The weight of being the go-to guy for the Sonics also proved a heavy one for Lewis, and it is evident that he is more comfortable playing a sidekick role alongside Allen. It doesn’t look like Lewis will make his first All-Star appearance this season, but at age 24 he continues to develop.

Barry has played better since taking three games off. Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty

Can Brent Barry hold down the point for 80 games?
Barry was another player who missed playing alongside Allen, in Barry’s case because the presence of a second player who could initiate the offense helped take the pressure off of him. The backcourt of Barry and Ronald “Flip” Murray proved turnover-prone, a big reason why Murray was replaced by Antonio Daniels in the starting lineup.

Surprisingly, despite playing the point much of the time, Barry has seen his assist average (4.9 apg) drop not only from last season (5.1) but also from two seasons ago (5.3), when he played shooting guard exclusively. It appears that Barry can play the point, but needs help from his backcourt-mate. Injuries, as expected, have also been a concern with Barry. He missed three games earlier this month because of a strained left hip flexor, and was hampered before sitting down.

Can the Sonics get scoring from the bench?
It is a little difficult to fathom, two months into the season, that bench scoring could ever have been a concern for the Sonics. Since Murray moved to the bench and Richie Frahm emerged as a capable outside shooter, the Sonics have gotten outstanding performance from their reserves. The Sonics bench has averaged 29.6 ppg (opponent benches average 25.3 against the Sonics), including an astounding 38.8 ppg during the month of December. The Sonics bench has outscored the team’s starters four times this season, something they did only three times last season and did not do during the 2001-02 season.

Will the young guards contribute?
The short answer is yes. The longer answer is yes, quite a bit. Young guards specifically referred to Murray and Luke Ridnour, who entered the season with a combined 62 minutes of NBA experience. Murray and Ridnour have combined to play almost exactly one-fifth of the Sonics minutes this season, meaning they combine to play an entire game (though they have played together off the bench recently), and they have been very effective.

Murray has been the season’s biggest surprise. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

Murray is the Sonics third-leading scorer at 17.4 ppg, providing surprising scoring punch that helped keep the team afloat during Allen’s absence. While Murray was less effective as a reserve during the month of December, averaging 13.9 ppg and seeing his shooting percentage slump to 37.6%, Murray continued to provide important scoring punch. Ridnour’s statistics aren’t overly impressive – just 38.8% shooting and a 1.53 assist/turnover ratio – but the team has responded when he has been on the court, improving its defense and intensity. Compared to his fellow rookies, Ridnour rates in the top ten in scoring average, assists, steals and assist/turnover ratio.

Will one of the centers break out from the pack?
Alas, no, but that hasn’t really been a bad thing. Both Jerome James and Calvin Booth have done a solid job for the Sonics, sharing minutes in the middle. Together, James and Booth average 34.2 minutes per game, scoring 10.6 points, grabbing 8.2 rebounds and blocking 3.0 shots. Booth in particular has impressed, taking advantage of the best health of his Sonics career to dramatically improve his rebounding and shot-blocking. On a per-minute basis, Booth is fourth in the NBA in shot-blocking (4.42 blocks per 48 minutes). James blocks 3.96 shots per 48 minutes, which would rank him in the league’s top ten if he had enough minutes to qualify. Together, only Chris Andersen and Marcus Camby of the Denver Nuggets make a more effective shot-blocking duo. Booth also ranks in the NBA’s top fifty in rebounds per minute.

Can the Sonics maintain their home-court advantage?
Nope.

After going 14-4 at home with Allen in the lineup last season, the Sonics have returned to their pre-trade form from last season, when they were 11-12 at home. At 7-8 in KeyArena, the Sonics are the only Western Conference team below .500 at home, and just four teams in the East have worse home records. On the road, however, the Sonics have been lights out, going 8-6. That may not seem outstanding, but in this year’s NBA – with a strong home-court advantage throughout the league – it definitely is. The Sonics are one of just seven teams with a winning record on the road, and only two other teams (the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves) have also sported a home disadvantage this season. An interesting comparison for the Sonics are the Portland Trail Blazers, who sit a half-game behind them at 15-15. The Blazers have been virtually unbeatable at home, 14-4, but are a dismal 1-11 on the road.

As it usually does, attendance at KeyArena has picked up lately and should continue to as the Lakers, Portland, Sacramento (twice), Cleveland and Dallas invade KeyArena during the month of January. That may allow the Sonics to improve their home-court advantage while maintaining their strong play on the road.

Is this Vladimir Radmanovic’s breakout season?
So far, it has not been. Though Radmanovic has averaged career highs across the board in counting stats – points per game, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks – he has not played particularly well this season. Known for his uncanny shooting ability for a 6-10 player, Radmanovic has been inaccurate most of the season, making just 37.4% from the field.

Recently, a movement has sprung up to argue that Radmanovic needs to spend less time behind the three-point line – more than 40% of his shots are threes, easily the highest percentage for any regular power forward this season. (Incidentally, Barry leads all regulars, taking 58.9% of his shots from downtown, while an amazing 64.4% of Frahm’s shots have been threes in more limited minutes.)

The problem with this argument is that Radmanovic has struggled when he has taken the ball to the hole. He is shooting 39.6% on twos, 34.4% on threes. Given that threes are worth an extra point, Radmanovic has been far more efficient from behind the arc. While driving to the lane means more free throws, many of Radmanovic’s turnovers have come on drives. Radmanovic doesn’t need to change his game, he just needs to start making more shots of any kind.

Ridnour’s emergence has cut into Daniels’ minutes. Otto Gruele/NBAE/Getty

How about Antonio Daniels? Can he break out?
The most unfortunate aspect of Murray’s and Ridnour’s emergence is that it has left limited minutes for Daniels, signed as a free agent this summer with the expectation that he would back up both Barry and Allen. With the Sonics at full strength, Daniels has played just 15 minutes the last three games. That’s unfortunate, because Daniels was playing very well when he was in the lineup. Coach Nate McMillan is in a tough position, because so many of his guards are playing well. Murray and Ridnour have a natural advantage because of their youth and the team’s desire to develop them. Because of the backcourt logjam, this probably won’t be Daniels’ breakout season.

Is Reggie Evans’ offensive improvement for real?
Through two games, yes. Evans averaged 7.5 ppg in Japan, making 66.7% of his shots. When the calendar turned to November, however, Evans lost his touch down low. He made just 26.1% of his shots during the month, leading McMillan to cut his minutes. He saw even less action during December despite a slight shooting improvement to 38.1%. While Evans has, at times, taken a more active role in the Sonics offense than he did last season, the results have not been what the Sonics hoped for. That’s not to say that Evans can’t be an extremely valuable reserve contributor without scoring, as he was on the Sonics recent road trip to Houston and Memphis, providing valuable defense and rebounding down the stretches of both games.

How will the new, up-tempo offense work?
Perhaps it hasn’t been quite as high-octane as was believed before the season or through the first few games, but there is no question that a faster pace has helped the Sonics create one of the NBA’s best offenses. The Sonics rank sixth in the NBA in points per game (95.6 ppg) and second in three-point shooting (38.6%). They also rank sixth with 90.9 points per possession, indicating that their points total is not just an illusion because of their above-average pace. That has almost all been done without Allen, one of the NBA’s most potent offensive forces.