WEEKLY LEADERS
POINTS Payton - 21.7 Lewis - 15.3 Mason - 10.0 Radmanovic - 8.0 Anderson - 7.0 REBOUNDS Payton - 5.7 Mason - 5.7 James - 5.3 Lewis - 5.0 Drobnjak - 4.3 ASSISTS Payton - 8.3 Barry - 3.0 Drobnjak - 2.3

January 10-January 16 Record for the week: 0-3 Overall Record: 16-21 Standing: 5th, Pacific Division

Friday, Jan. 10, 2003

Clippers 21 25 24 20 90 at Sonics 14 21 27 26 88

Sonics swingman Desmond Mason was put in the situation every boy on a playground dreams about on Friday night. With three seconds left in the game, Mason stole an errant inbounds pass and streaked towards the Sonics basket with a chance to send the game to overtime. With time running down, however, Mason began to worry that he would not get off a shot and threw up an underhand scoop shot from about the free-throw line. It rolled off, and video replay determined a putback was too late, sending the Sonics to a 90-88 defeat. It was a surprise they came that close to winning after trailing 19-6 early and by 11 at the half. Seattle picked up offensively in the second half, spurred by the play of Gary Payton after a slow start. The Sonics got to within three points with possession in the late going, but never got a chance to tie until Mason’s shot because Clippers Coach Alvin Gentry chose to foul intentionally. Andre Miller had a triple-double (16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) for the Clippers and Lamar Odom (21) led them in scoring before fouling out. Rashard Lewis led the Sonics with 18 points.

Sunday, Jan. 12, 2003

Cavaliers 24 18 24 21 87 at Sonics 23 23 25 8 79

Through three quarters, the Sonics looked to be on their way to a comfortable, if unconvincing victory over the Cavaliers. They led by five, 71-66, and held the edge in terms of momentum. What followed was one of the worst 12-minute offensive performances in team history. With eight fourth-quarter points, the Sonics tied a team-record low. They only got to eight thanks to two late layups by Payton. While the Sonics suddenly couldn’t make a shot, the Cavs were getting good looks inside to center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. They first took the lead 5:53 mark at 76-74, but the Sonics still had a chance down three with 39 seconds left. The team then chose to foul, and never again got within four points. Ricky Davis’ 22 points led Cleveland, which got double-doubles from Ilgauskas (14 points, 10 boards) and Jumaine Jones (16 points, 10 boards). Payton led the Sonics with 21 points and seven assists.

Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003

Sonics 22 28 11 24 85 at Jazz 16 19 34 23 92

Again, one bad quarter was enough to do the Sonics in. In the first half, the team looked revitalized by a three-day break. Effectively mixing transition and halfcourt offense and forcing the Jazz to take bad shots, the Sonics dominated and took a 50-35 lead to the half. In the locker room, Utah Coach Jerry Sloan switched to a zone defensively, and it mystified the Sonics. The 15-point lead quickly evaporated, and the Jazz ended the quarter with an eight-point lead of their own. The lead remained about eight throughout the fourth quarter, with the Sonics unable to mount a sustained run but still hanging around. With just under two minutes left, Payton was elbowed in the throat by John Stockton and went down, putting a scare in Sonics fans. He got up and made a jumper to get the Sonics to within four with just less than a minute left, but Utah scored to put the game away. Karl Malone, held scoreless in the last meeting with the Sonics, was superb. He scored 34 points, and Matt Harpring added 26 for Utah. Payton was the main offensive threat for the Sonics and ended up with 27 points and eight assists.

G Gary Payton
21.7 points, 8.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds
Against Utah, Payton demonstrated just how valuable he is to the Sonics. While his teammates struggled offensively, Payton fought valiantly in the second half. After being knocked down by Stockton’s elbow, many other players might not have returned. Not only did Payton keep playing, he got the Sonics back into the game with a jumper that gave him 27 points for the evening. Payton left it all on the court that night, just as he does each and every game, the reason he is a sure-fire Hall of Famer.

Jerome James became a starter last week.

Still Looking for a Lineup
As he has throughout 2003, Sonics Coach Nate McMillan continued trying new lineup combinations last week in an attempt to find a group that works. McMillan has not started the same lineup in consecutive games since December 21 and 23, though injuries have been a major factor. The experimentation started Friday, when McMillan started a lineup of Kenny Anderson and Payton for the first time this season. The Sonics struggled in the first quarter, meaning Anderson is unlikely to be used as a starter again in the near future. With Brent Barry healthy (he played against the Clippers, but did not start), he started against Cleveland, with Jerome James also moving into the starting five at center. The changes meant that for the first time all season, the Sonics started the five players they started when Vin Baker was injured last February. The lineup had barely settled in, however, when Vladimir Radmanovic went down with a sprained ankle. He missed the rest of the game and did not play against Utah, with Predrag Drobnjak inheriting the majority of his minutes. Calvin Booth also took advantage of Radmanovic’s injury, playing 11 minutes against Utah and making his only shot.

A Question of Pace
With the Sonics not having scored 100 points in any of their last 11 games, McMillan spoke during the early-week break about increasing the team’s pace and encouraging his players to run. A quick check of the numbers shows that the Sonics are already one of the league’s fastest-paced teams with an average of 81.7 possesions per game, seventh in the NBA. (Statistically, possession = fga + (.4*fta) + to – or.) The top seven teams are all in the Western Conference, and of them, only the Memphis Grizzlies are not amongst the West’s top 10 teams. Sacramento (first in the NBA with 85.1 possessions per game) and Dallas (fourth with 82.9) are both effectively using fast-paced attacks as they sit atop their respective divisions.

Three-Quarter Sonics
In each of their three games last week, the Sonics followed a similar pattern. Three good quarters were combined with one poor 12-minute stretch that doomed the team to defeat. On Friday, the Sonics started slowly and were down seven after one quarter. They outscored the Clippers by five the rest of the way, but it was not enough. Sunday, the Sonics were up five going to the fourth quarter, but scored just eight points in the period and were outscored by 13 by the Cavs. Thursday’s problem was the third quarter. The Sonics lost the quarter by 23 points, going from up 15 to down eight. The rest of the game, they outscored the Jazz by a remarkable 16 points. If the Sonics are to end their losing streak, a consistent 48-minute effort is in order.

Playback Archive