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Ridnour Breaking Out Under Hill Sonics Sign Cleaves Sonics News Archive

Luke Ridnour

Bob Hill

Mateen Cleaves

(7:00 p.m., FSN, )

"I'm going to play Mateen tomorrow," Hill told reporters after the Sonics practiced Tuesday. "I'm going to change things a little bit and get Mateen minutes at one and try to get [usual backup point guard] Flip (Murray) more of his minutes at two and see if that doesn't help, because I think Mateen can definitely play the way we're trying to play and he can guard."

"I think Mateen can definitely play the way we're trying to play and he can guard." Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

Ridnour topped the 40-minute mark just six times last season, when the Sonics boasted a reliable backup for him in veteran Antonio Daniels. He has already played at least 40 minutes seven times just this month. Four of those games can be explained by the absence of shooting guard Ray Allen and one by the Sonics playing two overtimes in Phoenix, but the last two games Ridnour has played so much simply because he has been so important to the team and because Murray has struggled.

"We're trying to win as many games as we can, we're trying to do something with the season," said Hill. "He's (Ridnour) significant to what we're doing. When the minutes behind him aren't what they need to be, I don't have much choice.

"To be honest with you, I don't even think about Luke and his minutes. I think Luke will be fine. I don't want to play him that many minutes, don't get me wrong, but I don't worry about him."

Ridnour, who missed last Thursday's game against Dallas because of his knee, has worn a brace in the Sonics last two games and in practice but says he's "feeling good" and isn't concerned about his minutes either.

"I know I can play through a full season; I did it last year," said Ridnour. "I don't really think my body will break down. I've worked hard to keep it in good shape."

Defensive Rebounding Costs Sonics

After watching the Sonics 116-111 loss to Portland on Monday evening a couple of times, Hill was left with the inescapable conclusion that defensive rebounding was the difference for the Sonics in the game. He felt his team played well defensively.

"When you watch it, it's pretty plain to see we did a lot of good things defensively, but we couldn't finish enough of the possessions defensively to win the game," said Hill. "29 points off the boards was clearly the difference in the game. We made them take a lot of the shots we wanted them to take and then we just couldn't get the rebound."

Hill noted that 20-year-old Sonics centers Johan Petro and Robert Swift have a bad habit of jumping and reaching for defensive rebounds, instead of boxing out and going to get the ball. While Swift has been rebounding more effectively of late, 46.1% of his rebounds this season have come at the offensive end. (The NBA average is 27.6%; Petro is at 35.7%). Swapping out Reggie Evans (8.0 defensive rebounds per 40 minutes) for Vladimir Radmanovic (5.2) has also hurt the Sonics on the defensive glass, and they are the NBA's second-worst team in terms of defensive rebounding percentage, rebounding 68.9% of opponents misses (league average is 72.4%).

"We watched the defensive edit (of the game film) this morning and they saw what I was talking about," said Hill. "They saw for themselves. The defense is so much better than it was. But every night on the board (in the locker room), the second thing on the defensive side of the board is 'contain, protect, contest and finish.' Those first three we're doing an awfully good job of and we can't finish. We've had a tough time doing that since the beginning, and it's taking its toll."

Besides the rebounding, Hill was disappointed with how the Sonics defended the pick-and-roll.

"Our pick-and-roll defense last night was not good," he said. "Both Johan and Robert got in the habit of falling straight back to the rim and they didn't take anybody's angle away. The perimeter guys were doing a good job - we're not getting caught on screens - but it just wasn't good last night with the big guys."

Hill was pleased with the job his players did of contesting shots, an area he has emphasized. Hill has begun tracking the number of shot attempts that a Sonics defender (or defenders) contests by running at the shooter with his hands up or by having his hand in the shooter's face.

"I watched the team a few years before; they didn't contest any shots," explained Hill. "They wouldn't run out and make the extra effort to contest. If the ball was missed, they were pretty big and they would clean up the boards. It was always one of my intentions if I ever came here to get them to understand deflections and contests and what they can do for you."