Opponent: Phoenix Suns
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: KeyArena, Seattle
TV: KONG (Ch. 6/16)
Radio: KJR (950 AM)
: The NBA has fined Sonics guard Ray Allen $10,000 for remarks he made after Saturday’s game at Golden State. Allen, who fouled out against the Warriors in a 94-92 loss, was sharply critical of the officiating trio of Ron Olesiak, Scott Foster and Pat Fraher in his remarks to the media after the game.
Among other things, Allen said, “That whole crew, when I left the floor I told them they can kiss my (bleep). Their refereeing tonight was disgusting.”
On Wednesday, Allen was calm but certainly not repentant about the whole incident.
“I’m not a guy who says negative things about the NBA,” he said before the game, “so when I do there’s probably a good reason for it. … My fine, I think, even though I got it, it represents every guy in this locker room.”
In the days after the game, Allen heard from league officials who first wanted to check the accuracy of his words.
“They call you up and they ask you, ‘Are these your comments?’ and they read them to you,” he said. “I didn’t need to hear them because I knew exactly what I said. It wasn’t like I was being misquoted. That’s exactly how I felt. … What I said I knew warranted a fine. What I said I did for the (level of officiating) that we think is just.”
The fine will be docked from Allen’s next paycheck. It may not make a discernible dent since Allen is earning $13.5 million this season.
Booth benched: Sonics coach Nate McMillan juggled his lineup for Wednesday’s game, moving forward Reggie Evans to the first team. He replaced Calvin Booth, who has been largely ineffective in recent games. Booth played 11 minutes against the Jazz on Wednesday night and had two points and no rebounds.
Evans had not played in three of Seattle’s previous five games and had played a total of just eight minutes in the other two.
Respect for Sloan: McMillan is unabashed in his admiration of Jerry Sloan, who is in his 16th season as Jazz head coach. In particular, McMillan admires how Sloan always gets his players to play hard and to play within his system.
Utah had outstanding talent in the era of John Stockton and Karl Malone, which made winning commonplace, but this season the team is close to .500 with a collection of mostly young and unproven players.
“(Sloan’s) teams have always been physical,” McMillan said. “They seem to mentally be tough (and) they’re going to play the way he wants to play, which is a disciplined, controlled game. Even though he has lost some key players, the players who have stepped in for those guys have that same attitude, that same approach.
“You have to beat them. They’re not ones who are going to come in and turn their backs to a challenge. Even if they think they’re going to get their behinds kicked, you’re going to have to do it.”
Winding down: For teams likely to miss the playoffs, the months of March and April are the dog days of the NBA season. While playoff-bound teams play with spirit and purpose, the others sometimes seem to be thinking more about summer vacation.
Allen, though, calls March and April “the best part of the year to play basketball. My job goes from training camp to the 82nd game, and … when I walk on the floor, I always feel like that’s when I get better.
“But I don’t think a lot of other guys around the league prepare that way,” he said. “As the season winds down and if you’re not making the playoffs, that same injury you had at the beginning of the year when you thought you were going to win a championship is ailing you even more. A lot of guys want to sit out and not make it to that 82nd game.”
Rich Myhre
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