Opponent: Utah Jazz
When: 6 p.m.
Where: KeyArena, Seattle
TV: KING (Channel 5)
Radio: KJR (950 AM)
Probable starters: For Seattle – forwards Vin Baker (6 feet, 11 inches) and Rashard Lewis (6-10), center Calvin Booth (6-11), guards Brent Barry (6-6) and Gary Payton (6-4). For Utah – forwards Karl Malone (6-10) and Donyell Marshall (6-9), center Greg Ostertag (7-2), guards Quincy Lewis (6-7) and John Stockton (6-1).
Scouting report: Not since the 1985-86 season (Karl Malone’s rookie season) have the Utah Jazz started with an 0-2 record. It happened this season with back-to-back home losses to Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Lakers.
All of which tells Sonics coach Nate McMillan one thing.
“There’s no question, they’ll be hungry,” he said, looking ahead to tonight’s game. “I expect them to come in here with their playoff eyes, their playoff focus.
“I’m sure they’re looking at the schedule and thinking this is a game they should get. So we have to match their intensity. Regardless of what the situation is with those guys, they’re going to play one way and that’s hard for 48 minutes. You have to beat that team. They’re a very smart, disciplined team, and they adjust to what you’re doing defensively. They’ve always been that way and I think they’ll continue to be that way.”
Utah, of course, is led by the venerable tandem of guard John Stockton and Malone, a forward. Stockton, in his 18th NBA season, and Malone, in No. 17, are showing some signs of age, “but they are as smart as ever,” McMillan said.
Stockton is the oldest player in the NBA (the Gonzaga grad, who turns 40 on March 26, is 4 1/2 months older than Orlando’s Patrick Ewing), but he remains an excellent passer and a sly competitor. When McMillan was still playing, he considered Stockton one of the NBA’s dirtiest players.
“Part of his ability is being able to get under your skin,” McMillan said. “He understands how to draw a foul by bumping you or grabbing you, and then you respond (and draw a foul). He’s mentally strong enough to deal with altercations. He’ll get tangled up with you and you’re ready to fight, and he’s still concentrating on the game. Mentally, he understands how to get it started and remain focused, while you might be taking it personally. That’s a strength of his.”
Nice addition: One of the early surprises for the Sonics this season has been the emergence of 7-1 Jerome James as a backup center. In two games, James has scored 15 points, snagged five rebounds and blocked two shots in 29 minutes.
Not bad for a player who had all of 16 games of NBA experience (with Sacramento in 1998-99) before this season, and who played with teams in Italy, Yugoslavia and France a year ago.
“Being on this team is what makes me really happy,” James said. “The coaching staff and the management believe in me, and they’ve proven they believe in me by giving me the opportunity to go out and make a few mistakes. You learn from your mistakes.”
Man of words: Pregame ceremonies for Thursday’s home opener were mostly somber and patriotic, but there was some levity as well. Seattle’s Brent Barry produced laughter with a funny poem about the team and the new season.
Did he labor to write his little ditty?
“Actually, I sat down over dinner and did it in about five minutes,” Barry said.
That’s a fact: With the recent retirement of Minnesota Twins manager Tom Kelly, Utah coach Jerry Sloan has the longest tenure of any coach/manager in the four major professional sports. Sloan has guided the Jazz since 1988. Second place goes to Bobby Cox of the Atlanta Braves, while second place among NBA coaches is Houston’s Rudy Tomjanovich.
Rich Myhre
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