Saturday night was officially Rashard Lewis Bobblehead Doll Night, but the Sonics might as well have been giving the fans playing time.
Due to injury and a funeral, the Sonics could dress only 10 players for the game against Boston.
Vin Baker is expected to be out at least two weeks due to three dislocated toes on his left foot. Although Baker hasn’t been placed on the injured list, that could happen sometime this week.
“We haven’t talked about what we’re going to do as far as bringing someone in” via free agency, coach Nate McMillan said. “We’ll check (Baker) out again this weekend and go from there. We don’t want to do something and then suddenly he recovers. So there’s no rush.”
In addition to Baker, the Sonics were without Shammond Williams. The reserve guard has been out of town for a few days because of a death in the family.
“Any time you’re missing some guys, especially guys in your rotation, you have to make adjustments,” McMillan said. “It’s a part of the game, it happens, but it is an unusual situation. Especially when it’s a guy like Vin, who’s such an important part of what we do.”
Desmond Mason played in Saturday’s despite a sprained wrist that he suffered in Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Mason came off the bench, while Vladimir Radmanovic replaced Baker in the starting lineup.
“I like Desmond coming off the bench,” McMillan said, “and we’ll probably stay with him coming off the bench.”
Radmanovic, a 6-foot-10, 21-year-old rookie forward from Yugoslavia, made his third NBA start in Saturday’s game.
Tight schedule: Saturday night’s game marked the beginning of a rough week for the Sonics, who took a charter flight to Sacramento shortly after the conclusion of the game. Seattle will face the Kings tonight at 6, then travel to Phoenix on Monday for a Tuesday game against the Suns. On Wednesday, the Sonics will be back in Seattle to host the Portland Trail Blazers.
Western swing: Seattle’s upcoming games will be pivotal in that they come against Western Conference opponents. The Sonics have won just three of their last 10 games against teams from the West, dating back to the beginning of the calendar year.
Overall, Seattle holds a 13-17 record against Western Conference teams this season after going 27-25 in 2000-01.
Scott M. Johnson
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