Opponent: Toronto Raptors
When: 3 p.m., Sunday
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto
TV: NBC (Ch. 5)
Radio: KJR (950 AM)
With no idea when Vin Baker will return to action, the Sonics on Friday moved the 6-foot-11 forward to the injured list. Baker, who suffered three dislocated toes on his left foot in a Feb. 14 game against the Los Angeles Lakers, must miss a minimum of five games, meaning he won’t be eligible to return until March 3 against Memphis.
It is doubtful, though, that Baker will be ready by then. According to Sonics coach Nate McMillan, Baker is expected to be in a walking boot another two weeks. He will be re-evaluated at that point, meaning it may be mid-March at the earliest before he returns.
Baker joins center Calvin Booth on the injured list, leaving Seattle with just 11 players on the active roster. Like Baker, no one knows when, or if, Booth will be able to return.
Trade follow-up: One day after the NBA trade deadline, general manager Rick Sund said the Sonics had several opportunities to swing a deal and acquire a veteran. Since the offers all involved giving up one of Seattle’s promising young players, the team declined.
Barring a staggering proposal, the Sonics are committed to building around promising youngsters like Rashard Lewis, Desmond Mason and Vlade Radmanovic, Sund said.
“We had a number of people call with what were probably fair deals,” he said, “but they didn’t coincide with the direction that we’re going in the next two or three years.”
Top guns: The Sonics expected to have a good perimeter shooting team before the season, but no one knew they would be this good.
Seattle is the NBA leader in field goal percentage (46.6 percent) and is second in 3-point percentage (38.9), trailing only Milwaukee, (39.1). Leading the way for the Sonics is Brent Barry, who entered Friday’s game 11th in field goal shooting (50.9, 252-for-495) and is 10th in 3-point shooting (43.7, 111-for-254).
Then there is the curious case of forward Vladimir Radmanovic, who continues to shoot better from the 3-point stripe (39.8, 47-for-118) than from the field (39.7, 102-for-257). From inside the line, Radmanovic is shooting just 39.6 (55-for-139).
Rich Myhre
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
