NEXT GAME
Opponent: Utah Jazz
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
TV: KONG (Ch. 6/16)
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).
Next game: Los Angeles Lakers at Seattle, 7 p.m. Friday
James update: Sonics center Jerome James, on the injured list with a sprained right foot, says he is probably two weeks away from playing. James is walking, but with a noticeable limp.
Sitting out “has been driving me crazy,” James confessed. So much that at a team practice Tuesday morning, he wandered onto the court in a moment of distraction.
“It was like the court was drawing me to be out there,” he said with a laugh.
Teammate Gary Payton was not impressed, promptly scolding James to get back to the sidelines.
Behind the scenes: NBA players, like most professional athletes, often do nice things that go unrecognized. Before Tuesday’s game, Payton interrupted his pregame preparations to visit with a boy in a wheelchair. Payton spent several minutes chatting and giving his autograph.
Rumor mill: Word out of Salt Lake City these days suggests that Utah’s Karl Malone, after 16 seasons with the Jazz, might want a change of address. Supposedly, Malone would like to join the Dallas Mavericks, figuring that team might have a better shot at an NBA championship than the slumping Jazz.
Still, Sonics coach Nate McMillan isn’t so sure. “It could happen,” he reflected. “But all I know is that he’ll still be in a Utah uniform (tonight).”
After Tuesday’s game against Minnesota, the Sonics boarded a charter flight to Salt Lake City for tonight’s game against the Jazz.
Rough road ahead: How difficult are the next stretch of days for the Sonics? Going into Tuesday’s meeting with Minnesota, Seattle’s next five opponents (Minnesota, Utah, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee and Minnesota again) had a combined record of 46-15. Milwaukee, Minnesota and the Lakers lead their respective divisions.
Rich Myhre
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