Opponent: Utah Jazz
When: 6 p.m., Wednesday
Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
TV: KONG (Ch. 6/16)
Radio: KJR (950 AM)
McMillan update: Sonics coach Nate McMillan, who is in Raleigh, N.C., to look after his ailing mother, talked with associate head coach Dwane Casey on Friday afternoon. McMillan spoke mostly about his mother’s condition, rather than giving game advice.
“He didn’t say very much (about Friday’s game against Cleveland),” Casey said. “He just said, ‘Do it the way you want to do it.’”
McMillan did not return to Seattle with the team after Wednesday’s game in Minnesota. Instead, he flew to North Carolina on Thursday to be with his mother, Jeanette Tyson, who was hospitalized earlier in the week with high blood pressure and kidney problems.
Mrs. Tyson’s condition, which led to dialysis treatments on Friday, “has been ongoing,” Casey said. “She’s had the kidney problem for awhile and the high blood pressure problem for awhile … but it took a turn for the worse and they had to get her to the hospital.” On Friday, he added, McMillan “said his mom’s blood pressure is down. It looks like it’s stabilized right now, which is a good sign.”
McMillan had already planned to be in North Carolina this weekend. His alma mater, North Carolina State University, had arranged to “honor” McMillan’s jersey during a Sunday game against Duke. The school has only retired one jersey – No. 44, worn by David Thompson – and “honors” the accomplishment of other top players.
McMillan wore No. 10 for the Wolfpack in 1984-85 and 1985-86 before being drafted by the Sonics.
Casey said McMillan will probably return to Seattle on Monday, conduct a Tuesday practice, then travel with the team to Salt Lake City for Wednesday’s game against the Utah Jazz.
More Casey: Though he has been a head coach in various pro summer leagues in recent years, Casey has not been a head coach in a major competition since 1998, when he coached the Japanese national team at the World Championships in Athens, Greece.
Still, Casey said before Friday’s game, “I’ve been in (coaching) 24 years and I feel like I’m well prepared for this situation. I just want to do a good job for Nate. I don’t want to let him down, as a friend and as a colleague.”
Someday, Casey added, he would like to get an NBA head coaching job. He interviewed with the Detroit Pistons in the offseason before the job was given to Rick Carlisle.
“I don’t sit and worry about it,” said Casey, who is 44. “We’re trying to get this ship going in the right way, and that’s enough for now. … I’m not in a hurry. Right now, I’m very happy where I am.”
Sonics games on satellite: The Sonics and their television affiliates, KING (Channel 5) and KONG (6/16), are making Seattle games available on satellite dish systems, effective immediately. Games broadcast on KING will be available on DirecTV on Channel 5 or Channel 962 (depending on the viewer’s type of receiver). Games on KONG can be seen on Channel 16 or Channel 967. For viewers with the Echostar/Dish Network, games on KING are on Channel 8612 and games on KONG are on Channel 8617.
Rich Myhre
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