Opponent: Utah Jazz
When: 6 p.m.
Where: KeyArena, Seattle
TV: FSN (cable)
Radio: KJR (950 AM)
Probable starters: For Seattle – forwards Rashard Lewis (6 feet, 10 inches) and Reggie Evans (6-8), center Jerome James (7-1), guards Ray Allen (6-5) and Luke Ridnour (6-2). For Utah – forwards Carlos Boozer (6-9) and Matt Harpring (6-7), center Curtis Borchardt (7-0), guards Gordan Giricek (6-5) and Keith McLeod (6-2).
Next game: Seattle at Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Kirilenko returns to aid Utah
Utah began the season 6-1, but thereafter the wheels came off in a big way. Since mid-November the Jazz had lost 25-of-33 games heading into Saturday night’s game with Memphis, including one stretch where the team dropped 12-of-13 games.
Much of the team’s trouble has been due to the loss of forward Andrei Kirilenko, one of the league’s top players. The native Russian, who had been out since severely spraining his right knee in a Nov. 27 game at San Antonio, returned for the first time in Saturday’s game against Memphis.
In the 14 games before he got hurt, Kirilenko was averaging 14.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and an NBA-best 4.43 blocked shots.
“He’s a great defender,” Seattle coach Nate McMillan said. With Utah getting him back, “you add defense, you add energy, you add hustle. I think he’s definitely a stopper in this league. He’s a guy that’s an excellent defender.”
Citing Utah’s 6-20 record without Kirilenko, “I think that says a lot,” he added.
Medical report: Forward Rashard Lewis went through much of the team’s Saturday practice, which is a good sign as the seventh-year forward tries to shake off a painful bout of knee tendinitis.
“He basically got done what he needed,” McMillan said. “He wanted to get some work in.”
Missing most of the workout was center Jerome James, who is slowed by bronchitis, though he played 20 minutes against Minnesota on Friday and is expected to be in the starting lineup tonight.
Midseason slump: Yes, the Sonics have seemed a bit lethargic in recent weeks, McMillan admits.
“It looks like we have lost a little bit of that scrappiness that we had,” he said. “We have to find a way to dig down deep and get that back. Because these (opponents) are coming out and playing aggressive basketball. I think we are, too, but we’re not as aggressive as we were maybe a week ago.
“We’re close to that midway point (of the schedule), so sometimes this (happens),” he said. “But what we’re trying to do is regain that energy, that scrappy play, that we had earlier.”
Numerology: Give Ray Allen one statistic to evaluate how well his team has played and he will pick offensive rebounds.
Odd, perhaps, because Allen is a shooter, but offensive rebounding is “the biggest and the most important stat in any game. It determines who was more aggressive and who had more energy that night. You can miss a lot of shots and still win the game. You can turn the ball over and still win the game. But if you look at (offensive rebounding), it’s a barometer for who was playing with a lot of energy and who was being aggressive. That’s the indicator for me.”
Despite going 2-3 over the past five games, Seattle has garnered more offensive rebounds than its opponent in four of the five, including a 15-10 edge in Friday night’s loss to Minnesota.
Rich Myhre, Herald Writer
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