Opponent: Denver Nuggets
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver
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 Denver – forwards Carmelo Anthony (6-8) and Kenyon Martin (6-9), center Marcus Camby (6-11), guards DerMarr Johnson (6-9) and Andre Miller (6-2).
Next game: Sacramento at Seattle, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Nuggets off to disappointing start
The Sonics and Denver both had disappointing starts to the season. The difference is that Seattle bounced back while the Nuggets have stayed mostly down.
The low point was a 106-82 loss to Utah on Saturday night that had fans at Denver’s Pepsi Center loudly booing the home team. The loss dropped the Nuggets to 1-2, and another loss to the Jazz in Utah on Monday night leaves Denver at 1-3.
Asked to explain his team’s sorry performances – Denver, after all, is viewed as one of the up-and-coming teams in the Western Conference – coach Jeff Bzdelik told the Denver Post newspaper: “It has nothing to do with Xs and Os. Our minds as a basketball team, collectively, aren’t right. Plain and simple. I’m the head coach. I’ll take full responsibility for that.”
None of the Nuggets has struggled more than forward Carmelo Anthony, who is coming off a brilliant rookie season in which he averaged 21.0 points and 6.1 rebounds a game. Anthony is just 21-for-81 from the field through the first four games (.272 percent), including 5-for-25 in a home overtime win against Minnesota and 3-for-20 in Saturday’s loss to Utah.
After Saturday’s Utah game, Anthony said: “I embarrassed myself out there and we embarrassed ourselves as a team.”
Against the Sonics, Denver will be without guard Voshon Lenard, who suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon in the team’s first game and was scheduled to have surgery Monday. Also, forward Nene Hilario is questionable due to a strained hamstring.
Big on the boards: With his long hair, which he wears pulled into a short ponytail when he plays, and with his equally distinctive girth – he is, shall we say, hefty – Sonics forward Danny Fortson is a distinctive presence on the basketball court.
After three games of the season, though, he has mostly stood out for his play.
Fortson was superb against San Antonio on Sunday night, totaling 15 points and 13 rebounds in just 21 minutes. He was particularly impressive in the second half, with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 13 minutes.
Fortson is in his eighth NBA season and three times has averaged double figures for both scoring and rebounding. Last season was one of his most forgettable, though, as he ended up near the end of the Dallas Mavericks’ bench. In just over 11 minutes a game, he averaged 3.9 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Being productive, he explained, “is all about minutes. And my type of play is real simple. I’m going to beat up the boards if I’m out there.”
The 6-8 Fortson reported to training camp at a robust 290 pounds and has since dropped to 277. “If I get down to 265,” he said, “I’ll be in good shape.”
Bright future: Though he has played sparingly early in the season, Nick Collison has still managed to make believers out of his teammates. Healthy again after missing all of last season with two shoulder surgeries, Collison has impressed the other Sonics with his understanding of the game and his prowess under the basket.
“He’s a beast,” Fortson said. “Nick has natural strength. There is weight room strength and there is natural strength, and natural strength is what you need in this league.”
No matter what happens this season, Collison figures it will be better than what he had to endure in 2003-04. After getting hurt in training camp, he spent the rest of the season flying to New York for his two operations and rehabbing in Seattle.
“There were times when it was worse than others,” Collison recalled, “but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was worried it was going to be just terrible. But I just concentrated on the rehab and I tried to do other things away from the court so I was not just sitting at home the whole time.
“It went a lot quicker than I thought, but it still was tough. Especially when the team went on the road and I was stuck back in Seattle doing rehab.”
That’s a fact: The Sonics have won three of their last four games over two seasons at Denver.
Rich Myhre, Herald Writer
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