Opponent: San Antonio Spurs
When: 5 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 San Antonio – forwards Tim Duncan (7-0) and Bruce Bowen (6-7), center Rasho Nesterovic (7-0), guards Manu Ginobili (6-6) and Tony Parker (6-2).
Next game: Seattle at Denver, 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Lewis sits out practice Saturday
Seattle forward Rashard Lewis, who is battling ongoing plantar fasciitis in his left foot, sat out Saturday’s team practice, but should be ready to play against the Spurs tonight.
For the time being, coach Nate McMillan expects to keep Lewis out of most practice drills to give his foot more time to heal. McMillan said he has no idea how long that will last, “but we’ll go with it as long as we need to. We just want to be cautious with him.”
Lewis played in Seattle’s first two preseason games, but then sat out the rest of the exhibition schedule as the injury, which actually began bothering him over the summer, became more severe. He returned to play 32 minutes in the team’s regular-season opener against the LA Clippers on Wednesday (he was Seattle’s top scorer with 24 points) and he played 38 minutes against Atlanta on Friday (scoring 23 points).
“He’s feeling better,” McMillan said after the light midday workout. “He had a few plays (Friday night) where he looked like his old self.”
Lewis was getting medical treatment after Saturday’s practice and was unavailable for comment.
Forward Danny Fortson sat out part of Saturday’s practice to give him some relief from the recurring back spasms that have bothered him in recent weeks. Fortson, who missed Wednesday’s season opener, played 14 minutes against the Hawks and had nine points and five rebounds.
Welcome back, Brent: San Antonio guard Brent Barry returns to KeyArena tonight to face his former team. Barry, a usual starter in his five Seattle seasons before signing with the Spurs as an offseason free agent, has been getting big minutes playing from the bench.
Barry is one of the NBA’s top perimeter shooters and is particularly effective from the 3-point stripe. As a Sonic he shot .360 percent from the 3-point line, though he was over .400 in each of his last four Seattle seasons.
“He’s one of the best 3-point shooters in the league,” McMillan said. “The Spurs have one of the best low-post players in the league (forward Tim Duncan), and the combination of those two makes it difficult to defend them. If you want to double-team Tim, now you have a 3-point shooter who shoots close to 50 percent (to worry about). And that’s why they brought him down there.
“Brent is playing with a team that has an opportunity to win a championship, and his talent should mesh well with the talent they already have,” he said.
Mr. Hustle: Forward Reggie Evans scored 11 points in Friday’s game, but his scoring average is not what has him in Seattle’s starting lineup.
“I’m not even concerned about his offense,” McMillan said. “He’s making strong moves when he catches the ball, but those are bonus points for us. He’s not out there to score. He’s out there to defend, rebound and set some screens.”
Evans is probably Seattle’s most energetic player, “and we feed off his energy,” McMillan said. “He’s earned the right to start at that (power forward) spot.”
Proud papa: Former NBA player Gerald Wilkins, the father of Seattle guard/forward Damien Wilkins, was at Friday’s game against Atlanta and he attended Saturday’s practice. He watched from an upper balcony at the team’s practice facility, chatting with Sonics general manager Rick Sund.
Rich Myhre, Herald Writer
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