Opponent: Sacramento Kings
When: 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: Arco Arena, Sacramento, Calif.
TV: KONG (Ch. 6/16)
Radio: KJR (950 AM)
Friday’s game was obviously special for the many Sonics who were onetime teammates of Gary Payton.
It was also special for one Sonic who arrived after Payton left – Ray Allen, for whom Payton was traded on Feb. 20, 2003.
Before the game, when Seattle coach Nate McMillan was asked what the night would be like for Allen, he reacted with a smile.
“There’s been a lot of talk about Gary,” McMillan said, “and really that’s the first question I’ve heard on Ray. I think there’s just as much pressure on Ray. There will be some people who will compare the two of them. But there hasn’t been any talk about how Ray has approached this game, what he feels about this game.
“Ray seems to be relaxed and ready to go. I’m sure he wants to play well.”
In the locker room before the game, Allen seemed indifferent to the Payton hype. It was worse, he said, facing the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan “in his heyday.”
Allen, then a young shooting guard, would be matched against Jordan, an assignment that “was more nerve-wracking,” he said. “That was 10 times worse. I knew I was guarding him and everyone (in Milwaukee) was coming to see him. They weren’t coming to see the Bucks play. They were coming to see M.J., the best ever.”
Allen’s approach, both to those early meetings with Jordan and in Friday’s game against Payton and the Lakers “is to try to do my job the same way I’ve always done it,” he said. “Nothing changes. We walk out on the floor (and play).”
As for the cheers for Payton, Allen understands. “He was loved and cherished by these people,” Allen said. “They were the ones that made him the player who he is.”
Laker lovers: As always, there was a large assortment of Lakers fans at Friday’s game. They were identified both by their Lakers jerseys and other apparel, and by their cheers whenever LA scored.
“This building has always had a lot of Lakers fans,” McMillan said wryly. “Sometimes you don’t know if you’re at home or on the road.”
Off the mark: Seattle’s Vlade Radmanovic has struggled with his shooting of late, going a combined 14-for-43 from the field (.326) in the five games heading into Friday’s meeting with the Lakers. That includes 4-for-13 (.308) from the 3-point stripe.
“He’s not shooting the ball well and I think that has an effect on the rest of his game,” McMillan said. “He’s really struggling to find a rhythm with his shot. But when he’s not shooting the ball well and if he’s struggling, then he has to find another way to attack.”
As a coach, McMillan went on, “you encourage him to continue to shoot the ball … and see if he can work his way out of it.”
Rich Myhre
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