TODAY’S GAME
Opponent: Atlanta Hawks
When: 6 p.m.
Where: KeyArena, Seattle
TV: KONG (Ch. 6/16)
Radio: KJR (950 AM)
Probable starters: For Seattle – forwards Rashard Lewis (6 feet, 10 inches) and Vlade Radmanovic (6-10), center Calvin Booth (6-11), guards Brent Barry (6-6) and Ronald Murray (6-4). For Atlanta – forwards Stephen Jackson (6-8) and Shareef Abdur-Rahim (6-9), center Theo Ratliff (6-10), guards Dion Glover (6-5) and Jason Terry (6-2).
Next game: Seattle at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Tuesday.
:Atlanta has a rugged early-season schedule, with seven of the first nine games on the road, and the results have not been kind. Heading into Saturday night’s game at Portland, the Hawks had won just once – a home victory over New Orleans on Monday.
Seattle native Jason Terry, who usually plays well in his hometown, led the team in scoring (going into Saturday’s game) at 20.3 points a game and in assists at 6.3. Forward Stephen Jackson was averaging 16.4 points, while forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim was at 14.4 points and 11.4 rebounds.
The Hawks, said Sonics coach Nate McMillan, “play fast and they play aggressive. It’s a scrapping team and I think they will run with us. They play loose and look to get the ball up and down the floor.”
Local links: Several members of the Hawks organization have Seattle ties. Head coach Terry Stotts was a Sonics assistant under George Karl from 1992-93 to 1997-98. Atlanta assistant coach/scout Mike McNeive was Seattle’s video coordinator for four of those seasons. Assistant coach Armond Hill is a former Sonic (1980-81 and 1981-82). Terry attended Seattle’s Franklin High School. Guard Dan Dickau (on the injured list with Achilles’ tendinitis) played briefly at the University of Washington before transferring to Gonzaga University.
Waiting and waiting: Antonio Daniels was Seattle’s one free-agent acquisition of the past offseason and was expected to get regular minutes at both guard positions, though he is primarily a point guard.
Instead, the emergence of young guards Ronald Murray and Luke Ridnour, a 3-0 start that has McMillan hesitant to make too many changes, and Daniels’ lingering back discomfort have combined to keep him on the bench for the team’s first three games.
“He’s slowly coming on and getting better,” McMillan said. “I still have confidence in him, but this (guard rotation) right now is working for us so I’m kind of sticking with it. … Sticking him out there right now, with him not being (fully) healthy and with the team doing good would put a lot of pressure on him. But when he’s ready and the opportunity presents itself, I’m not afraid to go with him at all.”
McMillan said he planned to speak with Daniels on Saturday, explaining all of this to him.
“I understand that everybody wants to play,” he said. “There are some guys that feel they should be in the rotation more. But we’re looking at matchups and certain things, and I’m going another direction right now.”
Rich Myhre
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