By Rich Myhre
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – Like the stock market, Vin Baker may be bouncing back.
For that matter, so are the other Seattle SuperSonics.
Back home for a one-game stop between two Midwest road trips, the Sonics remain one of the NBA’s most torrid teams. Despite a 111-106 loss to the similarly surging Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, Seattle has won eight of its last 10 contests to climb squarely into the chase for one of eight Western Conference playoff spots.
And, says assistant head coach Dwane Casey, who will handle the team against the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight in the absence of head coach Nate McMillan (who is in North Carolina to be with his hospitalized mother), much of the credit belongs to Baker.
“Vin is playing some of the best basketball that he has in the last couple of years,” Casey said. “When we go down to the low post, we’re getting great productivity from Vin. He’s playing like the (onetime) All-Star that he is and the Olympian that he is, and that’s really made a big difference in our offensive game.”
Against the T-wolves, the 6-foot-11 Baker had one of his most productive outings of the season. Despite being matched against Minnesota superstar Kevin Garnett, Baker still managed 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists as Seattle narrowly missed snagging an impressive road win.
The importance to the Sonics of a healthy, inspired Baker can hardly be overstated. Without him, Seattle simply has no consistent low-post presence (we will never argue with Howard Schultz’s decision to jettison Ruben Patterson, but, oh, how the Sonics have missed the Sky Pilot’s inside game). To continue their recent rise, and to have any chance of reaching and maybe winning in the postseason, Seattle must have an interior scoring threat to draw double-teams and free shooters on the perimeter.
Baker has been doing that of late. Still, his statistics and his overall play are nowhere near his best seasons in Milwaukee and his first in Seattle, when he was a four-time NBA All-Star and, with the Sonics in 1997-98, an All-NBA second-team pick. Those were seasons when he was averaging around 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. Because Baker still has occasional games in which he virtually disappears – against Memphis on Sunday, he had a mere six points and three rebounds in 26 minutes – his current numbers are 16.3 points and 6.9 rebounds.
“I don’t think he’s playing at his peak yet,” Casey conceded, “but he’s playing much better. He’s been very productive in the post.”
Cleveland, an Eastern Conference cellar dweller, presents a great opportunity for Baker to shine. Cavaliers power forward Chris Mihm is a player Baker should abuse, and if Cleveland’s defense collapses there should be open shots aplenty for fellows like Gary Payton, Brent Barry, Rashard Lewis and Desmond Mason.
Though the prospect of a playoff run seemed scant just a month ago – back then, the Sonics had dropped six out of seven and were 9-14 – Seattle is now a solid conference contender. The Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento, San Antonio, Minnesota and Dallas seem set to claim the first five spots, with Seattle joining the LA Clippers, Phoenix and Utah in a bid for the remaining three.
“Every game now is so important to us,” Baker said, “and the good thing is that every guy here understands that. We can’t look past any game. Our conference is so tough and there are so many teams bunched together, so every game is just as important as if we were playing the Lakers. (Tonight), we just have to get this win.
What distinguishes today’s Sonics from the same team in mid-December “is that everybody is so positive right now,” he said. “When we were going through that losing stretch, we were in close games and we were losing those close games. But I don’t think anyone ever (doubted) that we could put together a streak like we have.
“Obviously, everything now is much more positive. We know how good we are, but now we’ve got wins to show for it.”
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