By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – Fans who flooded the Seattle SuperSonics’ phone lines last September in hopes of seeing the greatest player ever will have to settle for a whole lot less.
Michael Jordan will not be at KeyArena tonight when the Washington Wizards come to town because he opted to stay in the Washington, D.C., area to rehabilitate a knee that underwent surgery in February. That will probably come as sad news to the 17,000-plus fans who purchased tickets to the game last fall in hopes of seeing Jordan’s only scheduled visit to Seattle this season.
“People want to see Michael play. I kind of hate that the fans don’t have an opportunity to see him play,” Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. “It makes for an exciting game. A guy with Michael’s ability brings fans into the building, and now he won’t be there. We won’t be down, by any means.”
The absence of Jordan should have an effect on attendance tonight, although it is difficult to gauge the degree. The game has been sold out for months, but Jordan’s absence figures to leave at least a few seats empty.
“I think they’ll still come out and find that we’ve got a real entertaining team,” Sonics team president Wally Walker said Thursday. “It’ll be fun.
“There’s always been an element of fans wanting to watch a great player (from an opposing team). The feedback we’ve gotten is that they’ve come out to see a certain player and been impressed with our product.”
Certainly, the Sonics’ product this season is an improvement over the past two years. Seattle (36-29) currently holds the seventh of eight playoff seeds in the competitive Western Conference, one game ahead of Utah and three behind Portland. Despite injuries to Vin Baker and Calvin Booth, the Sonics have remained surprisingly strong in recent weeks.
Then again, the Sonics are reeling from two consecutive losses and could use a so-called “gimme” game. On paper, that is what the Wizards represent without Jordan. Washington was 26-21 and in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff hunt when Jordan was hurt in February, but has gone 3-14 since he went on the injured list.
That doesn’t mean the Sonics are taking anything for granted.
“We can’t let down,” McMillan said. “The bottom line is, the game is played on the floor, regardless of who is in uniform. The team that works the hardest and the team that executes will win, regardless of who is out there.”
Said forward Rashard Lewis: “Michael’s not really on our mind. We just need this win to get to the playoffs. We gave up a game at Houston (on Tuesday), so we definitely need this win.”
For the most part, the Sonics have taken care of struggling teams this season. Seattle has a 19-8 record against teams with losing records, as compared to 17-21 against teams at or above the .500 mark.
Without Jordan, the Wizards aren’t even close to being a .500 team. But this Wizards team is the only one Sonics fans will get to see in person this season.
“We just need to go out and play, to look at the jerseys instead of the names,” Sonics guard Desmond Mason said. “Knowing Jordan’s not going to be there, other guys are going to step up.
“A lot of fans are going to miss having the opportunity for him to come to Seattle. Fans are upset, but it’s not about them; it’s about us. We have to concentrate on getting a win.”
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