Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett said he was shocked to hear the might be asked to be interviewed as part of the City of Seattle's lawsuit against the Seattle SuperSonics over the KeyArena lease.

"I was surprised because I thought the issue had to do with the existing lease between the team and the city," Cornett said. "I obviously wasn't a part of any lease that was signed 12 years ago and don't know what I would add to the conversation. But I will cooperate with whatever they want."

Read the full story from The Oklahoman here.

With three regulars out of Cleveland's lineup, including front-line star LeBron James, the Cavs are struggling to find any kind of offensive rhythm.

The opposite is true for Seattle, as the Sonics are shooting 60.9 percent from the floor, and lead 62-42 at halftime. Seattle's performance against San Antonio seems to have carried over to tonight, because the Sonics are playing and shooting with more confidence tonight.

Chris Wilcox scored the first 10 points of the game, running the floor and setting the tone for Seattle. Wilcox and Kevin Durant both have 12 points each, and Kurt Thomas has 10 points.

Seattle just needs to continue to play with intensity in the second and the Sonic will claim their second straight victory.

Seattle SuperSonics chairman Clay Bennett talked at sports business conference at Oklahoma City University, and said he believes the public should help fund an arena for an NBA team that relocates to that city.

"Unlike maybe a handful of individuals building the building that would never see any of it back, they might perhaps rationalize some benefit to the company, but the broad benefit really goes to the community, and not just intangibles,” Bennett said.

There will be some unhappy faces in the KeyArena crowd tonight as LeBron James will not play tonight, due to sprained right ankle. James tested his ankle during pre-game tonight but deemed but the Cleveland training staff deemed him not ready to go.
Devin Brown will start in place of James. James did not talk to the media before the game.

Seattle native and Portland's team leader Brandon Roy was selected as a reserve to the All-Star game today, as reserves for both teams were announced.

Roy already was heading to New Orleans as a member of the sophomore squad in the Rookie Challenge game, but will play on Sunday with the big boys instead.

Host New Orleans had two guys selected with Chris Paul and David West added to the West team, along with Phoenix's Steve Nash. Golden State's Baron Davis and Utah's Deron Williams were left off in the crowded guard position.

Seattle's Wally Szczerbiak will sit out tonight’s game with a sprained right ankle, but everybody else should be ready to go. Expect Damien Wilkins and Delonte West to get more time with Szczerbiak out.

And Cleveland’s LeBron James is a game-time decision, although I heard Akron Beacon Journal’s Brian Windhorst, who covers the Cavs, on the radio this afternoon and he thinks James will be a go tonight.

I don’t buy the numbers, but according to these calculations by Wages of Wins Dave Berri Seattle’s Jeff Green is among the 10 worst players in the NBA, and Kevin Durant is among the 25 worst players in terms of wins produced per 48 minutes. Take a look at the list here.

ESPN numbers cruncher John Hollinger rates the top pro prospects in college at the midseason point. No surprise that Kansas State’s Michael Beasley tops the list.
However, freshman guards like Derrick Rose (Memphis), Eric Gordon (Indiana) O.J. Mayo (US) and Donte Green (Syracuse) failed to crack the top 20. You can view the article along with the full list here, but you have to be a subscriber to ESPN Insider.

Here's the story from Associated Press.

SEATTLE -- LeBron James is questionable for the Cavaliers' game Thursday night against the Seattle SuperSonics, after spraining his ankle in the second quarter of a win over Portland.

A team spokeswoman said James, the NBA's leading scorer at 30.1 points per game, would be examined Thursday morning. He hurt the ankle with 23.3 seconds left before halftime Wednesday night, but still played 44 minutes.

James finished with 37 points and 14 rebounds, and his layup with less than a second left gave Cleveland its 13th win in 16 games.

"He will be re-evaluated in the morning and his status will be updated as appropriate,'' said Cavaliers director of basketball communications Amanda Mercado.

The Cavaliers are already without forward Anderson Varejao, who was hurt Sunday in a victory over the Lakers, and starting guard Sasha Pavlovic.

Verejao is expected to miss up to four weeks with a left ankle sprain, and Pavlovic is out six weeks with a left mid-foot sprain.

The Cavaliers (25-19) enter Thursday's game against the Sonics (10-35) having won five straight road games for the first time since March 17-April 1, 1998.

Cleveland's LeBron James might be a little drained tonight at the Key after scorching the Portland Trail Blazers for 37 points and 14 rebounds, including the game winner with .3 of a second left to lead the Cavaliers over Portland, 84-83. James had 17 in the fourth quarter. Check out the highlights here.

Also of note this morning, the NBA continues its push into the Asian market by partnering with promoter AEG and the Beijing Wukesong Culture and Sports Center to help build the Beijing's Olympic basketball venue and run it during and after August's Summer Games.

If you're looking for an overall perspective on the Jason Kidd trade speculation, check out ESPN analyst Marc Stein’s take on the situation here.

Seattle rookies Kevin Durant and Jeff Green have officially been named to the rookie team for the Rookie Challenge, which pits the top rookies against the top sophomores during All-Star weekend in New Orleans on Feb. 15. Read about it here.

The Sonics put 48 minutes together and finally got a win in January, defeating the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.

Check out this midseason report by Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld, which includes the following excerpt.

So in one sense, the Sonics shouldn't be considered a disappointment; no one really expected much in the first place. On the other hand there has also been no sense of progress, no sense that this season is merely a stepping stone to better things. Instead the Sonics are in disarray. Players are apparently grumbling about the coaching style of P.J. Carlesimo, indicating perhaps his time away from head coaching after the fiasco in Golden State hasn't changed much; either that or his players simply aren't buying into the program.

The Oklahoman weighs in on Judge Marsha Pechman setting a June. 16th trial date, saying it still gives the Sonics a realistic chance of moving the team to Oklahoma City next season.

Seattle's playing well and only down 48-46 at halftime. The Sonics are playing with more fire and more urgency tonight. Seattle rookie Kevin Durant is the prime example. He's been much more aggressive on offense and defense. Durant leads Seattle with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

The Sonics also have pushed the ball on the break, with a 10-0 advantage in fastbreak points. And Johan Petro continues his strong play of late. Petro had a nice block against Manu Ginobili and a jam on the other end off an Earl Watson missed shot to finish the half.

The game is for the taking if Seattle continues to play like they did in the first half.

Tony Parker is not starting for the Spurs tonight. Jacque Vaughn will start in his place.

Brent Barry (calf) also is out for San Antonio.

Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said the Sonics sent Mickael Gelabale down to Idaho because he wasn't getting any time, even in practice because guys have been hurt and the team hasn't been scrimmaging.

Gelabale will play six games with the Idaho Stampede and then rejoin the team for the two-game road trip to Sacramento and Phoenix just before the All-Star break.

Robert Swift looks like he's inching closer to returning. Swift ran sprints before the game and looked to be moving well. He should be OK to begin going full go at practice.

U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman set a June 16 trial date in the federal court case between the City of Seattle and the Sonics.
The two sides are disputing the KeyArena lease. Read a short story about the date set here. I'll have more later.

Unable to find playing time behind several players at the stacked wing position, the Sonics assigned Mickael Gelabale to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League on Monday.

Gelabale will join fellow Sonic Mouhamed Sene in Idaho. He hadn’t played in the last five games. In 24 appearances, Gelabale averaged 2.4 points and .9 rebounds a contest.

NBA teams can assign up to two players who are rookies or in their second season to the team’s D-League affiliate.

Ruth Bowman, a spokesperson for the Seattle City Attorney’s office, said Judge Marsha Pechman has called a scheduling conference to bring the two sides together in the court case between the city and the Sonics for a 10 a.m. meeting Tuesday at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Seattle. Bowman said Pechman may set a trial date during the meeting.

The Sonics are seeking a quick resolution to the issue and request a March 24th trial date, which, if the Sonics were to prevail in court, may allow the team to relocate to Oklahoma City and play games there for the 2008-09 season.

The city has requested an Oct. 27 trial date, arguing that it needs time to fully prepare to argue the case.

If the city’s request for an Oct. 27 date is granted, the Sonics would likely have to play another season in Seattle until the legal dispute is resolved in court.

Greg Bishop of the New York Times, who formerly worked as a reporter at the Seattle Times, writes about the Sonics arena situation here.

According to a Contra Costa Times report teams could be interested in Sonics big men Kurt Thomas or Chris Wilcox before the Feb. 21 trade deadline to fill a void inside.

I talked to Seattle SuperSonics general manager Sam Presti about the state of his team at the midpoint of the season for today's story. The full text of the conversation is provided below. In short, Presti said that obviously the team doesn't have as many wins as they would like but that it's all part of the process teams go through in rebuilding a franchise into a winner.

The Oklahoman had a interesting story on financing NBA stadiums and how cities go about public financing.

The Sacramento Bee contrasts the arena situation in Sacramento with the process here in Seattle.

Is there another Shawn Kemp in the NBA's future? Shawn Kemp, Jr. has turned heads in the Atlanta area and is making his way through the college recruiting circuit. Check it out here.

Here's the Presti interview.

Q: At the midpoint of the season, what are your overall thoughts on where you see the team right now? And can you talk a little bit individually about how Kevin Durant and Jeff Green have progressed.

A: Obviously we’d like to have more wins than we have right now. But we understood that going into the year with a lot of new faces there was going to be some peaks and valleys.

And we certainly enjoyed some successes and improvements in December. Right now we’ve had a little bit of slippage, and we need to get our group again reestablished on doing the things that helped us gain that momentum that we had in December.

=> Read more!

Atlanta's Marvin Williams has brought his A game so far, with a game-high 16 points and five rebounds in the first half.

Seattle is shooting 30.4 percent in the first. Kevin Durant has been one of the main players struggling, shooting 4-of-14 from the field.

Seattle's also getting outrebounded 28-20 and just overall playing poorly on the other end. Seattle seems well on its way to its 13th straight loss.

Seattle trails Atlanta at the end of the first quarter 23-14. Bremerton native Marvin Williams leads Atlanta with eight points, and has really looked to score early on.

Seattle big man Johan Petro had two impressive blocks in the first quarter, including a block on Williams from behind on the break.

Chris Wilcox started his first game since coming back off the injury list. Carlesimo said he put Wilcox in the starting lineup to try to get him into more of a rhythm. Wilcox starting meant a return to the bench for Nick Collison, who averaged 11.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in his last 10 starts.

Robert Swift also practiced for the first time on Thursday since early November, and participated in shootaround this morning. Carlesimo said so far his surgically repaired right knee has been fine.

Same starters again tonight, Watson, Durant, Green, Collison and Thomas.

Seattle coach P.J. Carrlesimo said he believes Chris Wilcox isn't 100 percent yet with his right pinkie finger and still prefers to control his minutes by bringing him off the bench.

Another reason Wilcox is coming off the bench is the way Collison has played in January, averaging a double-double so far.

Seattle's game against Houston, the second of a home-and-home series, is the beginning of a seven-game home stand for the Sonics, which may help them snap the team's current 11-game home streak.

With rumblings coming from players unhappy with playing time, Carlesimo addressed the issue during his pre-game talk.

“We try to make decisions as fairly as we can. Our situation here was set up from Day 1. We’ve got a lot of guys here of comparable ability. I don’t think at a lot of positions we’ve got a head-and-shoulders situation.
It’s not like we have a first-team All-NBA guy, so everybody else that plays his position is like, ‘I know there’s nothing I can say about that. That guy’s going to get all of the minutes.’ It’s not like that here.”

Carlesimo went on to say he'll try to cut the rotation to nine guys so the people playing can get into more of a rhythm.

Also, Robert Swift could be back practicing in limited capacity in the next couple weeks, Carlesimo said.

Unlike the last three games, Seattle avoided letting the Rockets go on a run in the second quarter and only trail by one.

Seattle rookie Jeff Green had a strong first half, finishing with 11 points and four assists. Green had three dunks, including an emphatic flush over Houston's Yao Ming.

Seattle's shooting 23-of-45 from the floor (51.1 percent).
Earl Watson has nine point and Kevin Durant and Luke Ridnour both have seven points apiece.

Seattle's had trouble controlling Yao inside. The big guy leads Houston with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie Carl Laundry, who Seattle traded to Houston on draft day for a future second rounder, totaled 12 points off the bench.

Tracy McGrady has been a non-factor so far, with just four points in 14 minutes.

The game is here for Seattle's taking if they continue to shoot well and play defense. The key for Seattle this game has been the ball movement during the team's half-court sets and push up court by the point guards. Seattle has 20 points inside the paint, and 13 fastbreak points.

University of Oregon products Aaron Brooks of Houston and Ridnour matched up most of the second half. It's the first time the two have played against each other in an NBA regular-season game.

Seattle leads 24-22 after the first quarter. It's the best the Sonics have looked during this long 4-game road trip.

The Sonics have good balance offensively, with Kevin Durant and Earl Watson finishing with five points apiece in the first quarter. Seattle shot 10-of-22 in the opening quarter.

And Johan Petro has provided a nice lift off the bench with Nick Collison in foul trouble, defending 7-foot-5 Yao Ming and finishing with four rebounds and two points in five minutes off the bench.

We'll see if Seattle can keep it up.

Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said he'll go with the same starting lineup tonight against Houston, with Earl Watston at point guard, Kevin Durant at shooting guard, Jeff Green at small forward, Nick Collison at power forward and Kurt Thomas at center.

However, Carlesimo said he may got to the bench earlier to get Wally Szczerbiak in the game. Szczerbiak has been playing well lately, averaging 18.8 points a contest in his last five games.

Durant, who struggled against Dallas on Saturday, finishing with six points on 3-of-12 shooting, will have another tough match up tonight, with Houston's Shane Battier matching up with Durant defensively.

Seattle native and Houston rookie Aaron Brooks has been getting more playing time for the Rockets.

As the second point guard off the bench, Brooks is averaging 5.7 points, 1.9 assists in 13.2 minutes. Brooks scored a career-high 22 points against the New York Knicks, shooting 4-of-5 from the 3-point line.

Seattle Sonics general manager Sam Presti and Sonics chairman Clay Bennett are in attendance.

I'll be doing a mid-season evaluation of the sonics sometime this week. But for those looking for an outside perspective, The Oklahoman has a mid-point evaluation by reporter Darnell Mayberry.

Seattle only trailed by six points, 42-36 midway through the second quarter. But Dallas finished the half on a 24-8 run, taking a 66-44 lead into halftime.

The Sonics had a team meeting this morning. Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said the team just went over the scout for Dallas. But some players said the group did discuss the team's current struggles during the losing streak.

However, it doesn't look like the meeting helped much. Seattle competed for awhile, but again did not respond when Dallas went on the spurt to end the half.

Seems like the team has stopped playing, which is not a good sign for Carlesimo.

Also, Sonics owner Clay Bennett is here watching the game.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was frank when asked about what folks in Seattle can do in order to keep the Seattle SuperSonics in Seattle.

"The big question is does Seattle even want the team?" Cuban said between gasping for gulps of air while working out on the Stepmaster and talking with reporters. "If they want them, they have to figure out a way for them to stay. And if they don’t, it’s just a question of where.

"I’d love to see them in Seattle. It’s a great city with great fans. It’s just a shame. But I guess sometimes the rain gets to people."

Sonics chairman Clay Bennett and the rest of his ownership group applied to relocate the team to Oklahoma City in November. However, the team is tied in litigation in Federal Court with the City of Seattle over a dispute with the Key Arena lease agreement.

Cuban said the issue boils down to the Sonics having a constrained lease arrangement that hamstrings the team’s ability to generate revenue locally.

When asked about the Sonics ability to make it financially in Oklahoma City, Cuban said there might be other options.

"I don’t know that they’re going to Oklahoma City, at least as far as my personal vote," Cuban said. "I’m going to keep all options open. It’s a question of what’s the best available market, and what’s going to help the NBA the most.

"So we’ll see. And if it’s not better than Seattle I’ll vote against it."

When asked to evaluate KeyArena, Cuban had this to say.

"It’s all right, but they’ve got a (expletive) lease," he said. "People can make the argument that the lease is fine, but business changes, and that’s what happened. The realities of the NBA has changed."

Cuban said the way the league handles revenue sharing is different, putting a higher importance on team’s generating more revenue in their local markets, which then put more importance on team’s having more favorable lease arrangements with their perspective cities.

Cuban said the economics of the NBA has changed since the city revamped KeyArena in 1994.

"That’s the piece that they still don’t understand in Seattle," Cuban said. "I think they still think it’s 1996, and if they can do it then they can do it now. But the difference between 10 years ago and today with the economics of the NBA and the way the Collective Bargaining Agreement is structured is just night and day."

Cuban also talked about the New Orleans Hornets and their inability to draws fans, even with one of the best teams in the NBA.

"Somebody has to get off of their ass and sell tickets," he said. "They’ve got one of the best records in the Western Conference, and you can’t get people to come? That’s not New Orleans. That’s effort."

I wanted to take a closer look at Seattle's shooting woes and what a few of the problems might be. Using NBA.coms Hotspots, here’s a comparison showing the Sonics shot selection during the last five games of the team's losing streak, compared with Seattle’s shot selection during perhaps their best offensive performance of the season in a home win over the Toronto Raptors in December.

Sonics shot selection the last five games

During the last five games the Sonics are shooting 42.5 percent from the field, and just 30.4 percent from beyond the arc. Seattle primarily suffers offensively two different ways – poor ball and player movement that creates an inability to get good looks inside, and poor shooting from the perimeter.

Sonics shot selection in Toronto win.

In the Toronto game, Seattle got baskets inside by pushing the ball in transition, and moving the ball in their half-court sets, allowing them to get easy buckets inside. With a solid interior game, Seattle then got clean looks from the perimeter and finally knocked down some 3-point shots.

Against Toronto Seattle shot 47-of-84 (56 percent) from the floor, 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) from beyond the arc, and 19-21 (90.5 percent) from the free-throw line.

Part of the problem has been Seattle’s woeful shooting from beyond the arc. The Sonics are 18th in 3-point shooting in the league (35 percent) and 26th overall in shooting percentage from the floor (43.5).

Defensively, Seattle allows its opponents to shoot 38.3 percent from the 3-point line, second-worst in the league.

Three-point shots are a premium in the NBA because they are momentum-changing buckets that teams use to increase leads during the flow of games, or stop spurts by other teams. Seattle’s inability to guard beyond the arc, along with its cold shooting from the 3-point line has created a decided advantage for their opponents in the flow of momentum during a game.

Of course, Seattle is struggling in other areas as well, most notably stopping penetration defensively, defensive transition and turnovers.

But ultimately you have to put the ball in the basket in order to win consistently in this league.

If you can still stomach watching these games on TV, the last minute of the half was a pretty much a microcosm of how this season has gone for Seattle.

Down 65-47 with a chance to take the last shot, Earl Watson dribbled the clock down, drove right but was stripped by none other than University of Washington product Bobby Jones, who Memphis signed to a 10-day contract and started tonight in place of a sick Rudy Gay.

Jones raced down the other end, finished at the rim and was fouled by Watson on the other end. Jones made the foul shot, giving Memphis a 68-47 lead going into halftime.

A pretty pathetic effort by the Sonics, who seem less interested in the games as this road trip progresses. Some sort of shake up is obviously needed for this team to snap out of its January-long funk.

The team is going to take its lumps during this rebuilding process. That's expected. But they should compete against a team like Memphis, especially with a day off.

I talked to Wally Szczerbiak during shootaround today and he addressed some of the trade rumors swirling out there that have included his name. Here is what he had to say.

"I’ve been traded twice now. The first time it was a shock The last time it was a shock, too. And it’s always an adjustment with you’re family moving. I’m the type of guy that likes to get comfortable in the situation I’m in. And I’m starting to feel very comfortable here, and I’m starting to get my game back on track.

"Unfortunately as a team we’re not having much success. And at this time in my career that’s what I want. I want team success. So whatever happens, happens. I leave that up to the powers that be and I just try to got out there every night and do my job, and help this team win as many games as possible."

And on the possibility of being traded to a contending team at the February trade deadline Szczerbiak had this to say.

"That’s what it’s all about. You want to be on a winning team. You want to be in a situation where every game means something. And we still have an opportunity to make the playoffs, no question. Hopefully we can get on a run and get something going here. But at this point in my career I’d love to have an opportunity to win a championship. I’ve been to the playoffs. I’ve had a taste of that for many years and I want to get back to that point."

With the February trade deadline looming, Seattle point guards Luke Ridnour and Earl Watson's names have been involved in trade rumors.

The latest has the New York Knicks possibly interested in Ridnour, with guard Stephon Marbury opting to have surgery to remove bone spurs in his left ankle.

Also, ESPN's Chris Sheridan has Wally Szczerbiak as a potential person for the Sonics to trade before the deadline for expiring contracts because teams might be interested in adding another shooter.

Says Sheridan: "He (Szczerbiak) makes $12 million this season and $13 million next season, and he can still shoot it. If the Sonics could get him off their cap along with Earl Watson (two more years at $6.2M and $6.6M) in one fell swoop, they'd likely do it if they could get back expiring contracts and some kind of sweetener. Jason Williams, Dorell Wright and Ricky Davis for Wally and Watson is said to be in the works, by the way. And Miami could sweeten it with one or all of the three second-round picks it has in the upcoming draft (its own, Philadelphia's and Indiana's)."

The state Legislature has given the Sonics the stiff arm in the team’s effort to secure public funding for the new arena.

But the University of Washington, asking to use the same taxing source, has been received with open arms in its effort to secure $150 million in public funds for a revamped Husky Stadium that will cost $300 million.

So what gives? State House Speaker Frank Chopp boils it down to a couple key points: For Chopp, Washington is a local, public entity and the stadium will be used by student athletes who make no money, not a franchise owned by out-of-town folks in a sport played by millionaire ball players. Chopp said the improvements also are safety related.

Our columnist John McGrath writes about the situation here.

So what do you think? Do you agree with Chopp and his willingness to listen to and grant Washington’s request and not the Sonics? Did the Sonics drop the ball by not presenting a clear enough plan during last year’s session, and not clearly explaining how much they financially they were willing to commit? And how does this hurt the area’s effort to keep the team?

Also, the Sonic have asked for mediation and a March court date in the legal battle between the City of Seattle to get out of the lease. The city is asking for an October court date. Both agreed to a trial by judge.

I know, the Sonics are down 65-46 at halftime and haven't shown the ability to stop New Orleans tonight. But the Hornets are not going to shoot like this the whole game, and Seattle could work work its way back into the game if they can get some stops.

New Orleans is shooting 7-of-13 from the 3-point line, and outrebounding Seattle 31-23. Peja Stojakovic (17 points) and David West (14 points, seven rebounds) have hurt Seattle. Tyson Chandler has a franchise-record 17 rebounds in the first half.

Seattle's led by Earl Watson's 14 points and Kevin Durant has chipped in 11 points. Durant also has five rebounds and four assists.

Seattle is 5-of-7 from the 3-point line, but 17-of-42 (40.5 percent) from the floor.

Seattle (9-28) at New Orleans (25-12)

When: 5 p.m., New Orleans Arena.

TV: FSN. Radio: 770-AM.

Series: New Orleans will go for the season sweep over Seattle today. The Hornets have won both contests this season, a 91-88 win over the Seattle in New Orleans Dec. 9, and a 107-93 win over the Sonics in Seattle on Dec. 19. However, Seattle still owns the overall series, 26-19.

Scouting the Hornets: The Sonics will have to figure out how to slow down New Orleans point guard Chris Paul. A one-man wrecking crew, Paul is third in the league in assists (10.2 per game), first in steals (2.8 per game) and tied for 18th in points per game (21.7).

In the two games against Seattle, Chris Paul is averaging 25.0 points and 12.5 assists.
Paul’s ability to break defenses down with his dribble opens up shots for New Orleans’ perimeter shooters Peja Stojakovic (14.3 ppg) and Morris Peterson (9.0 ppg). The Hornets inside players David West (19.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and Tyson Chandler (12.1 ppg., 12 rpg) also benefit from Paul’s ability to disrupt defenses.

Seattle will have to keep Paul in front of them defensively and force the crafty point guard to beat them from the perimeter. Inside players Kurt Thomas and Nick Collison also will have to work hard to keep West and Chandler off the boards.

Seattle faces yet another streaking team in the New Orleans, winners of 10 of its past 12. The Hornets begin a five-game homestand against Seattle, and have won six of their past eight at home.

The Hornets have played well defensively, and are fifth-best in the league in points allowed (93.4 points per game).

Scouting the Sonics: Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo would like to see another performance similar to how the Sonics played against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, except with a different final result.

After struggling for several games offensively the Sonics finally got on track by aggressively attacking the basket, running the floor and getting some offensive putbacks.

Power forward Nick Collison is playing particularly well, with double-doubles in four of his last seven games. Collison finished with 24 points and 18 rebounds against the Lakers.

He may be moving back to the bench, however, with Chris Wilcox now healthy. Wilcox had 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench in his first game since injuring his right pinkie finger against Phoenix on Jan. 3.
Carlesimo said Wilcox and Ridnour will continue to come off the bench for now, with Earl Watson and Collison remaining in the starting lineup.

Delonte West returned to the injured list, with plantar fasciitis in his right foot flaring up again. Carlesimo said West will have an MRI when the team travels to Memphis on Thursday.

The Los Angeles game also showed how a healthy Luke Ridnour can help this team. Ridnour finishing with 10 point and 11 assists, and did a nice job of pushing the ball on the break.

Next: Seattle at Memphis, 5 p.m. Friday, FedEx Forum.

How committed are the New Orleans Hornets to meeting they’re attendance benchmarks for the next year and a half?

It looks like they are extremely committed, as the organization is giving tickets away. Check out this link here.

As I outlined in today’s story, the Hornets recently signed an amended lease agreement with the state of Louisiana. A clause in that deal allows for the team to opt out of the contract should they not average attendance of 14,735 from now until the end of the 2008-2009 season.

It appears the team is trying boost its numbers with the giveaways.

Oklahoma City has started its campaign push to pass a public initiative approving a penny sales tax that would raise $122 million for improvement to the Ford Center to make it NBA ready, according to The Daily Oklahoman.

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamger of Commerce is funding the campaign effort, called Citizens for a Big League City.

"We are closer to being a major league city than we've ever been before," Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett told The Oklahoman. You can see clips of the press conference here.

Opposition to the proposal also emerged Tuesday.
City activist Steve Hunt opposes the Ford Center plan and is organizing a grass-roots opposition effort.

Hunt and others opposed to the project have named it "MAPS for Millionaires."

"I am going to try to get a local group of people that I know to get together and hand out literature," Hunt told The Oklahoman.

48 -- The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 48 points, including the game winner as Seattle lost its seventh straight, this time a 123-121 overtime loss to the Lakers.

48.1-- After struggling offensively for the last several games Seattle shoots a respectable percentage from the floor.

24-- That’s how many minutes Luke Ridnour played, and he looked healthy, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds for Seattle.

55-45 Seattle’s rebounding advantage over the Lakers, who were missing talented center Andrew Bynum (knee injury).

7-- Seattle’s current losing streak.

Boxscore -- Check it out here.

Durant watch -- Durant shot 6-of-26 from the floor and finished with 19 points. He missed a chance to end the game in regulation and had trouble guarding Kobe Bryant early on. But he got some valuable experience at the end of the game

Did you see that? -- If you watched the game you saw a vintage Kobe Bryant performance tonight, with Bryant draining impossible shots from every place imaginable.

Overheard -- Luke Ridnour talks about how excited he is to be able to run the floor again here.

Final take -- A good game by Seattle but no victory. The Sonics did a nice job of speeding up the tempo, pushing the ball and attacking the basket. Once Seattle distorted the defense it created gaps for Nick Collison and Kurt Thomas to get into for rebounds and putbacks.

Durant struggled shooting the ball but created opportunities for his teammates by forcing the issue and driving to the basket.

Having Chris Wilcox and Ridnour back gave Seattle more energy in its rotation and Wilcox created more offense by running the floor.

But Seattle still has to put it together late in games to get wins. In particular, the free-throw shooting has to be better. You can’t finish games shooting 16-of-23 from the line.

Listen to P.J. talk about the game here. And Nick Collison talks about his performance.

For state house speaker Frank Chopp the new session of the Legislature is all about “kitchen table” issues that affect everyday people.

And that does not include public funding for a $500 million arena for the Seattle SuperSonics.

On Monday, opening day of this year’s 60-day legislative session, Chopp said securing public funding for a remodeled KeyArena or a new venue for the Sonics is not a priority for the Legislature.

“We’re focusing on what the voters want us to focus in on, which is education, health care and jobs,” Chopp said. “And other issues, too, like the environment and government reform. There’s just not much interest out there about helping the Sonics.”

However, Chopp said he met with Seattle mayor Greg Nickels a few weeks before the legislative session. Chopp said Nickels made a proposal for a revamped KeyArena during the meeting, and later followed it up by e-mailing a preliminary plan for financing the proposal. However, Chopp said he hasn’t had a chance to review the numbers.

Chopp said he also planned to meet with other legislators in Olympia to talk about how they will respond should the city of Seattle submit a proposal this session for a remodeled KeyArena.

“In the past when ideas have been floated, first by the Sonics through Howard Schultz and then by (current Sonics chairman Clay) Bennett, there weren’t hardly any votes for anything,” Chopp said. “So I don’t know, we’ll see.”

Senate majority leader Lisa Brown said she’s heard nothing about an arena proposal for the Sonics.

“They haven’t contacted me,” Brown said. “Nothing has come up to the leadership level. And no senator has brought me any proposal they are working (on) or anybody they are working with.

“The time line is very short. If something is not on the table now it needs to get there soon.”

Seattle still has not revealed its plans for a remodeled KeyArena, although deputy mayor Tim Ceis said in December that the city would announce plans in the near future. Ceis has not given a specific date and did not return a phone call from The News Tribune on Monday seeking comment.

According to sources with knowledge of the plan, the city’s proposal will be similar to a plan it made to former Sonics chairman Schultz and his group, just before Schultz sold the team to Bennett’s group. The most expansive option in that plan would have provided $198 million for a KeyArena remodel.

But it required a public vote and a $49 million contribution from the team.
Bennett has said he’s not interested in any plan that involves remodeling KeyArena.

Also, timing is an issue. The Sonics and the city will soon file joint status reports, giving the judge in their federal court case over KeyArena lease terms, Marsha Pechman, some possible trial dates and other time guidelines. The filing deadline is Wednesday, after which Pechman is expected to set a date for a jury trial.

If the city gets the fall trial date it wants, the Sonics could be forced to play in Seattle another season.

With the Sonics filing an application with the NBA to relocate to Oklahoma City, interested observers are also keeping an eye on an Oklahoma City initiative. It goes to the voters March 4 asking for a penny increase in sales tax to raise $122 million to improve the Ford Center and build a practice facility for the arrival of an NBA team.

Meanwhile, Washington legislators such as Rep. Eric Pettigrew and Sen. Margarita Prentice, who initially supported arena proposals for the Sonics in past legislative sessions, say possibilities are dim to get something done this session.

“I haven’t heard a peep or anything, today or beforehand, about any motivation or interest to do anything,” Pettigrew said. “We have kind of gone through the ringer a couple times before and have kind of ground people into a situation where they were already sensitive to it anyway, as related to the other stadiums. So whatever sentiment we had before the last couple years, I just don’t have a sense for that now.”

Added Prentice: “I have had a number of people (legislators) ask me if there’s anything happening. … But there’s too many stumbling blocks.”

Seattle looks much better offensively, after struggling the last several games trying to put the ball in the basket.

Seattle has three players already in double figures wiht Wally Szczerbiak (14 points), Kevin Durant (12) and Kurt Thomas (10).

And Seattle is shooting 54.3 percent as a team.

So what's the difference been? Seattle is cutting more to the basket and getting more shots inside. And they are getting out in transition more. Seattle had 20 points in the paint in the first half, and 13 fastbreak points.

As expected, Kobe Bryant has been filling it up, leading all scorers with 21 points in the first half. I guess Kevin Durant is not the next Kobe stopper.

Los Angeles Lakers (25-11) at Seattle (9-27)

When: 7 p.m., KeyArena, Seattle. TV: FSN. Radio: 770-AM.

Series: The Lakers won the first game of the season in Los Angeles, 106-99, on Nov. 27. The Lakers hold a 125-83 overall advantage in the series.

Scouting the Lakers: The Sonics face another hot team in the Lakers. Los Angeles has won 10 of its past 11 games and is on a six-game winning streak. However, the Lakers are playing in the second of back-to-back games after defeating Memphis, 100-99, at the Staples Center on Sunday night.

Kobe Bryant leads the team in scoring (27 ppg.) and assists (5.1 apg). Third-year center Andrew Bynum has had a breakout season, averaging 13.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a contest. But Bynum will miss at least the next eight weeks after injuring his kneecap in the team's win last night over Memphis.

MRI exam results showed that Bynum suffered a partial dislocation of his left patella and a bone bruise of his knee.

In January Bynum had been averaging 17 points and 13 rebounds a game. Kwame Brown will start in Bynum’s place.

“He’s a dominating inside presence, so they’re going to miss him a lot,” Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “I think moreso in the long-term than in the short term.”

Seattle rookie Kevin Durant will start out defensively against Kobe Bryant, but expect to see Damien Wilkins, Delonte West and Jeff Green guarding Bryant as well, along with some zone or box-and-1.

Durant actually guarded Bryant late in the game at Los Angeles in November.

“Kobe’s a tough player to match-up with,” Durant said. “He’s so quick and he’s so strong. He can get to the basket whenever he wants. And he’s a scorer, probably the best scorer in the league. So we have to be more of a help defensive team tonight, but also watch out for guys on the perimeter like Derek Fischer and Luke Walton, guys that can really hurt us.”

Scouting the Sonics: Nick Collison (right quad contusion) has been cleared to play tonight and will start at power forward, which means Chris Wilcox will come off the bench in his first game back from the injure list. Wilcox had missed the last four games with a dislocated right pinkie.
Kurt Thomas will start at center, Jeff Green at small forward, Kevin Durant at shooting guard and Earl Watson and point guard.

Luke Ridnour also is ready to go and should get some time tonight. Carlesimo said as long as Ridnour stays healthy he expects Ridnour to get a consistent run with Durant, Green Wilcox and Thomas so Carlesimo can evaluate how he plays with Seattle’s core players.

The NBA will release its most popular individual and team jerseys in its NBA team store in New York and online on Thursday, and Seattle’s Kevin Durant is No. 11 on the individual list.

Boston’s Kevin Garnett jersey is the most popular, and the Boston Celtics are the most popular team.

“I guess No. 35 is a popular number,” Durant chuckled. “That just shows that we have a lot of fans that support the Sonics. That’s always a great thing to have.”

Listen to the full conversation with Durant here. And listen to Carlesimo talk about the game here.

Next: 4 p.m. Wednesday at New Orleans, New Orleans Arena.

The long-term prospects of professional basketball in New Orleans seem a bit more precarious after last week’s news.

The New Orleans Hornets recently signed an arena extension with the state of Louisiana that would have you believe the team will be there until 2014.

But take a look at the details of the agreement, which the New Orleans Times-Picayune has written about, and a different story is told.

The Hornets have a buyout clause that allows the team to opt out of the agreement after the 2008-09 season if the Hornets do not average a little over 14,700 in paid attendance during the rest of this season and throughout next season.

Currently, the Hornets are second-to last in NBA attendance at 12,341 per game. Even a contest against the Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers only drew 15,605 fans.

Here’s an editorial from the same paper telling folks in New Orleans to put up or shut up.

The Hornets’ situation in New Orleans will be closely watched by people in the Seattle area because if the Hornets can’t make it in New Orleans they will be on the move.

And with Sonics potentially moving to Oklahoma City, one wonders how the Hornets situation will affect what happens with the Sonics in Seattle.

National NBA writer John Hollinger characterizes the dilemma for New Orleans in this New York Sun article, and says New Orleans' misfortune could work in Seattle’s favor.

However, there is still time for people in New Orleans to rally around the Hornets, a playoff-caliber team that is 25-12 and has one of the best young players in the game in point guard Chris Paul. But with the bleak economic situation created by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, you can’t blame people in the New Orleans area for having other things besides supporting a pro basketball franchise on their minds.

The Sonics scrimmaged for most of the practice today, but had only 10 players available.

Chris Wilcox (dislocated right pinkie finger) and Luke Ridnour (sore left quad) both returned to practice on Sunday, and should be ready to go against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

Wilcox had his pinkie and ring finger taped together, along with some padding around the finger in case he hits it on something or somebody. Wilcox said shooting might be a little more difficult, but his legs feel good from the rest and he's ready to go.

Listen to Wilcox talk about coming back here.

Ridnour also looked good running the floor in the 15 or so minutes we saw of practice. Seattle could use Ridnour's ability to push the ball up the floor in transition.

Speaking of transition, Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said that's part of the problem with his team offensively -- they are not looking to push the ball and are being too patient offensively. Carlesimo said he'd like to see the Sonics get into their offensive sets earlier in the shot clock, and look to push in transition before the defense sets up.

“We haven’t run hard or consistently,” Carlesimo said. “So, not only are not getting shots in the first six, eight, 10 seconds in transition, which is really important to us, but we’re basically wasting eight to 10 seconds, and now we’re trying to get into a half-court set, and even with that we’ve been slow getting into it.”

Wilcox and Ridnour should return, but Nick Collison might have to sit out with an injured right quad. Collison did not practice and will be a game-time decision.

Seattle trails 44-35 at the half. The Sonics are struggling offensively for the same reason they've had trouble scoring points during this five-game losing streak -- too many perimeter jump shots.

Seattle is settling for jumpers instead of driving hard to the basket and either scoring or getting fouled. And they're setting up offensively too far away from the basket, making it harder to get into the lane.

Seattle's emphasis on the perimeter jumper has steadily brought the team's shooting percentage down. And because Seattle doesn't push the ball anymore they're having trouble getting easy buckets.

If Seattle wants to be successful in the second half they have to get to the basket and have better player and ball movement.

Neither team is shooting very well, but Seattle has played pretty well defensively and only trails 18-16 at the end of the first quarter.

Nick Collison continues to play well, scoring eight points and grabbing five rebounds in the first quarter. Collison finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds in the game against New Jersey on Wednesday.

Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said Chris Wilcox (dislocated right pinkie) will not play tonight. Carlesimo said he wants to see Wilcox practice on Sunday first before putting him back in the lineup.

Luke Ridnour (sore left quad) also will not play tonight. Ridnour said he's ready to go, but again Carlesimo wants to see Ridnour practice on Sunday before putting him back in action. Carlesimo also said he doesn't Ridnour to keeping coming on and off the injured list, and wants to make sure Ridnour can stay in the lineup.

Robert Swift said his appointment with Seattle Dr. Richard Zorn went fine on Wednesday, and that he may be able to begin practicing with the team in a couple weeks.

Swift said an MRI on his right knee showed no structural damage, and the he still has tendinitis in his surgically repaired knee. However, Swift has begun to do some one-on-one work and some cutting. There is no official timeline on when Swift will be back in action, however.

Damien Wilkins had to go to the dentist to have some work done on a wisdom tooth. Wilkins said he'll wait until the All-Star break to have it pulled, so Wilkins should be available tonight.

That means Seattle only has 10 players available tonight.

Seattle is hanging tough, down 36-30 against New Jersey.

But most fans are looking courtside right not as rapper Jay-Z, girlfriend Beyonce and Kanye West just walked in and sat down near the New Jersey Nets bench.

Which is nothing new on this trip. But the Sonics actually played OK the last four minutes and considering how bad they played early, are within striking distance at 45-33 at the half.

Seattle's shooting woes continue, as the Sonics shot 16-of-42 (38 percent) from the floor in the first half. But the Durant-James battle is shaping up.

Seattle rookie Kevin Durant has 12 points and five rebounds in the first half, shooting 6-of-13 from the floor. While LeBron finished with 14 points and five rebounds in the first half, on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.

Seattle simply must execute better offensively, and get some easy buckets by crashing the boards or getting out in transition. The Sonics have already turned the ball over 11 times, resulting in 15 points for Cleveland. And Seattle only has nine fastbreak points.

Seattle (9-24) at Cleveland (17-17)

When: 4 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

TV: FSN. Radio: 770-AM

Series: This is the first game this season between these two teams. Seattle lost an exhibition game at Cleveland, 101-96. The Sonics split the series with the Cavaliers last season, winning in Seattle and losing in Cleveland.

Scouting the Cavaliers: Cleveland’s LeBron James was named the Eastern Conference player of the week for his efforts, which included scoring 24 of his game-high 39 points in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s 93-90 win over Toronto on Sunday.

Cleveland trailed 70-57 after the third quarter. But fueled by some good-natured heckling from Toronto star Chris Bosh’s girlfriend Alison, James outscored the Raptors in the fourth quarter, 24-20, in Cleveland’s 93-90 win Sunday

“I told her it was her fault why they lost,” James said.

“I saw a lot of people were trying to make a big deal out of it but they probably don't know that we all know each other,” Bosh told The Toronto Star. “We all talked after the game and it was cool.”

You can watch the highlights from that game here.

Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said there won’t be any Sonics fans heckling James in Cleveland tonight.

“I’m definitely going to meet with our fans tonight and ask them not to be yelling anything or doing anything like that,” Carlesimo deadpanned. “Maybe it made a difference. I don’t think so. I thought them going small and running a lot of pick-and-rolls for him (Lebron James) was just as important as whoever was yelling whatever the hell they were yelling in the stands.

“He’s capable of doing that. But we are having a meeting before the game with our fans to make sure that’s not going to happen.”

Seattle point guard Earl Watson said he watched the highlights from the Cleveland-Toronto game on television.

“I thought it was hilarious,” Watson said. “I mean they were really going at him. They were on the court. I’ve never seen that in my life. Not even in high school, and I’m from the inner city where you grow up and learn how to smack talk on the court, period.

“You don’t ever want to motivate somebody when you’ve got them beat. If anything you kind of just want to get the game over with and move on. It could have been a situation where guys were kind of tired, not really focused. But any edge you give them either by instigating with a verbal confrontation, or even a hard foul.

“You’ve seen games before where the team’s losing and somebody gives a hard foul and it just wakes up the whole team. It’s creates energy. You don’t want to create energy for your opponent ever.

“You have a team on the road, the game’s almost over and you’re playing against one of the best players in the game. You can talk about that stuff in the summer.”

James is averaging 29.2 points, 7.7 assists and 7.2 rebounds a game in 40 minutes a night. Cleveland has taken three in a row and five of its past six, scratching back to .500 for the first time since Dec. 4. That was right after James injured his left index finger. James sat out five games, all losses.

“They are playing much better than they were earlier,” Carlesimo said. “I mean LeBron (James) is playing unbelievably. I just think they’ve been a little disjointed. They’ve been missing some of their front-line guys all year, for a variety of reasons. Donyell (Marshall) is still out. But they’ve been missing guys because of injuries. They’ve been missing guys because of contract problems. So I just think they haven’t been whole.

“It’s not like they dominated the league last year. They were one of the better teams in the East, and they were the best team in the playoffs. I think they’re back now playing the best they’ve played all year. They’re on a good roll right now.”

Seattle city attorney Tom Carr praised the sale of the Seattle Storm to a group of local investors.

Carr expressed thanks to the group of local investors who have made this happen and to Sonics chairman Clayton Bennett for taking this important step.

"I view this as an incredible act of good faith on Mr. Bennett’s part," Carr said. "He could have used the Storm as leverage, but instead chose to help preserve their basketball heritage in Seattle. I hope that this bodes well for the future relationship between the Professional Basketball Club and the City of Seattle."

During this morning’s shootaround here in Cleveland I caught up with Seattle SuperSonics head coach P.J. Carlesimo and asked him about the Seattle Storm being sold. Here is what he had to say.

“My understanding is that they are still in our facility this year and I think it’s great they are going to be in Seattle. I’ve said the same thing all along. I think the city has supported them very well, but obviously for not nearly as long as they have supported us.

“Going forward I hope we’re both going to be able to be there. If we can get the facility stuff worked out, then we’re going to be there with them and it’ll be great.

“I’m hopeful. I think optimistic is wrong and I probably even shouldn’t be saying it. But I know that Clay (Bennett) wants to stay if we can get the facility situation worked out. Every time I drive down, or sitting in D.C. on Saturday (watching the Seahawks-Redskins game) looking at Qwest and Safeco, that’s two of the premier facilities for those two sports.

“I think it’s important. And I think it’s also one of the reasons the Mariners are still there, and the Seahawks are still there. I think it would be a great situation if we had three of the best facilities in the whole league in Seattle. But whatever happens, in terms of the Storm I think it’s a good thing. It’s good that the Storm is going to be there.”

An announcement is supposed to take place at an 11 a.m. press conference this morning, but the Seattle Storm have reportedly been sold to local ownership. Here's the story.

It's interesting because Sonics chairman Clay Bennett had said he wanted to keep the two teams together because he considered the Storm and Sonics more valuable together. So it makes you wonder how much of a financial hit he's taking with everything that is happening with the arena situation.

We'll see how this affects the Sonics situation and whether they stay or go.

Also, Seattle's Luke Ridnour re-aggravated his left quad and will be out indefinitely. Read about that here.

22 -- The number of turnovers Seattle had, as giveaways came back to haunt Seattle again in a 108-86 blowout loss to the Wizards in Washington, D.C. Sunday morning.

11-of-34 -- The combined shooting numbers from the floor of Kevin Durant and Jeff Green in the two rookie’s return home as both struggled to find their shooting rhythm.

38.1-- Seattle’s shooting percentage for the game, 32-of-84 from the field.

33-- The number of points for small forward Caron Butler, who has taken over for the Wizards since Gilbert Arenas has been out after having knee surgery in November.

51-43 -- Seattle’s advantage in rebounds as both Nick Collison (17 rebounds overall, seven offensive boards) and Kurt Thomas (13 rebounds) had strong nights on the glass for Seattle.

Boxscore -- Check it out here.

Durant watch -- Kevin Durant struggled from the floor, finishing with 19 points on 7-of-21 shooting from the field. He also grabbed six rebounds. There were several people wearing Kevin Durant jerseys in attendance, and Durant’s parents and other family members sat courtside on the baseline.

However, Durant said he was not trying to do too much to have a good game in front of his hometown fans.

“I wouldn’t say I was pressing,” Durant said about his cold shooting. “I think I was taking good shots, shots I normally take throughout the game. And those are shots I have to knock down – like the wide open shots in the corner I was missing.
“Going to the rim and missing lay-ups, stuff like that I have to knock down. I’ve got to do a better job of putting pressure on the defense.”

Listen to the conversation with Durant here.

Did you see that? -- You probably didn’t see much because the game wasn’t televised today. You didn’t miss a whole lot. Seattle played OK for almost three quarters but just suffered an offensive meltdown at the end of the third quarter, allowing Washington to spurt ahead by nine points, and the Sonics never recovered.

Overheard -- Pretty hard to overhear anything happening on the court when you’re 20 rows up, which is where the visitor’s media seating is for the Verizon Center. So no juicy tidbits could be gathered for this spot.

I do have this quote from Wally Szczerbiak which I thought was interesting. Wally responded to a question about how he knows if his shooting stroke is on.

“I feel like I’m going to be shooting it well everyday if you give me a chance to play, that’s just my mentality,” Szczerbiak said. “I’m going to try and stay aggressive. If I miss two or three in a row, I feel like the next four or five are going to go in. That’s just the mentality that shooters have. That’s the mentality I try to have. In the situation I’m in, it’s nice if the first couple go in because then I don’t get pulled out real quick.”

You can listen to the rest of the conversation with Szczerbiak here.

Final take -- Defensively Seattle’s bench has struggled and not brought the same intensity to the floor the past couple games, which has caused Carlesimo to use the starters more.

Part of the reason for that is Chris Wilcox being hurt and not being able to bring Collison off the bench. Collison really plays well against the opponents’ second units, and is probably a starter on some other NBA teams in the right situation.

Kurt Thomas also is logging a lot of minutes at the center spot, averaging 31.6 minutes a contest the last five games. At the beginning of the year Carlesimo said he’d like to keep the veteran’s minutes to around 25 minutes a game. But with Wilcox and Robert Swift out, and with Seattle’s big guys getting into foul trouble Thomas, has found himself out on the floor more.

But Thomas said he’s fine with the extended minutes.

“I’m feeling good,” Thomas said. “I’m well rested. I feel like I’m really starting to get in shape and really run up and down the floor. We’re a little stretched with Chris being out. I definitely have to try to stay out there on the floor to help the team as much as I can.”

Seattle also can only use youth as an excuse for the mental lapses they have during stretches of games that basically keeps Seattle from winning.

Now 33 games into the schedule the team’s young players should be adjusting to the speed of the game and should understand what it takes to win games late. They should not be repeating the same mistakes.

Playing in only their second afternoon game of the season, Seattle also could have been thrown off by the early start, although Szczerbiak said that’s not an excuse.

Szczerbiak said he plays in a 9 a.m. pick-up game every Sunday during the summer that is one of his main workout during the offseason.

“I’ve always enjoyed the early starts but it’s an adjustment,” Szczerbiak said. “You’ve got to make sure you get your rest. And on the road that’s what it’s all about. We’re here to do a job. We’re here to win games and we’ve got to make that a priority.”

Listen to Carlesimo talk about the game here. And Jeff Green talks about his return to D.C. here.

After dislocating his right pinkie finger in the first quarter of Seattle's game at Phoenix on Thursday, Chris Wilcox traveled back to Seattle to have his finger looked at.

X-rays today on Wilcox's finger were negative, according to a report from the Sonics. However, Wilcox still has swelling in his hand and the training staff will wait for the swelling to go down, and for Wilcox to get his range motion in his hand back.

Wilcox is doubtful for Seattle's game against Washington on Sunday, and will be a game-time decision against Cleveland.

Seattle traveled to Washington, D.C. today and will practice tomorrow at the Verizon Center.

20 -- Seattle’s lead at the end of the first quarter, as they jumped out to a 33-13 lead at the end of the first. The Sonics couldn’t hold it though, losing to Phoenix 104-96.

39-- Seattle’s shooting percentage for the game, as the Sonics struggled putting the ball in the basket.

6-- The number of minutes Chris Wilcox played, returning from a left sprained ankle injury. Wilcox dislocated his right pinkie finger midway through the first quarter and had to leave the game. It’s too bad because Wilcox was playing well up to that point and could have helped Seattle in this one. He finished with four points and three rebounds.

25-- The number of assists Phoenix had, on 36 field goals. Pretty impressive. Steve Nash led the way with 10 assists.

14 and 12 -- The points and rebound totals for Kurt Thomas in his return to Phoenix. Thomas finished with a double-double for the second time this season.

Boxscore -- Check it out here.

Durant watch -- Kevin Durant was solid tonight, finishing with 28 points on 11-of-24 shooting from the floor and seven rebounds. But he had some costly turnovers late in the game on the offensive end.

“I turned the ball over twice and that was two key plays in the game,” Durant said. “I apologize to my teammates for making bad decisions, but we played hard and hopefully we’ll come out and play our next game with this same type of energy and we’ll be all right.”

Did you see that? -- In the first quarter Durant had a nice alley-oop feed on the break to Jeff Green who finished with a strong flush. It’s a play Sonics fans will see a lot more of as these two cornerstones of the franchise continue to grow together.

Overheard -- Former teammates Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas were going back and forth most of the game. Two particular plays stick out. Stoudemire had a forceful dunk over Thomas in the second quarter and as he backpedaled he had some choice words for Thomas. Thomas just smiled and ran back down the floor.

Later in the game Thomas picked up a charge against a driving Stoudemire near the Phoenix bench that Suns’ players thought was a questionable call. And Thomas walked over to the bench to let them know the call was legit. They didn't believe him.

Final take -- Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said this game was a lot like Boston in that Seattle played well for a lot of the game, but like so many other games against good teams the Sonics couldn’t make enough basketball plays at the end of the game to win it.

Losing Wilcox hurt because Nick Collison had to play starters’ minutes and Seattle had one less person to go to off the bench. Wally Szczerbiak struggled for the second straight night shooting the ball, finishing 4-of-10 with eight points.

Jeff Green has responded to being inserted in the small forward spot. In three games as a starter he’s averaging 16 points and four rebounds. Green has done all of the little things for Seattle with the starting unit, and he doesn’t need a lot of touches to get points, either crashing the boards or getting points running the floor.

Earl Watson also had played well the last several games. In his last five games he’s averaging 12.4 points and 7.4 assists a game.

Listen to Carlesimo talk about the game here.

The Suns outscored Seattle 30-12 in the second quarter and only trail 45-43 at the break. Seattle had an opportunity to keep the lead in double digits but settled for jump shots instead driving to the basket and looking to get inside.

Earl Watson (11 points) and Kevin Durant (10 points) lead Seattle in scoring. But the Sonics are shooting 18-of-55 (32.7 percent) from the field.

Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash lead Phoenix with 12 points each.

What a weird first quarter. Seattle only shot 12-of-30 from the field (40 percent) but destroyed the Suns on the glass, outrebounding Phoenix 22-10, including eight offensive rebounds for Seattle.

Phoenix shot 4-of-20 from the floor in the first quarter. The Suns have came out much more physical in the second quarter.

Chris Wilcox legs looked fine early, but he jammed his hand trying to come down with a rebound and left the game with six minutes left in the first.

Seattle leads 15-7 so far, as Phoenix struggling offensively, shooting 3-of-12 from the floor. Kurt Thomas leads Seattle with six points.

Seattle (9-22) at Phoenix (22-9)

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m., US Airways Center, Phoenix.
TV: TNT. Radio: 770-AM.

Series: Phoenix won the first meeting of the season, 106-99, on Nov. 1 at KeyArena.

Scouting the Suns: Phoenix is back playing well again, reeling off three straight wins after suffering through a stretch in which it lost five of eight, including to lowly Minnesota. The Suns have a chance to get on a hot streak, with 17 of their next 25 games at home.

Phoenix is led by the big three of point guard Steve Nash (16.8 points, 12.6 assists a game), Amare Stoudemire (21.8 points, nine rebounds) and Shawn Marion (16.3 points, 10 rebounds). The Suns lead the league in scoring at 109.4 points a game.

Both ex-Sun and current Sonic Kurt Thomas and Seattle head coach P.J. Carlesimo said the key will be controlling Nash and not letting him get into an offensive rhythm where he beats you scoring and passing the basketball.

Even though Seattle played Phoenix tough in its home opener, Carlesimo said defensively the Sonics allowed too many uncontested 3-pointers and will have to do a better job of closing out on Phoenix’s shooters on the perimeter this game.

"The thing we probably did the poorest is get to the 3-point shooters in transition," Carlesimo said. "They’re going to run and get those open 3s in transition and they had too many open 3s or good looks at 3s – some of which they happen to miss – but the number was just too high a number, and too many of them were uncontested."

The Suns will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Phoenix franchise tonight. Phoenix joined the league for the 1968-69 season – a year after the SuperSonics debuted.

Scouting the Sonics: Seattle will start with Kurt Thomas on Amare Stoudemire to start the game, although Stoudemire likes to get out in transition and is tough to hold down for one man alone.

Still, Thomas has lots of experience guarding Stoudemire with his time in Phoenix.

"I feel about Kurt on anybody but Amare is just a tough matchup," Carlesimo said. "A lot Amare’s stuff is transition and running the floor where it’s not even the guy that’s guarding him that ends up with him. And a lot of pick-and-rolls where sometimes the guy that’s guarding him doesn’t end up with him.

"But Kurt knows him and is going to put a body on him."

Also look for Seattle to go with two point guards together to take advantage of a smaller, quicker lineup, particularly against Phoenix that likes to go small a lot. Delonte West has played well lately, so expect him to see some time at shooting guard and for Kevin Durant to get some time at small forward.

Next: 10 a.m. Sunday at Washington, Verizon Center.

Chris Wilcox participated in today’s morning shootaround with the starters and is expected to start tonight against Phoenix, Seatttle coach P.J. Carlesimo said.

Wilcox had missed the Sonics’ last game against Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve with a sprained left knee, but according to Carlesimo moved OK in practice today and probably will play limited minutes tonight. Seattle can use Wilcox’s mobility against the up-tempo Suns.

Luke Ridnour (sore left quad) and Kevin Durant (sprained left finger) also are expected to play tonight, with Durant expected to start.

Here’s the story from The Daily Oklahoman on the Oklahoma City Council’s vote to put the tax measure on the ballot March 4. Looks like they still have some questions about the funding package.

Jeff Green has moved into the No. 10 spot of ESPN writer David Thorpe’s rookie watch. Of course, Kevin Durant is ranked No. 1 on the list. Here’s what Stein had to say about the two this week.

The light shining on Kevin Durant casts a shadow on a few other rookies who in most seasons would be ROY candidates -- none moreso than his teammate, Jeff Green. The more I watch him, the more I think Green may be a top-tier player in this league. Scottie Pippen to Durant's Michael Jordan? Not quite. But his multiple offensive skills and basketball IQ, combined with Durant's scoring talent, means that in many big games in Seattle's future, defenses that aim to slow Durant are going to have fits defending Green. He'll be too good to have just anybody rotate onto him.

Read the full article here.