Sonics’ Losses Planting Seeds Of Trouble

Panic isn’t about to set in for the Seattle SuperSonics just yet.

There’s no getting around the Sonics’ 0-11 record against the top five seeds (excluding themselves) in the Western Conference since defeating San Antonio Nov. 30.

But, as Sonics coach George Karl points out, the New Jersey Nets swept five games from the New York Knicks last season and the Knicks took three of four from the Nets to blow through them in the playoffs last year.

“So you never know,” Sonics president Wally Walker said.

What it means is, they are fairly comfortable with their chances against the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, despite losing all four games with the Lakers. The problem lies with the guys ahead of them, Utah, Phoenix and San Antonio.

“It sure is competitive,” Walker said. “But once you get to a playoff series, anything can happen. We’ve got a lot of ability up and down our roster. We can play a lot of different styles. All this will come into play during the playoffs.”

Nonetheless, the significance of the resurgent Suns passing the Sonics into the second-seeded spot is obvious. The winner of the Pacific would play Portland in the first round and Phoenix in the second round, the second-place Pacific team would get the Lakers in the first round and San Antonio in the second.

“It’s not over yet,” Walker said. “Some of it is obvious. We go 70 games without any injuries, and now we go through the last 12 with all kinds of bumps and bruises that throw us off. But I’m confident if we’re healthy, we can play with anybody.”

Still no J.J.

Running the court and taking jumpers under the tutelage of top assistant Brad Davis, Mavs shooting guard Jimmy Jackson still isn’t ready to play due to the third-degree sprained left ankle he suffered Feb. 24.

“I WANT to play,” said Jackson, who is 91 points shy of qualifying as the fifth-leading scorer in the NBA.

“I just have no lift,” Jackson said. “If I just had to run straight ahead, I’d be fine. But I can’t cut or jump, or run backward. It’s frustrating. I want to be a part of this.”