Sonics Just Not Good Enough

Tasty, teasing flashes of 1993.

Seconds after he dunks the final field goal of the first half, Shawn Kemp is sprinting back on defense, outracing the Toronto Raptors, catching Damon Stoudamire at the glass, blocking Stoudamire’s drive, bringing the fans out of their seats.

Nightly we see those flashes from 1993.

Gary Payton might be in the middle of the break with Shawn Kemp sprinting down the wing as the crowd begins to rise with the expectations of another thunderous dunk.

There still are reminders from this team of how good that team was. When Sam Perkins shakes off the pain in his left hand and drains a trey. When the hovering, buzzing defense forces a turnover and the Sonics turn on the gas.

There are moments - the second half against Chicago, the second quarter against Milwaukee, the final seconds in Charlotte when these Sonics look like those playoff ‘93 Sonics.

But the moments have become fewer and fewer as the Sonics grow older and hobbled and slower.

The 1993 team was verging on a championship. It won remarkable, over-the-limit series with Utah and Houston. It pushed Phoenix to the brink before losing a seventh game.

It cracked open a window of opportunity. It set the stage for the past two regular seasons, when the Sonics won 120 games.

Now, even with their 11-6 record, and last night’s 119-89 win over Toronto, the opportunity appears lost.

There are too many teams better than Seattle. This is not a championship team, and that’s the saddest fact of this early season.

It still is a team capable of beating anybody, anywhere. It still is a team able to produce moments of beauty.

Kemp baseballed a pass three-quarter-court to Frank Brickowski, who no-looked a pass to a cutting Detlef Schrempf for a layup. And Eric Snow drove the length of the court and threw down a dunk on Raptor Alvin Robertson that was Kemp-like in its fury.

Seattle will entertain you through the winter.

The Sonics might even finally escape the miniseries with a win, but they won’t play for a championship. Houston, Utah, San Antonio, maybe even Sacramento, are better.

The Sonics aren’t athletic enough. They aren’t explosive enough. They aren’t passionate enough. And they are weakest where the NBA demands strength - center and shooting guard.

The two-headed center - Frank Brickowski and Ervin Johnson - can’t stop the NBA’s best. And shooting guard Hersey Hawkins hasn’t shown the ability to beat players off the dribble or consistently knock down jumpers.

A modest proposal: Give rookie Sherell Ford some of Hawkins’ minutes. He is a young, active, athletic, offensive force. Ford still has to learn to play defense. He has to make better decisions, but instead of being afraid of his youth, coach George Karl should embrace it.

Kemp and Gary Payton still put on a show every night. Their presence practically guarantees at least 50 wins. The Sonics will crush the bad teams at home, but the warning signs of another disappointing May are there:

The opening-night loss at Utah. The loss at Toronto and the two losses to an Indiana team that included 1993 Sonic alums Eddie Johnson and Ricky Pierce.

The Sonics have the look of a team on the backside of its dreams. Five players are 30 years or older. Seven are potential free agents.

No matter what happens this year, next year’s team will look decidedly different. The smart money says Payton will be somewhere else. And, with all of the free agents, general manager Wally Walker will have as much as $9.75 million to retool next season’s team.

These Sonics will break up without realizing their championship promise, and that will be the tragedy of this season.