Karl Knows Dan Issel’s Frustration

The sudden resignation of Denver Nuggets coach Dan Issel Sunday morning had everyone buzzing before the Seattle Sonics-Portland Blazers game.

The timing, after the Nuggets’ 12-point victory over the Houston Rockets, was surprising. Other than that, well, Sonics coach George Karl couldn’t even feign shock.

“I didn’t think it would happen today, but I’m not surprised he would walk away,” Karl said. “In a lot of ways, the stuff we put up with as coaches is insane and no matter how you rationalize it, it doesn’t make sense. Especially for Dan.”

“Now that the expectations rose this year, the little problems began to creep in,” Blazers president Bob Whitsitt said.

“The first year or two, they were just happy to win. Now, it’s how many shots, how many points, how many plays are run FOR ME? As young teams move up the ladder, smaller things get in the way.”

Sam it is

Karl said he was considering starting Bill Cartwright at center, but returned to Sam Perkins for the third game in a row.

Why?

“The only reason - 3’s (3-point baskets),” Karl said.

Schrempf reaches milestone

Detlef Schrempf surpassed 10,000 points when he sank two free throws with 9:47 left in the first half. He became the 39th active player and second on the Sonics behind Sam Perkins. “It’s nice to have, but it’s all relative. How many guys have 20,000 points?” Schrempf said. “It’s not all about points.”

Other notes

For the first time all season, the Sonics fouled an opponent twice from 3-point range. Clyde Drexler made all three of his free-throw tries and Harvey Grant made 2 of 3.

Also, the Sonics opened another section of 1,500 seats in the Tacoma Dome for the sellout against Portland, producing a season-high crowd of 16,950. The new section is $6 seating.