Dissension Hits Sonics Before They Hit L.A.
When George Karl hopped on his rented bike and headed out Marina Del Rey for the Santa Monica Pier on Wednesday afternoon, it would be safe to say none of the Seattle SuperSonics joined their coach.
“I don’t think I’m going,” guard Sarunas Marciulionis said, trying not to laugh.
“I’m not either,” guard Kendall Gill added.
Quite frankly, the players weren’t invited. There are some strong undercurrents of dissension creeping into the Sonics these days. The Sonics enter tonight’s 7:30 tipoff in the Forum trailing the Los Angeles Lakers 2-1 in the best-of-five series, facing first-round elimination for the second straight year.
The problem has grown daily. Marciulionis and Bill Cartwright haven’t played at all. Ervin Johnson’s minutes have shrunk to almost nil. And Gill’s playing time is so erratic, he has no idea whether he’ll start or just see spot play on a short leash.
“I never knew before if I was going to play, so it hasn’t changed that much,” Gill said. “It’s the same old thing to me, but it’s never easy to get used to not knowing whether you’re going to play or not.”
The transformation has been tough, considering the Sonics used nine or 10 players in their rotation during the regular season, tightening it to six or seven in the second half of their 105-101 loss in Game 3.
“I think in the playoffs you’re always tightening the rotation,” Karl said. “This might be a little tighter in the first round than most. Our team is so versatile athletically, that even with the tightness of the rotation, the versatility is still there.”
The Sonics have been outscored 64-44 in the first quarter of the past two games. Shawn Kemp has been the main source of offense for the Sonics, averaging 24.3 points, and look for him to establish himself early.
In the fragmented shooting session Wednesday, the first seven players, with the exception of Sam Perkins, shot on one end. The rest of the players, with Perkins, were on the other.
The incessant “tinkering,” as Karl calls it, has established a clear division of the team. Clearly Perkins, Nate McMillan and Vince Askew are Karl’s role players of preference. On the flip side are Gill, Johnson, Marciulionis and Cartwright, who are flustered with Karl’s handling of them. Byron Houston and Steve Scheffler have been garbage-time players for the most part, with All-Stars Kemp, Detlef Schrempf, and Gary Payton sitting on the fence.
Sonics notes
Expect Cartwright to retire after the Sonics are eliminated… . Sources say Sonics vice president of personnel Bob Kloppenburg, 67, is a candidate to be the defensive coach for the Toronto Raptors next season… . The Sonics have lost five of their past six playoff games, and six of their last eight meetings with the Lakers… . The Lakers, 16-8 lifetime with the Sonics in the playoffs, are the youngest team in the playoffs (26.0) and the Sonics are eighth-youngest (28.9)… . Kemp is second in field-goal percentage (.634), sixth in scoring (24.3) and 10th in rebounding (10.0) among playoff participants.