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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Mcilvaine, Snow Could Rescue Sonics

John Mcgrath Tacoma News Tribune

Nate McMillan is a nice player and a swell person. But until the Sonics started struggling against those teams not consigned to the NBA’s pansy wing, I’d never looked at him as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

George Karl has a different perspective. On those increasingly frequent evenings the coach finds himself addressing his club’s listlessness, he cites the injured McMillan’s prowess as a ball distributor, shooting threat, rebound swiper, defensive buzzsaw and upbeat holler guy whose absence has created an irreplaceable void on the floor.

Though McMillan is nothing if not versatile, I doubt this new role as all-powerful savior will appeal to his comfort level. Furthermore, McMillan’s are not the newest wheels in the body shop. This season, it’s a torn stomach muscle that has put him on the shelf. Last season, it was nerve damage in his lower back.

Since the Sonics made their KeyArena debut in the fall of 1995, McMillan has sat out more regular-season games (74) than he has played (61). I hesitate to speak ill of the ill, but you have to wonder: Is McMillan’s recent history of injuries a matter of bad luck or a trend that merits concern?

Hey, if Nate McMillan descends from the clouds cupping a thunderbolt in his palms, I’ll be the first in line to genuflect. Until then, I will continue to believe a first-rate Nate will do less for the Sonics than a transfusion of new blood.

There are a couple of ways to go about this. The Sonics can try to make a trade that fits into their salary cap - they’ve got almost two weeks until the deadline - or they can turn their approach to the bench. Personally, I’d suggest Plan B, for there are 17-year-old housecats who adapt to strange faces better than the Sonics.

Let’s start with Eric Snow, and consider starting Eric Snow. Not for 8 token minutes, either. Start him. Play him. The Snow Man provides the sort of energy once associated with Gary Payton, before Payton’s strength got sapped from an off-season spent with the U.S. Olympic team. So let Snow concentrate on the point, and free up Payton to concentrate on the points.

The knock on Snow - and it’s legitimate - is his perimeter shooting. Still, an occasional rock-hard jumper is a slight price to pay for the fast tempo he can create. Look at it like this: You’ve got Payton and one of five other guards in the mix. There’s Hersey Hawkins, 30 and slumping; Craig Ehlo, 35 and fading; David Wingate, 33 and surviving; McMillan, 32 and ailing - and Snow, 23 and exciting.

The other night against the Jazz, in a game distinguished by the home team’s monotonous offense, Snow came in for a brief 4-minute gig in the second quarter and attacked. He scrambled for an offensive rebound, dished out two assists, and, wonder of wonders, actually attempted to get the frontcourt involved.

Oh, yeah, the frontcourt. Is it my imagination, or has Sam Perkins aged 87 years since Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich called him the most difficult matchup in the league?

Karl hesitates to give more minutes to Jim McIlvaine because they would come at Perkins’ expense. I’m not so sure a little sit-down time wouldn’t help rejuvenate Perkins. At any rate, it makes no sense for a tired 35-year-old to get three times as much playing time as the 24-year-old in whom you’ve invested $32 million.

McIlvaine’s great vulnerability is that he is not mobile enough to do the double-team switching asked of a low-post defender in the Sonics’ system. Excuse me, but who wrote the rule that said the system is more important than the players? If McIlvaine was worth acquiring last summer, he is worth playing now. Play him.

It doesn’t bother me that the Sonics are 0-8 against the league’s elite. It does bother me that they’ve learned nothing in going 32-5 against everybody else.

An optimist might point to those 32 victories at the All-Star break and insist that time is on the Sonics’ side. Well, yes and no. The playoffs won’t begin for almost another three months. But there is a complacency about this club that makes you suspect it has spent too much time together and played too long together. The Sonics are suffering from a case of emotional rust.

If Nate McMillan’s back is capable of heavy lifting and he picks this team up all by himself, more power to him. Still, it can’t hurt to have an alternative plan.

Giving meaningful minutes to Eric Snow and Jim McIlvaine doesn’t mean that Karl would have to reinvent the wheel. All it would demand is the courage to tinker with the system and rattle the cage and ponder one absolutely outrageous possibility:

It could be fun.