Timberwolves To Launch Sonics’ Swing Through East

The Seattle SuperSonics will have to conquer the East one more time if they want to win the West.

Seattle is 18-8 against the Eastern Conference so far this year, 8-4 on the road, and begins its final Eastern swing of the season with a brief stop at Western Conference upstart Minnesota today at 5 p.m. PST.

The trip then continues to Atlanta, Detroit and Chicago, after which Seattle won’t go east of Texas the rest of the regular season.

It’s a trip that could determine whether the Sonics will hold off the Lakers to win the Pacific Division, and likely whether they will be able to catch Utah for the best record in the Western Conference.

“If we have a successful trip - and I don’t know what a successful trip would be - it gives us a great spring to (winning) the Pacific Division,” Karl said. “If we stub our toe back East, we’ll probably (come home) even.”

Seattle, 43-18 after a win Tuesday night over Detroit, had a two-game lead over the Lakers (41-20 before Wednesday night). The Lakers are losers of seven of their last 10 without Shaquille O’Neal, are 1-1/2 games behind Utah (45-17 before Wednesday night) and in the midst of a season-long seven-game road trip.

Karl may not be sure what a successful trip would be, but if the Sonics can win three of four, they could be in an almost insurmountable position ahead of the Lakers, who on Monday begin a stretch of seven of their next eight games on the road, concluding with an April 1 game at KeyArena.

After this four-game swing, Seattle will play nine of its final 17 games at home, 14 against teams that have losing records and another against Minnesota (31-30) at KeyArena.

Of Seattle’s final 17 games, the only games they could lose that wouldn’t be viewed as big upsets are the April 1 game against the Lakers and an April 13 contest at Houston.

Let’s assume, conservatively, that the Sonics merely split on this trip, then can win 14 of the last 17. That would make them 59-23, which would seem good enough to win the Pacific, although probably not good enough to have the best record in the West.

Still, getting the No. 2 seed and a first-round date against the Clippers or Sacramento is a huge advantage over finishing lower and getting either Minnesota or Portland.

“Our goal is 57-60 wins and if L.A. wins more than that, then they deserve to win (the Pacific),” Karl said. “If we win 60 and we don’t win it am I unhappy? Probably not. If we win 57 and we don’t win it am I unhappy? Maybe.”

Once Seattle gets by this trip, however, it will be in a better position than any of the other three teams contending for the best record in the West.

The Lakers, as noted above, have a five-game trip on tap next week, and still have road games at Cleveland, Miami, Orlando, Utah, Seattle and Portland.

Utah has four games left on its current seven-game trip, and also has a tough stretch in the second week of April when it plays the Lakers twice and Houston once in a span of five days.

Houston still has a five-game trip left, although all five are against losing teams, and also has other road games at Utah and Miami.

First, however, Seattle has to get through a trip most players are calling the “toughest of the season,” - interestingly enough, the third “toughest trip of the season” this year.

Seattle went 5-1 on its first Eastern swing in November, which included an easy win over the Knicks, and went 4-1 on an Eastern swing earlier this month that included wins at Utah, Cleveland, Miami and Orlando.

“This trip is a lot like the other trips, although these teams might be even better,” said center Sam Perkins.

What might make this trip truly tougher is that the Sonics will have to do all of it without Detlef Schrempf. But Seattle is 4-2 so far without him, one of the losses coming when the team was also without Perkins.

Coming up

Minnesota, Thursday at 5 p.m.: Seattle is 27-3 all-time against the Timberwolves, and has won the last 23 in a row, which could simply mean that Minnesota is really due for a win in this series.

Atlanta, Friday at 4:30 p.m.: The Hawks won at Seattle 117-95 on Nov. 5, the third game of the season and still the worst loss of the year for the Sonics.

The Hawks (43-19) shot out of their collective mind that night (16 of 29 on 3-pointers, 55 percent), and preventing a similar outburst could be the key for the Sonics, who could be weary after playing at Minnesota the night before.

Detroit, Sunday at 4 p.m.: The Pistons (45-17) figure to put up more of a fight at home then they did Tuesday night at KeyArena, and Grant Hill will be eager to prove he can make moves on Gary Payton.