Walker Says Sonics Have That Special Look Of A Champion

Seattle SuperSonics general manager Wally Walker, who has come along on this trip East, said the current version of the Sonics reminds him of a team he once played on.

“I don’t know about style-wise, but I like this analogy because I played on a team in Portland in ‘76-77 that had seven new players and won a championship,” said Walker, who was a rookie that year and was traded the year after to Seattle. “It came together real quickly, its players were unselfish and knew their roles.”

In a midseason team analysis, Walker said there was very little about the Sonics that he did not like.

“I like just about everything. The chemistry. The team play. The camaraderie. The shooting. The execution. The effort. I mean it’s all been terrific. The one area where we need to improve is rebounding. … What’s encouraging is on this trip we’ve been better. The focus is getting better and guys are realizing the possessions are helping us.

There was a quote by one of the players in the NFC championship game who was making the point that the NFC always wins the Super Bowl. The quote was, “It’s like Chicago. When the Bulls go out to Seattle, you know who is going to win the NBA championship.”

“When you have the best record in the league, those assumptions (about making the Finals) are going to be made, which is flattering,” Walker said. “But we still have a lot of work to do. And I think this team has a chance to improve and be better, and that’s a fun challenge, too.”

Where does Walker see areas that need improvement?

“Execution of offense and defense, which is just a function of being together longer. Getting Jerome (Kersey) back will help. And I think some of our players, individuals will improve. The last week or 10 days, Aaron Williams has played exceptionally well, Mac (Jim McIlvaine) has been very effective of late, too. And those two have an upside that if they keep improving it really helps the team.”

Ahead of the game

Losses to Chicago and New York in their last two games notwithstanding, Gary Payton says the Sonics are well ahead of their goals for the season.

“We set a goal,” Payton said, “saying that if we can win half of the 41 on the road, or a little bit more, all we have to do is protect our home-court advantage, then we could have home-court advantage through the playoffs and then we may get a ride to the party.

“And that’s what we’re doing. By already winning 15 games on the road, we’ve accomplished what we had to. But I think we can do better than that. I think we can win 30 games on the road. And if we win 30 on the road and at home, that’s 60 games already. And we knew we would have to win 60 games over in the West because San Antonio can win 60, Utah can win 60, L.A. (Lakers) looks like they are going to win 60. It’s going to be a tough road for us and we knew we had to win 60 games and we knew we had to work.”

Kersey nearly ready

Walker said Kersey will see the doctor after the Sonics return home just to make sure he is ready to be activated. So it’s unlikely Kersey will play against Miami Thursday. He may play at home Saturday against Cleveland.

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