It’s A Winning Script Sonics’ Strong Cast Has Been Turning In Memorable Performances

The Sonics are back to being the basketball equivalent of a big-budget Hollywood action flick - thrilling to watch, but when one gets right down to it, pretty darn predictable.

Defense. Win. 3-pointers. Win. Good passing. Defense. Win. Win. Win.

Count on Houston’s Charles Barkley, often correct but seldom politically correct, to set the scene for the rest of the Sonics’ season.

“The biggest thing Seattle has going for (it) is the chemistry is perfect,” Barkley said.

That, the Sonics insist by their showing, is no act.

There have been 41 showings thus far - exactly half the regular season - and the Sonics, despite Tuesday’s stunning loss at Dallas, find themselves rated RD among NBA pundits. They are the Real Deal.

With an NBA-best 32-9 record, the Sonics are on pace to top their franchise-record 64-win season of two years ago. Although that was the year the Sonics advanced to the NBA Finals, they found out nothing is handed out in January.

Best Team in an NBA season is an Oscar bestowed in June. For now, the Sonics must settle for high expectations.

“It’s an exciting team to be around. It’s exciting to win and it’s exciting because it’s going to get better,” Sonics coach George Karl said. “I still think how good we’re going to be is still to be answered. Trying to predict who the best teams in the NBA are now, you’re being foolish because a lot of teams are going to change.

“The Bulls and Utah will improve.”

The Sonics, though, are much better than many believed they would be at this point. There are three elements of the team’s success that don’t seem likely to evaporate any time soon.

Talent. Versatility. Mental toughness.

No doubt, the talent is there. Unless point guard Gary Payton falls off his MVP-like perch, or forwards Detlef Schrempf and Vin Baker veer from their consonant course, the Sonics will be menacing come playoff time.

Offensively, the Sonics are rich with players who can handle the ball and create a shot. Defensively, they are disruptive enough that opposing teams tend to improvise on offense.

With the Feb. 19 trading deadline approaching, team president Wally Walker must decide whether to address the team’s only glaring weakness or stand pat. Conventional wisdom says the Sonics must go after a rebounder. Their 38 rebounds a game are among the league’s worst.

The team does not appear eager to make a move. The Sonics don’t necessarily need to deal. They have just had two major injuries: Nate McMillan (right knee surgery) has yet to play and tough-guy Jerome Kersey missed six weeks with a fractured left foot.

Figuring in Kersey and a little bit from McMillan for the stretch run should strengthen the rotation.

While the team’s rebounding is reprehensible at times, it is not necessarily a deathtrap when the postseason begins. When a team rebounds is often more important in the playoffs. How many boards the Sonics gather will be inconsequential if their defense is gobbling up steals and turnovers.

“Talent-wise we have the ability to contend because we can play a lot of different styles. We can deal with matchups any team puts at us,” Walker said.

With all that said, it remains to be seen if the Sonics are the team to beat in the Western Conference. They still must duke out four games with the Los Angeles Lakers for Pacific Division supremacy. The Sonics’ only meeting with Utah - last season’s West representative in the Finals - resulted in a Nov. 14 loss when the Jazz were perhaps at their worst.

Detractors can use two losses to a hapless Dallas Mavericks squad to question the Sonics’ legitimacy. But consider the Lakers already own two blemishes against Philadelphia and one against Golden State, and the race is wide-open.

“I feel we are a championship team,” Baker said. “You’ll be able to figure it out in April when the playoffs start; not now during the regular season. The Sonics have always been a good regular-season team.”

The Sonics have squandered stellar regular-season records in the past with first-round crashes. However, it can’t be understated how important it is to pile up regular-season victories. Having a top record not only leads to good playoff positioning, but the Sonics, at this pace, can secure home-court playoff advantage.

“We’ve got to get home-court advantage,” Payton said. “That is going to be the key for us. If we can get the home court, we can make it out of the West. We can win without it, but it’s going to be much more difficult to do.”