Emphasis on defense
For the past few seasons, the Seattle SuperSonics have been, primarily, a half-court defensive team – much to the discontent of coach Nate McMillan.
“We pretty much had to play that way,” McMillan explained, pointing out that aging stars like Brent Barry and Gary Payton were simply no longer able to get out and pressure the basketball the way he would have liked.
“Those guys were not great defenders.”
But with Payton two years removed from the scene and Barry having been signed by the San Antonio Spurs as a free agent following the 2003-04 season, McMillan is convinced this year’s Sonics team is much better equipped to defend beyond the half court.
He said that will be one of the most noticeable differences local fans will see tonight when Seattle entertains the Utah Jazz in a 7 p.m. NBA preseason game at the Arena.
“Last year, we averaged 97 points a game, and that was enough to win ballgames,” McMillan said earlier this week. “But defensively, we need to improve. This year we want to extend our defense and pick up the ball early.
“We want to continue to play fast (offensively), but defensively, we hope to be a lot more solid than we were last year. We want to be more aggressive and, hopefully, that will lead to us becoming a better rebounding team, too.”
The Sonics, 1-2 in the preseason after losing 99-93 to the Phoenix Suns Saturday night in Seattle, come into today’s a game a bit weary, having played three games in five days.
There is a chance, then, McMillan said, that some of his veteran players will be rested this evening against a Jazz team that is opening its exhibition schedule.
“We’ll be looking at a lot of different combinations,” he explained. “There is a possibility some of the veteran guys may rest a little (today), but most of the guys in our rotation will play.”
Among the newcomers McMillan likes the most are Danny Fortson, Nick Collison, Turkish import Ibrahim Kutluay and 18-year-old center Robert Swift, the Sonics’ first-round selection in this year’s NBA Draft.
Fortson, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound forward was acquired in an off-season trade with the Dallas Mavericks, and Collison, a 6-9, 255-pound rookie and former University of Kansas All-American, is healthy again after missing all of last season because of injuries.
McMillan is looking for those two to help beef up his front line and aid in the development of Swift, a 7-footer from Bakersfield, Calif., who, according to McMillan, is “already further ahead than I expected him to be.”
In Kutluay, a 6-6, 200-pound guard, the Sonics have a pure shooter, who made 12 3-pointers and scored 45 points in a pair of exhibition games against the U.S. Olympic team prior to the 2004 Summer Games.
“We needed to add a shooter to help replace Brent Barry and Richie Frahm (now with Portland),” McMillan said of Kutluay, who scored 11 points in Seattle’s preseason loss to the Trail Blazers. “And Ibrahim is a good one. He just lit up our Olympic team.”