Sonics regroup for 2nd half

SEATTLE – Now that Clay Bennett has dissected and formulated a location and plan for a new multipurpose arena, maybe the Seattle SuperSonics owner can find some time to put the same analysis toward his basketball team.

As the All-Star break arrives this weekend, the Sonics are the second-worst team in the Western Conference, slogging through a season beset by major injuries, inconsistent play and a road losing streak of record proportions.

“We’ve lost a lot of close games and we haven’t had the ability to get key stops when we need them and make big plays when we need them all year,” forward Nick Collison said. “It has kind of been the story of our year.”

Seattle’s 20-32 record at the break is almost the same as last year, but the manner in which Seattle has reached that mark has left the organization disappointed.

The Sonics were expected to carry over last year’s 14-11 finish with coach Bob Hill’s system fully in place. But it hasn’t occurred yet, hampered by significant injuries to Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, making it difficult to give a true assessment of the Sonics’ performance.

Hill’s job appears to be safe, getting a moderate vote of confidence from Bennett last month when the owner spoke to the Associated Press. But Bennett’s focus has been solely on getting an arena developed and he hasn’t taken a keen look at the on-court product.

Allen and Collison have posted career-best numbers, but their play was overshadowed by a franchise-record 15-game road losing streak that was finally snapped earlier this month. Before Seattle’s win at Indiana on Feb. 7, the Sonics hadn’t won a road game since before Thanksgiving.

Allen will play in his seventh All-Star Game this weekend, and Lewis was also playing at an All-Star level before a hand injury cost him 22 games. Before that, Allen missed nine games with an ankle injury, and the loss of Robert Swift before the season began to a knee injury put the Sonics’ lineup in flux from opening night.

Lewis returned just before the break, finally bringing some stability to the starting lineup and rotations Hill likes to use. But the Sonics are so far behind their own preseason expectations, that Hill went ahead and adjusted the team’s goals. Fifty wins and a solid playoff berth are no longer at the top of the list. Now, it’s simply getting back to respectability, and maybe, just maybe sneaking into the eighth and final playoff spot if everything breaks Seattle’s way.

“We’re not giving up on the playoffs,” Hill said. “I’m not going to let them do it,” Hill said.

To make such a flurry, the Sonics will need Allen to continue his amazing run since the start of 2007. In January, Allen averaged 30.4 points and his 27 points average at the break is the highest of his career.

One player who has provided a spark is Collison, who firmly entrenched himself as Seattle’s center for the rest of the season. Collison has averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds over the last 16 games.