Gelabale Returns from Idaho

Terrence Vaccaro/NBAE/Getty

The Sonics recalled Mickael Gelabale from the Idaho Stampede Tuesday and will have him available Wednesday, when they host the Utah Jazz in their pre-All-Star finale. The recall was on schedule, as the Sonics planned all along to have Gelabale play six games in Idaho and return before the D-League's All-Star break.

In six games, Gelabale averaged 17.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He shot an impressive 59.7% from the field and 7-of-20 (35.0%) from three-point range.

"Gelly was way more good than bad, just kind of stuck out - which he should, somebody who's better than the players in that league," said Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo. "That's good. He had a couple of games where he had a really good half and a fair half. You'd like to see him go down and put two halves together all six times, but particularly the first game that's probably hard to do. I think in general he went down and acquitted himself very well."

While the Sonics already have a crowded rotation, Carlesimo said the Sonics want to make sure they get Gelabale in the mix at some point during the second half of the season to get a better look at him at the NBA level.

Mouhamed Sene is also on his way back to Seattle, but just for the All-Star break. The Sonics are pleased with the progress Sene is making playing for the Stampede. Sene has averaged 11.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 18 games, shooting 55.3%.

As for the Stampede, the team saw its D-League-record 18-game winning streak snapped by Los Angeles on Saturday and then lost against Monday at Utah. Still, Idaho goes into the All-Star break as the league's top team by three games at 23-7. Stampede Head Coach Bryan Gates, who worked as an assistant for the Sonics during summer-league play, will coach in Saturday's D-League All-Star Game in New Orleans.

In other news from Sonics practice, Carlesimo indicated it was possible center Robert Swift might move into the rotation at some point after the All-Star break, which could be a natural break in the schedule.

"When we come back," said Carlesimo, "maybe start over and say we've got to make some changes."

Carlesimo was generally pleased with the way his team responded to comming back to practice this week after taking the weekend off.

"We actually had two pretty good practices considering the days off," he said. "It was a little slow starting, but I think today was good."

Sonics Back at Practice After Two-Day Break

With a rare weekend off during the middle of the NBA season, the Sonics took both Saturday and Sunday off after playing in Phoenix on Friday. They still have two practices, today and tomorrow, before taking on the Utah Jazz Wednesday in their last game before the All-Star break.

Forward Chris Wilcox thought the break was helpful.

"Guys can get their legs back and we can work on some things in practice," he said.

Coming off the two days of rest, the Sonics had their largest practice contingent at The Furtado Center in some time. Guard Delonte West, whose knee was bothering him, was the only player unable to practice. That allowed Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo to run 5-on-5 scrimmages, a rarity at this point of the season.

How did the team look?

"Not bad, actually," said Carlesimo. "Not as bad as I would have thought. We didn't really get too much going other than some conditioning or some scrimmaging. It wasn't as ragged as you would sometimes expect after two days. I thought they were decent; I wouldn't say they were excellent, but they were better than I thought they might be."

The scrimmaging is particularly useful for center Robert Swift, who continues to work back into shape. Swift made his return to the court a week ago against Chicago, but did not see action in either of the last two Sonics games. Swift needs court time both for his conditioning and to get his game timing back, but that on-the-job training is tough to do during games.

"We got 18 minutes of clock time," Carlesimo said. "Robert may have played all of it; you'd have to ask (Assistant Coach) Ralph (Lewis). There were times it looked like he labored, but other times it looked like he was hanging in, doing a decent job."

Swift had one impressive sequence with the media watching where he blocked a shot on one end (possibly goaltending in the process, but showing the ability to get up either way) and then scored in the post with his left hand off the glass on the other end. Swift drew the foul and finished the three-point play.

Green Returns to Practice

The Sonics had several players miss Tuesday's practice, but the big story was that rookie forward Jeff Green did participate. Green has missed the last two games with a sprained right ankle.

"Jeff practiced for the first time," said Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo. "He seemed alright. If he's good tomorrow, hopefully he'll be able to play also."

Guard Delonte West sat out with a left quad strain and Wally Szczerbiak was limited by his sprained left ankle (though Szczerbiak was able to play against Chicago Monday). Luke Ridnour (sprained right ankle) was also limited and Kurt Thomas sat out after suffering a scratched eye during Monday's game.

West's injury may be the most serious of the group.

Thomas declared his eye better. "I've just got to keep putting drops in there," he said. "I'll get it checked out tomorrow morning in Sacramento to make sure everything's fine, but it shouldn't be a problem."

- Szczerbiak and Ridnour regularly shoot free throws together at the end of practice at the basket nearest the media, and have a friendly competition going with regards to their shooting in practice and in games. Szczerbiak lamented missing two free throws against the Bulls in eight attempts. Szczerbiak is shooting 84.4% from the free-throw line, but Ridnour is making 90.5% of his attempts.

Quiet Practice for Sonics

With games every other day during this homestand and some players banged up, the Sonics have been somewhat limited in what they can do during recent practices. Today, we saw them dummy through some plays in preparison for New York's visit tomorrow before wrapping up the session.

Four players were sidelined for the Sonics:
- forward Nick Collison (right calf strain)
- forward Jeff Green (sprained left ankle)
- forward Wally Szczerbiak (sprained right ankle)
- center Kurt Thomas (left quad tendon strain)

All four players are considered game-time decisions against the Knicks.

Take a listen to what P.J. Carlesimo had to say after practice.

Notebook: Carlesimo on Sene's Progress

I didn't get to this last night, but Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo talked before the game with Houston about the progress of center Mouhamed Sene in the D-League with the Idaho Stampede.

"He's doing very, very well," said Carlesimo. "I talked to him when he was in Bakersfield or going to Bakersfield the other day. I think in the beginning he understood, but he probably didn't embrace it. I think being there now and getting the regular minutes, he really likes it. We've had a lot of guys on Sam (Presti)'s side go down - (Director of Pro Player Personnel) Billy Branch has been down, (Director of Basketball Technology) Paul (Rivers) has been down, (Assistant GM) Rich (Cho) has been down. I think we've got to get one of our guys (coaching staff) down right now (during the homestand) so we can see him."

Carlesimo said the Sonics have not discussed when to bring Sene back to the NBA.

"I think he's doing way more good there and it's doing way more good for him than it would be here," he said. I guess we've got to balance - we don't want him to forget everybody's name and stuff like that. It's really a good thing."

- Sonics center Robert Swift went through the entire practice with the team as he works his way back into action after lingering aftereffects of his ACL surgery sidelined him in mid-November. Swift has been doing some 1-on-0 drills, but this was the most extensively he has worked with the team since then. Swift went through the entire practice of just under an hour, including a shell drill and a live transition defense drill.

"He looked OK," said Carlesimo. "He showed a little bit of rust, but I think it's good news he didn't feel anything during it. It will also be interesting to see what he's like tomorrow and the next day."

The Sonics will continue to be cautious with Swift's rehabilitation as he progresses toward a return to game action.

- With the team healthy besides Swift, Carlesimo has had to make decisions on his rotation to leave it at a manageable number.

"I'm trying to play nine guys for the most part," he explained, "depending on foul trouble and depending on matchups."

At this point, Luke Ridnour has stepped into the role of backup point guard, with Wally Szczerbiak and Damien Wilkins coming off the bench on the wings and Chris Wilcox up front. However, that can be subject to change depending on matchups and foul trouble. Johan Petro played extended minutes in both matchups against Houston as Sonics big men got into foul trouble defending Yao Ming. Meanwhile, guard Delonte West matched up with Dallas' smaller backcourt on Saturday.

Wilcox, Ridnour Set to Return

After missing the last four games with a dislocated right pinky finger, Chris Wilcox is expected to return to the lineup Monday when the Sonics host the Los Angeles Lakers. Wilcox, who has played just six minutes in the last six games (a sprained left knee preceded his dislocated finger), went through a full practice with the team on Sunday. So too did Luke Ridnour, who has played just once in the last eight games due to an ongoing quad injury. Barring a setback tomorrow morning, both should be available against the Lakers.

"I really didn't feel too much - just getting hit on it and that," said Wilcox. "The day went good. I got my wind up a little bit, so I should be straight for tomorrow."

Going through a full practice was valuable for conditioning for both Wilcox and Ridnour, and Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo was pleasantly surprised at the shape they were in. As far as how they played, Carlesimo's observation was that Wilcox was more affected than Ridnour. Wilcox will play with his right pinky and ring fingers "buddy taped" together to protect the pinky from dislocating again.

"There were a couple of plays where he didn't catch it or didn't rebound it where he normally would," Carlesimo said. "You're also watching a little more carefully because of that, but you can see that the thing will bother him in some things."

While he's confident he'll be alright, Wilcox sees how the tape could be a problem.

"Just think about it - now you're shooting with two of your fingers together," he said. "Especially your last two fingers, because that's basically where you get the grip on the ball, coming down with rebounds and things like that."

He joked that the main adjustment would be throwing the ball in on dunks without grabbing the rim, which could be a problem for his finger.

Wilcox's return may be particularly well-timed because Sonics big man Nick Collison missed Sunday's practice with a right quad contusion.

"He did something late in the game the other night and then, when we put him back in, it kinda bothered him," said Carlesimo.

"He couldn't really go up and down. He said it feels good laterally but couldn't run, so obviously he couldn't go."

Collison hasn't been ruled out for Monday's game, leaving his status day-to-day. Which player starts at power forward will be determined by their respective health, though Carlesimo indicated he'd lean toward Collison because he has been starting up front alongside Kurt Thomas.

Thomas' practice time was limited, as it has been much of the season, but with Ridnour and Wilcox back on the court the Sonics still had enough players (10) for a full practice. Thomas was also on the court as the Sonics went through the Lakers offense. It was important to be able to go 5-on-5 because it allowed the Sonics to work on their offense, which has slumped over the last few games.

Since the calendar turned to 2008, the Sonics have shot 38.7% from the field and averaged 88.9 points per 100 possessions. For the season, their Offensive Rating is 100.2 points per 100 possessions. In Carlesimo's opinion, the drop-off starts with the team getting less from its transition offense and continues from there.

"We haven't run hard or consistently," he said, "so not only are we not getting shots from the first six, eight, 10 seconds from transition, which is really important to us, but we're basically wasting six, eight, 10 seconds and now we're trying to get into a halfcourt set, so instead of at 10, we're trying to get into it at 14 or 16. Even then, we've been slow getting into it. When we make a call, we're either not communicating it well or we're not getting into it well.

"So we worked on one, running and attacking and doing more in transition; two, when (the point guards) call a play, that we get into it a lot more quickly than we have been getting into it and that we run it more crisply."

The numbers support Carlesimo's contention that his team has not pushed the ball consistently. Of the eight slowest-paced Sonics games this season, six have come in the last nine games, including each of the last two.

"We ran better by a hundred-fold today during practice than we have during any of our games," Carlesimo said. "We've had games where we've run consistently; we've just stopped doing it."

Carlesimo doesn't fault point guards Earl Watson and Delonte West for the lack of fast-break production, but getting Ridnour in the lineup may help the team get running. Pushing the ball is more of a strength of his game.

Overall, Carlesimo was pleased with his team's effort today.

"We had a very good practice considering what it was like (with injuries), he said. "They went hard. They did a good job. We got stuff accomplished."

Sonics Getting Healthy

Quick update, practice at The Furtado Center having ended and the Sonics on their way to the airport to travel to Phoenix.

Guards Kevin Durant and Luke Ridnour both went through practice today and are expected to play tomorrow in Phoenix. Durant had his sprained left index finger taped to his middle finger for half of practice and post-practice drills, but shed the protective glove he wore on Monday when he was unable to play against Philadelphia.

Forward Chris Wilcox sat out, giving his sprained left knee another day to recover. Coach P.J. Carlesimo described Wilcox as "possible" for tomorrow's game.

Good Practice for Sonics

The Sonics returned to the practice court Thursday after an effort against the New Orleans Hornets that disappointed Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo. He liked what he saw Thursday much better.

"We had a good practice," said Carlesimo, who saw all 14 players make free throws consecutively to finish off the session. "We'll see if we have a good shootaround tomorrow, but we'll see at 7:30 tomorrow whether we do or don't (bounce back). We'll find out if there's anything to the first game back or Chris Paul or whatever it was."

Carlesimo had suggested after Wednesday's game that changes were possible in the future because the Sonics have gotten off to some slow starts at times recently.

"This group has done alright, record-wise, but if we start out this way again, we either have to shorten up rotations or look to change combinations or do something," he said. "First quarter and third quarter have not been good to us all year."

After that, Carlesimo mostly commented on features various writers are working on, but made an interesting digression to discuss the importance of confidence in general and for his team.

"Confidence is such a huge thing. It's a huge thing in everything, but in athletics it's unbelievable," Carlesimo said, pointing to the role of confidence in the inconsistent performances of golfers.

In the NBA, it's easier for teams who have enjoyed consistent success to maintain that level of confidence.

"With us, because we haven't had as much success as we need to have, we tend to go that way," Carlesimo said. "When we're feeling good about ourselves and we're out there and we're bouncy and everything, we look like a totally different team than we looked like last night. I just think if you're the Suns or Dallas or the Spurs and out of 25 games you do that 18 or 20 times, then you can put the first quarter or six bad minutes out of your mind and play good. But when you've gone the other way 15 times out of 25, it's really hard to fight through it.

"That's not why we played the way we played last night, but it is why we can do the peak and valley thing. ... At times, we've looked pretty good, but at other times we've looked really poor and the gap between our good and poor is bigger than it needs to be or should be."

Sonics Return to Practice at Furtado

Having returned to Seattle following their road trip, the Seattle SuperSonics took two days off Sunday and Monday before regrouping Tuesday for their first practice at The Furtado Center in nearly two weeks.

"The last 49 or 50 days, I think we had five days off," explained Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo. "They're tired and we played that way (in Utah). I thought two days off would be good. We have a couple of guys a little bit dinged up and a couple of guys coming back. It just seemed two days off was more beneficial."

On a 2-3 road trip, the Sonics saw the team continue to come together. Point guard was a particular strong point of the trip, with Earl Watson and a healthy Luke Ridnour forming an effective combination.

"I thought they played very well," said Carlesimo. "I thought the combination was a good combination for us - some games better than others, but they had a couple of really, really strong games and in general I thought they did a really good job."

Ridnour told reporters he still has yet to reach 100% in coming back from his torn quad muscle, but he's feeling much better and Carlesimo sees that in his performance.

"Luke looks much more comfortable now in terms of his shot," Carlesimo said, "whereas early in the year when he'd missed a month and been back for three games, he wasn't shooting it the way he is capable of shooting it. Right now, I don't think he's 100%, but he's probably in better basketball shape and timing than he's been since the Sacramento game at the beginning of the year, that first exhibition game."

Now, the Sonics are looking to get Delonte West healthy. West visited a specialist and Dr. Richard Zorn, the Sonics team doctor, on Tuesday to get an update on the plantar fasciitis he's experienced in his right foot. West has been cleared to begin individual work.

"He's doing more today and tomorrow than he has been doing, so it's (his expected return) moved up a little bit," explained Carlesimo, "but he's not going to play in a game before he's done some live practicing. He hasn't played in two weeks, so he'll need at least one practice, if not more, before he's ready to go."

Carlesimo mentioned that West may see time at shooting guard when he returns to the lineup. West, who can play either position in the backcourt, has virtually exclusively played point guard this season, in part because of Ridnour's absence.

As for center Kurt Thomas, who missed Saturday's game in Utah with a sprained right ankle, he did not practice but Carlesimo described his status for Wednesday's matchup with New Orleans as, "'Hopeful' - I don't know if that's one of the categories. I think more probable than doubtful, but somewhere in there."

Gelabale Gets the Point

With the Sonics missing point guards Luke Ridnour and Delonte West last night against the L.A. Clippers, swingman Mickaël Gelabale saw extended action at the position for the first time in his career. Backing up starter Earl Watson, Gelabale played 11 minutes. He did not score and committed three turnovers, but had three boards and three assists. Most notably, the Sonics were +8 during Gelabale's time on the court.

"He more than held his own, which was good," Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo said after today's practice. "We were positive when he was on the floor. Some of it is always matchups and who's on the floor for the other team too, but the fact remains - had he really struggled, then we wouldn't have been able to keep him on the floor as long as we did. We would have had to get Earl back sooner. Earl would have been more fatigued, would have had to play more minutes. He did good things. I thought he defended well, I thought for the most part he got the ball where we wanted it to be, got us into some sets."

"I thought he was good," added Ridnour. "He's a big point guard out there, but it was fun to see him play. He looked confident."

Gelabale was also pleased with his ability to play the position, though he took exception to his shooting, telling reporters, "Yesterday I was 0-of-5. Today I need to work on my shot."

For Gelabale, the hardest part of playing the position was, "Taking the ball upcourt with the point guard defending hard on you.

"Yeah, because I'm 6-7 and yesterday the guard was like 6-0 or 5-something." [Clippers point guards Dan Dickau and Brevin Knight go 6-0 and 5-10, respectively.]

Reporters asked Gelabale if playing the point was a way to get on the floor more often, and he downplayed the notion, answering with a smile, "I'm working on it, but we have three point guards, so I don't want to be the fourth one."

With three point guards competing for minutes at the position, Gelabale doesn't figure to get time there when the Sonics are healthy. However, it could be part of his long-term future. Carlesimo pointed out that, if at some point Gelabale goes down to the D-League, the Sonics might ask Idaho Stampede Head Coach Bryan Gates to try to get him some minutes at the point.

Gelabale's run as the backup point guard might not be over yet. Ridnour and West are questionable to play against the Bucks Friday after practicing today. I had more on that topic in my story on the Sonics evaluating their point guards.

- With the Sonics about to reach the quarter pole for the 2007-08 season, Carlesimo said he expects to meet with his players individually over the course of the upcoming road trip to evaluate the season so far and have both sides offer feedback.

"Some guys we've already had opportunities," said Carlesimo. "We haven't had real sitdowns. After tomorrow, not that there's magic, but it's 20 games and we're going to be away from home for seven or eight days, so it really lends itself well now in the next week or so to have sitdowns with people."

Collison Ready to Return

Sonics big man Nick Collison went through practice with the team Tuesday and will return to the lineup Wednesday, when the Sonics play host to the Los Angeles Clippers (7:30 p.m., FSN, KTTH 770 AM, tickets).

"I felt a little winded today, but I think that's to be expected," Collison said after practice. "Otherwise, I feel fine. I don't really feel rusty or anything. I've put up a lot of shots the last few days. I feel good."

"Nick being back is definitely a good thing," said Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo.

After the swelling around his nose went down, Sonics doctors determined that Collison did not need his nose to be reset. He did have it reset when he broke his nose in 2004-05, but that fracture occurred in the middle of the nose; this time, it was off to the side on the right nasal wall.

Collison will have to adjust to wearing a protective facemask for at least the next three weeks or so, but having worn one three years ago, he's already gotten over the experience.

"That first time, the mask didn't fit at first and it was pressed against my nose - I couldn't breathe," recalled Collison. "The first game we played, against Houston, I freaked out and threw it into the crowd - didn't even throw it to the bench, I threw it into the crowd. (Athletic trainer) Mike (Shimensky) made me come out, the ballboy got it and I put it back on."

Afterwards, Collison got a new facemask made which fit better, and he played well during the month-plus he wore the mask during his rookie season, so it should not be an issue now.

"I freaked out the first day," Collison said, "but since then I was fine and I feel fine with it now, so I don't think it will be a big deal. It's just kind of an inconvenience."

- Delonte West watched the final part of practice from the sidelines, bothered by plantar fasciitis that affected his right foot. Officially, West is considered a game-time decision against the Clippers.

"He went through most of the practice," noted Carlesimo. "He got hurt at the tail end. Mike just told me when it happened that he hurt something and he was going to get looked at later, so I don't know."

If West is unable to play, Earl Watson would step back into the starting lineup, but the bigger question would be backing up Watson given Luke Ridnour's injury. Mickaël Gelabale worked at the point opposite Watson late in practice, and would probably be next in line at the position. Gelabale played point forward at times last year in practice, but never saw time as the lead guard in a game. Damien Wilkins, who started three games at point guard during the 2005-06 season, would also be an option.

Carlesimo left the door open for the possibility of Ridnour making his return, though that possibility is unlikely. Still, Ridnour has made strides recently and is nearing a return from the torn quad which has kept him out the last three weeks.

"Maybe Mike will throw him in 10-minute mode," Carlesimo offered. "I doubt it, because he didn't let him go today, but he did some stuff - he did some 5-on-0 and he did a little bit of practice.

"Evidently, they're a lot more encouraged the last few days then they've been. I think they're starting to push him a little bit."

- Carlesimo was pleased with how the Sonics responded coming off of a tough loss on Sunday after an extremely light workout on Monday.

"We had an excellent practice," he said. "When you practice the way we practiced today, you're going to get better."

Brief Practice for Sonics

The Sonics practiced for about an hour Monday, stretching, lifting weights and doing some shooting during that span. Today was originally scheduled as an off day, but Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo decided to get some light work in after the Sonics lost last night to Golden State.

"I just think we needed to be together," Carlesimo explained. "Getting some shots and getting a lift is always a good thing. I thought we needed being together more than we needed a day off today."

Because the session was so light, Carlesimo wasn't able to get an idea of how the team responded to the loss to the Warriors.

"Tomorrow will be a good test," he said, "we'll have a legit practice tomorrow and we'll see how we respond. But, more importantly, we'll see Wednesday night how we respond."

There was good news on the status of big man Nick Collison, who has missed the last three games after suffering a fracture of his right nasal wall last Wednesday in Los Angeles. Collison, who went through the non-contact portions of practice on Saturday, will be able to return barring any setback going through a complete practice tomorrow.

"He's going to practice tomorrow," said Carlesimo, "and if he's OK after practice, he'll be available Wednesday."

Carlesimo Touches on Several Topics

The Sonics had a very brief session Thursday, shooting for around 15 minutes as P.J. Carlesimo continues to try to get his team some rest during the midst of a busy November schedule that culminates tomorrow night against Indiana with the 17th game for the Sonics of the season.

Afterwards, a quiet media session with just the beat writers and Gary Hill from the Sonics broadcast team in attendance that gave us the chance to get some updates from Carlesimo on a variety of topics. "You guys are asking tough questions today," Carlesimo joked at one point. You can listen to some of the audio by clicking here.

One topic I'd been meaning to ask about was the fact that the Sonics have slowed down slightly from their league-leading pace early in the season. As of now, the Sonics rank fourth in the league in possessions per game, averaging 97.0 a night.

"We don't want to slow down," Carlesimo first emphasized before discussing possible explanations.

"I think part of it is the grind," he said. "We've had a bad November.

"A lot of it is we're just not pushing the ball as much as we did, at times - as much as we would like to. We're also seeing, as you get deeper into the year, we're seeing teams that know us better and know what we want to do and we're trying to do."

The good news is that another minor factor in the change of pace is the fact that the opposition isn't getting as many easy buckets off of Sonics turnovers. After averaging 19.7 turnovers per game over the first nine games of the season, the Sonics are down to 13.7 giveaways over their last seven contests. The last three games, the Sonics have averaged but 10 turnovers a night.

Another topic of discussion was the point-guard position, where Delonte West moved into the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Lakers.

"I want to give him, certainly, some more starts before we start saying things like, 'I think this guy's more suited to starting,' or, 'We like him better coming off the bench' or 'This is the pecking order right now for these three guys,'" Carlesimo explained. "Obviously, we're not going to have that one for a while."

According to Carlesimo, Luke Ridnour is still 10 days to two weeks away from returning from the torn left quad that has sidelined him for the last two weeks.

"Once he's ready to practice, then we need to put him out on the floor and get him some games (as a starter) too," noted Carlesimo. "We're not going to get the kind of resolution we want for a while."

Carlesimo also was asked about rookie Kevin Durant's progress as a playmaker. Over the last three games, when he's shot the ball better, Durant has also handed out 11 assists - as many as he had in his previous eight games. Carlesimo pointed out recently that Durant might have a few more assists if plays in which he set up teammates to go to the free-throw line counted in that category.

"I think he is becoming better, certainly, with his decision-making, certainly with his shot selection, and he is involving people more," Carlesimo said. "We're also putting him in more pick-and-rolls now than we did earlier. He's getting more assists."

Sonics Return to Furtado

It feels like an enternity since I attended a Sonics practice at The Furtado Center. Before today, they last practiced there on Nov. 10, which was a week and a half ago - but that's a long time in a season that's only three weeks old.

The Sonics got back to Seattle late Monday night after flying from Memphis and took yesterday off to rest. They're currently in their longest break of the early season, three days, which is useful after a long road trip that included five games in seven days. Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo admitted it would have been tough for the team if they'd had to play today; instead, they get two days to work on the practice court before hosting New Jersey Friday. They did some scrimmaging during the portion of the practice open to the media, as well as the usual shooting drills.

Some other notes:
- Carlesimo said Jeff Green's start on Monday in Memphis was to match up with the quick lineup employed by the Grizzlies. While the Sonics did not get off to a poor start and Green played well, recording his first career double-double, Carlesimo indicated he'd likely go back to the duo of Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison up front on Friday - depending on the availability of Robert Swift and Kurt Thomas, who have been sidelined recently. Swift and Thomas were able to go through part of Wednesday's practice.

- Over the next week or so, Carlesimo plans to meet with the players who have seen heavy minutes and discuss with them what he's seen as well as get their thoughts. With 12 games in the books, the Sonics are already more than 1/7 of the way through the season, which Carlesimo belives is a good enough stretch to have those kinds of discussions. They could be especially valuable for rookies Green and Kevin Durant, whom Carlesimo was planning to speak to at some point before Friday's game.

- Johan Petro did not practice because of a lower back strain.

Thomas Returns to Practice

Veteran Sonics center Kurt Thomas, who has missed the first six games of the season after suffering a strained right hamstring in practice just before the season, returned to practice Saturday. If he responds well, Thomas could make his Sonics debut Sunday against Detroit.

"We'll see what he feels like," said Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo. "If he feels good and (Athletic trainer) Mike (Shimensky) and the doctors say he's good, we'll give him some time tomorrow."

Thomas as part of the Sonics rotation at center could be part of the changes Carlesimo is expected to make on Sunday. The coaching staff has anticipated looking at different rotations and combinations over stretches of the early season because there are so many competitive positions on the roster. After giving the current group six games, it's time for a slightly different look.

"We'll see who's available, and then we'll see what we're going to do," said Carlesimo.

"The changes won't be wholesale changes - it will be a guy or two guys or something like that. And we'll tweak the minutes for a couple of people. There's some guys who have been getting more minutes, say, than somebody else. Now we'll try to bend it a little bit."

Another player who is likely to see a bigger role in coming games is point guard Luke Ridnour. The facemask Ridnour was wearing to protect his broken nose was a major factor in Carlesimo's decision to leave Ridnour out of the rotation early in the season. (Ridnour has played 11.3 minutes per game, but has not played in two of the six games.) Nearing five weeks since he broke his nose, Ridnour is able to ditch the facemask, which he did not wear during practice.

"His minutes are definitely going to go up in the near future," Carlesimo said. "Whether that's tomorrow or not, I can't say."

As for Thomas, his return to the lineup - whenever it comes - will be a major positive for the Sonics.

"I'm not sure what is realistic that he can bring immediately after basically not playing for nine days," said Carlesimo, "but when he's healthy, he brings a veteran player who's one of the better shooting bigs in the league, who's a very capable of physical post defender and somebody who's very experienced with a lot of savvy.

"People can have positive minutes, they can have negative minutes or they can be out there and not really tremendously affect you either way. At worst, Kurt's going to give us flat minutes. That alone is a plus. You're not going to get five guys giving you positive minutes all the time, but as long as you minimize people giving you negative minutes, that really helps."

Opening Night Lineup Takes Shape

31 hours away from the Sonics tipping off the season in Denver (7:30 p.m., FSN/ESPN, KTTH 770 AM), it appears this will be the fivesome that takes the floor to start the game:


PG - Earl Watson
SG - Kevin Durant
SF - Damien Wilkins
PF - Chris Wilcox
C - Nick Collison


Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo said Collison was very likely to start at center - about 95% likely, in fact. Robert Swift and Kurt Thomas, who strained his right hamstring during practice, are both listed as game-time decisions but Carlesimo called Swift "very doubtful" to play. He has not practiced much this week, which would make it difficult for him to be back in the lineup against Phoenix either - Carlesimo noting that the Suns are not really the opponent against whom you want to ease a player back to action.


The news is better for rookies Durant and Green. Both are considered game-time decisions, but they went through a second straight day of practice. The Sonics won't know for sure if the two will be available until seeing how they feel later today, after the flight to Denver, and tomorrow, but unless something changes they are both expected to play.


The first unit, along with Delonte West, and the second unit dummied through some plays on offense during the portion of practice open to the media, as well as running transition.


Luke Ridnour had his problematic facemask adjusted yesterday after practice, a change that should help him keep it on.

Carlesimo Leaning Toward Watson

Two days before the Sonics open the 2007-08 season Wednesday in Denver (7:30 p.m., FSN/ESPN, KTTH 770 AM), Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo is nearing a decision on the team's starter at point guard. It appears Earl Watson will get that call, in part because Luke Ridnour has been uncomfortable playing with the mask needed to protect his broken nose.

"I think it's been uncomfortable at best from the beginning, so my leaning right now would be to start Earl at point guard," said Carlesimo.

"I'd like to see Luke either get the mask situated or just get the mask behind him - use that as a reason to look at this particular rotation first. It (the competition at point guard) hasn't been a knockout for anybody. We probably didn't expect it to be. We've said all along we're probably going to have to look at some different rotations."

For the time being, it appears Delonte West will back up Watson at the point. In the extremely short term, West might have to be called upon to play heavy minutes at shooting guard Wednesday, which would make Ridnour the backup at point.

The rest of the starting lineup against the Nuggets will depend upon the status of several players. Rookies Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, who both have sprained left ankles, went through practice Monday and felt okay.

"Now," said Carlesimo, "it will be a question of how they come out of it, how they wake up tomorrow morning. If it doesn't swell or if it's not sore tomorrow, that would be a great sign."

Center Robert Swift's availability is also in question. That will defend how the Sonics line up in the frontcourt.

"I'm not sure what we're going to do," Carlesimo said. "That will depend on Robert. If Robert can't go, then we have to discuss whether we're going to start Nick (Collison) or Kurt (Thomas) at five. If Robert can go, then we're back to the Weezy (Chris Wilcox)-Nick thing."

Damien Wilkins figures to have secured a starting spot after starting six of the team's eight preseason games.

Sunday Practice Report

After taking Saturday off, the Sonics returned to the practice court at The Furtado Center on Sunday for a session P.J. Carlesimo described as "fair."

Kevin Durant rejoined the team after missing the last two games of the exhibition season with a sprained left ankle. He participated in a shooting drill and worked out with assistant coaches Scott Brooks and Brian Keefe after practice. We should get a chance to talk to Durant tomorrow.

Carlesimo was asked whether he's getting closer to deciding on his starting lineup - specifically, a starter at point guard.

"I'm coming closer because we have to make a decision," Carlesimo said, "but I'm not getting any closer to knowing what I want to do."

As far as the point, Carlesimo said Delonte West "did a good job (Friday) at both positions." As West gets more practice time, Carlesimo explained, he's beginning to do more good things as part of executing the offense as opposed to merely freelancing instinctively based on his talent. He's also getting more comfortable playing point guard.

Carlesimo was also asked about the fast break and said, "We're maybe farther along with our transition offense than almost any other area of our game."

Some areas where Carlesimo has not been as pleased include defending the three-point line (he explained that the Sonics will show their improvement in that regard when they reduce opponents' number of three-point attempts, moreso than their percentages; the Spurs defense has operated like this for some time) and free-throw shooting.

The Sonics shot a surprisingly low 69.3% from the free-throw line during the preseason; several guys didn't match the kind of performance you'd expect based on their past performance. Carlesimo almost always ends practice by having the team shoot free throws, with the number of shooters determined by an observer. Today, he had each of the seven shooters take two free throws - and the team made all 14 of them.

Monday's Practice

A quick update after today's session. We saw the team go through some transition drills, but that was about it.

Delonte West did not practice because of a right quad contusion. He is a game-time decision tomorrow night against Golden State. Robert Swift isn't likely to play much, if at all, in the game. At this point, back-to-backs are a tough order for Swift's knee, and he'll probably see more action against the bigger Blazers on Wednesday in Portland.

That means Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox will probably get an opportunity to work together on the court for the first time this preseason. P.J. Carlesimo also said that the team will look at Jeff Green and possibly Wally Szczerbiak as power forwards either tomorrow or Friday, when the Sonics face another running team in Phoenix.

Starting to Get Serious

As the Sonics move into the second half of their preseason schedule tonight, look for the coaching staff to begin approaching things more like the regular season.

We've got to try to find better combinations," said P.J. Carlesimo, "see if we can find two combinations (tonight) - essentially the 10 guys that are playing the most minutes (tonight) - to try to develop a little more consistency. That may change from game to game, but I'm not going to spend as much time (tonight) looking at who has not played equal minutes - other than Delonte (West). Not that everybody has had an equal share, but most guys have had a pretty good run."

So far, the rotation has been cut down to 10 primarily by injuries and players getting the night off. That will continue to some extent, but now the evaluation that has been done so far will come into play.

"I think it's more taking some individuals out of the mix," Carlesimo continued, "some individuals who haven't played well with different groupings. Just tighten it up and look at some guys who are playing better and reward that.

"We've got to get a few more people playing well so that we can play nine or 10 people over the course of the game and not have the peaks and valleys. You can't play A+ basketball for 48 minutes, but we can't go from D to D, and that's what we're tending to do right now."

The attitude will also change slightly when it comes to strategy. So far, the Sonics have been playing zone regularly. Because of the need to evaluate the zone, the coaching staff has been committing to the zone for a quarter or even a half per game whether it has worked or not.

"Maybe (tonight) and certainly next week if not (tonight), let's play it a little more legit," explained Carlesimo. "If we're getting lit up in man, we'll go zone. If we're getting lit up in zone, we'll go man. I think we have to do what we've done, but it's reaching a point of diminishing returns."

After surrendering 126 points to the L.A. Lakers Thursday in Bakersfield, the focus during Friday's practice was in defense. After we were let in, the team went through a 5-on-5 transition defense drill. The transition D was a big part of the issues as the Sonics started possessions out of position even when they didn't allow fast-break points. Carlesimo also cited the need to help the helper better and a focus on playing aggressive defense without fouling.

From a personnel standpoint, West practiced Friday after visiting Dr. Zorn, the Sonics team physician, on Thursday.

"Delonte looked good," observed Carlesimo. "How many minutes he'll be able to play I don't know. If he comes out of this good - if he comes in (this morning) feeling good - he'll go significant minutes at the point (tonight). (Tonight) could be a night to take Earl (Watson) out of the mix, but I suspect it's going to be dress him and see."

Kurt Thomas missed Friday's practice for personal reasons, but apparently he should be available tonight. Carlesimo said he wanted to talk with veterans Thomas and Wally Szczerbiak about how much they want to play over the next few games.

As for the Rockets, the surprise so far during camp is that it looks like new Head Coach Rick Adelman might favor a very familiar lineup with holdovers Rafer Alston and Chuck Hayes at point guard and power forward, respectively. Houston brought in new players at both positions, with Steve Francis and Mike James challenging Alston at point guard and rookie Luis Scola expected to become the starter at power forward.

Tonight is a homecoming for Aaron Brooks, the Franklin High School grad and Oregon product taken by the Rockets in the first round in June. Brooks won MVP honors in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas but faces an uphill battle to find playing time in a crowded Houston backcourt.