Surprise! Surprise! Sonics off to 6-1 start

SEATTLE (AP) — Nate McMillan has to pinch himself when he looks at the standings of the NBA's new Northwest Division.

There in first place are his Seattle SuperSonics, a team that lost its opener to the Clippers in Los Angeles by 30 points this month after going 2-6 in the exhibition season.

”We're playing the game hard, we're playing the game together,” said McMillan, the Sonics coach said. ”I can live with the outcome whatever it is as long as we play hard and we play unselfish basketball.”

Effort is important in Seattle. This is a Sonics team that the experts predicted would miss the playoffs again this season and perhaps have a tough time matching its 37 wins of last season.

”Whether it's a surprise to a lot of people — and I think it is — to me, I just respect the way we're playing,” McMillan said.

After their 114-84 loss to the Clippers that seemed to reinforce the preseason predictions for them, the Sonics have won six in a row, including a 118-113 victory over Memphis Sunday night at home in a game in which they rallied back after trailing by 21 points late in the third quarter.

The Grizzlies won 50 games and made the playoffs last season, but the Sonics outscored them 34-13 in the final quarter.

The Sonics also have home wins over San Antonio and Sacramento and, a win in Denver this season. All were playoff teams last season, with the Tim Duncan-led Spurs expected to be a championship contender again this season. Seattle beat them by 19.

”Everyone in our locker room, we know we can play,” said new starting point guard Luke Ridnour. ”We don't listen to what people say about us. We're just going to keep playing hard. We're not going to change anything. We're just going to keep playing hard.”

The Sonics have to play hard because they're not endowed with the most talent in the league.

They have four-time All-Star Ray Allen in the backcourt and small forward Rashard Lewis, their second best offensive option, but they don't have a lot after that although backup point guard Antonio Daniels has been excellent. He scored 28 points against Memphis.

”When they have a third guy step up his game, that makes them tough,” the Grizzlies' Shane Battier said. ”Rashard and Ray will always be there and, most teams will focus on stopping those guys. If someone else comes up big, they're in good shape.”

With the loss of starting center Vitaly Potapenko with a broken finger during the preseason, the Sonics have used 7-foot-1 Jerome James at center. In 15 minutes against Memphis, James had seven points, no rebounds and four fouls.

During the summer, the Sonics didn't do much to improve themselves after missing the playoffs for the second straight year except to add veteran power forward Danny Fortson in a trade with Dallas for center Calvin Booth.

The 6-foot-8, 277-pound Fortson has given the Sonics an inside defensive presence they didn't have last season. Duncan seemed intimidated by Fortson in the San Antonio game, shooting 4-for-16.

Fortson, averaging 9.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in 16 minutes, didn't play against Memphis because he was suspended without pay for one game by the NBA for throwing an elbow that hit Toronto forward Chris Bosh in the chin the previous game.

The Sonics players appreciate the dirty work Fortson does for them. They said they missed him against the Grizzlies.

”It seemed like the mood was a little dead starting off the game,” Allen said.

Fortson will be back with the Sonics when they open a six-game, 10-day road trip Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Seattle also will play New Jersey, Toronto, Boston, Minnesota and Memphis on the trip.

Seattle's undersized starting power forward, Reggie Evans, will be glad to see Fortson back. He's liked a brother now that he's on the Sonics' side, Evans said.

”When somebody is down, somebody else has to stick up for him,” Evans said. ”That's the whole principal of having a big brother. Besides teammates, we've got to be a family here. You've got to stick up for each other through thick and thin.”

But Allen, who is averaging 26 points after pouring in a season-high 34 against Memphis, thinks the Sonics can't think too far ahead of themselves because the season is only seven games old. The Sonics started off 5-1 last season.

”It could turn at the drop of a dime,” he said.