By grumpyd
Bernie Bickerstaff and crew improved compared to the previous two disastrous seasons. Though Lenny
Wilkens was gone now as GM, he had made several changes before he left: Jack Sikma was gone, now
replaced by Alton Listless . . . um, I mean Alton Lister. Lister lacked an offensive game, but was a good
shotblocker and generally solid defender. Dale Ellis had been neglected on Dallas' talented squad, but the
Mavs wanted Al Wood and Lenny obliged -- finally, the Sonics had some outside shooting. And in the
second round Lenny picked Nate McMillan, their point guard of the future, out of North Carolina State.
Danny Vranes and Tim McCormick went to Philadelphia in return for Clemon Johnson and a 1989 first-round
draft pick, which would become Shawn Kemp.
A noticeable improvement came on the road. At home, the Sonics were 25-16, but on the road they
improved their winning by seven games, going 14-27. Their 39-43 record was eight games better than the
year before.
But even more significant was that Bernie Bickerstaff finally unleashed the hounds. The Sonics no longer
played slug-slow ball. The Hawk, the X-Man, and the rest were free to run. Instead of having the fourth
worst offense in the league, the Sonics averaged 113.7 points per game, fifth best. Their rebounding
improved to be the third best in the NBA (they were the top offensive rebounding team) while averaging
48.2% from the field, just above average that year. Their assists, steals, and blocked shots were up too –
and so were their turnovers (fifth highest in the league.) On defense, they were a bit below average, but
Alton Lister, Maurice Lucas and Nate McMillan helped them from being a paper tiger.
On both ends of the court, the team was much more exciting than the previous year.
Tom Chambers was a starter onto the All Star team. The Hawk showed what he could do -- he led the West
to a victory, scoring 34 points, and nabbing 4 steals -- and was named MVP of the All Star game in front of
the home fans (the game was played in the Coliseum).
Meanwhile, Dale Ellis, Chambers, and Xavier McDaniel provided an offensive show -- each averaged over
23 points per game.
The Lineup:
Every starter had a career best in at least one statistical category. Perhaps it was an omen of things to come in the playoffs. Or maybe it was the fact that they all had nicknames. . . .
Alton Lister had his best year as a Sonic. The 7-0, 240 pound center had played the past five years in Milwaukee, having established himself as a conservative player who excelled at shot blocking. He averaged 11.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game while playing a career high 30.5 minutes per game. Despite not having much of a shot (he did have a hook shot, though it wasn't terrific), he shot over 50% from the field and a career high 67.5% from the line.
Tom Chambers also had his best year as a Sonic. The 6-10, 230 pound power forward also saw time at center. The Hawk's defense continued to be inconsistent, and he continued to foul and turn the ball over at astonishingly high rates, but he was a terrific one on one player and could drive almost at will to the hoop -- with one exception. Against physical defense, he tended to get distracted, and often ended up pushing back (and being called for offensive fouls) rather than driving by his man. This year he averaged 23.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, a career high 3 assists, and a steal per game. He also developed a reliable three point shot, and shot 37% from the three point line, along with 85% from the free throw line and 45.6% from the field.
Xavier McDaniel, 6-7, 215, now in his second year, had arguably his best year as a Sonic. (What was it about the 86-87 season?) The X-Man averaged career highs in scoring (23 points), rebounding (8.6), steals (1.4), and field goal percentage (50.9%). He still fouled too much and turned the ball over, and still tended to look for a fight too often. He loved to work inside, driving, dunking, and offensive rebounding (4.1 per game, which was nearly as high as his defensive rebounding, at 4.5 per game.) On defense, he seemed to emulate Chambers in being physical, inattentive, and irritable.
Dale Ellis (6-7, 215) made a splash in his first year as a Sonic. He was a deadly jumpshooter from outside, and despite being slow afoot he had an extremely quick release on his shot -- not to mention he was accurate. Lamar Mundane (his nickname) was anything but; he averaged 25 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, along with career best 51.6% shooting from the field. His addition was one of the best things the Sonics had done in quite a while. Though he came in with a reputation as a decent defender, I have heard from some that he was a terrible defender as well. It seemed to me that he played decent position defense, but like some of the other Sonics was a bit inconsistent at it.
Rookie Nate McMillan took over the reigns of the club as soon as Gerald Henderson left for New York. Mac looked quite mature for a rookie. He wasn't much of a scorer, but he had a great awareness on both ends of the court -- his defense was great, as were his rebounding (for a guard) and his passing. However, he missed 11 games that season due to injury. Playing less than 28 minutes per game, Nate averaged 5.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 8.2 assists (seventh in the league), 1.8 steals, and shot a career best 47.5% from the field.
One positive addition to the team was tough-guy Maurice Lucas, now in his 13th season. The 6-9, 235 pound power house was limited by shoulder problems, but still managed 20 minutes of valuable inside presence per game. Luke averaged about 8 points and 5 rebounds (3.5 defensive.) He missed 19 games because of his injuries.
Fast Eddie Johnson (the 6-2 point guard, not the 6-8 sweet shooting small forward) was valuable when he did play, just 24 games on two consecutive 10-day contracts before he was signed for the remainder of the season. In his only season as a Sonic and the last of his career, he averaged 9 points and 4.8 assists in just 20 minutes a night behind McMillan.
Danny Young continued to come off the bench, contributing some three point shooting and about 4 assists per game. Veteran Clemon Johnson (6-10, 240) backed up Lister, and Kevin Williams backed up Ellis at shooting guard -- though he fouled too much (a foul every 4.6 minutes!)
In the regular season, Seattle did well against Houston (42-40), winning four of five games. They also beat Utah three of five times in the regular season. But as the seventh seed in the West, the Sonics faced the mighty Dallas Mavericks (55-27), who had swept Seattle 5-0 in the regular season.
Playoff Miracles:
1st round: Seattle (39-43) vs. Dallas (57-25)
Dallas had a talented team. Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper, Sam Perkins, Detlef Schrempf, James Donaldson, Roy Tarpley, and (yes) Al Wood provided a combination of great offense and good defense that led the Mavs to the top of the Midwest Division. They must have figured Seattle would be no problem -- a sweep, perhaps, as in the regular season.
It seemed that way in game one, as Dallas clobbered the Sonics 151-129.
The Sonics weren't a great defensive team, but 151 points? That's embarrassing.
They must have changed something in their game plan -- exactly what I'm not sure (I'm still researching this year, so if you have ideas please add them.) But the Sonics' defense suddenly awoke. Game two, at Dallas, was close, but Seattle pulled it out 112-110. The key, of course, was that the Mavs scored 41 fewer points than the previous game.
Game three, in Seattle, showed even better defense, and was all Seattle, 117-107. Suddenly the Sonics were up 2-1 and the Mavs must have been scratching their heads, wondering how a three-player team could beat them.
Seattle answered that question by playing their best defense of the series, blowing the Mavs out 124-98. They looked like they had become a new team.
2nd round: Seattle (42-44) vs. Houston (45-41)
Sure, the Rockets had Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson -- the original twin towers -- along with role players like Robert Reid and Rodney McCray. But they didn't have great ball handling, and their outside game was weak.
Houston had beaten a good Portland team (49-33) in the first round, but they had struggled against the Sonics in the regular season. And the Sonics were playing with confidence. The only thing Houston had going for it was a home court advantage.
That advantage didn't last long. In Game one, at Houston, the game went into overtime and Seattle ended up winning 111-106. Game two went to the Sonics 99-97.
The teams came to Seattle with the Sonics leading the series 2-0.
Then the Sonics offense seemed to go completely dead. No one was hitting their shots, and the Sonics looked flustered. Houston whipped them 102-84.
Seattle recovered, however, won 117-102, and then back in Houston lost 112-107. Game six was in Seattle, and if the Sonics didn't win the series would be tied and going back to Houston for game seven.
Game six went into double overtime. Seattle somehow pulled it out, 128-125. The lowly Seattle SuperSonics, just 31-51 the year before, were headed to the Western Conference Finals.
Western Conference Finals: Seattle (46-46) vs. L.A. Lakers (73-18)
The Lakers had gone 65-17 that year -- and in the playoffs they had swept Denver and trounced Golden State in 5 games. With Magic, Kareem, Byron Scott, James Worthy, A.C. Green, Michael Cooper, Mychal Thompson, and Kurt Rambis, they were awesome on both ends of the court.
Seattle had managed to win two of six regular season games against the Lakers, so they had at least some hope.
Game one was close -- a defensive struggle, going to the Lakers 92-87. Gradually, the offenses of both teams revved up -- Game two went 112-104 to the Lakers; Game three 122-121, Lakers; and Game four, 133 102, Lakers. Not bad defense, but the Lakers were clearly the superior team. They had burst the Sonic bubble.
14 playoff games: I hoped this would be the sign of a Sonic resurgence.