If that was the last Seattle Supersonic home game I or anyone else will attend this season, we can say this about it at the very least -- it was a win. And it was a fabulous first half, with Vladimir Radmanovic giving Sonics fans yet another glimpse at what his career might yet hold, making five of five three pointers and seven of shots in the first half. You think Danny Ainge will learn to pronounce his name now?

The game was pretty much over at halftime; in hindsight, they should have just sent everybody home. Mentally, it looked like certain Seattle players had gone home. The ultra-professional Spurs, in the quiet yet constant demeanor of their head coach, Gregg Popovich, continued playing hard and might have made a game of it if they weren't down to basically seven healthy guys by the fourth quarter. But give San Antonio all the credit in the world for not giving up. They have now demonstrated three times in this series that their effort is not a function of the numbers on the scoreboard; it's an attitude the Seattle organization could probably use.

To me, the Spurs' second-half play did a lot more than simply make the final score look a lot nicer: It gave them confidence heading into game five. Think about the second half thusly: Without Tim Duncan or David Robinson, San Antonio 'beat' the Sonics by 14 in the second half. And Malik Rose got a chance to dust off his post skills and serve as the Spurs' star, providing a reasonable impersonation of Duncan and Robinson with his second-half play. That's bound to carry over into Friday's game five, and a big effort from Rose would not surprise me in the least.

On the other side, the Sonics may have forced this series to game five, but that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of questions the coaching staff -- and, by extension, me -- have to worry about. Foremost amongst these is Brent Barry. I bet there were some people who snickered at my pessimistic claim that Barry wouldn't score his average in this series, later upped a notch during game two to his not scoring double figures in this series. Thanks to the wonder of the internet, I can look up all sorts of silly stats as I compose my thoughts midway between three and four in the morning (I don't have a class tomorrow until two; get off my back). The pertinent one is this: From February 1 to the end of the regular season, Barry failed to tally double- figures just one time. He's now done it four in a row. I'm sorry, but there's something wrong here, and it goes deeper than the excellent defense of Bruce Bowen.

I hate to keep raising a red flag on the Barry issue, but it's my role as the 'candid' columnist to discuss both the good and the bad in keeping with how I see things objectively. And right now, Brent Barry is hurting the Sonics when he is on the court. Barry is in the game for one major reason -- shooting and scoring efficiently. His rebounding and ballhandling are nice, but without the shooting it's hard to differentiate Barry from Randy Livingston. Not only has Barry's shot been off, last night he suffered from the worst possible ailment to plague a shooter -- self-doubt. One memorable sequence in the second half stands out. Barry got the ball with about four on the shot clock and had a slightly contested 20-footer; a shot he should take and make. But instead he upfakes, nearly travels, and forces a pass to Desmond Mason at the top of the key. Mason has to throw up a prayer to beat the shot clock, and misses badly. Barry only shot three times last night, and that's not the Barry I know.

A part of me wants to use the same players in the playoffs that have been used in the regular season, but an even bigger part of me wants to win. Nate McMillan's loyalty to Barry might not have been a problem in game four without Duncan, but come Friday night the Sonics can't afford to have a hole in their lineup if Barry doesn't improve his performance. Of the two candidates to take Barry's minutes, Livingston and Ansu Sesay, I like Sesay right now. His size and length really changed the dynamic of the Seattle defense when he replaced Barry late in the first quarter last night, and he did a superb job on the boards, grabbing eight rebounds.

One of the big problems Barry's slump, along with Rashard Lewis' injury, creates for the Sonics is a lack of three-point threats in the lineup. That problem was really exacerbated in game three, when Radmanovic's sore toe rendered him ineffective. For most of the season, the Sonics were one of the NBA's most prolific three-point shooting teams, but they really slowed down throughout the month of April. It would hardly be a stretch to say that thier concurrent struggles were a coincidence. But last night, the three returned as a viable weapon, thanks primarily to Radmanovic. Let me say this; if the Sonics are to somehow take this series (and no, I don't see it), they will have to make at least six three-pointers along with a solid percentage.

While the Sonics may have many questions, there is still a great deal of uncertainty on the other side. The Spurs could be without several players for game five: Mark Bryant might be suspended if the league deems that he threw a punch at Mason in their second-half melee; Danny Ferry played sparingly with his sprained right wrist, though that might have been a case of Popovich wisely saving him for a game where he could have greater impact; Charles Smith seriously injured himself in a scary fall during the second half that had fans on both sides holding their breath; Tim Duncan's return from the Virgin Islands for game five is not yet certain, though I am expecting him to play; and David Robinson's status has become increasingly pessimistic throughout the series to the point where some feel he might not play again in the playoffs, let alone game five, for which he is officially listed as doubtful.

The possibility of a Willis Reed-esque return by either Duncan or Robinson for game five has to be a disturbing possibility for Seattle fans. Imagine Duncan, returning from grieving his father's death, being introduced before the game. It will be like setting match to timber for already passionate Spurs fans filling the Alamodome. Or worse yet, Robinson emerges from the tunnel at the end of pre-game warmups, unexpectedly joining the team in uniform. These, I'm afraid, are the kinds of stories that are told for many years to come. And while these intangible qualities may not score a point, their effect on the game's atmosphere is tangible indeed.

After going into quite some detail about strategical moves in one of my previous columns, I will be more brief here. I think the main thing the Sonics need to change defensively is how they play the pick-and-roll. Throughout the series, McMillan has opted to switch virtually every pick, allowing San Antonio to create sizable mismatches for first Duncan and, in game four, Rose. Gradually, the Sonics began to attempt to fight through the screens to avoid these mismatches. Of course, there is a serious potential problem with such a strategy -- a quick player like Parker will have more than enough time to get by his defender. Well, I guess it's a case of picking your poison: Parker hurtling toward the hoop, or Duncan defended by Radmanovic.

Gee, that's like asking whether I'd prefer to be audited by the IRS or interrogated by the FBI. Nothing good can come of either option, but obviously what the Sonics did in game three didn't work, so why not try the alternative strategy?

In the end, almost every possible non-roster/coach advantage favors the Spurs. They have home court, the potential lift from Duncan's return, and likely momentum after the second half. At worst, it's been a fun ride. . . .