As I write this column it is currently one and a half hours away from tip-off between the Seattle SuperSonics and the Utah Jazz. Everyone already knows which Utah squad will hit the floor for tonight’s game, the same one that gives Seattle trouble every time they meet, but which Sonics unit will come out to play is often a question mark. The Sonics thus far this season have run hot and cold, leaving many to grasp for reasons as to why this team has a difficult time maintaining their intensity.

Tonight the Sonics face the Jazz after experiencing the luxury of a four-day rest from competition, a seeming eternity in the hectic, fast paced lifestyle of the NBA. For many fans this layoff is just as troubling as an overly active stretch in the schedule, as it is hard to predict the effect it will have on the mind set of the team. The potential exists for one of two things to happen. Either the Sonics will come out with fire and determination, being well rested, recuperated, and ready for the ever-daunting Jazz. Or with the long layoff the Sonics will develop rust; their readiness and focus will have gone soft like their bodies and reflexes after being away from the NBA fire for too long.

Being away from the fire too long is exactly what happened to the Sonics on January 4, when after a five day lull in the schedule the Sonics came out flat and experienced a total team collapse losing to the 76ers 87-77. On that night against Philadelphia, Rashard Lewis and Shammond Williams tied as the team’s high scorers with 15 points apiece. For many, this game was an indicator that Seattle cannot handle so much time away from actual game exposure.

This one flat-footed game in and of itself however, is no reason to believe prolonged rest is a consistent obstacle to the Sonics’ success. In Seattle’s one and only other experience of this sort this season they were able to wreck the Clippers in a 101-90 victory in which Gary Payton scored 43 points after four days down time on December 27.

Another situation that concerns Sonics faithful this season is the second night of back-to-back games. In this situation the Sonics are now 2-8 after losing the first 8 straight. This trend started early for the Sonics with a loss to a weak Heat squad back on November 6, which left fans searching for excuses. The most oft used explanation for the Sonics' poor performance became fatigue, both mental and physical; the Sonics were depleted from the previous night's exploits.

The problem with this theory is that these are professional athletes. The constant grinding of an NBA schedule does take its toll on these men but at the onset of the season these guys are fresh; ten minutes more game time shouldn’t be able to exhaust them, and one fewer day preparation shouldn’t be able to shake their training and confidence.

If the Second day game curse were due to fatigue it would seem that the least fit Sonics, (both physically and psychologically), would be the ones most prone to fall prey to it. Following this line of thinking I went back and examined the box scores of all the Sonics second day games. What I expected to find was let downs from Baker and Barry. Baker due to possibly being more psychologically susceptible and Barry because I’ve always seen him as a barometer for the team, as he goes so go the Sonics. What I did find was that everyone is susceptible. When it wasn’t Baker or Barry letting the team down it was Mason, Lewis, or Booth, who hasn’t had many opportunities to give disappointing performances but still hasn’t been immune; even Gary has had disappointing outings. Perhaps the only predictable outcome, as they are the two youngest of Seattle’s pivotal players, was that Lewis and Mason were most often the culprits of sub par execution.

The only conclusion that can be drawn from seeing that on any given night any of these key Sonics can go cold, is that the real problem is inconsistency, not fatigue. This isn’t to say that there is no problem, but instead to say that the problem lies more in the system as a whole instead of simply preparation for the second game of a two-day stretch. There is a quote I once heard in regards to explaining the phenomenon of random violence, it stated that “random violence by its very nature is both random and violent”, meaning it was almost impossible to assign any reason to. By this same token I claim that inconsistency by its very nature is inconsistent, trying to find a rhythm or system to it would be absolute frustration.

I find it interesting that on some occasions we as fans refuse to admit these professional NBA players are actual people; we see them as heroes and put them up on pedestals. And on other occasions we think them too human, so fragile that a small change in their day-to-day routines drastically affects the way they perform their jobs. Players aren’t machines, they have off nights, but eating Wheaties doesn’t truly make one a champion. A champion has to be ready to get up for the second game or the game next week, even if the cupboard that morning only holds Cheerios.

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