it's about WANTING to play FOR the Coach

[kevin from singapore <bostonceltics17@yahoo.com>]

Seattle goes 7-3 under McMillan after firing of Westphal
By Jim Cour, Associated Press, 12/19/2000 20:45
SEATTLE (AP) Nate McMillan is winning with the same players who were
piling up all those losses under Paul Westphal.
With a record of 7-3 since McMillan took over, the Seattle SuperSonics
are pointed back in the direction of the playoffs after starting off
the season 6-9.
''We are playing better basketball,'' McMillan said Tuesday. ''I think
the guys are getting the message that we want to play harder, we want
our focus.
''Have we turned it around?'' he asked. ''I think we have taken a step
in the right direction. Guys are working harder and they're focusing
on what we want to do.''
McMillan became the Sonics' interim head coach following the firing of
Westphal on Nov. 27. He's got the Sonics winning again with a vastly
improved defense and an enthusiastic style of play.
The Sonics will try to make it four straight victories when they face
Pacific Division leader Sacramento on Wednesday night at home. They'll
also travel to Sacramento for a game Saturday night.
In the first game between the Sonics and the Kings this season,
Sacramento won 125-101. Two days later, Westphal was gone.
Under McMillan, Gary Payton, Patrick Ewing, Rashard Lewis, Ruben
Patterson and Vin Baker are playing with a different level of
intensity.
The players were unhappy playing for Westphal, who was in his third
season as the coach in Seattle. It's the opposite feeling playing for
the popular McMillan.
''Coach McMillan is a great guy,'' said Patterson, who started nine
games for Westphal. ''Coach McMillan knows what he's doing, he knows
what he's talking about. He just wants the guys to work and that's
what we're doing.
''Everybody respects him. We'll go from there,'' Patterson said.
Since the coaching change, the Sonics have beaten the defending NBA
champion Los Angeles Lakers twice, on the road and at home, while also
winning at Portland.
''Has there been change?'' asked McMillan, a former Sonics guard who
was an assistant under Westphal. ''Yes. I think there has been a
change in our attitude and our approach to the game, which is really
what I wanted from these guys.''
McMillan made two changes in Westphal's starting lineup. He's starting
journeyman Emanual Davis in the backcourt with Payton, a six-time
All-Star point guard, and Davis is handling the ball some of the time,
too.
Jelani McCoy, a young forward who played sporadic minutes under
Westphal, was moved into the starting lineup to take the place of
Baker. McMillan put Baker on the bench in the role of backup center to
Ewing.
The Sonics dug themselves a hole under Westphal. Now, McMillan thinks
his team can make the long climb into the playoffs in the competitive
West.
''I think we can,'' McMillan said. ''The bottom line is we have to
keep working. We have a long way to go. But I think we have started
off in the right direction.''
In a 99-81 victory over Miami here last Friday night, Ewing played
what was probably his strongest game in Seattle.
Ewing had 16 points, 10 rebounds and a blocked shot in 30 minutes,
while helping hold down the Heat's Brian Grant to five points and
0-for-6 shooting.
Ewing, 38, came to the Sonics in a four-team, 12-player trade from the
New York Knicks on Sept. 20. He's averaging 9.8 points, 8.5 rebounds,
1.16 blocks and 29.2 minutes in his first 25 games in Seattle.
Ewing may be a fading star, but McMillan is happy with him.
''Patrick is a guy who is smart, who understands the game and who is
in the right place at the right time most of the time,'' McMillan
said. ''He rebounds for us, he blocks shots, he scores when we go to
him. So he's doing fine.''