Swift's knee fine in return for Sonics

Watching game film is a normal routine, but Tuesday it was an arduous task for Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo.

"It was worse than watching it the first time," said Carlesimo of the team's 10-point loss to Chicago on Monday, which ended a three-game winning streak.

The lack of rebounding, which helped the Bulls attempt 16 more shots, consumed the coach so much he said he didn't fully digest one of the few Sonics highlights. Despite missing 41 games, fourth-year center Robert Swift was able to return to play and be effective in five minutes against the Bulls.

Swift last played Nov. 11, suffering complications with his surgically repaired right knee. He gained too much muscle mass and admitted to doing "too much too fast" when he originally returned to play to begin the season. Swift played in five games in November, averaging 1.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in 16.0 minutes.

On Monday, the 7-footer started the fourth quarter to help the Sonics' matchup against Aaron Gray, the Bulls' 7-foot rookie center who finished the game with 14 points and four rebounds. Although Gray wasn't slowed, Swift had one block on a Joakim Noah reverse layin and hit both of his midrange jump shots off feeds from guard Luke Ridnour.

"Coach told me at halftime to be ready, 'You might be going in,' " said Swift, who was originally told he'd have to wait until he participated in two full practices before seeing playing time. "I was watching, seeing what they were doing and was ready to go.

"It [the knee] felt pretty good. I've been doing a lot of conditioning, which of course is nothing like playing and getting the conditioning while actually playing, but it felt good and there were no problems with the knee. I was not as bad as I thought I would be."

Swift, 22, has still missed three-times as many games due to injury (224) than he's played (69) since being drafted out of high school with the No. 12 overall pick in 2004. And while Swift has dealt with his knee on the sideline, lower picks from the same draft like Kevin Martin (Sacramento), Chris Duhon (Chicago) and Trevor Ariza (Los Angeles Lakers) made significant dents in wins against the Sonics (12-36) the past two months.

Minnesota's Al Jefferson didn't win in two games against Seattle, but he did average 19.0 points and 12.5 boards in the games.

Carlesimo said he's going to work Swift into the rotation and his minutes will vary on the player's conditioning and the health of the other bigs, who played well during the Sonics' seven-game homestand.

"He looked fine," said Carlesimo of Swift at practice. "He's not sprinting up and down the floor, but he wasn't limping. Some guys we kind of spotted them in, the guys that were a little tired, but Robert was one of the guys we let do everything. He was fine."

Injury update

Sonics forward Wally Szczerbiak (right-ankle sprain) and guard Delonte West (left-quad strain) did not practice Tuesday. They are game-time decisions for tonight's game at Sacramento (22-24).

Guard Luke Ridnour is suffering from a right-ankle sprain but was able to participate. Rookie Kevin Durant is fighting off a cold but said he'll play.

Forward Jeff Green returned to the floor after missing the past two games due to a left-ankle sprain. Carlesimo said if Green is able to play tonight, he will return to the starting position in place of veteran Damien Wilkins.

Word from

the D-League

Sonics assistant coach Mark Bryant watched forward Mickael Gelabale and center Mouhamed Sene play this week in the D-League. Gelabale has appeared in two games since being demoted and is averaging 17.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in 29.5 minutes. Sene has played in 14 games, none as a starter, and is averaging 12.3 points and 8.0 boards in 26.2 minutes.

"He played well," Carlesimo said of Gelabale. "His stats weren't good, but he defended very well. Mo had a good, solid game."

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com