Notebook: Radmanovic looks for shot

Vladimir Radmanovic gives the impression of a dashing, devil-may-care maverick, which isn't entirely accurate. He cares. So much so that the Sonics' reserve forward worked tirelessly to return a week earlier than projections after trainers detected a fracture in his lower right leg five weeks ago.

He targeted last Monday's game in Minnesota as a return date. And when that became impossible, he made sure he would be ready for tomorrow's start of the first-round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings.

"I hope I'm going to be able to help them right away," Radmanovic said after a 75-minute workout yesterday, his first practice with the Sonics since being placed on the injured list April 18. "That's my main goal. That's what I've been doing all season long. Unfortunately that injury came at the wrong time, but better early than late.

"If I'm healthy through the playoffs, I don't see a big deal out of it."

Radmanovic endured hours of aquatic therapy, labored on the treadmill while wearing a weighted vest and ran sprints alone in an empty gym.

This isn't how the Sonics' resident diva is supposed to act. Not the one they call "Broadway Joe."

And yet he arrived 45 minutes before yesterday's afternoon practice and launched about 100 three-pointers alongside Ray Allen and Antonio Daniels, searching for the cadence that usually is as natural as his heartbeat.

Catch. Aim. Release. Swish.

Catch. Aim. Release. Clank!

Catch. Aim. Release. ...

It's the not knowing what happens next that terrifies him now. Where will the shot go?

Even at his best — when Radmanovic was the Sonics' X-factor, as Daniels likes to say, and a leading candidate for sixth man of the year — Radmanovic was never completely certain of the outcome after the ball left his fingertips.

He made 8 of 14 three-pointers for 26 points on Jan. 26 at Utah, then missed all eight shots and went scoreless the next night, starting a three-game spiral in which he converted just 6 of 28 field goals.

That's the trouble with shooters as finely tuned as Radmanovic.

It's even harder to predict his fortunes after he missed 19 games and struggled in the seven games before being placed on the injured list.

All season, coach Nate McMillan has wrestled with the question of whether to keep Radmanovic on the floor for his offense or replace him with a defensive-minded player.

"It depends on how he looks," McMillan said. "Is his shot off? What's the situation? If the game is tight. My feel for do we need him out there to space? Will he hit this next one? The matchup maybe they have out on the floor guarding him. It will be based on the feel of the game."

The Sonics posted a 9-10 record without Radmanovic, including a 2-8 mark to end the season. Yesterday, they welcomed back their long-range marksman with open arms.

When asked how long it would take to get accustomed to Radmanovic in the lineup, Ray Allen said: "About two minutes. ... We've been playing basketball our whole lives. You just add a person into a scheme, you know, this is what you do.

"Vlade knows the plays. The only difference for him is whether he'll make that shot that he normally made."

Notes

• F Rashard Lewis did not practice yesterday to rest the tendinitis in his left knee, but he is expected to work out today and start tomorrow.

• Rookie C Robert Swift and reserve G Mateen Cleaves were placed on the injured list and not included on the playoff roster, which makes them ineligible for the remainder of the season.

• There are roughly 800 tickets remaining for tomorrow' s game at KeyArena and 2,500 left for Tuesday's Game 2.