Hill wants Sonics to take it to the hoop

Sonics coach Bob Hill admits he became infatuated with the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade during last season's playoffs, and especially in the NBA Finals.

"Over the summer, he [Hill] kept sending me these, I guess you'd call them stats, on D-Wade, showing how many times he got to the basket and how successful he was around the rim," Sonics guard Earl Watson said. "He said the challenge for us as guards, and I guess as a team, was to make more layups."

Make more layups? Well, that seems simple.

"Believe me, it's not," guard Mike Wilks said. "There's a lot of big guys in this league. And a lot of great athletes who can cover a lot of ground. Unless you're wide open on a break, you don't see a lot of layups."

The Sonics weren't much of a layup-shooting team last season, and Hill has the statistics to prove it. With the help of assistant Walt Rock, he calculated the Sonics converted 48 percent of their layup attempts.

Even more damning, the Sonics were fourth in the NBA in free-throw percentage at 78.5, however they were 24th in free-throw attempts.

"What that tells you is that we shoot over the top of defenses too much," Hill said.

The Sonics were second in the league in scoring average (102.6), but part of the reason they were 15-24 in games decided by 10 points or less was because opponents were rarely in foul trouble.

But how does Hill get every Sonic to attack the basket from every angle? He wants forward Rashard Lewis to put the ball on the floor more and point guard Luke Ridnour to develop more shots in the key.

Hill also wants forwards Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison to improve their back-to-the-basket moves, though he has yet to counsel All-Star guard Ray Allen on his low-post game.

Allen injured

Everyone at the Furtado Center held their breath when Allen left the training facility early Saturday morning to undergo exams on the index finger on his right (shooting) hand.

Then everyone let out a sigh of relief after results showed that Allen did not suffer a break or fracture. Hill said Allen sprained his finger. He is day to day.

"You don't want to lose Ray, but when you coach Ray you understand that whatever precautions he has to take, you know he's going to be back as soon as he can," Hill said. "He's the ultimate pro."