NORTHWEST PASSAGES

What papers in the Seattle area are saying about the series:

STEVE KELLY, SEATTLE TIMES

Here they are again. Back in their familiar spring vacation spot.

Hoop Hell.

This could be the last dance for retiring Nate McMillan, embattled Coach George Karl and 14-year veteran Sam Perkins.

It could be the last game inside KeyArena for a group that breathed life back in the game in this city.

These Sonics got an arena built. They won a Western Conference championship and four Pacific Division titles.

Owner Barry Ackerley might not have the rings he publicly hungers for, but he has had three seasons of sellouts and dozens of nights when his house rocked with each Sonic run.

This isn’t always the most talented team, but it usually is the most entertaining. Nothing has been humdrum. Everything has seemed problematic.

Watching this team is a little like watching James Cameron and a little like watching “Jerry Springer.” Sometimes an epic. Sometimes a family feud.

This has been the classic end-of-the-millennium team. It was never perfect, but it was never dull. It has been a team with promises to keep. A seven-year itch. A seven-year ecstasy.

You thought losing “Seinfeld” was going to be hard?

How do you say goodbye to McMillan after 12 years of quiet competitiveness? His career isn’t a dazzling highlight film. It’s a basketball textbook. It is the game with a brain.

How can you picture Karl coaching somewhere else? Portland? The L.A. Clippers? San Antonio? Denver? Time passes. Teams change. Eras die.

Ricky Pierce. Eddie Johnson. Sam Perkins. Frank Brickowski. Ervin Johnson. Shawn Kemp. Vince Askew. All of them should be remembered tonight.

Detlef Schrempf. Dale Ellis. Hersey Hawkins. A thirty-something team that has brought a sense of anticipation back to basketball in Seattle.