<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">After two consecutive home losses, the mood at the Sonics practice facility was strung tightly. Even the losing streak was a sensitive subject when McMillan was asked about the little slump. "Mini-slump?" McMillan asked rhetorically. "We lost two. Expectations have changed around here." It wasn't just after practice that everyone was strung tight, but during it, too. The Sonics practiced for 90 minutes on the court and then watched an hour of footage from Tuesday's two-point loss. The local referees the team pays to officiate practice were dispatched earlier than usual. Fortson was sent home after that, going to his car and driving off. After the team's film session, McMillan came out to the team's practice court to answer questions. As he began talking, strength coach Dwight Daub shut the blinds on the windows looking into the team's weight room. Most days, the blinds remain open. All-Stars Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis didn't come out to answer questions. Jerome James, Antonio Daniels and Nick Collison were three of the only players to speak as the Sonics battened down the hatches while McMillan kept a stiff upper lip during the post-practice Q&A. Was the workout longer or shorter than he planned? "It went about right," McMillan said. Any messages getting sent? "Yes," McMillan said. "We are in a time of the season that the intensity of the game is different than it was say, a month ago or a few weeks ago, simply because you're more than a month and a few days away from the season being over. These teams that have come in here are coming in here with that type of intensity."</div> Source
