Frank Hughes of the News Tribune reports that the Sonics are in the middle of a tailspin. Failure to execute in the fouth quarter has led to three straight losses, but Hughes suggests that Nate McMillan?s new rotations may have something to do with the slump.

With Vitaly Potapenko?s return from the injured list and Kenny Anderson?s missing practice, McMiian has tightened up his rotation. While the players won?t say anything, it?s obvious that the new rotation has negatively affected the offense.

"I'm trying to find a balance," McMillan said. "Right now, most of our best guys are small ... and Vitaly has come in and given us some pretty good minutes ... so we've gone with that.I cut the rotation to keep a flow to our play so we are not seeing such a drop in the way or the style we play. Because right now our players and the guys who are coming in with that (second) unit, I'm finding there is not a flow just because of the ability of the players that we have."

Reading between the lines, McMillan is saying that neither Anderson nor Calvin Booth is playing well enough to merit playing time, despite contracts that pay Anderson $9.185 million this season, second highest on the team, and Booth $4.992 million, sixth highest.

McMillan says the lack of playing time for Booth and Anderson is not punishment for lackluster play. He insist he is playing the matchup game. "I'm looking at matchups," McMillan said. "What I'm dealing with is finding that balance that can give it to me on the offensive end and the defensive end."

His biggest problem is finding lineups that are balanced offensively and defensively. "You are trying to get both and some of our guys don't give us both. I have to be careful with substitutions and matchups because some matchups (are going to fail)."

With Charlotte coming into the league in 2004, a realignment will be needed.  Right now there are 15 teams in the east and 14 in the west.

David DuPree of the USA Today expects Charlotte to be in the east, so one team is going to have to head west.

Going from the map, that would be New Orleans.  But Memphis has been trying to escape the stiffer competition out west, so would they consider moving Memphis to the east while Chicago and Milwaukee head west?  Unlikely.

DuPree also reports that the player conditions for the new Charlotte team have been settled.

Charlotte will get the fourth pick in the 2004 draft.  In future years they will pick wherever they land in the draft, with no restrictions.

At the end of the 2003/04 season, teams will all be able to protect eight players that they have under contract for the 2004/05 season.  Charlotte will be able to select up to one player from each team.

Dupree says to expect older players with ugly contracts to be available, citing Damon Stoudamire and his $15.8 million salary being a prime candidate.

Charlotte will be able to sign free agents like other teams (not if they take on Stoudamire?s salary!).  But for the first season their salary cap will be two-thirds what other teams have, and in the second season it will be three-quarters what other teams have.

Although each team gets about $10.3 million from the $300 million expansion fee Charlotte is paying, it won?t take too many years for that to be offset by each team?s loss in national TV revenue.

Shira Springer of the Boston globe reports that Baron Davis? consecutive games streak ended last night. Davis had played in every one of his 252 career games until missing last night?s game against the Celtics with back spasms. The decision to sit out last night was tough for Davis to make, but it was the right way to go since pain has clearly limited his effectiveness.

Davis doesn?t know when he will return to the court. He will continue to stretch and work out and evaluate his back on a daily basis.

''[The pain] never leaves,'' said Davis. ''Sometimes even when I look like I'm moving a lot better, then my spasms will come. It's just something that I've dealt with throughout the year, that I've played with throughout the year. It feels weird not being able to play.

''It was really after the Knick game [Saturday] when I talked to a lot of my friends and family on the phone. They were telling me I didn't even look like myself. Talking to some of the veteran guys like Stacey Augmon and Elden Campbell... They gave me some good advice as far as, if you can play and play to your full capability, then play. But if you can't, then it's not worth it because I'm only in my fourth year and I've got a long career ahead of me.''

Davis is second on the team in scoring (16.6 points per game) and first in assists (8.3).

Even though Davis and Boston guard Paul Pierce are close friends, Pierce was glad to see Davis out of the lineup on Sunday. ''When their All-Star player isn't playing, the guy who makes them go ... I look forward to playing against him, but hey, if you're trying to get a win and he gives them their best chance of winning when he's out there ... it's to our advantage.''