"One week. That's all it took. One lousy week to ruin another season," my friend Jim Ratt moaned last night in the final seconds of the Sonics' embarrassing 97-91 loss to the horrific Chicago Bulls.

"Mark my words, this team won't make the playoffs, not after an eyesore like this.

"This was a disgrace. You hear me? A disgrace. You don't lose to the Bulls at home and tell me you have a chance to make the playoffs. All the good feeling from last week's road trip is gone. And so are the playoffs."

Ratt was on a roll, and I wasn't about to stop him.

"Where was Rashard Lewis tonight? He wants to be a million-dollar player?" Ratt asked.

"He wasn't worth a hundred bucks tonight. And would someone please file a missing-persons report on Brent Barry? Did someone forget to tell them there was a game tonight?"

I asked Ratt if he wanted to stay for the Franklin-Mark Morris high-school game that followed.

"Yeah," he said. "I want to see some basketball before I leave this building. Since when are the Sonics and the Bulls a warmup act for a high-school game? Come to think of it, that's exactly what they were. I mean, this game didn't wake up the echoes of the '96 Finals between these two. This was only the Bulls' second road win, I mean even Dale Ellis has better luck on the road.

"I came into this week thinking I was watching a playoff team. I thought that the Sonics had survived their killer schedule. I mean, the only thing missing from the last road trip was a stop in Kandahar. The worst of the road was over. And now this. ... "

There it was, the cloud of doubt had reappeared over Ratt's once-sunny disposition. All of the questions the Sonics bring into every game went unanswered in this third home loss in a row. Will Vin Baker, the only post-up presence other than Payton, stay healthy? Can Barry, the shooting guard, bring it every night? Can Lewis be more insistent and less laid back? Can Desmond Mason continue to grow into a monster of a sixth man? And will somebody, anybody, besides Baker and Payton score in the paint?

"Let's face it," Ratt said, upset that he couldn't drink beer at the high-school game, "there isn't much talent on this team. The fact that they're even at .500 is a tribute to Coach Nate McMillan.

"I believe, if it weren't for Gary Payton, this team would be Golden State. He's averaging almost a double-double in points and assists. He still is playing 40-plus minutes a game. Still making all the big shots. And someday soon, he is going to ask the Sonics about his future in Seattle. He's going to get more serious about a contract extension.

"Look, you don't need Jayson Williams or Pat Croce to tell you the Sonics aren't the Lakers or the Kings. They couldn't beat Sacramento at home the other night when the Kings didn't have Chris Webber. They're nowhere close to taking the next step into late May, when the real games are played. I'm not sure they could have beaten the Harlem Globetrotters tonight.

"And now I know they have the kind of difficult decisions to make in the offseason. Do they offer Lewis an All-Star's money before he's ever an All-Star? He isn't going to be the next Kobe Bryant, but who can they get who's better?

"And how can they ignore GP? If they let Payton go, I'd call some of those Eugene anarchists and ask them to storm the Sonics' Furtado Center. Getting rid of Gary would be the worst thing to hit this team since Vladimir Stepania."

Another line creased Ratt's craggy face. This is a guy who has seen them all, the good, the bad, the Lazaro Borrell. All he was asking was one miniseries that would last a day or two into May.

"No illusions," Ratt said. "All I wanted from this season was a five-game miniseries against the Lakers or Kings. Now I can forget that.

"Pass me your Mariners pocket schedule."