Bob Hill's been through this before. Twice.
So he's ready for talk that he may soon get fired as coach of the injury-depleted, last-place Seattle SuperSonics.
About an hour before the Sonics hosted the Chicago Bulls on Friday night, a 107-101 loss for the Sonics, Hill gave a soliloquy about the realities of being an NBA coach.
``I look at my position very realistically,'' said Hill, in his ninth season as an NBA coach. ``You know, when you get fired, you don't die. You don't die.''
Hill is living proof. Despite winning 74 per cent of his games from 1994-96 in San Antonio, the Spurs fired him. During the 1990-91 season, Hill took over the 9-16 Indiana Pacers and went 32-25. He lasted two more seasons, going 81-83, before the Pacers dismissed him following a first-round exit from the playoffs.
With the loss to the Bulls, Hill's record dropped to 39-60 as Seattle's coach.
``Coaches get fired all the time. When you jump into this, you realize that,'' said Hill, whom Seattle promoted from being an assistant Jan. 3, 2006, after the Sonics started 13-17 under Bob Weiss.
``Does that answer all the questions about me being fired?'' Hill said, smiling while spreading his arms wide.
Not really.
The Sonics stand at 17-30, in last place in the Northwest Division, 13 games out of first. They have lost a franchise record-tying 14 consecutive road games entering next week's trip to Washington and Indiana. But, remarkably, they are just seven games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
When asked two weeks ago if Hill and general manager Rick Sund will be in the same positions next season, new Sonics owner Clay Bennett was silent for nine seconds before saying, ``We completely support Bob and Rick and we have a hope that this season can still turn around.''
Bennett brought aboard former Toronto Raptors head coach Lenny Wilkens, the NBA's all-time winningest coach, to be a vice chairman of his new ownership group that's trying to secure a new arena in the Seattle area. Wilkens coached the Sonics to their only league title, in 1979, but said Dec. 1 that he won't be coaching again.
``The Knicks were enough,'' said Wilkens, who was New York's interim coach in 2004. ``That was the finishing touch, so to speak.''
Bennett, an Oklahoma City businessman, said he sees glimpses of what this team can be. If only it could stay healthy, that is.
Seattle had lost a combined 109 games to injuries this season entering Friday. Last season at this point, the Sonics had lost 79 games to injuries.
Leading scorer Ray Allen, who was averaging 26.6 points per game, missed nine games in December with a bruised foot.
Second-leading scorer Rashard Lewis, the man through whom Hill likes to run his offence in the fourth quarter of close games, missed his 20th consecutive game Friday with a tendon sheath injury in his right hand.
Hill said Lewis, who has averaged 20.5 points per game in his last three seasons, was cleared Friday to return to practice and may play next weekend.
Since Lewis has been out, Allen has been Seattle's only option late in games. And opponents know it, often sending two and sometimes three defenders at the six-time all-star.
``Obviously in the fourth quarter, everybody in the gym and watching on TV knows who I'm going to go to,'' Hill said.
Inside force Danny Fortson has also missed 27 games with a sore left knee.
``In the history of sports, coaches have had a hard time winning with that many injuries,'' Hill said.
