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K-Mart kick-starts Kings' offense
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 8:08 am PDT Monday, October 22, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C10
They had tried it without him, albeit in an exhibition game in which Kevin Martin wasn't alone in his absence.
Ron Artest wasn't there for the ugliness that was Friday in Portland, either, when fatigue and poor shooting led to a head-scratching 24-point loss for the Kings to a team expected to be among the worst in the Western Conference this season.
One game later, the conclusions were there to be drawn.
Martin was back, and so were the Kings.
Martin scored 20 points in the 111-87 win over the Trail Blazers on Sunday night at Arco Arena, the Kings returning the favor with a 48-point swing from the previous meeting just as their shooting guard returned.
With a nagging pain remaining in the bruised left shin that forced him out, Martin came back because, well, there's no reason to stop a good thing while it's hot.
"I don't want to mess up my rhythm sitting out some games, and I know it's going to be a little sore come regular season, so I had to play through it tonight," Martin said.
It was the continuation of a quietly dominant exhibition season for the fourth-year player. In five games, Martin has hit 35 of 57 shots (61.4 percent), 8 of 16 three-pointers and 28 of 32 free throws, and averaged 21.2 points. The production would be All-Star caliber on a full-time basis, yet Martin is averaging just 25 minutes per game.
"Kevin is a very talented young man," Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "He has a knack. He has the ability. He has the things you can't teach on offense. He's got all the shots. He plays in-between speeds, and he can play with a burst of speed."
All 20 of his points came in the second and third quarters, with Martin hitting 8 of 13 shots in all and the Kings winning those periods by a combined score of 54-37.
"I'm about three years away from my prime," Martin said. "And the big thing the last couple of years is I'm doing it off of less shots, and now I think we've got a coach now who realizes what I've done the last couple of years. He's calling plays for me and putting me in a position to do what I can do on the offensive end."
His bosses can only hope that this production continues when it actually counts. This, after all, is precisely the kind of play they had in mind when securing his future in Sacramento this summer.
When the former No. 27 pick out of Western Carolina and the Kings agreed on a five-year extension during the summer, his $55 million deal was believed to be a market-setter to kick off a string of such extensions. But only in Sacramento have such negotiations gone so smoothly for the cream of the 2004 draft crop.
In Chicago, Ben Gordon (No. 3 pick) and Luol Deng (No. 7) are still waiting for their deals, as are promising young players in Philadelphia (Andre Iguodala, No. 9), Minnesota (Al Jefferson, No. 15) and Cleveland (Anderson Varejao, second round).
Theus, though, wants the extra impact in the all-around game, as well. Entering Sunday, Martin had more turnovers (10) than assists (four) or rebounds (eight). His ability to disrupt on both ends was there against Portland, as he had five rebounds and his defensive pressure on two third-quarter full-court presses led to two easy Kings buckets. All the while, he electrified the announced crowd of 13,099 with a string of scores that included mid-and long-range jumpers and an alley-oop finish from Kings point guard Mike Bibby. When Martin was taken out for good with 2:37 left in the third, a fan yelled loudly, "Put K-Mart in!" They can only hope that's a possibility all season long.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
K-Mart kick-starts Kings' offense
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 8:08 am PDT Monday, October 22, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C10
They had tried it without him, albeit in an exhibition game in which Kevin Martin wasn't alone in his absence.
Ron Artest wasn't there for the ugliness that was Friday in Portland, either, when fatigue and poor shooting led to a head-scratching 24-point loss for the Kings to a team expected to be among the worst in the Western Conference this season.
One game later, the conclusions were there to be drawn.
Martin was back, and so were the Kings.
Martin scored 20 points in the 111-87 win over the Trail Blazers on Sunday night at Arco Arena, the Kings returning the favor with a 48-point swing from the previous meeting just as their shooting guard returned.
With a nagging pain remaining in the bruised left shin that forced him out, Martin came back because, well, there's no reason to stop a good thing while it's hot.
"I don't want to mess up my rhythm sitting out some games, and I know it's going to be a little sore come regular season, so I had to play through it tonight," Martin said.
It was the continuation of a quietly dominant exhibition season for the fourth-year player. In five games, Martin has hit 35 of 57 shots (61.4 percent), 8 of 16 three-pointers and 28 of 32 free throws, and averaged 21.2 points. The production would be All-Star caliber on a full-time basis, yet Martin is averaging just 25 minutes per game.
"Kevin is a very talented young man," Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "He has a knack. He has the ability. He has the things you can't teach on offense. He's got all the shots. He plays in-between speeds, and he can play with a burst of speed."
All 20 of his points came in the second and third quarters, with Martin hitting 8 of 13 shots in all and the Kings winning those periods by a combined score of 54-37.
"I'm about three years away from my prime," Martin said. "And the big thing the last couple of years is I'm doing it off of less shots, and now I think we've got a coach now who realizes what I've done the last couple of years. He's calling plays for me and putting me in a position to do what I can do on the offensive end."
His bosses can only hope that this production continues when it actually counts. This, after all, is precisely the kind of play they had in mind when securing his future in Sacramento this summer.
When the former No. 27 pick out of Western Carolina and the Kings agreed on a five-year extension during the summer, his $55 million deal was believed to be a market-setter to kick off a string of such extensions. But only in Sacramento have such negotiations gone so smoothly for the cream of the 2004 draft crop.
In Chicago, Ben Gordon (No. 3 pick) and Luol Deng (No. 7) are still waiting for their deals, as are promising young players in Philadelphia (Andre Iguodala, No. 9), Minnesota (Al Jefferson, No. 15) and Cleveland (Anderson Varejao, second round).
Theus, though, wants the extra impact in the all-around game, as well. Entering Sunday, Martin had more turnovers (10) than assists (four) or rebounds (eight). His ability to disrupt on both ends was there against Portland, as he had five rebounds and his defensive pressure on two third-quarter full-court presses led to two easy Kings buckets. All the while, he electrified the announced crowd of 13,099 with a string of scores that included mid-and long-range jumpers and an alley-oop finish from Kings point guard Mike Bibby. When Martin was taken out for good with 2:37 left in the third, a fan yelled loudly, "Put K-Mart in!" They can only hope that's a possibility all season long.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
