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Kevin Martin's really in a pickle. The Bee reports that today Martin will decide whether to undergo surgery to repair his broken wrist (missing 6-8 weeks), sit 6-8 weeks in the hopes it will heal on its own, or slap on a soft cast and play through it, risking a full break (and a longer recovery).


The "smart" move would be to get the wrist fixed. You don't drive on a tire with a leak, and you don't play professional basketball with a wrist fracture that could turn into a full break. This isn't a Kobe's finger comparison. Kobe tore the ligament on his pinky. A broken wrist is just a bit more serious. If you doubt that analysis, go join a pick-up game with your pinky taped to your ring finger, and compare that with trying to play with one arm taped behind your back. Comparing this to Kobe's finger injury is disingenuous.

But Martin has an unfair reputation around here as being soft. Because, you know, men plays on crumbling ankles and shredded groins. It's as if it is Kevin's fault he experienced a bone bruise last year! Not to (again) draw someone else's name into this, but you don't see anyone questioning Francisco Garcia's toughness, and he will have missed more games than Martin over two years. Is it because we know what a broken arm looks like, but we can't quite envision a serious bone bruise in the ankle? Is it because a catastrophic exercise ball failure is more illustrative than a degenerative condition made worse by activity and better only through rest? Are we really that simple, Sacramento?

Because of that unfair reputation, if Martin decides to heal it, he will be pilloried on sports talk radio, by national yuks-yuks, by commenters everywhere. It's 100% bullshit, but it's what will happen. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if some within the franchise turn on him. There's a lot at stake this season, and clearly -- clearly -- Kevin Martin is the most important King in terms of wins and losses. Those with jobs on the line (this means within the front office) could see Martin allowing the fracture to heal as a sort of betrayal, a lack of consideration for the own futures. Which is of course -- again -- 100% bullshit.

This is the pressure Kevin Martin faces today. It's unfortunate the situation has gotten to these depths locally, where a team's star player has to worry about his reputation when making a very serious medical decision. I hope he ignores the haters and does what he really believes he needs to do, whether that's to heal or to risk it. We're fans, and we support the team, and we all will be affected by his decision. But it's his decision, dammit, and it's Kevin Martin who has to live with it.

The signing of Ime Udoka, like the signing of Desmond Mason before it, portends little for the Sacramento Kings. Udoka, like Mason, is an aging defensive roleplayer whose a bit of a drain on offense at a position where the Kings have plenty of talent. Udoka turned 32 years old last August, having only three seasons of real NBA experience. He served as Portland's starting small forward in the halycon Death to Z-Bo 2006-07, 32-win season. Udoka spent the last two seasons as a Bowen Memorial player off the bench in San Antonio. Portland brought him to camp this fall but cut him, and no one had been rumored to give him a serious nibble in the two weeks since.

Except Sacramento.

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More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

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Wednesday against the Hawks, the Kings defense visually looked better than it did at any point in the 2008-09 season. The pick-and-roll defense was solid, the help defense came appropriately at least half the time, and for the most part Hawks wings were forced into jumpshots while Hawks bigs were denied embedded position. There were some serious mishaps, leading to flying Josh Smith dunks and whatnot, but for the most part, the defense was solid.

It never really stopped Atlanta, though, as those guards made lots of jumpers. Through three quarters, the Hawks had shot 35-66, a 53 percent clip. In the fourth, the Kings defense -- visually solid but effectively bad throughout -- just went sour. The Hawks shot the lights out (11-19) and the Kings fell.

And so it remains -- the Kings' major downfall is shooting defense. Rebounding has improved. The turnover situation in undeniably good. For a night the opponent didn't live at the line. But it's for naught when the Kings can't force a bad shot.

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Discuss the game you just witnessed.

2nd half comments here for all you little threaders out there.

Go Kings!

More photos » by John Amis - AP

Mistaking him for teammate Delonte West, Cleveland Cavaliers' Daniel Gibson, right, checks Atlanta Hawks' Mike Bibby's hip pocket for ammunition during the first quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals basketball playoffs in Atlanta, Saturday, May 9, 2009. (AP Photo/John Amis)

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Jerry Reynolds (right) is a tool box of knowledge. Peaches (left) is just a tool.

No?

How about Jerry Reynolds (right) is a fountain of knowledge. Peaches (left) is just a drip.

No?

All righty - The tree of Jerry Reynolds yields much knowledge, but Peaches is just a fruit.

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Forty-eight points in the home opener might go a long way toward getting Kevin Martin to the NBA All-Star Game for the first time. But a $15,000 check for Indonesian student players might do just as much good.

As a thank you for funding their trip to a tournament in Perth, Australia, the DetEksi Basketball League's All-Star team placed a special message on the backs of the jerseys: "Kevin Martin for NBA All-Star." You can see it in the above photo, courtesy of DBL Indoensia/Jawa Pos. If you'll remember, Martin gifted his $15,000 NBA stipend over to the DBL after his visit to Surabaya, Indonesia, to serve as a coach for a training camp for Indonesia's top 24 boy and top 24 girl players. The cash allowed the DBL All-Star team to participate in the Perth tournament. The squad did win a game in Australia, defeating the Western Australia All-Stars on Oct. 24.

More photos » by Steve Yeater - AP

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With all the excitement of a win (a win!), and the amazing showing by Omri Casspi, Beno Udrih and Spencer Hawes, it's easy to discount how widely Kevin Martin dominated this game. Forty-eight points has never been considered ho-hum, and while I didn't catch SportsCenter, I imagine the scoring performance (that is, again, 48 freaking points) is getting some attention. What may not be is how thoroughly Martin dominated O.J. Mayo on the defensive end.

Read that again: Kevin Martin dominated O.J. Mayo ... on defense. Kevin Martin. On defense. Kevin. Martin. Defense.

Martin was all over the place, in a good way. Mayo was handcuffed most of the game, until to get into the lane and unable to draw fouls on Martin. The Grizzly guard got a few easy scores late, as Martin clearly began to wear down (52-1/2 of 53 minutes played will do that to you), but for the balance of the game the Kings defense could count Mayo as handled. How huge is that!

And it wasn't a matter of plugging a defensive stopper into the game. The Kings' best defender scored, um, 48 points. This was the greatest performance of Kevin Martin's career, and it's not close. Kevin Martin is becoming a good defender before our eyes ... and he's still managing to drop 48 on the Grizzlies. It's almost too good to be true.

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More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans, middle, expresses concern as the specter of being touched by the extra smelly San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, left, of France, as Spurs center Theo Ratliff protects himself and Kings guard Kevin Martin looks on in horror during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009. San Antonio won 113-94. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

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Be good enough to go to bed so you can not think too much longer. - Russell Edson

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