Kevin Martin and Grandma Martin had a day of sightseeing, which happened to coincide with Indonesia's Independence Day celebration. One of the ways that Indonesian children celebrate their nation's independence is through traditional games, like Tarik Tambang, which seems to resemble tug-of-war. (If I know anything about tug-of-war, it would appear Kevin Martin is cheating in the above photograph. No hands past the flag!)

After the jump, two more photos of Kevin and Grandma in Indonesia. All photos, again, by Jawa Pos. Thanks to Azrul and Aziz from DetEksi Basketball League for spreading the word.

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Finally, Kevin Martin in Indonesia. He landed in Surabaya on Saturday evening, around 5 pm. After a quick stop to the hotel, he and his grandma, Maxine (75), immediately went to DetEksi Basketball League (DBL) Arena, to attend the DBL Finals. He saw the end of the girls' final, and did a tipoff for the boys final.

When Kevin was introduced, the crowd (full house at around 5.000 people) were chanting his name, "Kevin! Kevin! Kevin!" Surabaya is mad for basketball, and I think have now become Indonesia's basketball capitol. The crowd embraced Kevin like they did Danny Granger last year and David Lee in June of this year.

And Kevin Martin is GREATTTTT!!!!! His grandma is AWESOME!!!! They are soo nice, very friendly with the crowd.

Beginning on Sunday (August 16) up until Tuesday (August 18), Kevin Martin will be the "head coach" for Indonesia Development Camp 2009. Together with NBA Assistand coaches Neal Meyer (Clippers) and Joe Prunty (Trail Blazers) Kevin will give lessons to DBL's top 48 players from 15 provinces in Indonesia.

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Tonight, the Kings face the Lakers. Sacramento feels a lot different than it did five years ago. We'll scream obscenities at Kobe, boo in Phil Jackson's ear and give the ol' BEAT L-A! BEAT L-A! chant some effort ... but it's not the same. The Lakers will probably be in the Finals; the Kings will probably finish with the worst record in the league. It's not the same any more.

But we'll be back, beating L.A. and winning 60 games and getting to the playoffs and winning postseason series. We'll be back.

In the meantime, to avoid thinking about the unfortunate state of our team, please watch this 10-minute Ricky Rubio reel set to "Free Bird" (HQ here) ...

... or watch Blake Griffin dunk for basically three minutes straight (HQ).

Tomorrow will be better. The Kings are coming for you.

Thanks to Saifullah.

I've been groping for meaning from Friday's game in Charlotte, and I'm struggling.

• Francisco Garcia is frickin hot right now. The great thing about Garcia, I think, is he doesn't feel the need to toss up ridiculous 'heat checks,' something Mike Bibby always did. Garcia hasn't rushed a thing the last three games. He's been flawless.
• Spencer Hawes' first stints are always better than his second stints. Not really sure there's anything to take from that, but yeah. He's a foul machine in the third quarter.
• Me and Quincy Douby are ready for the Anthony Johnson experience to end. Please.
• Beno Udrih's idea of a bad shot is a wacky lay-up attempt. This is much better than the off-balance jumper as a bad shot.
• Brad Miller's an angry, angry man. One thing I noticed Friday: He runs a lot harder in non-transition possession changes. He was downright galloping in one sequence as Raymond Felton brought the ball up slowly. He wouldn't have went that hard in a fast break last season.
• Shelden Williams might be shorter than Kevin Martin. There's no way he's 6'9.
• Adam Morrison belongs in the 1970s.

We miss you.

Thanks be to Kelly Dwyer for linking up this moment's capture.