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Bench Warmer
The Hawks beat the Kings 108-97 Wednesday, and that's barely news -- the Hawks were a big favorite coming in.
But what made this game interesting was the continuing evolution of Sacramento's Tyreke Evans-Kevin Martin backcourt. The duo had one of their best games as a tandem, combining for 47 points and 10 assists to keep the Kings in the game. The only reason they lost, in fact, was because Atlanta's frontcourt so thoroughly outplayed Sacramento's.
Nonetheless, Sacramento did lose, marking its fourth straight setback since Martin came off the injured list and rejoined the club. The Kings are now 1-8 when Martin plays and 14-18 when he doesn't.
Nobody thinks this is because Martin is terrible. Some wonder if it's because he and Evans have trouble sharing the same stage. Martin is a shooting guard and, although Evans has seen extended duty at the point, in the eyes of many he's better as a two as well.
Additionally, three other data points make the marriage between the two even more interesting: 1) the Kings have been losing money hand over fist, 2) Martin makes $36 million over the next three years, and 3) although Sacramento is improved the club is clearly rebuilding.
Naturally, this state of affairs has set trade rumor-mongers into overdrive wondering if the Kings might be willing to jettison the 26-year-old Martin to get more favorable contracts and perhaps a young frontcourt player.
Yet it appears that day, if it's ever to come, is still a long ways away. For starters, the Kings lack a great incentive to rush into anything before the trade deadline. Martin and Evans have only played nine games as a tandem, and the Kings would like to get a much longer look at the duo before rushing into any landscape-shifting moves. Second, Sacramento is enjoying its first small taste of success after an awful 2008-09 campaign, and is hesitant to make any moves that would upset their momentum.
But mostly, the Kings don't' seem anxious to do anything because both the players and the organization think the pairing can work.
"Kevin isn't himself yet," said Kings coach Paul Westphal. "He just needs his timing to get a little better and get some of the rust off, and it's going to be a really tough backcourt to deal with."
Both players recognize that they're going to have to make changes in their game to make the partnership flourish.
"I don't have a mind frame to go out there and score 30 anymore," said Martin, who seemed notably more active defensively after basically being a one-man offense a year ago. "[I'm] just trying to do other things, have more assists and get other teammates involved. While I was out guys developed, and they're good players. I show my respect by getting them involved, and [I'll] attack when it's there."
Martin at least cleared one hurdle Wednesday that may embolden him to attack the rim a bit more in the future. He landed hard on his left wrist -- the same one that cost him 32 games with a hairline fracture and subsequent surgery -- after Atlanta's Mo Evans crushed him in midair on a breakaway. He got up without further harm, however, and while he spent the next two trips rubbing the wrist there appeared to be no long-term ramifications.
"I think I needed that fall," said Martin. "That was a pretty hard fall and it didn't come loose or anything."
As for Evans, he knows he has to use his penetration to set up Martin on the perimeter, where he can use his funky, left-leaning release to launch his deadly 3-pointers.
"It's going to take a little while," said Evans. "I have to get better at finding him, see where he likes to take shots, [and] run a few more plays for him."
If Evans succeeds, he and Martin will form a deadly combination. Evans is the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year and showed why, proving basically unguardable off the dribble against a series of Hawks defenders. He sliced and diced his way through the paint so effectively that the Kings scored a whopping 66 points in the paint. It's no coincidence that Atlanta pulled away only when Evans went to the locker room after banging his knee early in the third quarter.
Should Evans combine his nose for the bucket with an augmented ability to find Martin -- who is shooting over 40% on 3-pointers for a third straight season -- the Kings will have the unstoppable inside-outside scoring combo of their dreams.
That depends on Evans adjusting well to the point, something that's an ongoing topic of debate. At 6-6, he may be better suited to playing shooting guard, but Martin is a pure two and so the pairing only works if Evans plays the point full time.
"I can play both positions," said Evans, refusing your correspondent's offer to typecast himself as a one or a two. "If you put me in at the two, I can do the job, [and] if you can put me in at the one, I can do the job."
Of course, all this is moot if the Kings don't get some more resistance from their beleaguered frontcourt. Westphal didn't seem terribly concerned about how his backcourt was meshing, preferring to focus on the beating the Hawks handed Sacramento in the paint. Jon Brockman got the start at center ahead of the disappointing Spencer Hawes, but the Kings' intensity slackened after Brockman picked up a quick two fouls.
"Their bigs dominated the paint," said Westphal. "In general, we need to get tougher for the whole game. That's what concerns me right now, I'm not concerned about those [two] guys."
Everyone else is focused on the Kings' backcourt duo, particularly vulturous execs of the other 29 teams who wonder if they might be able to pry Martin free. While the answer today would be a stern no, the response may become considerably less emphatic if the Martin-Evans combo can't produce a few more victories between now and the trade deadline.
By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
But what made this game interesting was the continuing evolution of Sacramento's Tyreke Evans-Kevin Martin backcourt. The duo had one of their best games as a tandem, combining for 47 points and 10 assists to keep the Kings in the game. The only reason they lost, in fact, was because Atlanta's frontcourt so thoroughly outplayed Sacramento's.
Nonetheless, Sacramento did lose, marking its fourth straight setback since Martin came off the injured list and rejoined the club. The Kings are now 1-8 when Martin plays and 14-18 when he doesn't.
Nobody thinks this is because Martin is terrible. Some wonder if it's because he and Evans have trouble sharing the same stage. Martin is a shooting guard and, although Evans has seen extended duty at the point, in the eyes of many he's better as a two as well.
Additionally, three other data points make the marriage between the two even more interesting: 1) the Kings have been losing money hand over fist, 2) Martin makes $36 million over the next three years, and 3) although Sacramento is improved the club is clearly rebuilding.
Naturally, this state of affairs has set trade rumor-mongers into overdrive wondering if the Kings might be willing to jettison the 26-year-old Martin to get more favorable contracts and perhaps a young frontcourt player.
Yet it appears that day, if it's ever to come, is still a long ways away. For starters, the Kings lack a great incentive to rush into anything before the trade deadline. Martin and Evans have only played nine games as a tandem, and the Kings would like to get a much longer look at the duo before rushing into any landscape-shifting moves. Second, Sacramento is enjoying its first small taste of success after an awful 2008-09 campaign, and is hesitant to make any moves that would upset their momentum.
But mostly, the Kings don't' seem anxious to do anything because both the players and the organization think the pairing can work.
"Kevin isn't himself yet," said Kings coach Paul Westphal. "He just needs his timing to get a little better and get some of the rust off, and it's going to be a really tough backcourt to deal with."
Both players recognize that they're going to have to make changes in their game to make the partnership flourish.
"I don't have a mind frame to go out there and score 30 anymore," said Martin, who seemed notably more active defensively after basically being a one-man offense a year ago. "[I'm] just trying to do other things, have more assists and get other teammates involved. While I was out guys developed, and they're good players. I show my respect by getting them involved, and [I'll] attack when it's there."
Martin at least cleared one hurdle Wednesday that may embolden him to attack the rim a bit more in the future. He landed hard on his left wrist -- the same one that cost him 32 games with a hairline fracture and subsequent surgery -- after Atlanta's Mo Evans crushed him in midair on a breakaway. He got up without further harm, however, and while he spent the next two trips rubbing the wrist there appeared to be no long-term ramifications.
"I think I needed that fall," said Martin. "That was a pretty hard fall and it didn't come loose or anything."
As for Evans, he knows he has to use his penetration to set up Martin on the perimeter, where he can use his funky, left-leaning release to launch his deadly 3-pointers.
"It's going to take a little while," said Evans. "I have to get better at finding him, see where he likes to take shots, [and] run a few more plays for him."
If Evans succeeds, he and Martin will form a deadly combination. Evans is the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year and showed why, proving basically unguardable off the dribble against a series of Hawks defenders. He sliced and diced his way through the paint so effectively that the Kings scored a whopping 66 points in the paint. It's no coincidence that Atlanta pulled away only when Evans went to the locker room after banging his knee early in the third quarter.
Should Evans combine his nose for the bucket with an augmented ability to find Martin -- who is shooting over 40% on 3-pointers for a third straight season -- the Kings will have the unstoppable inside-outside scoring combo of their dreams.
That depends on Evans adjusting well to the point, something that's an ongoing topic of debate. At 6-6, he may be better suited to playing shooting guard, but Martin is a pure two and so the pairing only works if Evans plays the point full time.
"I can play both positions," said Evans, refusing your correspondent's offer to typecast himself as a one or a two. "If you put me in at the two, I can do the job, [and] if you can put me in at the one, I can do the job."
Of course, all this is moot if the Kings don't get some more resistance from their beleaguered frontcourt. Westphal didn't seem terribly concerned about how his backcourt was meshing, preferring to focus on the beating the Hawks handed Sacramento in the paint. Jon Brockman got the start at center ahead of the disappointing Spencer Hawes, but the Kings' intensity slackened after Brockman picked up a quick two fouls.
"Their bigs dominated the paint," said Westphal. "In general, we need to get tougher for the whole game. That's what concerns me right now, I'm not concerned about those [two] guys."
Everyone else is focused on the Kings' backcourt duo, particularly vulturous execs of the other 29 teams who wonder if they might be able to pry Martin free. While the answer today would be a stern no, the response may become considerably less emphatic if the Martin-Evans combo can't produce a few more victories between now and the trade deadline.
By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
