Posts tagged KenyonMartin at FanHouse

The one-word answer to this question is a resounding "no," but let me get a few things out there before I get into my issue with David West.

I understand that the cheek-tap on Dirk in the first round was minor, and said so at the time. I also understand that this clip I'm about to show you did take place against the Spurs -- who are known for playing chippy -- and that a few words and clapping in someone's face isn't exactly the same thing as standing over someone grabbing your crotch after a dunk. I get all that. But I still find it annoying that David West -- who just became an All-Star this season and has only done so thanks to Chris Paul -- is now acting like a superstar who thinks he's the best player on the court.

Here's the incident with Oberto that occurred during the Hornets' Game 2 blowout of the Spurs. You can see (in super-fast motion) West clap in Oberto's face after the foul is called and have a few brief words with him as well.

I hate to break it to him, but West is basically the equivalent of the 2004 version of Kenyon Martin, albeit with a slightly better jump shot.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Lakers-Nuggets game tonight.

1. Dear God, Make It End: You know those scenes in The Office, where it's too painful to watch? Yeah, this series has been like that. Yes, watching Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom play keep-away is pretty exciting, and don't get me wrong, Kobe dropping 49 always makes for good television. But having to watch as the Denver Nuggets implode on national television just makes you feel bad for them. Carmelo Anthony admits the entire team quit, and George Karl's already updated his resume at this point. At some point, you just want the misery to end. Yes, a victory would salvage some level of pride, but really, is it worth it to prolong the inevitable?

2. What Does The Future Hold?: This game could tell a lot about where the Nuggets are headed. If they get swept, you have to anticipate a reboot/detonation of the current core. Likewise, if trailing 3-0, at home, trying to avoid a sweep, after that disgusting display in Game 3, if the Nuggets are unable to formulate any sort of passion, pride, or sense of self-dignity, it's curtains for George Karl. There may be no way to avoid that possibility at this point, anyway, but a blowout loss tonight would actually make it difficult not to let Karl go.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Lakers-Nuggets Game 3 tonight.

1. On The Next Episode of "24": Well, they tried Kenyon Martin. That didn't work. They tried Eduardo Najera (giggle). That didn't work. So now what? Linas Kleiza will stay in the starting rotation, and I'd imagine Karl again goes to Carmelo Anthony to try and stop Kobe Bryant instead of going with Kleiza. Which, of course, will not work. Because it's Kobe. And Melo has trouble on defense. The strategy wasn't terrible, to make Kobe the sole scorer, and if it weren't for Kobe having "one of those nights," it may have worked. Unfortunately odds are about 50/50 on any given night that Kobe is going to have "one of those nights."

2. Melo Might Want To Not Be So: Carmelo Anthony had 30 and 12 in Game 2. But Kobe had 49. If the Nuggets are going to even make it to another game outside of Denver, he's going to need one of those career nights. He needs to be a hero with the homecrowd behind him. Allen Iverson is going to get him points. The other players can produce. But this team is built for him to explode for a huge scoring night. If he doesn't have a huge night, the overall Lakers offense is going to make him a footnote, again.

Via You Been Blinded, a Denver news station captured Kenyon Martin's response to question about the plausibility of Martin's post-Game 1 trash talk about Kobe Bryant spurring K.B.'s 49-point explosion in Game 2.



We should note Kobe reportedly does not care whether Kenyon cares whether Kobe is angry.* In fact, Kobe warns in this Los Angeles Times piece that Denver's emotional state may help the Nuggets to a Game 3 win. I think the pending result has less to do with emotions than it does the ability of Denver to hit some threes (29% so far) and stop L.A. from shooting so well. We'll see.

Though of course if we must discuss "emotion," let's not forget the Denver crowd owes Kobe a chant, yes?

* This is made up.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Nuggets-Lakers Game 2 tonight.

1. Time To Think Inside The Linas: And lo, George Karl did see the folly of Anthony Carter, and put in Linas Kleiza. And it was good. Or at least, worth a shot. In Game 1, Karl went with the decision to put Kenyon Martin on Kobe Bryant, and though Bryant Scored 32, he did on 9-26 shooting and had just 1 assist. That's the exact situation you want to put Bryant in. He's going to get his. Limit his ability to help his team hurt you. Unfortunately, for some reason, Karl forgot that that move essentially left Marcus Camby to try and cover two big men with touch passing ability in Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. And that was only, you know, 53 points, 30 rebounds, and 14 assists. Back where I come from? We call that "sick." Karl has mentioned that he liked what he saw out of Martin on Bryant. The problem is that the best way to attack Gasol is to use a big body and muscle him. If Karl's smart, he'll shift Kleiza to Bryant, let Bryant get his points while denying the pass using Kleiza's excellent size and length. There's no way Kleiza shuts down Bryant. But I've got news for George Karl. Nobody shuts down Kobe Bryant.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Nuggets at Lakers game. Be sure to check out the FanHouse LiveBlog hosted by Brett Edwards as well!

1. Hangover, So To Speak: Well, other than Carmelo Anthony and his trouble, the J.R. Smith ticking time bomb, and the bus catching fire, I guess the Nuggs don't have much going against them. This isn't a team known for its resiliency, and it'll be interesting to see if they can battle back against the Lakers, on the road. A blowout win today will the first real blowout of the playoffs, and will set at one for the series. Confidence is going to be an issue for the Nuggs.

2. Will The Odom Show Continue?: Lamar Odom has become, well, what everyone thought he always could but never would be. If Lamar can counteract Carmelo, this can be a huge plus for the Lakers. Conversely, if he shrinks back into, um ... Lamar Odom, there could be problems for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant versus Carmelo and Iverson is not a match-it game you want, even with Pau Gasol on your side.

3. Instant Energy: Linas Kleiza versus Ronnie Turiaf. That's a pretty good indicator of the difference between these two teams. Kleiza can be hugely effective if he gets his stroke down, and if the Nuggets choose to pass to him. Turiaf has one role and one role only. Defend the paint, block shots, and put back dunks. He doesn't have to have a great game, just make plays and get his team fired up. Kleiza needs to have a huge series, because a fully operational Lakers squad against the Melo and Allen Iverson show will be a meltdown.

On the heels of Kenyon Martin's recent suspension for accruing too many flagrant foul points, George Karl is telling the media that he thinks the Nuggets receive biased treatment regarding the judgment of his players and how it pertains to the assessment of flagrant fouls.

"I just think we get picked on," Karl said Friday. "I think there's a harder core judgment to our guys than some other guys ...

... I think it's wrong and (Karl is) shocked," Karl said. "I don't comprehend the decision. ... I feel there's some hypocrisy."

Karl also went on to say the Nuggets were not "an All-American" team and as a result the league penalizes them more heavily than anyone else. The Nuggets, by the way, have 50 technicals on the season thus far, with Carmelo Anthony, Linas Kleiza and K-Mart all registering double digit figures in T's accumulated.

Karl mentioned that he had an "aggressive" chat with Stu Jackson, but also conceded that a lot of his frustration came with not only the timing of the suspension (the playoff race) but the NBA's lack of speed in issuing their decision.

Fact of the matter though, is that two of Martin's flagrants have been reversed one way or the other -- and because the NBA reviewed this on a tape, it's a lot harder to buy into any bias against the Nuggets. If there is any bias whatsoever, it's because K-Mart's preceding actions have led the Jackson and the NBA to believe that flagrant intent is probably there. And for that Martin and the other Nuggets have no one to blame but themselves, or the coach that can't keep them under control.

The Nuggets sit just one game ahead of the Warriors for the eighth and final spot in the Western playoffs. Clearly, their margin for error is slim to none, which makes the fact that one of their key contributers will miss a game all the more distressing for fans in Denver.

The NBA announced today that Kenyon Martin has been suspended one game for accruing too many flagrant foul points. The decision came after Stu Jackson reviewed the tape of Tuesday's game between the Suns and Nuggets and upgraded the technical foul Martin received in the third quarter for striking Boris Diaw across the face to a flagrant.

Martin will miss Saturday's game in Sacramento Denver (fixed), and he'll be suspended another game if/when he picks up another flagrant between now and the end of the regular season. There's a very good chance Saturday will be the one and only game Martin misses -- flagrant fouls aren't exactly common -- but you have to wonder if opposing teams will attack Martin knowing that in the back of his head he might be reluctant to play as physical as he usually does.

This certainly sucks for the Nuggets, but they can beat the Kings even without Martin. What they need to watch out for is the April 8 game against the Clippers -- if Martin does something stupid in that game, he'll be unavailable for the pivotal must-win game two days later at Golden State, which may or may not decide if Denver makes the playoffs or not.

The biggest take-away from Denver's 119-112 victory over Golden State Saturday night isn't a revelation of any sort -- it's a question. Kenyon Martin dropped 30 points on 21 shots and added 11 rebounds, a performance which saved the day on a night when Allen Iverson's broken finger limited him to 4-20 shooting. (Relevant A.I. quote: "I hope my teammates don't think I was out there point-shaving or something.")

Can K-Mart do this against any other team, though?

Martin was least effective when Golden State's only center -- Andris Biedrins -- was also in the game. Martin's dominance came against Don Nelson's small ball lineup (Nellie started Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson in the frontcourt). It was obvious to everyone Harrington couldn't handle it -- he ended up with 15 minutes on the night.

But no other Western team will offer up undersized bigs like lambs, save one. If Denver makes the playoffs and faces New Orleans, Martin isn't getting off against Tyson Chandler and David West. Against Los Angeles? Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum should provide plenty resistance. San Antonio? Tim Duncan, Kurt Thomas. Phoenix? Shaquille O'Neal.

There's a strong possibility for a Houston-Denver series, though. Dikembe Mutombo typically plays fewer than 20 minutes a night. Beyond that, Houston's manning the pivot with Chuck Hayes, Luis Scola, Mike Harris, Carl Landry. All have their strengths, and none are terrible defenders. But they are unanimously undersized, and just as Martin beat Harrington and Jackson down, you could imagine Kenyon partyin' like its 2002 against the Rockets.

(Of course, this speaks just to Martin's prognosis. At the team level, Denver would seemingly want to catch Phoenix.Marcus Camby stands as good a chance as anyone at stopping Amare Stoudemire, and the Suns couldn't imagine cuffing Iverson or Carmelo Anthony. But in total, Martin is vital -- he offers another dimension of offensive detonation which threatens to make Denver's running game brilliant.)

Go right ahead and insert the Rain-->Pour / Seattle jokes right here. Just a few hours after finding out that Oklahoma City already has a lease in place with the Ford Center, the SuperSonics got rain made on them by the Denver Nuggets, giving up 168 points in a reasonably embarrassing loss. The 168 points is the third most in NBA history and is especially odd because no one, not even Carmelo Anthony or Allen Iverson, scored more than 30 points.

Marcus Camby produced a triple double, which would normally have a better chance at involving blocks than assists. Not this time though, as the Cambyman registered 13 points with 15 boards and 10 assists. He threw in four blocks just for good measure too.