For those of you coming to this blog solely to ask what's wrong with Kevin Martin (who posted a 2-point, 1-8 FG, 23 minutes line):
The Clippers doubled him every time he touched the ball on offense. The shots he did take came when he was able to create as the double was coming. None were easy – he didn't miss any really open shots. His one basket – an alley-oop from John Salmons – was by far his easiest shot of the night, and even it had a higher degree of difficulty than is typical. The Kings did exploit it some, getting the ball to Ron Artest and Mike Bibby in space more than usual.
Why the few minutes? I'd say the main reason is that Salmons was the only guy out there who could defend Cuttino Mobley, who lit himself on fire as only Cuttino Mobley can in the third quarter. Salmons is long and quick enough to stay with Mobley, and did a great job of taking Mobley back out of the game. (For the record, Martin was mainly marking Shaun Livingston after the kid's hot first quarter, and Martin did a good job.)
The fact that Kevin Martin having a bad game will be news around the league is a testament to how far he's come in such a short time period.
Other notes from the game:
The Kings are three games over .500 with games at San Antonio, Dallas, and Phoenix and a home game against scorching Orlando up next. If they are still over .500 by the end, they'll get a big thumbs-up from me.
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