It may have been thought to be impossible, but The Kings bench becomes even further depleted than before, after news that Bobby Jackson is finally expected to undergo surgery on a ligament tear in his left wrist, a procedure that would require a 12 week rehabilitation period. Jackson, a former sixth-man of the year, has become the spark so desperately needed off of The Kings bench, often times filling it at shooting guard to aid Sacramento's scoring barrage. However, with Jackson likely out for 3 months, a HUGE void has been left in The King's palace, or has it? Meet Kevin Martin. As The King's only first round draft selection, 26th overall, Martin is likely to finally receive quality minutes in the absense off sixth man Bobby Jackson. To date, Martin has only received 5 minutes of action per game, but he's shown signs of improvement and flashes of brilliance in his limited floor time thus far. Kevin Martin was the nation's No. 2 scorer in Division I basketball last season, averaging 24.9 points at Western Carolina. Martin was known for his solid performance in every aspect of the game, at 6 foot 7 inches, Martin quickly became an offensive weapon using his athleticism, size and ability to score from the perimeter as well as drive and draw fouls. Now following Jackson's departure to the injuried reserved, an opportunity for Martin to display his talents has presented it's self. Sunday Night, in perhaps Sacramento's biggest win thus far this season, Rookie Kevin Martin had nine points in his most impressive game yet for the Kings, highlighted by a remarkable behind-the-back bounce pass between Barry's legs to Darius Songaila for a layup with 8:32 to play. Martin played a season high 22 minutes Sunday Night, topping his 19 minutes in a win over Utah Friday Night, a huge turn around for a rookie who played only 36 total minutes this season prior to Jackson's injury. Now becomes Martin's time to shine, and he's certainly aware of the task at hand... "I'm aggressive in practice," he said. "You can ask anybody. I look for my shot. But this is all part of the learning curve. I'm trying to move to the next level, though, and leave that learning curve behind. I know I'll always be learning, but I know coach has confidence in me, and he's told me to be ready. After Bobby got hurt, coach told me that again, and I've been doing a lot of work after practice." Martin finished. Kevin Martin will now become a regular in Rick Adelman's rotation, and as he strives to become a better player in just his rookie season, is the void left behind by Bobby Jackson simply too large to fill, or can Martin's spark and contributions off the bench bring new life to this King's roster?
I'm glad that Kevin Martin is stepping up to the plate in Jackson's absence.Martin has done a very excellent job so far,and i hope we get to see more of Martin throughout the season.
I dont really see Martin getting more minutes than either Evans or Barnes simply based on the experience factor. Martin would have to have some serious game to get a lot of minutes in important stretches.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting harbingerofdoom:</div><div class="quote_post">I dont really see Martin getting more minutes than either Evans or Barnes simply based on the experience factor. Martin would have to have some serious game to get a lot of minutes in important stretches.</div> Martin,so far has shown that he has what it takes to do so.Evans and Barnes have more expereince,but Martin i think has been a bit more conisistent as of late than those 2.either way i think we are doing ok without Jackson,but i'm looking fwd to when Jackson comes back and plays for us again
