<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">When Kenyon Martin was lost for the season, Nuggets coach George Karl might have felt a bit like Dr. Frankenstein as he took inventory of available body parts to build a replacement power forward. The 6-foot-8 frames of Reggie Evans and Eduardo Najera were a good place to start. Evans, who is listed at 245 pounds, and the 235-pound Najera can carry the weight of the 6-9, 240-pound Martin. Even their average age - Evans is 26 and Najera 30 - equals the 28 years on Martin's odometer. Nearly four weeks into the experiment, a simple mathematical equation has taken shape: 1 Reggie Evans + 1 Eduardo Najera = 1 Kenyon Martin. Evans and Najera, earning a combined $8.57 million this season, are well-compensated for their work, but they will never be considered "max" contract guys like Martin, whose 2006-07 salary is $11.82 million. Their combined statistics, however, are filling the void that was left after Martin underwent season-ending knee surgery Nov. 15. After sitting idle the first three games of the season, Evans is averaging 6.8 points and 8.6 rebounds in 19.9 minutes, and Najera is averaging 7.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in 23.6 minutes. In his 2003-04 All-Star season with the New Jersey Nets, Martin averaged 16.7 points and 9.5 rebounds in 34.6 minutes. "If you combine (Evans and Najera), they're getting double-doubles (14.7 points, 13.1 rebounds)," Denver center Marcus Camby said. "They're filling in, holding down the fort. Those guys have been a huge part of our success." In 13 games without Martin, the Nuggets are 10-3. It is a record in which Evans takes a lot of pride, but he does not subscribe to the Frankenstein theory. "We're not Kenyon. I'm Reggie Evans and he's Eddie Najera," Evans said. "We know our capabilities. We know we are blue-collar players, so we just got to put our hard hats on and do what it takes to get a win." Najera, used primarily as a reserve throughout his career, has made a seamless transition to the starting lineup. His 13 starts are the most of any of his seven NBA seasons, and he is on pace to set a career high in scoring despite the fact his name would be hard to find in Karl's playbook. "We all have played major roles on different teams. Reggie, when he was in Seattle, he was starting. I started for Dallas (34) games. It was nothing new," Najera said. "I didn't think it was a big deal. I thought it was just a great opportunity come up with minutes and have a bigger role on the team." </div> Source
