FanHouse Imeudoka

What a night for Kevin Martin. The dynamic guard for the Kings -- and currently the league's No. 3 scorer -- learned Thursday morning his sore wrist was actually a fractured navicular bone, a pretty brutal injury in terms of risk and recovery. Sources tell FanHouse Martin was strongly recommended by at least two doctors (including Sacramento's team doctor and a separate hand specialist) to undergo reparative surgery or to put the in a cast for 6-8 weeks. The franchise, however, left the decision to Martin, who kept a third option -- play through it wearing a soft cast -- open temporarily.

Martin told reporters he'd sleep on it and make a decision Friday. Sanity has prevailed over machismo, and Martin told the Sacramento Bee's Sam Amick today that playing with a soft cast has been ruled out. Martin will either put a hard cast on the arm, or undergo surgery.

The Kings, seeking a defensive veteran for the small forward position, took on Desmond Mason in advance of training camp. That didn't turn out so well: Mason has been beyond awful on offense (surprising no one who has watched Mason play at any point over the past four years) and didn't make much of a difference for the league's 29th ranked defense.

Five games was enough for the Sacramento front office, as the team waived Mason a day after signing former Blazer and Spur Ime Udoka to a non-guaranteed minimum salary contract. Like Mason, Udoka is known for his defensive skill, having been signed as a sort of Bruce Bowen replacement two summers ago. That didn't really work out, and Udoka was left teamless for opening day after Portland waived the swingman at the end of the preseason.

Wally Szczerbiak would appear to be the top NBA free agent left standing. Then again, maybe not.

With the Denver Nuggets having lost out on free-agent shooting guard Flip Murray to the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday, sources told FanHouse the Nuggets are now looking strongly at small forward Ime Udoka.

Meanwhile, Szczerbiak, who had been linked earlier in the summer to Denver, is still looking for a job.

"Yes, the economy has affected the market, there's no question about it,'' Szczerbiak said in an interview Thursday with FanHouse. "I just have to take my time.''

The Arizona Daily Star reports Hawk bench buddy Salim Stoudamire has signed a deal to join the Spurs (via SLAM). I know, I know ... even Roger Mason is bored by this news. But hear me out: Salim can help the Spurs a ton.

The Spurs have been a team which relies on three things on offense: the post play of Tim Duncan, the slashing ability of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and potent three-point shooting from a cast of role players. Historically, two of the three most important of those three-bombing role players have been Robert Horry and Brent Barry. Horry retired (or "was forced to retire because no one wants to pay him," if you want to get semantic). Barry plays for the Rockets. Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley remain, but turn 57 and 55 respectively* this year. Ime Udoka and Matt Bonner sit in the sidecar, but Gregg Popovich showed only mild levels of faith in them last year.

The one constant with Stoudamire: dude can shoot. Let's ignore last season, when he only totaled 400 minutes. Look at all seasons, college and pro, when he actually got a shot. Here are his three-point shooting percentages: 45% as a college freshman, 44% as a sophomore, 42% as a junior, 50% as a senior, 38% as a rookie, 36% as a second-year player. The league average is 36%, and the Spurs are accustomed to shooting slightly higher. Salim helps that, yes?

While Mason shot beautifully last season in D.C., his record indicates middling success from long range. Stoudamire shot poorly last season, but his record indicates strong aptitude for the longball. S.A. has made a brilliant hedge here: if Mason can't shoot appropriately well, and Pop needs some bench firepower for the guard position -- Bonner and Udoka aren't guards -- there is an option. He may not quite become Barry for a New Age, but there's an opportunity to hit some big, big shots here. Great move for everyone involved.


* On further review, Bowen actually only turns 37. Finley turns 35.

And then there were four. In the latest of our continuing series, we look at the Western Conference Finals, Game 2 tonight between the Spurs and Lakers. Be sure to stop by later for our LiveBlog of Game 1.


1. One Would Think You Wouldn't Forget About Him: San Antonio, Kobe Bryant is not David West. He's not Chris Paul. And he's definitely not Carmelo Anthony. So maybe just maybe, covering him straight up is not the answer. The Spurs didn't bring the double team on Kobe until he'd already lit the fires, and once that happens, you can cover him with flame retardant blankets and you're still getting cinged. Greg Popovich won't fall for the same trick twice. Expect heavy double teams at the wing from Bruce Bowen and Ime Udoka, and for the under side of picks to aggressively trap him. It might work. It might not. In reality, with the way Kobe's playing right now, that's pretty much up to him. The Spurs have a much better chance against...

2. The Pau-Wow: Pau Gasol came to the startling realization in Game 1 that Tim Duncan is a mite bit better than Mehmet Okur. Gasol needs his mid-range working against the Spurs, and in order to get anything inside, he's got be pulled kicking and screaming by Kobe. When Kobe started going ballistic in the fourth, he kept hammering passes at Gasol. He never got angry, even when Gasol dropped them, he just kept tossing them at him and encouraging him. The Spurs need to keep him floating outside of the paint. Gasol's not comfortable getting down and dirty, and the Spurs need to encourage that.

Game Seven. No way out except onward. The defending champs responded at home and sent a message about their physical approach. Now the Hornets are at home, hoping to knock off the Spurs and keep them from their "one for the thumb." In an expanded edition of our playoff game previews, here are seven things to keep an eye on in tonight's Spurs-Hornets Game 7.





1. Let's Get The Ugliness Out Of The Way: David West will play. So will Robert Horry. And it'll probably be fine and nothing else will happen. But the tension will be there. And don't be completely shocked if there's another incident of "good playoff basketball" somewhere that ends up with West clutching his back again. These things "just happen." Meanwhile, Horry will be booed like he probably never has been before. Suns fans didn't get another shot at him that season and are notoriously civil. I would not expect the same treatment from the New Orleans folks. There's going to be a lot of physical play and don't be surprised if we see more technical fouls as both teams are really getting to dislike one another.

2. Duncan Versus West: Mano A Mano: The Spurs are 1-1 in putting Tim Duncan on David West one on one. Duncan was able to shut down the All-Star before the "good hard playoff basketball" by using his size and length in conjunction with a cohesive Spurs effort that jacked up the spacing for the Hornets on the offensive end. Conversely, in Game 5, with a healthy David West and the confidence of homecourt, West was nearly unstoppable. If he gets separation from Duncan and freezes him with the drive fake, he can get his jumper going, and that's when he gets scary. Conversely, Tyson Chandler has the job of guarding Duncan on the defensive end, but West has held his own. You never know which Tim Duncan is going to show up anymore. The bamboozled veteran that seems to slow and too clumsy to ever get anything going, or the best power forward in the history of the game. The Spurs can win without Duncan going off, and they can lose with Duncan scoring 30+, but both scenarios are very difficult to achieve.

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

1. Matchup Madness: It honestly doesn't get much better than this for NBA matchup analysts. Tony Parker versus Chris Paul, a point guard cage match where Parker is suddenly the more experienced, larger point guard. Tim Duncan versus David West, where West's offensive versatility may enable him to be the only power forward in the league to hold Duncan to a draw. Throw in Tyson Chandler versus the Spurs' ability to attack the basket, the Hornets' ability to take away the Spurs' rebounding advantage, and you have a tactician's dream. All of that pales in comparison, though, to ...

2. Who Wants It More?: Yes, the clichéd question that abounds yearly in the NBA playoffs. Generally speaking, I don't subscribe much to this question. Phoenix didn't lose to San Antonio because the Spurs wanted it more. The Spurs won because San Antonio was able to take Manu Ginobili left to the hole whenever he wanted, and controlled the boards. Likewise, desire had nothing to do with Dallas' meltdown.

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

1. Barbosa Better Ball: Leandro Barbosa gets the start tonight, and he better get off his snide real freakin' quick if the Suns are going to survive this at all. Barbosa went 0-7 in Game 2, and on top of that, was worked over defensively like he was trying guard the Globetrotters. Barbosa's lack of size is a serious issue against the Spurs, and his lack of savvy gives Tony Parker an edge on him. Throw on top of that the Spurs' ability to force him to outrun his own layups, and this has not been the model series for the Brazillian Blur. He needs to come out popping if the Suns are going to claw their way back into this thing.

2. Perhaps Spread The Shots Out: In the first two games, the Suns have started hot as the fires of tarnation. And then they've cold to as cold as a witches' ... hands. Sorry, I'll stop using my grandmother's analogies. Anyway, the Suns have allowed the Spurs to roar back on them in two games with untimely cold streaks. To be sure, the Spurs' tenacious and incomparable defense had something to do with the pathetic output in the third quarter of Game 2, but the Suns have also just been victims of ridiculous cold streaks. They need to maintain a level of consistency for all four quarters if they're going to put the defending champs back down to their level. And if they do manage to get a lead in the fourth, they better not let off the pedal. Because the last thing they'll see is the Spurs' license plate speeding off to the second round.

I have watched two full San Antonio games this young season. Don't apologize, it wasn't so bad. For all the crap flung about the unsexy style of the Spurs, they can entrance more than you'd suspect. Tim Duncan, of course, is a work of art... a robotish Rodin. Manu Ginobili, perturbing as he might be, is like a one-man circus.

Yes, Tony Parker's persona makes even his sickly fleet feet annoying and Bruce Bowen is a scourge which must be lifted from this planet for humanity to survive. But there's another way: Garbage time.

Look at the lineup San Antonio strutted out much of the fourth quarter in its Friday night Sacramento blowout.

He's 'The Rash' who just won't go away. Ever. Bruce Bowen (36 years old) got a two-year $8 million extension from the Spurs Sunday. Wally Szczerbiak's face could not be reached for comment. (Sorry, I'll never be able to help it. In fact...)



HOOPSWORLD's Bill Ingram notes some exclusivity in Bowen's San Antonio performance I hadn't seen before, the most interesting of which was that The Rash is one of only six swingmen in NBA history who've been on the league's All-Defense team at least seven straight seasons. And while he's "older than hell" (Gregg Popovich's words), he does own the active NBA consecutive games streak at 436.

Unless Bowen is rid of this fair Earth ages quickly, all that 'Ime Udoka is the next Bowen for the Spurs' noise doesn't make sense. Udoka's only signed through 2008-09 (Bowen's extension keeps him in Texas through 09-10) with a reported player option for the second year. And Udoka's already 30. Is Ime an insurance policy? Did the Spurs grab him to keep him away from someone else (like Dallas or Phoenix)? His presence in San Antonio makes no sense right now. Free Ime!