I’m no fanatic when it comes to the NBA, but it was a pretty safe assumption to make that the already struggling Sacramento Kings would struggle even more without the services of guard Kevin Martin, right?
After all, Martin was averaging 30.6 points in his first five games for Sacramento, and the team’s only win was an overtime one over Memphis in which Martin went for 48. And after all, they were already without Francisco Garcia, who was expected to be a focal point of the offense this season.
So, in perusing Friday’s NBA lines, I was supremely confident that the Jazz would have no problem handing the Martin-less Kings a severe beatdown at home, where, as even the most casual of NBA fans can surmise from reading the standings for the past few seasons, Utah is pretty darn good.
It was well on the way to being just that early on, as a 22-7 from the last four minutes of the first quarter to the first three minutes of the second saw the Jazz take a 39-24 lead.
And then rookie Tyreke Evans proceeded to take his team on his back and prove me and take the leap from developing rookie into team leader in the matter of two quarters.
Evans and Donte Greene combined for 22 points over the last nine minutes of the second, and by the end of the quarter, Evans already had a career high in points, and the Kings had tied it at 55.
Then after the Jazz quickly took a five-point lead in the third, Evans spearheaded a decisive 19-0 run that would give the Kings a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.
He hit a jumper, then assisted on a Spencer Hawes layup that turned into a game-tying three-point play and on an Andres Nocioni three that gave the Kings a 63-60 lead, then dropped in a layup to make it 65-60. After four points by Jason Thompson pushed the lead to nine, Evans finished off the burst with two free throws and a three to put Sacramento up 74-60.
When all was said and done, Evans had 32 points - 16 on free throws - and seven assists, and the Kings had a 104-99 win.
It was a huge win all around, especially considering that they’d lost by double digits in each of their last four trips to Utah and hadn’t beaten a quality opponent on the road since New Orleans last November.
And it was also huge for Evans, as he’d struggled in his previous three games, shooting only 29% (10 for 34) from the field and 40% from the free throw line (4 for 10), and averaging just eight points.
Then last night against Golden State, the second quarter was once again magic for Evans, as he scored 18 points to help the Kings take a double-digit lead into the locker room. He finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, and two assists, and he likely would’ve had a lot more, but he only played 29 minutes in a 120-107 win that Sacramento had locked up by the end of the third.
It’s only two games into what will be at least two months or more without Kevin Martin, but the Kings are doing the exact opposite of what many would have expected, thanks in large part to Evans stepping up.
In the last two games, he’s shooting 50% (15-30) from the field, including 3 for 4 from three (after shooting 1-9 in his first five games), and he’s also 22 of 26 from the free-throw line after going 11 for 20 prior to Friday.
There might have been some Kings fans who were disappointed that the Kings took Evans fourth in June’s draft when the highly-hyped Ricky Rubio was still on the board. However, Evans is now proving that the Kings made a very, very wise choice, and not just because of what’s happened with Rubio and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Kings certainly have a long way to go before they’re anywhere near the team that was a Western Conference power earlier this decade, led by their ‘Big Three‘ of Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, and Peja Stojakovic.
But with Martin out for an extended spell, this is an early opportunity for Evans to prove that he can and will be a centerpiece of the Kings’ franchise for years to come, that he the kind of leader and playmaker that Bibby was for the Kings.
So far, so good, to say the least.
