Yesterday was a Terrible, Rotten, very Bad Day!

Well, the curse of the Kings continues. There is a cloud of darkness that refuses to lift from this franchise. I don’t know who set the spell or whether it can be broken. Perhaps a goat was not allowed into Arco one day and the disgruntled Natomian, by way of Chicago, cast the spell that has doomed the franchise. Maybe Arco is built on a Native American burial ground or there was a disgruntled fan in Kansas City that set the curse in motion. Whatever or whoever is responsible is irrelevant at this point. All I know is that the curseis real and destroys all hope for this doomed franchise.

The Curse is responsible for everything bad in the Kings’ history. I blame the curse for Pervis Ellison, Joe Kleine, Robert Horry, Bobby Hurley’s tragic accident, and bouncing ping-pong balls everywhere. Chris Webber’s career was doomed before it even started due to the curse. It was as if the cosmic forces of the universe knew that he would one day be a King and they punished him for it throughout and when Chris called timeout to try and make sense of it, things only got worse and finally the curse reached up from the floor and grabbed him when nobody else was around.

Well, the curse reared it’s ugly head again yesterday as it just wasn’t a good day for Kings fans. First, the news came that Andres Nocioniwas busted for a DUI in the early hours of the morning on Thursday, just after being named to the starting unit the night before. Nocioni released a prepared statement that included the usual apology. I’m not going to waste my time putting it up here. Perhaps Nocioni already knew that Kevin Martin was hurt and knows how long the season is going to be and was just trying to forget for a few moments. Or, maybe he was just trying to fit in with the local culture. See, according to the Sacramento Bee’s Marcos Breton, Sacramento has an issue that must be addressed with a propensity to drive drunk. I’d love to blame the curse for this one, but I can’t as it just falls under the category of stupidity. Don’t drive drunk. Call a cab. Everyone knows that Nocioni can dish out the money. Hopefully the NBA and the Kings take a strong stance on this issue.

Then, the big blow is the potential loss of Kevin Martin for up to eight weeks. It was discovered early yesterday that Kevin has a hairline fracture in his left wrist. He suffered the fracture on Monday night and played with it in Wednesday night’s game, which is pretty impressive considering that he scored 29 points.  I’m tired of people questioning Kevin’s toughness. Yes, he does not have an NBA body and he is fragile, but that is not the same as toughness. Martin goes after loose balls and attacks the lane with reckless abandon despite being confronted by guys that have over 100 pounds on him at times. Martin is very tough, but unlucky. I blame the curse.

Martin may have surgery, which would involve screws and a hard caste and would keep him out for up to eight weeks, or he may elect to try and play through it. He is currently weighing his options and meeting with doctors to discuss a course of action. Obviously there is no easy solution here. If he risks further injury, the answer is simple and Martin needs to shut it down. If he can play through it and does not risk further damaging the wrist, he will likely do se because he knows that the ”soft” lable has already been applied. The Kings have nothing to play for this year and won’t make the playoffs, so there is no need for him to play through this if there is any risk involved.

From a team perspective, if Martin is out for a prolonged period of time, it would likely mean more minutes for Beno Udrih as Tyreke Evans would likely slide to the two and it may also mean more time for Omri Casspi off of the bench. Stay tuned for more details.

In other news: The Kings released one aging, defensive swingman, and signed another one yesterday as Desmond Mason was given his walking papers and Ime Udoka was brought onboard. Udoka may also see time at the two if Martin is down and that may have precipitated the signing in the first place as Mason didn’t have the tools to fill in at shooting guard very well. Udoka really isn’t all that suited to the two either, but can get the job done if need be. Right now, this is a wash and not likely to have a significant impact one way or the other. 

My apologies if this post comes off as a rant. I’m limited on time this morning and was just frustrated with the news yesterday on several levels. Thank you for reading and enjoy the weekend. Call a cab if you feel the need to forget your Kings worries though.