Kenyon Martin isn’t a doctor, and he isn’t psychic, either.
He knows as little as anyone about how his surgically repaired left knee will respond to an 82-game grind, and if things break right for the Nuggets, the extra work of an extended postseason.
October has done little to clear up that mystery as Denver prepares to open its season Tuesday in San Antonio.
Martin missed his share of practices and cut others short. He sat out four of eight preseason games and averaged a mortal 11.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in the limited time he spent playing, and coach George Karl has suggested that Martin might not be ready for a full load of minutes to start November.
“I’m not all the way there yet,” Martin admitted. “That’s when I was playing with no pain, no worries. Not (wondering) if it was going to mess up.”
Of course, when he did play, he couldn’t help but exhibit those tantalizing flashes – dunking the ball like he wanted to send it through the arena floor, bullying any opponent who tried to enter his defensive space, even showing off a deeper shooting range.
He said all month that Denver has not seen the real Kenyon Martin. Those closest to him describe it as a sight to see.
“It’s just so much intensity,” guard DerMarr Johnson said. “That’s what’s gotten him as far as he’s gotten now. He’s more skilled than everybody and he’s just tougher than everybody. He just has that attitude – ‘I’m better than you, I’m badder than you and I’m going to get it done.”‘
Added his former coach in New Jersey, Lawrence Frank, “The intangibles that he brings to the team, the toughness, the intimidation, the tenacity, the work ethic, every single day, those are part of his talents. I think Kenyon can be an elite player.
“When he was out East he obviously was a huge, huge, pivotal guy and the focal point for us getting to the Finals. He’s a special player, and I think if he’s able to maintain his health, everyone will see that.”
Martin is the first to admit his averages of 15.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in his debut season as a Nugget last year were subpar for him, a former all-star.
But the pain in his knee, and other, scarier pains in his life, caused distractions. He spent much of the early spring fretting over his newborn son, Kamron, who was born nearly three months premature. While he kept private about that, he heard constant public criticism about how he was unworthy of the $92.5 million deal Denver handed him the previous summer.
“Before, if there were other things going on, I could go play basketball and take my mind off it,” Martin said. “Last year my knee was bothering me. I wasn’t playing well. So it wasn’t like I could get away to the court and take my frustration out on the court. When you ain’t ready to play 100 percent, you can’t do that. … I didn’t know which way to turn.”
He lost 12 games to injury, and though he played all of the Nuggets’ five-game first-round loss to the Spurs, he was clearly not the same force who helped New Jersey into consecutive NBA Finals.
“None of us know the off-the-court pressures and stress,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “Some people handle that very well and other people, it wears them out. As a coach, you never really know. When a guy has a lack of focus, he might have five really good reasons to have a lack of focus. But as a coach, you demand him to still focus, because that’s his job.”
Martin just took another cortisone shot and kept pushing. Even Johnson, his friend from their days at the University of Cincinnati, said he didn’t understand the full extent of Martin’s injury.
But now his knee is improving. Even better, Kamron is 8 months old and doing fine.
“Just seeing him at home, seeing him smile every day, he’s a happy kid,” Martin said. “Very seldom cries. He’s not a fussy baby.”
Along with taking the Nuggets deep into the playoffs, Martin wants to return to the All-Star Game. But more than anything, he wants to be carefree. He doesn’t wear a knee brace because it reminds him of past injuries. He said he doesn’t mind the constant questions about his knee, though at times this month he has bristled when reporters have caught him in the wrong mood.
Asked when he might have full peace of mind, he replied, “If it never comes up in a conversation again, or a thought from myself, if I can go out and play and after a game or after a practice no one asked me about it, that’s when we’ll see.”
It was hard to see much this preseason, considering the time Martin missed.
“I’d like to see him go through a hard practice with every defensive concept reviewed and every offensive concept reviewed, being a leader out there,” said Karl. “He’s got to figure that out.
Still, the coach added, “I trust Kenyon Martin as a player.”
Martin’s teammates sound less concerned. Carmelo Anthony said the players are not worried about his preseason showing as long as he shows up when the games start counting.
“I think he’s on a big mission,” Anthony said. “Everybody, we’ve got something to prove. There’s a lot of talk, especially about him. I’ve got high hopes about him.”
Martin can’t guess what happens next. But it’s obvious to anyone who’s seen those flashes what he, and the Nuggets, could do if he solves that mystery inside his leg.
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
