SALT LAKE CITY — Kenyon Martin has always thought of himself as a leader.
It was true in New Jersey, where he played with Jason Kidd. The same has been true during his tenure with the Nuggets, even if it wasn’t in a official capacity.
But Martin is a Nuggets co-captain, along with Carmelo Anthony, this season. Whether Martin is ready for it or not, the position carries a huge responsibility.
“I’ve always had that mind-set,” Martin said Wednesday following Denver’s 98-94 season-opening loss to the Utah Jazz. “Coming into this season, I’ve wanted to lead and this is the first time that I’ve been healthy since I’ve been in Denver. So that’s going to help me on and off the court.”
Against the Jazz, Martin showed what he’s capable of, even if the Nuggets didn’t emerge victorious. With Anthony serving the first of a two-game suspension, Martin scored 18 points in 33 minutes. He grabbed six rebounds, and blocked two shots.
Most importantly, the ability to get to the rim off the dribble was back, something that had been missing from Martin’s game in recent seasons. He also provided Denver with a low-post presence, offensively and defensively. This is what the Nuggets feel Martin will need to provide if they want to make it back to the playoffs. Marcus Camby is no longer on the court to erase mistakes. And in his absence, the coaching staff sorely needs a big season from Martin.
“I feel that Kenyon and Nene are both going to have to have special seasons if we’re going to offset some of our offseason changes,” Nuggets coach George Karl said.
For his part, Martin is up to the task. When asked about Karl’s comments, Martin said he approached Karl before training camp on the same subject. Martin also clearly has high expectations of himself, saying he wants to play as well as he did with the Nets. It was that level that garnered Martin an All-Star Game appearance, the tag of being one of the best young power forwards in the game and the big-money deal from the Nuggets.
Martin said being healthy is a step in the right direction. This is the first offseason he’s been able to work out and the improvement showed, as Martin played well in the preseason, which led to the strong regular season-opener against the Jazz.
The Nuggets can only hope that the new K-Mart warranty is good for the next 81 games.
