Nuggets coach George Karl said it’s “doubtful” that power forward Kenyon Martin (wrist) will play in tonight’s home game against Minnesota.
“There’s always a chance he’ll come back, but right now, I say he’s doubtful,” Karl said after the morning shootaround. “Without Kenyon, we’re a little short up front. We’ll have to plug the paint and cover post-ups in a lot of different ways.”
It’s possible that Denver will start Renaldo Balkman in Martin’s place, just like Saturday, when Balkman started and scored a season-high 17 points.
“He played very well in Sacramento,” Karl said. “And he’s energized to get minutes.”
The Nuggets will start out with center Nene guarding Minnesota’s star post Al Jefferson.
Also today, the Nuggets assigned center Cheikh Samb and guard-forward Sonny Weems to the Colorado 14ers, Denver’s NBA Development League affiliate. Samb had limited minutes in six games this season, and Weems has not played yet.
Weems was acquired on draft night in a three-team trade. And Samb arrived in the Chauncey Billups trade with Detroit.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
