Tonight against Oklahoma City, Nuggets reserve guard Anthony Carter will play for the first time since March 3, but starting forward Kenyon Martin is “doubtful,” according to coach George Karl.
Martin sat out three games to rest his injured back and returned Monday in the Nuggets’ most-recent game. But he sat out the fourth quarter because his back had tightened up. Martin is Denver’s top low-post defender.
And Carter, returning from a left hip strain, is arguably Denver’s best perimeter defender and a pretty good passer. With him out, the Nuggets have struggled with their offensive flow and assist totals have been down.
“I’m about 80-85 percent, but I’m playing tonight,” Carter said today after Denver’s morning shootaround. “I just got to bring energy and defense to the team, get the ball to the scorers and just have everybody running.
“I don’t think (the hip) is going to get great or all the way right, because I’ve been playing on it for months and it’s been lingering and lingering. But I’ve been getting treatments and it’s been getting better.”
The Nuggets (40-25) have lost eight of their past 11 games, while the Thunder (18-46) has won five of its past six games, including a win at Sacramento last night.
“You can’t sleep on a team — you need to be prepared,” Denver center Nene said after shootaround. “They’re young and talented and want to show people they can beat great teams. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Thunder.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
