http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E33084%257E2840169,00.html
K-Mart a clown of a captain
By Mark Kiszla
Denver Post Staff Columnist
San Antonio - The humiliating 28-point defeat the Nuggets suffered Wednesday to San Antonio? That was nothing. Denver's embarrassment had only just begun.
You should have seen the way Denver forward Kenyon Martin lost it after the game.
After being made to look like a fool, Martin acted like one.
With no explanation for a 104-76 playoff drubbing, Martin lost his cool, fumed with anger and growled profanities.
"Ain't nobody here think we could get no win but us," said Martin, upset bookmakers had listed the Nuggets as nine-point underdogs for Game 2 of this NBA playoff series. "And we did."
Go ahead, let the anger out, big guy.
Question: Was this a successful trip to San Antonio?
"Why not?" snapped Martin. "Next question, man. Did you think we could win a game here?"
When a newsman gave him an honest answer of yes, Martin replied: "Lying! Next question."
As Denver teammates pretending to get dressed tilted ears toward the diatribe, Martin refused to eat his humble pie.
Instead, he threw it back in the face of reporters.
Hours before San Antonio blew out the Nuggets, Martin was full of swagger and vinegar at the team's morning practice, playfully berating doubters who were shocked by Denver's series-opening victory.
There is an interesting, telling contrast between Martin and San Antonio center Tim Duncan, whose demeanors can set the tone on how teammates react to adversity.
After looking weak and infirm in Game 1, causing the league to gossip about how much worse his sprained ankle was than Duncan would admit, the Spurs forward responded with 24 points, toying with the defense of Martin as a silly nuisance.
Duncan could have gloated. He could have talked smack. He earned the right.
"I don't get angry," said Duncan, who left the juvenile tantrum to Martin.
Of course, you cannot blame Martin for being mad.
He walks into the SBC Center for a playoff game and immediately stinks up the joint.
Dating back to the 2003 NBA Finals, when Martin was a member of the New Jersey Nets, he has played four straight subpar playoff games in San Antonio, clanking 39 of his 51 shots.
If his locker room tirade was intended to motivate the Nuggets, his bluster was undercut by teammates unable to conceal their grins as K-Mart went off.
"Everyone takes his anger out in a different way. Kenyon will let you have it," said forward Carmelo Anthony, who maturely took responsibility for his own poor performance rather than spilling bile on the expensive shoes of TV reporters.
This is no attempt to scapegoat Martin. In a lopsided loss that evened this best-of-seven series at one win apiece, there was plenty of blame for everybody.
Nuggets coach George Karl was caught unprepared for a bold change in the San Antonio starting lineup by Gregg Popovich, who benched all-star guard Manu Ginobili in favor of sharpshooting Brent Barry, whose long-range bombing softened the interior for Duncan. Denver never considered this adjustment a possibility until both teams shook hands for the opening tip, Anthony confessed.
Denver's fast break went to pieces, producing only two points. What happens to a motion offense when the Spurs hit 61 percent of their field-goal attempts in the first half and clog midcourt with two retreating defenders as soon as anyone from San Antonio pulled the trigger on a shot? The Nuggets were shattered.
Anthony is being undressed by the relentless defense of San Antonio pest Bruce Bowen, leaving Denver naked and exposed in the half-court offense.
"We have to get Carmelo going, he hasn't been himself this series," said Nuggets center Marcus Camby, a veteran who understands how to call out teammates without a shred of anger. "K-Mart has to get going. I know he got slowed with foul trouble, but we need him to be himself."
Martin is one of three Denver captains, paid big money to be a leader, lauded as a man who can show the Nuggets how to act under playoff duress.
Everybody plays the fool sometimes.
But two games into the postseason might be a tad early to start stressing out.
The Nuggets are paying Martin $90 million to be a captain, not a clown.
In defeat, Martin glared and cursed, warning cameras and microphones to get out of his way.
It takes more than bad acting to scare Duncan and the Spurs.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-820-5438 or
[email protected] .