Kevin Martin

With their full lineup essentially healthy - forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim is out for the season after knee surgery, but barely played before the surgery - the Kings have surged in late January and early February. Guard Mike Bibby and forward Ron Artest returned to the lineup after extended absences - the entire regular season in Bibby's case - on Jan. 16. Since then, Sacramento is 7-3.

Given the long-term injuries suffered by three of their top players (in addition to Bibby and Artest, Martin also missed 17 games with a strained right groin), it is remarkable that the Kings have stayed afloat. At 22-24, they're now just two games below .500. In the Eastern Conference, Sacramento would be in the thick of the playoff hunt; in fact, the Kings would hold the seventh seed. The West is a much different story. Sacramento is six games back of the eighth and final playoff seed, and 4.5 back of the team ahead of them in the standings, 10th-place Portland. While a run at the postseason isn't entirely out of the question, it would be very difficult for the Kings to pass three teams.

That doesn't mean Sacramento can't have an impact on the playoff races. The Kings have been playing spoilers all year long, particularly at ARCO. Amongst their home victims: Dallas, Detroit, New Orleans, San Antonio and Utah. Sacramento has a bizarre home-road split against Western opponents - 8-5 at home, just 1-10 on the road, that lone win coming on Martin's jumper in Seattle. (Against Eastern opponents, the Kings are 7-4 at home, 6-5 on the road.)

During the injuries, Sacramento found several players on the roster who thrived in larger roles. Backup swingmen Francisco Garcia and John Salmons demonstrated the ability to successfully start, with Salmons playing particularly well. Guard Beno Udrih, signed as a free agent early in the season, filled in ably for Bibby at the point. While finding minutes for these players has been a challenge with the Kings at full strength, the improved depth has been as responsible for the improvement as the return of the stars themselves.

Surprisingly, the Kings player who has keyed the recent surge is a player who has been healthy and in a starting role all season long - center Brad Miller. It's been a bounceback season for Miller after a disappointing 2006-07 campaign, and he's been dominant over the last three games, recording a pair of 20-20 efforts - the first two in Sacramento since 2001. Miller is averaging 14.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game and looking spry at age 31. A couple more 20-20-type efforts will allow him to average a double-double, as he did during 2003-04, his first season with the Kings. Alas, Miller, last week's Western Conference Player of the Week, is a game-time decision tonight after cutting his right index finger and requiring nine stitches in an accident washing dishes at home.

The Sonics visit Sacramento as the first of two stops on a brief road trip that is their first venture outside of Seattle in more than two weeks. Their strong play in close losses against the Kings and other opponents finally translated into three straight wins before the Sonics finished the homestand with a more disappointing effort against Chicago.

KEY MATCHUP
	Martin has proven a tough matchup for the Sonics, scoring 57 points in two head-to-head matchups this season. Of course, they're hardly the only ones who have struggled to contain the fourth-year shooting guard, who has scored 20-plus points in each of his last five games. Martin is a versatile scorer who gets points at the free-throw line and from beyond the arc, allowing him to exploit various types of matchups. Sonics guard Kevin Durant emphasized getting to the line the last time these teams played, shooting 9-of-10 on his free throws.

The Sonics were beaten in heartbreaking fashion on Jan. 27 by Martin, who hit a 14-foot jumpshot at the buzzer to give the Kings a 103-101 victory. The Sonics were down 98-101 with 6.1 seconds left when Damien Wilkins nailed a three-pointer to tie the game, but Martin drove to the endline and nailed the winning shot. The

The Sonics competed hard after halftime and went back and forth with the Kings throughout the final two quarters. Sacramento just ended up making a couple more plays. The Sonics got balanced scoring, with six players scoring double-figures and two more finishing with nine points, and held a 45-36 advantage on the glass. Unfortunately, the Sonics missed 10 free throws, which could have made the difference in the close game.

Kia Surprising Stat

INJURIES

Sonics - Guard Delonte West (left quad strain), forwards Jeff Green (sprained left ankle) and Wally Szczerbiak (sprained right ankle) and center Robert Swift (right knee contusion/tendinitis) are game-time decisions.

Sacramento - Center Brad Miller (laceration, right index finger) is questionable. Forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim (right knee surgery) is out.

For more analysis before tonight's game, listen to the Sonics Pregame Show starting at 6:30 on KTTH 770 AM.