‘Pain Man’ Plays With Nagging Little Injuries

Seattle SuperSonics All-Star forward Shawn Kemp has set such a high standard through the first half of the season that his occasional struggles are difficult to notice. Plus, when one part of his game is off, he usually compensates with another.

For example, although Kemp averaged eight turnovers in consecutive games against New York and Dallas, he also averaged 25.5 points on 56 percent shooting, 13.5 rebounds and 42 minutes.

In three games since then, he reduced his turnovers to a 5.3 average, but his production in other areas slipped slightly. During that span, he averaged 14 points - 7.2 below his average - and 9.3 rebounds - 2.9 below his average.

Other than lopsided victories or losses, Kemp has been in the lineup from the early stage of the fourth quarter until the end of the game all season with the exception of Saturday night.

While his teammates were pulling away from the Los Angeles Clippers for a 96-87 victory, Kemp was on the bench.

Although he won’t make excuses, Kemp has been hampered the past two games by a deep bruise in his left, (non-shooting) shoulder. And for several weeks, he’s been playing with a bruised thumb and finger.

One reason Kemp’s hands constantly ache is because defenders hit them when they strip him of the ball. As Kemp identifies his own tendencies, he’ll be less likely to be chopped because defenders will be less likely to predict where he’s going to dribble when he sets up from the low post.

In the meantime, the “Reign Man” is the “Pain Man.”

“You can’t play this game without pain,” Kemp said. “Every guy out there has injuries. A lot of guys have worse injuries than me. I feel pretty good with my little fingers and my little shoulder.”

Notes

By the numbers - With four steals against the Clippers, Sonics guard Hersey Hawkins moved into the Top 10 among league steal leaders. Hawkins is tied for eighth with Minnesota’s Tom Gugliotta with a 1.85 steals average.

Hawkins’ career steals average is 1.72. His season-best steals average is 2.22 from 1990-91, his third season in the league, as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Teammate Gary Payton leads the league with a 2.70 average, just ahead of the 2.69 average of Atlanta’s Mookie Blaylock.

Payton’s career average is 2.15 steals and his career-best average is 2.48, set last season.

Seattle has played 41 games, the halfway point of the regular season. At this time last season, the Sonics were also 30-11. In 1993-94, when they won a club record 63 regular-season games, they were 31-10.