Tyreke Evans is spending more time in Los Angeles than the Kings would like.
Evans will not be with the team tonight when it begins the post-All-Star schedule at Miami. He instead will be in Los Angeles for a follow-up appointment with Dr. Richard Ferkel, a foot specialist. Evans had an MRI on his left foot Monday afternoon.
Ferkel will review the results and plan rehabilitation for the plantar fasciitis that has kept Evans out the past two games.
The injury has bothered Evans most of the season. Evans visited Ferkel for a second opinion in December, when medication, treatment and a walking boot were prescribed and Evans was cleared to play.
But the injury flared up again, beginning Feb. 13 at Phoenix. Evans missed the next two games, blowout losses at Oklahoma City and Dallas, and sat out the Rookie Challenge game during All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.
Evans said he has a knot on the bottom of his foot.
When asked about his foot Friday, Evans said it hadn't gotten any better. Evans added he didn't know if surgery was an option. "I'll just wait and see what the doctor says," he said.
Odds are, the Kings will have a tough time minus Evans. They are 1-6 without him this season. The lone victory was in the season opener at Minnesota that Evans missed because of a league suspension for reckless driving.
The Kings can be competitive against losing teams without Evans. They beat Minnesota and were able to hang with the likes of Toronto, Houston and Washington without Evans before falling.
But against winning teams, the Kings have been routed without their leading scorer. The closest they have come against a team with a winning record without Evans is 16 points in their loss Wednesday at Dallas.
With Evans on the sideline, Oklahoma City thumped the Kings by 30 points, and Boston beat them by 24.
And the Kings won't catch a break tonight against the Heat. All-Star guard Dwyane Wade aggravated a right ankle injury in Sunday's All-Star Game but practiced Monday and told reporters he will play tonight.
If Miami had lost Wade, it wouldn't have made the Kings favored, but it would have given them a better chance. With the Heat chasing Boston for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, Wade said he had no intention of missing the game against the Kings.
"I don't want to miss any time,"
Wade told the Associated Press. "It's not serious enough to miss any time."
