Kings center Brad Miller will miss final 5 games with injuries

4/8/2008 9:19 PM

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -Sacramento center Brad Miller will miss the final five games of the Kings' season with a stress fracture in his left leg and a bone chip in his right elbow.

Forward Ron Artest also ruled himself out of the Kings' lineup Tuesday night to rest his sprained left thumb, but point guard Beno Udrih was back in uniform after sitting out seven games with a strained lower back.

Miller, a two-time All-Star in his 10th NBA season, probably will need surgery on his elbow, but his injury problems shouldn't dampen an otherwise successful comeback season. He averaged 13.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists, making 46.3 percent of his shots after struggling mightily through injuries and awful play last year.

``He's done everything he wanted to do as a player to get back on track to being the player that he was a few years ago,'' said Sacramento coach Reggie Theus, who decided early in his first season to run his high-post offense through Miller. ``You've seen an energy he hadn't had in a while. Our relationship has been great from Day One.''

Miller started 72 games while playing through injuries that forced him to miss three earlier games this season. He had missed the Kings' last two games with what the club described as a left leg strain.

Rookie Spencer Hawes was expected to take his place in the Kings' starting lineup against Golden State.

Artest sat out for the second time in three games with his injured thumb, which also might require surgery, according to Artest.

Since Artest has been making the call on his own availability for recent games, Theus hasn't decided whether to shut down his second-leading scorer for the final week of the season. Sacramento has three home games in four days starting Friday.