"When reigning Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans scored a season-high 32 points against the Clippers on Dec. 27, his Sacramento Kings coaches and teammates saw it as a strong sign he was recovering from his early-season struggles.

But Evans almost immediately stole the in-house optimism, saying after the game that he was considering treating his nagging case of plantar fasciitis on his left foot with a procedure that would sideline him for three to four months. A day later, he downgraded the estimated recovery time to one to two months. And now nearly a month later, Evans is unsure whether he'll have the laser treatment done at all.

"(The plantar fasciitis) has gotten a lot better -- much better," he told me Wednesday night after finishing with 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds in an overtime loss to Portland. "I still feel it, but not as much as I used to ... so that's a good thing. At this point I'm just trying to ride it out and play through it and just see what happens in the offseason."

If only it were the only problem.

Evans -- whose production and efficiency have improved this month but whose numbers are significantly down from last season -- missed three of the Kings' six games on their recent road trip with a sprained left ankle. He said the status of his foot and ankle will determine whether he plays in the Rookie-Sophomore game at All-Star weekend.

"I don't know yet," he said of the game. "I'm figuring out now how my foot is feeling and how my ankle is feeling and if I should play. I'm definitely looking forward to playing in it, but I've got time and hopefully I'll stay on the court if I'm feeling good.""