I was at the game tonight (Saturday) to watch the debut of Kevin Martin #12, and would like to give some analysis on what I saw in the flow of the game. He checked in much to the delight of the crowd at Toyota Center at about the 5:50 mark in the first quarter. He was active, and was around the ball on almost every rebound. Two minutes later Kevin made a spinning free throw line extended jump shot, his first shot as a Houston Rocket. Despite a rough shooting night (3-16) he looked like a guy who will fit in nicely with our team once chemistry is developed. He drove to the basket several times drawing contact without a whistle (refs suck ). He got to the line 9 times in the game vs Indiana while making 8 of them. He was clearly lost at times and did not look comfortable at certain points during the game. He was able to get several open shots, which should translate into points once he gets his shot back (please let it be tomorrow). Defensively he missed some assignments, but did finish the night with a team-high 3 steals. If I had to give a grade for K-Mart/K-Money/K12's performance tonight I would score him a B. His good screens and cuts got open looks for him and his teammates, he spread the ball around effectively tallying 5 assists for the night. He rebounded better than I expected, getting in there with the bigs from Indiana and pulling in 6 rebounds. His shooting was off, but trust me folks he got open shots that he will convert. Another thing I liked was he kept shooting and didn't get gun-shy. He claimed he wasn't "pressing" in post-game interviews, but it did look like he was while he was on the floor. The first game in this new environment was a learning experience for the team. Overall, solid debut! Can't wait to see more against the Hornets on Sunday (2/21/10)! Hope this was helpful to those who couldn't watch the game, or were looking for some amateur analysis on Martin's Rockets debut. Go Rockets!!!!
One thing you forgot to mention....his defense is not good and he needs to make an effort to play defense. When Yao comes back...he's going to shut down interior drive and that allows the perimeter players to gamble more.
BANGOR, MAINE!!!!! Frak I messed up.. Get it together DreamShook one more time.. PAPAYA!!!! Yes! you did it.. win!
Kevin Martin had an off game. I think he'll bounce back next game, and I do agree he looked a bit lost but he'll bounce back.
I think over time, his defense will just get better. He's coming from a team that was far from playing any defense. The Rockets over the last few years have been known for their defense led by Battier and Hayes, who are also the team captains. With their direction, he's only going to get better defensively. For now, as long as he's somewhat of a liability on the defense, he's gotta pick it up offensively. Again... this was a tough loss to swallow, but overall, i'm not too disappointed.
He missed a few assignments, and got lost on some screens, but he did man up and D better than I expected as well.
Eh, JVG installed the defensive minded Rockets. That's been what, 3 years ago? Our defense has gotten slightly worse each year since he left. Yes, Battier and Hayes are still the defensive pillars, but the Adelman system is more offense than defense. Don't expect Martin to suddenly become an elite defender.
I think playing ANY of the PF's/C's we acquired would help us tremendously. I know Adelman won't do it, but starting Jordan Hill couldn't be that bad. This was supposed to be a development season anyway. If we start Hill and Hayes down low our defense should be improved if for nothing else than having more size at the center position, developing Hill as a starter for have a season would just be icing on the cake.
Even though Martin shot poorly tonight, he did show us the ability to get an open shot off anytime he wants to. Which is what Rockets were lacking before the trade....Brooks can somewhat do it, only if he's not so vertically challenged.
Martin's defense is as bad as Budinger's. He did have 3 steals, but on the cost of almost no defense on pick-n-roll, or man-on-man. What bothers me the most was his lack of effort in defense. He almost avoided all collisions to the guy setting the pick while defending pick-n-roll, and would not chase the guy off the pick. To me, he looked like TMac of last season on the defensive end. I hope this is a one game thing, as he just arrived. Otherwise he would become a big chemistry problem, as all the other guys are hard workers.
Martin is a hard worker too. He didn't really show the effort defensively tonight, but what he did show is that he is willing to learn. He was basically picking everyone's brain, talking with them as much as possible. He also credits most of the ability that he has today to people that have helped him progress in the past. For instance, he said Cuttino Mobley helped improve his shot. To me, that shows a player that is willing to listen and take in what people have to say. Taking that into account, I'm sure he will start pick up on the other guys' style soon. Battier and Chuck Hayes should be able to take him aside and teach him. He will probably never be a great defender, but his effort will definitely improve defensively.
I do not understand your logic. I am sure Budinger would have made more, if he was given the right to take those shots. From what I saw, Martin got a quick (and ugly) release that's why he can get an shot off, and that's probably why Bill said that Martin seemed rushing his shots. Budinger got a quick release, too. Brooks actually played a decent game except some poor decisions at the end. I have to wonder if the Kings had asked Brooks instead of Landry, would the rockets do the same deal? I would think it a bad trade if the rockets traded Brooks for Martin.
The problem with throwing Hill into the fire like that is that for a rookie, if he doesn't come in and produce right away, it can impact his game mentally that could make it hard for him to recover. Eventually, as they become more acclimated to RA and his system, I think we'll see Anderson's minutes reduced, and Hill and Jeffries' increase.
Please don't take any stock into a new players first game... Jamison went 0 - 12 so I guess Lebron is already packing for NY... New team New Offense Lots of Pressure to prove you were worth the trade...
Jamison is kind of a bad example for the last point. He was traded for practically nothing... so I doubt there was pressure to prove the trade was worth it.