[NBAPlaybook.com] K. Martin Getting to the Line [with videos, analysis, and stats!]

That info was fascinating. Martin may actually be our most underrated player, not Lowry or Hayes. Dude goes out and puts up points every night, and consistently gets to the line where he drains all his free throws. He is exactly what you want at shooting guard.

 

Good stuff. I never thought about the connection between Martin's unorthodox shooting form and his ability to draw fouls.

 

If I had to guard Martin, I'd foul out in 2 minutes. Not even exaggerating.

 

This is an important thing to read for anyone who accuses Martin of simply being a flopper or depending on the generosity of the officials to score points.

He creates contact and a huge part of the reason he is able to do that so often is because he is a fantastic shooter, has elite body control and basketball IQ, and a uniquely effective shooting motion.

What he does works due to his basketball skill and athletic ability. Not "acting ability".

 

thanks for posting, it was a good read.

martin is truly an artist when it comes to his offensive arsenal. he is a pleasure to watch.

 

This just shows smart Kevin is and how hard he works at his craft to perfect those skills. Think of the hours spent working on shooting accurately even after contact and on the timing of getting his defenders to foul him.

He also knows the officiating rules very well. He said once that he takes advantage of the rule which says a defender cannot impede a player already moving forward. And also on our team, Kevin is the one often pointing out to the referee if there's a defensive 3-sec violation. He would hold the ball on the perimeter, teasing the center to enter the lane, and wait for the violation to be committed.

I think that's why defenders get frustrated at him, because he's the one running into them. But even if they change the rules, I think, he will find a way to make the rules work for him.

It's just a pleasure to see the master at work.

 

martin's unorthodox shooting form makes his shot and fake look identical

 

Interesting that Martin's FG% is so low.

IIRC FG% ignores misses where the player was fouled, so that low % is based on clean shots.

 

That's what a good fake is supposed to do: look exactly like a shot. And as the article points out, Martin takes advantage of his unusual shooting motion to force his defenders into positions where he can draw a foul from them.

Anyway, I'm glad the writer points out how there's a lot more going on with Martin than just throwing his body into the defender. If not, anyone with a quick first step would be able to do what he does.

 

To be fair, it also includes all the non-clean shots where Martin doesn't get the call because he's trying way too hard for the foul.

Fun look at Martin's various go-to moves. Thanks OP.

 

FG% is irrelevent for someone with KMart's game. He's a 3pt shooter. His effective FG% is over .500 which is excellent.

 

I wouldn't say irrelevant. His eFG% for jumpshots is 47%. By comparison Ray Allen has eFG of 58% on his jumpers. Of course, Allen can't hold Martin's jock when it comes to getting to the line.

I feel people tend to miscast KMart as a "shooter", but he really isn't. He's more similar to volume scorers in the molds of Melo or Durant than he is to typical jumpshooters in the Allen/Peja mold. If he was more of a pure shooter, his FTAs would drop and his FG% would rise. Perhaps that would be more the case had Yao been healthy. But as the guy who scores 22% of the Rockets points, Martin always throw up his share of bad shots by necessity.

 

Thanks for sharing this. Martin is indeed very underrated, especially by people on clutchfans. If it weren't for his usual 20-30 pts, we would be much worse.

I would love, if we ever lose Lowry, for him to be used at PG ala Abdul-Rauf. Then we could have a bigger body and better defender at SG, since Martin cannot guard most, and he could go nuts on offense and try to contain the PGs.

 

Thats probably not a good idea, Martin is not a good enough individual defender to contain even middle-of-the-pack points and the one thing you dont want above all else is allowing a PG to easily get into the lane and break down your interior D.

 

His ball handling is suspect too. I get nervous when I see him take too many dribbles.

 

That guy is a fake star.

Everyone knows that KM using screens and pump fakes to misdirect the defender to jump up in the air, allowing KM to draw a foul and create efficient offense, is a girly and inferior way of scoring the ball.

I watch a lot of sports center, so if KM were truly an offensive superstar, he'd isolate himself, stutter step, use a pump fake to misdirect the defender to bite left, allowing KM to go right to avoid contact and attempt a highly contested manly lay up, where if he makes it, he makes ESPN top 10 and solidifies his alpha male-ness as a basketball player.

Superstars use misdirection for manly crossovers. Girly players use misdirection for geeky, pansy, high efficient foul selling.

KM, be a man, grow a pair, and try scoring without the help of your referee boyfriend. IF you can't get the whistle, THEN you're useless.

Signed,

All other fanbase outside the Rockets, but some rockets fans also.

 

Some of those didn't look like fouls to me. :grin:
On every play, the fouling defender is claiming 'WTF?!??!'

One thing is certain: the refs are almost anticipating KMart getting hacked or even nudged, which is good for the Rockets.

 

I disagree. Using one's mind and the limited body-type to be a great scorer is something most NBA players aren't doing. The stuff he's doing is bordering on martial arts/Jedi mindtricks. There's nothing girlie about that. I wouldn't say KMart is a superstar, but he's a great scorer and finds a way to get points.

 

He's a combination of everything. Players like Anthony won't shoot 40% on threes even though he gets assisted on his 3s much more than KMart does. Allen cant crate his own shots from the outside like KMart can even though hes a better shooter.

So he's in between both types of players. If he was better at either aspect that I'm discussing he'd be a hall of famer but he's not.