Just give Kevin Martin Most Improved Award right now

HP who is Rex Hamilton?

The b*stard offspring of Rip Hamilton and Rex Chapman?

 

kevin martin wears #23

 

yes he is. couldn't you google image that as easily as anyone else could?

 

never mind, it was already posted..

 

I wrote a column about a week into the season, one I'm not proud of so I won't provide the link, that was originally supposed to be in the format of power rankings: a table with a player, his team, and a paragraph about the player next to him.

They decided to just cut the table and use the breakdowns as paragraphs, which made little sense because -- thinking that there would be team logos next to the player's name -- I didn't do the usual "Washington's Gilbert Arenas" to describe the goings-on. I mentioned Martin, but didn't actually say that he played for the Kings. And I got, and I'm not kidding, four emails asking, "who does Kevin Martin play for? I've never heard of him."

And this was a week into THIS season, and the column is being read by purported NBA fans (nothing against them) who are taking the time to read an NBA column in the heart of football season by SI.com's fifth-string NBA guy. It's amazing, to me, how obscure he was heading into the season.

 

he went undrafted in my fantasy league. And I even knew who he was, it just didn't occur to me to expend a draft choice on him, I think it's a combination of having a generic name and playing for a (currently) very low profile, small market west coast franchise whose games are rarely even on National TV and when they are are only on late at night.

 

I agree. He needs to change his name. Kevin Martin? Is he a football player or what? Same reason Joe Smith would never amount to anything near stardom in the NBA.

 

I think Dirk's a better chance of achieving that by the end of season.

 

Very impressive, yes, but Larry Bird did it twice in full seasons all the while averaging 9 rebounds per game (and 10 for his career) ... something this skinny pipsqueak will never do. There is only one Larry Legend.

 

agree

 

This is a problem for all west-coast teams that don't play in Los Angeles. They all play in relative obscurity to the Central and Eastern Time Zones. They barely get mentioned on national television shows, rarely play in nationally televised games, and are generally ignored by even basketball fans. That's why Utah can "surprise" NBA fans and media, but Toronto, Atlanta, and Orlando's development is scrutinized.

 

After watching him in last year's playoffs against the Spurs I could tell he would be awesome this year but I just didn't know how awesome he would be. He singlehandedly beat the Spurs in a playoff game last year. Of course Bonzi played well too but I think it was smart of them to choose him at a much cheaper price and he is probably a better player with a bigger upside. Very smart by the Kings. They always seem to have someone waiting in the wings, for example, Gerald Wallace that no one knows about even though when they get minutes they are amazing.

 

I used the fantasy 8th pick on him. I was so excited about him at the begenning of the season that I couldn't wait til later rounds to pick him up just in case someone else did. He did great for me, and in the end the greatest thing he did for me was get me Amare in a trade. I still hope he can average 20+ points/game but I am still convinced more than ever with the return of Brad Miller that his numbers will drop just below 20ppg for the season

 

Steve Nash currently has it going...with 10+ assists i might add...if he can stay above 20 ppg that would be mighty impressive.

 

hakim warrick may have something to say about that before it's all said and done. don't be surprised if pau gasol gets moved and hak stays in his current slot.

 

He's good. He's for real. Maybe not at the level he's been playing so far, but he's definitely a damn good player.

He actually can create for himself off the dribble occasionally, but he needs work in almost every facet of the game except scoring. I'm not hating, i'm just saying. It's natural because he's pretty young. Right now, the other 3 candidates posted in this thread have improved their game in the overall sense, not just scoring. But Kevin Martin is definitely on his way to MIP if he keeps it up...that is...IF he keeps it up over this long NBA season. Same with every other guy.

I've been hearing about him for a long while now because my friends are Kings fans ( ) so I've heard about this kid ever since he landed in Sactown. I think he's for real. He's actually not THAT athletic, he just uses his body and length well to create for himself. Plus, a lot of the jumpers he gets are relatively open.

No hate though, this kids good.

 

What about J.R. Smith... The guy came out of New Orleans as nothing and now hes averaging 16ppg and draining 3's everywhere. hes only 20 Years old

 

it's a 2 men race between k-mart and jr smith