He's sort of like the anti TMAC, Mcgrady would do all sorts of flashy dunks and stuff to get his points. Kevin, on the other hand, just gets his points, he may not be a globetrotter or anything fancy, but he gets the job done
I can't even tell you how many times already I have looked at the box score after the game and been amazed how many points Martin scored. He's so sneaky, very efficient... as good as advertised. If he stays healthy what a weapon.
What I like about that statement too is that he has the ability to be flashy and make a couple of nice highlights (nothing like the younger T-Mac of course) but chooses not to.
actually i don't think he's quiet in the 4th quarter, it's just that brooks is more loud...aka he's more aggressive so it makes Martin look passive. I don't remember Brooks passing the ball to him recently in the last moments of games....
A couple days after I bought your seat, me and gwatson86 got to sit right by the tunnel on MLK day for about 20 bucks each, and got to witness the infamous Daryl Morey "Hulk Smash" of Gersson Rosas
Brooks tries to take over most of the time in the 4th quarter and Martin is open but he's not getting the ball. They need to run more plays for him late in games.
I agree to an extent, although I think that he has his opportunities and fades away from them. I think that might be because of the fact that he is still new to the team, but in the 4th quarter, I don't think that they run a lot of plays specifically for anyone time after time. I think within each possesion they have first, second, third and even fourth options and even a condition for each option (and conditions to those options!). But, I have a hard time believing that 6 minutes remaining in the fourth that Kevin becomes option number three or four all of the time. From a non-objective (statistical) observation, I think he tends to be more worried about swinging the ball or staying in the corner at the end of the fourth quarter. Granted, 30 seconds left, they just open the floor and let Brooks go to town, succeed or fail. But, overall, as the fourth quarter goes by, I think he is wanting Brooks to take over and does not feel like it is his team yet.
He scores quietly because he scores within the confines of the offense. You guys have been conditioned into watching certain players dribble, dribble, dribble, ball-stop, and control for so many years that you don't even know what just hit you in the head.
Maybe he knows he is less likely to get a foul called in the fourth quarter, which takes a big part of his game away.
Someone noticed that Martin is a momentum stopper when the other team starts a run. He does that by stepping up his aggressiveness and usually get a foul called. Clock stopped. We score. Momentum stops. I've seen every game Martin has ever played in the NBA. He can be the aggressor in the 4th, and will do that when called upon. But he also recognizes when another player is hot and will work to set that player up. He learned from Adelman early on, and now with Adelman again, there is usually no "go-to" player down the stretch of close games, there are just options. Martin's value in the stretch of close games is his free throw percent. When we need to make free throws to hold off the other team, it will be Martin who takes the inbound pass and makes those points. That's incredibly valuable. One other thing Martin learned is the flashy dunk on a fast break can sometimes go flying off hitting the rim and making the dunker look like a fool and the team loses 2 points. Martin two-hands it. Sure thing. He's no fool. Anyone who's complaining about a guy who just jumped into the Rocket's #1 scorer for the season needs to step back and get a clue.
I don't think I like the quiet scorer. I want someone who scores the big bucket, commands attention and notice, and "imposes" his will on the game - a game changer. Look at Lowry, not outstanding stats. But everyone feels the impact he has.
YEA i noticed the SAME freakin thing.. i saw that martin had 28 points in yestrdays boxscore and i was like do u call that non-impactful scoring? idk
I totally agree. I have no comparison for this guy. I can't name one player (and I go way back) that's averaged 25ppg in this league and says "I'm just trying and I hope I do better". He was cool being benched in favor of a rookie and praises his coach. Huh??? Even Yao's not that humble. No one making 10 mil. a year is. It's only a matter of time before fans start screaming for an enforcer, and other than Kyle we don't have anyone who is flat out dangerous. We have a team full of tough "milk drinkers" :grin: But Martin does appears to be wired differently. Shane's said many times that he sees plays developing quicker than most people. I think Martin does too on the offensive end. What has surprised me is that he doesn't go for ticky-tack fouls - he ploughs into space - and gets to the line. His style will probably work well in the playoffs (someday). I guess he's just not into the SportsCenter highlight thing. But it wouldn't surprise me if he goes off for 50 on a given night. That's rare.
I'm hoping that next year, we won't have to rely one a single closer. Yao, Brooks, Scola, and Martin could also be closers depending on what the defense is giving them.(One problem is, multiple closers always seems to work better in theory then in practice... refereeing has something to do with it. It will be up to Morey and Adelman to work things out, but there is a lot of potential goodness
