This is just not true, AB is not a great defender, but if you notice, Kyle is getting torched just as much, and we KNOW Kyle is a better defender. So what is it? Maybe the rest of their team is not picking them up? I have said for years that the new rules do not allow you to play lock down perimeter defense, you can't touch other players, and they allow them to carry the ball, so you need help on the perimeter more than anywhere else. You need guys to rotate and support each other out on the floor. Do you ever see Kevin Martin rotate in and take a charge? Because we see Battier doing it, we see Kyle doing it, we see AB doing it, we see everyone ELSE doing it....where is Kevin? Oh yeah, running the other way hoping for a quick basket. DD
DD you know Shane usually get's the toughest assignment, he's just been getting lit up so far this year. While Martin certainly has to share some blame I've seen Scola, Shane, Lowry even Chuck get lost on rotations. Couple that with having no shot blocker/rebounder the results aren't surprising.
Blurr, I freely admit that the entire team is struggling, but to me it looks like a case of guys just not caring as much etc.... Someone said in another thread that chemistry teams fall apart faster than others because chemistry is so fickle. We basically add in Miller and Martin and our chemistry falls apart, I do not think that is a coincidence. WHAT? You must not be watching the Rockets games..then. DD
Who cares how Kyle is playing, yea he is getting torched but that doesn't mean AB is even an okay defender. The rules do lean toward offense but AB gets killed against good to great PGuards on a regular basis, just look at the games where he has played against Westbrook, Rondo, Nash, Williams and a healthy Paul. On his defense, he can often offset his limitations because he scores which is why he NEEDS to fill up the basket consistently and most PGuards will have trouble with these guys but still doesn't hide the fact that he is a BAD defender.
They do score on him, and they score on Kyle too, the difference is that AB keeps up with them by scoring with them or more than them. So, is Kyle a bad defender than too? Because those guys light him up? I don't think so...I think Kyle is an above averge defender and Brooks is an average defender.... I think they are being let down by their help. DD
I have seen martin take a charge. Maybe just one though! On offense he is doing as expected. He has never been a guy that can break his guy down off the dribble so let's not fault him for Brooks and Yao being out. In fact he is still putting out great numbers. On D I agree he sucks but so is everyone. The big problem I see on D is there is no philosophy. One of our bigs scola overplays every pick and roll. Other bigs hang back. Lowry lets every pg shoot behind a screen. Others try to trail. We never help budinger on postups yet we double team at nonsensical times. The suns game was the first time a philosophy was executed where they switched the screens. Maybe it was dumb but atleast they tried. Hopefully this trend will continue.
A very nice post, repped... It may be a lack of scheme, or it may be that some guys look around and think to themselves, well, I am not going to play as hard if that guy isn't going to do it. Thus...chemistry problems... DD
I dont think its him not trying. It's just that Kevin Martin is just a really bad defender. He gets caught in no man's land a lot and can't fight through screens/picks. If were going to talk about chemistry killers I'm going to have to put my vote for Brad Miller on the defensive end and sometimes on offense where he decides to drive to the basket from the 3pt line..
A shot blocking big man covers up alot of mistakes. No one considers Carter, Lewis or Nelson elite or even above average defenders. Until Yao get's back if ever or we acquire that piece or the puzzle this is what we can all expect.
Same guy who claims AB is this franchises saviour. AB get's frustrated when his shots don't fall and his temper effects his play but DD don't talk about that just how Martin isn't "scrappy" enough. Martin brings more to this team than AB because he can get to the foul line and MAKE his free throws. Martin doesn't turnover the ball like AB does, running into traffic with no place to go but Martin is fool's gold? Please.
Let's not forget about how he disappears in the 4th quarter every game. I like him, but his "ole" defense and disappearing act gets frustrating
Kyle is trying to do too much right now, me thinks. Trying to make things happen too much and letting his defense slip a bit as a result. He really wants that starter position and trying to prove he can do it. As for Martin, I don't see him as fools gold. Are we really getting anything different then what you expected, anything different then what you saw in Sacramento? He seems like the same player. He was never gold to begin with. If you think about it though, I don't think mgmt ever intended for him to be anything other then what he is. We were suppossed to have a better compliment of players around him. We were suppossed to have a healthy Yao and wanted a Bosh in the front court. We wanted to have an Ariza/Battier combination to take the though defensive assignments. We had AB to be able to create his own shot when need be. Martin was a good fit for someone to get those extra points on few shots. So since we don't have those players, Martin looks like a bad deal. I don't think we're eager to trade him though, I think Morey still believes he can get the right players around him to make him worth it.
Everyone knows what K-Mart is and what he isn't. In the right system, he's deadly, but his flaws must be coached around. And remember, if he were a more complete player, we wouldn't have been able to afford him.
. Thanks. I agree that could be a problem too. I think knowing our perimeter D will be average at best we need rim protection at all times. Hill should start with scola. We haven't seen enough of that combo. When Yao is back bring him off the bench. More Courtney lee at sf with martin at sg would help too. There are a lot more quick SFs in the league these days so his size is not that big of an issue.
http://www.basketball-reference.com...al=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=def_rtg There's only so much Martin can do when his backcourt mate has been the team's weakest link 3 years running. And please stop talking about Kyle as if his few games as a still clearly not 100% starter mean something.
Very good stuff there DD. Rhetorical or not that’s just what it is. We have workhorses on the team, Scola, Battier, Hayes, Lowry. They give it all they got on the court, but only Scola is a legit offensive threat. For Scola who has played all his life, he knows what it takes to win and he wants to give it his all; Battier and Hayes both know what it takes for them to be in this league, hard nosed play and intelligence on the court. Lowry is finally getting his chance to start and the frustration he is experiencing is clear in his body language. Martin is a finesse player with talent and an excellent shooting ability, but do you see any toughness in his game? Martin’s defense is just bad, there is no other way to say it, and when you have him out there it causes all kinds of problems with guys having to rotate to cover up his mistakes. [Martin is not the sole cause of this, other guys are missing assignments too.] When he is on the court with Miller who’s defense is weak, or Chase who is inexperienced it amplifies the problems. Then you put guys like, Scola, Battier, Hayes, Lowry on the court with him and it creates an entirely new set of problems. True or not the perception is that to play D all it takes is the desire to do so; just hard-nosed effort to stay in front of your man and harass the hell out of him. When some guys on a team do that then watch other just disregard half the game it’s going to cause problems with chemistry and execution on the court. Some have compared him to Tracy, which in some ways is accurate. His game is very much like the Tracy we had towards the end. He was capable of excellent play in spurts but lacked whatever it took to carry that play through an entire game. He settled for outside shots and didn’t take it to the basket. What we needed from Tracy then is what we need from Martin now. Work harder on both sides of the ball, play defense, minimize mental lapses, stay with your man and don’t commit silly fouls.
I was thinking about this too the other day, I do have a feeling Kevin Martin is the one guy that's taken away that pitbull mentality. The team just doesn't look like they even care out there anymore. I don't see the desire from him to do anymore than put up points and it's ok if the other team scores on you. I think he fits well as a 6th man to bring instant offense but as the best player, we are in trouble. He just brings no fire or intensity at all. To me watching him is like watching someone playing a casual basketball game with his friends, it's just fun and you get paid to do it. Nothing is on the line.
