It just amazes me some of the things people say. Have you watch the games since Martin has been here, or just looked at the stats? Ok, so the team has to get used to playing together but did you see the first step of Martin? I would say it has to be one of the fastest in the league it's amazing. Did you see how he can stop on a dime after that first step and shoot the pull up jumper? I think we are going to be thrilled with the trade.
Exactly...he has looked very nice, outside of his shooting.....he left Barnes standing still on that crossover. Very quick....with him and Brooks we have perhaps the quickest backcourt in the league. Add Yao and we have our Spurs team. Ginobli - Martin Duncan - Yao Parker - Brooks Yep, championship here we come. DD
In all honesty, this whole team seems soft. I don't feel like we have any level of toughness on the team anymore. Even the "hard working scrappy team" thing seems to be wearing off.
This year they shoot much better than Martin. For his career, the 27 year old Martin is a .448 percent shooter from the field, .385 from three and .850 from FT. (.45/.39/.85) Richardson is a .44/.37/.71 OJ Mayo is .45/.39/.86 Terry is .45/.38/.84 Roy is .47/.36/.80 The only way those guys can be considered "better" shooters than Martin, let alone "much better" is if he is seriously declining and will never shoot like he used to again.
I like Martin, but I don't think he's comparable to Ginobli in his prime. They are very different players. Ginobli was such a ball of energy on the court. He blew by people all the time and was incredibly creative with the basketball. Martin is quick, but he doesn't have that motor.
Typical knee jerk thread. You see the guy for 3 games and call him soft? STFU. If he was soft he wouldnt average going to the line 9 times a game. He would be a chucker just like shane or ariza and martin is FAR from that. Give the man time. Its his first trade in his career and he is still getting re-adjusted to a new system. I hate how some people hate just to hate. Just shut up and watch the damn games.
Team seems soft because we have no interior defense. Even a limited player like Dwight Howard can score at will inside. That plus being outrebounded makes us look like toilet paper. FFS BATTIER was the leading rebounder last night. Aaron Brooks was second. Think about that. Not being Pollyanna here. Martin may or may not turn out to be an allstar (which is what Houston does need from him). But you all are b****ing about HALF a team literally. Yao + Ariza plus whoever steps up into the rotation along with Scola are crucial pieces of the team that simply did not exist last night. Looking at the team next year you're looking at least 3 more key pieces and its impossible to judge the team or Martin. Yao, Yao's backup, Scola's backup. And Martin, Brooks, and Ariza will play vastly different roles with Yao in the rotation. Any hand wringing or wrist slashing about Martin or Houston's defense is speculation at this point. If you have been watching, Martin's ability to draw fouls at will and his quick step to the basket are outstanding. Plus Martin has the ability to cut to the basket without the ball which we have not seen in action but will come into play once Yao commands doubles next year. To me Martin's upside is Reggie Miller with a less clutch shot but quicker step. He's not the best at his position in the West but there's not a player that brings his precise skillset either. His ability to shoot, draw fouls, to drive from anywhere on the court and his ability to score off the pass are all obviously important factors in Morey's metrics. You guys might have been crying, but last night watching Howard all I could think about is how he'd have been shut down versus Yao, and how much better Martin and Bud would have been with Yao pulling the Orlando defense to his side on offense.
Martin has taken it to the basket more in the last 3 games than T-mac did in the last year that he played here. At least it feels that way.
Roy is better than Kmart. Jrich is better? Which is why the suns have been trying to move him? Terry...nope. Mayo...maybe some day. Manu...not any more. Once again, Martin was scoring 30ppg before his early season injury. This was before the wrist injury and before Tyreke was given the green light to just do whatever the hell he wanted to do out there.
What? He has scored over 30 4 times this season. Is that what you mean by "scoring" 30ppg? Ginobili has a better FG%, 3P%, and FT% and more assists and steals per game in less minutes this year. So saying not anymore is crazy.
The suns have no money. Terry has better career FT%, FG%, and 3P%. You cannot compare Martin two years ago, you have to either look at career, or this year.
I agree he does have the ability to draw fouls..and we all know he's a skinny frame..FOr him drawing fouls requires technique and flopping..since a mere touch foul in the nba will get the call..but when he gets beat on the defensive end and discounting the fact that he looks lost on the offensive end for mmany of the possessions of the games so far..then he should be accredited to being soft.
Nope, look at his first 5 games. He then broke his wrist on his shooting hand, I guess he's supposed to just come back from that easily? Then combine that from the fact that Tyreke rarely passes the ball now and you can see why his numbers are down.
roy- ok. jrich- 2 years ago. terry- never close. mayo- maybe 3 years from now. ginobili- 2 years ago. there's just really kobe and roy. maybe one more dude from golden state and probably not.
Why is everyone comparing KMartin to Manu...two different players. Manu is on the decline and Martin is coming off an injury, their stats are skewed. Love Manu's game but the dude is about to be 33 while Martin is 27, I could care less who is better today rather ask that question at playoff time next season. As far as soft, why would we call the guy soft? He was constantly driving to the hoop in the 2nd half last night and draws fouls like they're going out style so contact isn't an issue.
