Durv, We had Lowry, Hayes, and Shane on the floor with Luis (who was gassed) and Kmart. The Wizards are not stupid, they were leaving one of the dud 3 alone to stop Martin or double Luis etc. I know Yao was out, but Adelman's rotations this year have down right sucked ass. DD
Kind of hard to be efficient when you're playing 2 on 5 on offense because the other team doesn't give two craps about Chuck Hayes, Kyle Lowry, or Shane Battier.
Agree 100%, as I have said, Martin does not have the one on one skills, but he is a very valuable 2nd or 3rd option. Just not a lead dog. It is why we miss AB so much, as he becomes the best option we have late in games. Maybe some people will begin to understand how important that is...but I doubt it....lol. DD
All of you blaming Martin need to go back and watch the 4th quarter. He scored 9 points in the 4th and 31 points in the game. Out of the 4 shots he took in the 4th he made 2.
But late the Wizards were not going to let him beat them....or Luis.....they want the other 3 to shoot, and uh...that is a pretty good plan, unfortunatly. DD
Ish should have been in there instead of Kyle. Lowry has killed the offense in his few minutes this season, and the Rockets were in sore need of a playmaker (which Kevin Martin is not). The decision to play Battier and Hayes was a *shrug* to me. Rockets needed stops, and they are our best defenders at those respective positions. I would not have complained if they were seated, however.
Maybe a little bit of offense/defense rotation when we are playing, get a stop, call a timeout...bring in the offense? DD
He missed 3 shots and had 2 turnovers in a 4 minutes stretch in the last 5 minutes when we went scoreless. When it really mattered, when we were counting on him to carry the load, he did not deliver. You need to be able to count on your best offensive players to make plays down the stretch. That's what they are paid for.
I agree 100% with you on that one. Ish should have been in there at the end. Put the ball in his hands, move Martin around to try to find open spots, and if he can't, let Ish do the play-making for him. Now, obviously, that might not have worked either, but to me, it's a better option than putting the ball in KM's hands and telling him to do it all himself because that doesn't fit Martin's game at all.
Maybe, except the Rockets best offense without Yao is transition, and in a close game you want to preserve your timeouts.
Martin is a perfect complimentary scorer/2nd option with someone who can create for themselves. He's excellent at what he does and don't expect him to be more because that isn't his skill set.
Teams that rely on transition to get points late in games are perpetually in the lottery. The Rockets got back in the game with an offensive rotation in the 3rd with Brad Miller at center. And for some bizzare reason, Adelman put in a defensive one and we went to hell.... At most you should have one defensive minded player on the floor, unless you are ONLY playing defense on a final possession. It is weird, really, Rick seems to favor offensive players, but falls in love with defensive ones....bizzare. DD
Sadly, Ish has been our best playmaker so far this season. Martin cant create for others, Brooks can go 1-on-1 but he cannot create for others either and Ish cannot shoot. As cliched as it sounds, we have a big problem btw. wouldnt have Morey envisioned all this when he assembled this team?
Brooks creates for others...just fine. He is not as good as Ish as it, but he does create for others.....and in late game situations as well. Von for 3 against the Celts ring a bell? DD
Do you still think Brooks and Martin can coexist on a championship roster? If so, what direction would you go?
Of course they can, but we need a shot blocking big or so to help in the paint......I mean if Manu and Parker can do it.... Right now this team is in flux, between last year's squad that had Brooks as option 1, and Martin as option 1a. And two years ago, with Yao the clear number 1. I just think that Morey acquired a lot of assets, but for whatever reason, the coaching staff has not given the teams an identity....a clear path.. And compound that with all the injuries...and we are just not that good.... DD
One of Morey's high-value $Ball "stats" for acquiring Kevin Martin was his ability to get to the FT line late in the game. I don't recall the specifics. But Morey mentioned that in the history of the game, Oscar Robertson and Martin were all alone in a category of getting to the line with like 5 or fewer minutes left. Whoever was third was well behind that duo. So I'm now I'm reading mulitiple posts here that Martin is not a closer...can't finish...not a star...can't get his own shot...etc, etc. I can't see how both of these views can be correct.
We need to build around Martin and Scola. Martin's numbers are great esp at his salary. 31, 6, 7 today. 24 ppg, 50% fg, 40% 3 pt, 90% ft You can't ask for much more than that. Don't forget a SF that can make a shot. RJ has been lighting it up.
Because Martin does not have the ball in his hands all that much here, and he is not treated as a go to guy. Ask yourself this question about those fancy stats.....how many times when he got to the FT line late....was his team actually down by 10 or more points? LOL DD
