[Marc Stein] Kevin Martin on all-star game and Carmelo Anthony

I don't downplay Martin b/c he plays for Houston. I downplay him b/c he is a one way player who depends on the refs to get him alot of points.

Very crafty, but not an all-star.

 

Anyone who can put up 40+ points should be considered an all-star but he won't get voted in because he's not a super popular player.

 

Basically the distance between Martin and the All-Star game is Yao Ming's condition.

Martin + Healthy Yao = winning team + media exposure + props + all-star appearance.
Martin + injured Yao = losing team + no one cares + not getting voted in

 

In all-star voting, they don't distinguish between PGs and SGs (an extremely stupid idea, for the record).

Kobe, Chris Paul, Deron Williams are pretty much locks. You throw in Ellis, Westbrook, Nash, and Parker, even without Roy it's a really crowded field.

 

Putting up good numbers on a bad team. The classic reason unless people dont think the rockets are a poor team.

 

Kevin Martin is an All-Star. He sadly will be snubbed.

What's the goal of the NBA? To score more points than the opposition. Well great, Kevin Martin is the best at that.

 

Yeah, I posted that in response to "jopatmc" wondering the top 5 sg's in the West. But yeah I agree I think it is pretty stupid. But sadly getting called to go to the All-Star game requires much more than just having good stats....

 

Nor is he as good. He clearly isn't an all-star. Remember the West is by GUARD, not specifically shooting guard.

- Kobe, Paul starters
- Ginobili, Deron, Nash, Westbrook, Parker, Ellis all have more impact.

Those are the real snubs (Ellis, Parker, and maybe even Nash might not make it)

I'd potentially also take Eric Gordon and Steph Curry over him as well.

He's a terrific scorer, and efficient, but all these other guards are capable of also scoring 20+ every night, and just do more on the court.

 

monta ellis isn't going to make the all-star team, so kevin martin basically has zero chance

 

Good point though. Team USA always takes one shooter, he would be a good choice. He'd just come in and space the floor when they need it.

 

His probably in the top 5 SGs in the west but is not when counting both East and West conf.

 

I think he has a shot. There tends to be injuries that will force players to miss the game. So aside from the starters, you got 2 guards, 2 forwards, 1 center, 1 replacement center, and 2 anythings. I think that's how it goes.

8 spots:
Dirk
Blake Griffin
Pau
Manu
Deron Williams
Westbrook
Love
Duncan

Okafor
Aldridge
Randolph
Jefferson
Nash
Ellis
Parker
K.Martin

Hmm, yeah, it looks pretty difficult. 2 or 3 guards will probably have to go down to lock it up for Martin.

 

I'm not seeing why people are rating Ellis above Martin, really. Nor Parker.

Guard wise, it's Kobe, Paul, Williams, Manu, Nash, Westbrook above Martin from my perspective. I doubt it's how it'll end up, however, but I think he could be a borderline one in the way Gerald Wallace was last year.

 

Deron, Paul, Kobe, Westbrook are all locks. However, all of these guys play great defense unlike Kevin Martin. He will most likely make it with the injuries that usually occur.

 

I would rate Martin and Ellis equally, or even give the edge to Martin. It was just a listing I made earlier. I actually like Martin over Parker, but the Spurs might have 3 All-Stars before the Rockets get 1 because they're 40-7 and the Rockets are 22-27. There is no set criteria because sometimes coaches will use one justification and then another the next year. So it's sort of a crap shoot. That said, I listed things because I just wanted to see who the locks were and it's a lock Kevin Martin is not on the Western reserves unless there are injuries.

 

How many elite scorers actually play both ways? Kobe, Melo, Durant, etc. aren't known as great defensive players. It is highly unlikely that you downplay them also.

Lebron is about the only one I can think of who can be a dominant defensive player when he feels like it.

And I would venture to say that all elite scorers rely on free throws to add to their point totals.....KMart is not the only one

 

Kobe tries to get fouled alot also... but he is a pretty good defender unlike Kmart. He has gotten all defensive team a **** load of times.

 

It's pretty remarkable that a top ten scorer in the league (who shoots a high PCT) is not likely to make the All-Star team.

 

The format for all star selection is G-G-F-F-C. Whether or not the player is a SG is irrelevant.



To answer your question though, I'd probably consider him a top 5 SG in the west. But, there's a steep drop off in impact from Kobe and Ginobili. Martin isn't much better, if at all, than Eric Gordon and Monta Ellis or a healthy Brandon Roy and Tyreke Evans

 

If Kmart played D, He'd be in L.A.
Their are no one dimensional players that are tagged as ''all-stars''