np guys, i was just as shocked to see it wasnt posted yet, but I did see the article about 20 mins after it was posted Martin probably gained a lot of fan's respect after this interview, but would you still trade him for Melo? I'm still split decision, but may have increased to 60/40 in favor of keeping Martin.
Agreed, and Hill, Patterson and Jeffries were not even on the roster before the trade deadline and, I am guessing, are not expected to be a part of the regular rotation, at least as of this moment. So, their rotation guys (again, guessing as of this moment) are 2 lotto picks (Yao, Battier), 3 or 4 late first rounders (Martin, Brooks, Lowry, and probably Lee), and 4 2nd rounder and undrafted guys (Budinger, Hayes, Scola, Miller). Beyond injury ravaged truly bad teams (like last year's GSW, who pulled up many D-Leaguers), the Rockets will probably have one the the lower average draft position among all teams in recent league history if you weigh it by minutes played and count all guys drafted after the 60th pick as being picked 61st (or something like that). And remember, in the first part of last year, the rotation was Brooks (low 1st), Lowry (low 1st), Ariza (low 2nd), Budinger (mid 2nd), Battier (lotto), Scola (low 2nd), Landry (high 2nd), Hayes (undrafted) and Andersen (low 2nd).
Speaking from experience, it's not especially difficult, to be honest. All the practice a scorer goes through, the repeated situational drills, the mental focus and preparation, make read and react not that difficult to do. Also, what Martin said about defense and conserving energy, I've been stating for years. No top scorer plays consistent shut down defense.
Thanks for posting - great interview with KM. It reinforces my belief that for this team to be successful, they have to steer clear of head cases and prima donnas. The Rockets are go for liftoff!
Martin is a highly intelligence guy based on his insight and knowledge of the game. When you hear him talk or do an interview...u just knew. So with that said, i feel sorry for him if they ever trade him though. I think he deserves a chance to play with Yao.
definitely brad and martin can teach our young perimeter players how to work with our bigs. Hope they can help to solve the fronting defense on yao.
I was so happy to hear somebody say that! That's why I feel even if we don't pick up Carmelo in a trade we still have a good chance at winning it all. If every player on the team is playing with this kind of mentality and with a chip on their shoulder.
I agree with pretty much all the posts in here. His responses just exude confidence and basketball IQ, 2 things every team needs in spades. It's also refreshing to hear a guy talk about who he is as a basketball player in a truly honest tones. He knows his strengths and weaknesses and doesn't shy away from discussing either. I was against the Miller signing when it happened, as I was afraid he and Yao were too similar in their style (i.e. finesse shooters that aren't particularly quick or athletic and aren't known as rebounding demons). I really wanted someone who's game was the opposite of Yao's (a Ty Chandler type). This article, though, really helped me see the logic of signing Big Brad. He's going to be a great influence on our young bigs as well as our perimiter guys, and he'll be a great stabilizer for our 2nd unit. We've seen the offense go stagnant when Yao was on the bench way too many times over the last few seasons. I think Miller is going to help us a lot in that regard.
Best thing I took from that piece was Miller's willingness to teach. Hopefully he can help our other young wings learn the system.
At first I was thinking wait...Jeffries was picked 11th!?! Then I looked at the rest of that draft class...This draft was loaded with busts, although its not terrible on the backend. - Jay Williams (2) - Mike Dunleavy (3) - Drew Gooden (not a bust, but for #4??) - Nikoloz Tskitishvili (5) - Dejuan Wagner (6) - Chris Wilcox (8) Anything after 10 can't really be labeled a bust, but here are some other highlights. - Melvin Ely (12) - Boki Nachbar (15) - Jiri Welsch (16) 2001 and 2006 are the only drafts that rival Jeffries class this decade.
Scola and Budinger artificially lower the average pick number for the Rockets. Scola was 56th because he was a foreign player with an existing contract in Europe and Chase originally was a projected lottery pick who fell all the way to #44. I wonder what their lottery stock would have been like if general managers in those drafts had had access to a crystal ball. This applies to Brad Miller as well and to a lesser extent to Martin and Brooks.
Excellent, excellent interview with Martin. Thanks for posting OP. I knew Martin was a pretty intelligent guy, but man he seems like a freaking basketball genius! I agree with Deckard, how can anyone wanna trade this guy??? I truly believe Martin playing with Yao is gonna be something awesome to watch. The cutting, curling, low post to high post plays are going to spectacular. What is even an added bonus is Brad Miller. When Yao isnt in the game Martin can gel with Miller as well. This interview truly got me pumped up for this season. Go Rockets!!
Great and enjoyable read. Thanks to the OP! Lots of win. Lots of opportunity to bold some of the text. Like someone said earlier, can't believe they would trade him.
Jared Jeffries was a really good prospect back then. He led the Indiana team that went to the championship game as sophomore and pretty much keyed the offense there passing out of the high post. I don't think he's improved since on offense since he was in college.
