another 4th quarter disappearing act by Kevin last night. No body was even looking to pass him the ball, he kept running around the screens and could have hit at least 2-4 jumpers in the 4th if they seen he wasn't really being covered that great down the stretch. So, my question is. What do the Rockets have to do to make him effective in the 4th quarter? Should Kevin start bringing the ball up the entire time in the 4th to make sure our best shooter is fully capable of going for the shot? Or should the Rockets continue running him off screens the entire 4th quarter? I think this topic has probably been beaten to death, but last night was unacceptable. You give your best shooters the ball when your down by more than 2 going down the stretch. It's unacceptable not to.
its not on the coaches if he doesnt be aggressive when he has the ball....He's been like that for years man...He shys away from contact unless he's on the attack...But I agree on the fact that they should use his ability to curl to make plays for himself or someone else...ala Rip Hamilton and Reggie Miller
He shot about 20 times last night, and in the 4th the Bulls took him and Scola away, and said...Here Kyle, and Shane..you beat us..... DD
They let him get his shot through 3 quarters of the game. Whenever a little defensive pressure is applied to him he shrinks and can no longer get good shots off on his own.
Martin is not a superstar, he cant take over games if you double him or put pressure on him then he becomes ineffective, and since Miller, Lowry, and Battier arent much of an offensive threat, it is easy to contain Martin and Scola in the 4th this is the reason why we lose so many 4th quarter battles, stop the 2-3 guys who are hot and force our role players to take shots
He is not payed like a superstar, please do not expect him to do things a superstar would do. If we get a superstar, Kev. Martin would play a great role, being: - Get the other team in foul trouble, allowing the superstar even more freethrows than he would already get. - Hit open shots (which we know he can do). - After hitting open shots, give the superstar more room to work. - Allow us to stay in the game for three quarters, taking some of the weight off of the superstar. It's all an if, but we will not go forever without getting someone who would allow Kevin Martin to play that role. Iggy, though not a superstar, would even allow Kevin Martin to play that role better. It's about getting someone who can make big plays in the fourth. That's where Kevin Martin will be even greater on our team. He is just not that guy in the fourth quarter.
He doesn't have the skills to bring the ball up. He's not a creator, so I think we'll see more of this.
The Bulls actually have a good coach that doubles players that are doing well... Rose got to go one on one the whole game
Kevin Martin needs a creator at the 3 spot or PG for him to play best. Look at Ray Allen for example. Kevin Martin is playing like Ray Allen when he was in Seattle, he puts up numbers but his team sucks.
Battier completely destroyed Deng last night. He shut down Gallo and Granger the previous games. Shane is not the problem.
Not that simple. Firstly, he did get the ball in the 4th. In fact, he got the ball a number of times, but was catching the ball out 3-4 feet behind the three point line. Thats not his comfort zone. Once he caught the pass, he was almost immediately doubled, which he responded to by passing out of. He does not dribble into double teams and when defenses focus on him more, he often struggles. He's obviously far more talented, but we doubled Rose last night and he still found a way to score, almost at will. When Martin held on to the ball trying to make a move, nothing materialized. He ended up passing it out to Lowry or Hayes late in the shot clock, forcing them to try and make a play on their man, or throwing a bad pass. I'm hoping that once AB returns, we see a more active Martin in the 4th. AB's dribble penetration kickouts allow Martin to get better looks on offense as the defense shifts its focus to AB more. Brooks and Scola are really the only guys we have who are confident, create their own shot, score well, and dont mind having the ball late in games.
For most of the 4th quarter, Luo Deng and Corey Brewer were both double teaming him. I doubt Kobe could even have been effective with that sort of defense thrown at him. Regardless, he is not an isolation scorer and never has been. Thats where AB would have been useful last night, unfortunately Rose has always been a matchup nightmare for AB in the past and they still probably would have won.
I don't understand the comments that Kevin isn't a superstar, and we need to get a closer, etc, etc. Granted, we know all those things. None of them excuse the fact that we are out there with the five guys we have, and in the fourth quarter that almost always includes Luis and Martin down the stretch. Yet, time and time again, as games come to a close, you really don't see either Martin or Scola getting the same opportunities from their teammates as you do the rest of the game. Is it partly because the opponent defense has clamped down and those 2 guys need to be more assertive and vocal? Sure. But it has more to do with your coaching and your other players...particularly the ones who are controlling the ball...particularly the point guards. Not to pick on Lowry, because AB has this problem, too...but, since we are right off of last nights game...there is no excuse for Lowry dribbling around till the shot clock was about to expire time and time and time again. You've got to run your offense like the rest of the game. You can't get frazzled by a little tighter d. That means run K-Mart of picks like usual, post Scola up like usual, run a pick and roll with Scola, etc. And do it all early in the shot-clock....(drumroll), like usual. Watching them close out games is pathetic. Rick should be embarrassed. It's one thing to be seriously outmatched, or to run solid plays that get open shots that are missed....but neither of those are really the case. I didn't see quite so much doubling....BUT, even if true, even more of an embarrassment for Rick. You got a guy drawing constant double teams and you still can't get open shots but instead are forced to heave up end of shot clock prayers. Yikes! It's like the Texans noting the Jaguars took away the sidelines on their last drive of the game. Sure...maybe true...but if so, that means they left something open, and that something had to be more than dink and dunk plays, none of which got you more than 8 yards.
kmart got locked down...and this is where u say u miss brooks and bud..people who can spark the offense..lowry was way too obvious that he didnt want to shoot and only could drive. The bulls interior is way too solid for a driver..u need some solid shooting, but martin and scola were locked down..just a sad game to lose when ur up starting the 4th and get stopped ice cold on an 18-0 run or w.e
He couldn't shoot because Lowry was too busy f'in around barreling into the defense and causing turnovers
