This. But even without the prize 4 I believe Martin will get the best shots of his career playing alongside Yao. So yes I think it will work and work well. Not that I have written off this year, but I'm really looking forward to next year because I think there will be that big addition at the 4 and we will be contenders again.
The question I have is who will be making the entry pass to Yao in the low post? In previous seasons we had Artest/Battier and McGrady/Battier/Alston to handle the duty. How will Martin and Ariza fare at it? As for the OP, I don't think the Martin/Yao combo is the same formula as Francis/Yao or McGrady/Yao. The big problem with McGrady/Yao was that the offense was often schizophrenic - it was either a Yao-centric offensive or McGrady-oriented set, but rarely both at the same time. Unlike Francis and McGrady, Martin doesn't need to have the ball in his hands to be effective. He can get his shots within the offense, which means there is potential for a more fluid, integrated offense.
No. Old standard Centers cannot dominate in this era. Rules favor the wings and I don't think Kevin can take us far. Health is an issue Current Chemisty is a problem next year our roster will look different LBJ and Kobe are still around The only possible solution is Yao playing at a high level and demanding the ball in the playoffs. So NO.
Think about this, Steve and Tracy both have to dominate the ball in order to be effective and remember that Yao was just developing as a player when Steve was our go to guy. Martin is able to play off the ball and seems like he can play effectively without having the ball in his hands the entire time. Once the team rebuilds it's chemistry, it should be if our team can rekindle that devotion to defense that JVG once tried to instill religiously amongst his players. Couple that with an actual working offense and we've got ourselves a very damned good team =)
I think we need to upsize the combo. we've got da burgers and da fries...now we just need a drink to sort out da big 3.. :grin: we also got da salt and pepper ready on the sidelines ready to season the upsized combo
I said yes - but I didn't realize that you're considering anything short of a championship failure. Honestly, I love Yao and I'm excited by Kevin Martin - but am I the only one that is disturbed by how similar they are to the Rik Smits/Reggie Miller combo? All that makes me feel better about that is that Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola are better than anybody else on that Pacers team.
I'm thinking the same. I'll throw this out there too. I think we might see the second coming of the Sacremento Kings in H-Town. Yao might be used more like Brad Miller. Martin??? I see shades of Christie in him. Food for thought. theSAGE
I'm not so sure that it's particularly Yao and Martin that can make it work; rather, I think that it's the rest of the team that can make it work. When you look at the rest of this roster, I know that we all often complain, but this team is pretty loaded. Landry was a huge loss however, and is a hole that Martin cannot patch up, seemingly, nor can any other player on this roster. You're right when you assert that Morey is no fool however, he's not betting everything on it working either, which is why I think that he acquired those draft picks. More specifically, I think that he wants to see how Martin fits in and how the team performs before making a decision on how to rebuild. If he likes what he sees, expect those draft picks to be dealt for a more immediate impact, but if not, expect him to actually utilize those picks for the betterment of the team's long-term future. This man is truly brilliant, even if I don't always like what he does.
On paper, they are a great match for each other. Kevin Martin can easily create shots for himself and get to the basket. That can put a lot of pressure on the other team's big, and since he has always been great at getting to the free throw line, he can get the other big man into foul trouble. His ability to create shots is a great asset to have when Yao is being fronted. He's also a great shooter (or, at least he was before this season, hopefully he can find his shot again), so when Yao gets double teamed, having Martin and Aaron Brooks around Yao can mean huge things. The thing is, it's not about the combo. You can have 2 really good players on the same team and they might be able to carry the team to victory quite a few times, but if there isn't a decent supporting cast around those two, they won't amount to anything. Right now, the Rockets have a decent supporting cast that would be around those two guys next season. If Morey can find a way to bring in one more big piece (aka Bosh), I think we'll be set for a very big season next year. Barring injuries, of course.
Martin only play 2 game here. Brooks & Lowry still are the guys supposed to give the ball to teammate.
