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Martin puts rough game behind him
The shooting guard blames only himself for his two-point outing.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 6:28 am PST Thursday, November 30, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C4
When Kevin Martin finally came down from his mountain of momentum, his boss was there to offer some simple advice.
"(Kings president of basketball operations) Geoff (Petrie) told me the sun would come up today, and sure enough it did," Martin said.
One day after having his streak of eight consecutive 20-plus-point nights broken with a two-point outing Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, Martin was ready to put the game behind him. The third-year shooting guard already had dissected the game tape until the early-morning hours after the Kings' 93-80 victory. The deduction? His 1-for-8 shooting had more to do with his own poor play than anything else.
"I made it easy for them to guard me," he said. "I just stood around and let myself get down after I missed a couple shots. I don't really think (the Clippers) did anything differently, except that when I came off of pick-and-rolls, they were (double-teaming)."
Martin's bigger concern was that he wasn't allowed to shoot his way through his slump. Coach Eric Musselman played Martin just 23 minutes and said Wednesday that his decision was about more than missed shots. Martin had no rebounds, steals or assists and made three turnovers.
"We understand that guys are going to have off-shooting nights, (but) when they do have off-shooting nights, we need them to contribute in other areas -- rebounding the ball, getting steals, not turning the ball over," Musselman said. "All those factor into it with ... not Kevin, but anybody. I think it's important that everyone understands and realizes that there are going to be nights when your shot doesn't fall. That happens to the greatest players in the history of the game. And when those shots don't fall, all the other intangibles become extremely important."
Musselman also said he liked the matchup of Kings swingman John Salmons on Shaun Livingston, who was nearly flawless offensively early but was slowed late.
"More than anything Kevin did wrong, the other guys did good," Musselman said. "John gave us some good size to cover Livingston. ... It was more how the pieces fit than anything (Martin) did wrong."
Musselman and Martin spoke after the game about the coach's decision, then conferred after Wednesday's practice in what Martin said was a good discussion.
Keep it moving -- The Mike Bibby battle cry for more ball movement has been answered since the Kings tallied a season-low 10 assists against San Antonio on Nov. 19.
The Kings' point guard said after Sacramento's 108-99 loss that there was no excuse for the stagnant offensive flow. In the four games since, the Kings have had 20 assists against Utah, 23 against Seattle, 19 against Portland and 21 against the Clippers. Entering Wednesday, the Kings ranked 20th in assists (19 per game). Last season, they ranked fifth at 22.3 assists per game.
Defensive display -- There were plenty of blown open looks, but there were plenty of contested shots, too.
That was Musselman's assessment of his team's defense against the Clippers, who were held to 30.6 percent shooting (30 for 98), an NBA season low.
"The guys really did a good job," Musselman said. "The defense has something to do with it. And we understand that (their) shots might not fall, or they may not have had all their players. Having said that, it's still an NBA game."
The 30.6 mark was the lowest by a Kings opponent since they held Miami to 29.8 percent (28 for 94) in a 96-70 home victory Jan. 5, 2003. The Rochester Royals set the franchise record when they held the St. Louis Hawks to 27 percent shooting Nov. 23, 1955.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@ sacbee.com.
Martin puts rough game behind him
The shooting guard blames only himself for his two-point outing.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 6:28 am PST Thursday, November 30, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C4
When Kevin Martin finally came down from his mountain of momentum, his boss was there to offer some simple advice.
"(Kings president of basketball operations) Geoff (Petrie) told me the sun would come up today, and sure enough it did," Martin said.
One day after having his streak of eight consecutive 20-plus-point nights broken with a two-point outing Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, Martin was ready to put the game behind him. The third-year shooting guard already had dissected the game tape until the early-morning hours after the Kings' 93-80 victory. The deduction? His 1-for-8 shooting had more to do with his own poor play than anything else.
"I made it easy for them to guard me," he said. "I just stood around and let myself get down after I missed a couple shots. I don't really think (the Clippers) did anything differently, except that when I came off of pick-and-rolls, they were (double-teaming)."
Martin's bigger concern was that he wasn't allowed to shoot his way through his slump. Coach Eric Musselman played Martin just 23 minutes and said Wednesday that his decision was about more than missed shots. Martin had no rebounds, steals or assists and made three turnovers.
"We understand that guys are going to have off-shooting nights, (but) when they do have off-shooting nights, we need them to contribute in other areas -- rebounding the ball, getting steals, not turning the ball over," Musselman said. "All those factor into it with ... not Kevin, but anybody. I think it's important that everyone understands and realizes that there are going to be nights when your shot doesn't fall. That happens to the greatest players in the history of the game. And when those shots don't fall, all the other intangibles become extremely important."
Musselman also said he liked the matchup of Kings swingman John Salmons on Shaun Livingston, who was nearly flawless offensively early but was slowed late.
"More than anything Kevin did wrong, the other guys did good," Musselman said. "John gave us some good size to cover Livingston. ... It was more how the pieces fit than anything (Martin) did wrong."
Musselman and Martin spoke after the game about the coach's decision, then conferred after Wednesday's practice in what Martin said was a good discussion.
Keep it moving -- The Mike Bibby battle cry for more ball movement has been answered since the Kings tallied a season-low 10 assists against San Antonio on Nov. 19.
The Kings' point guard said after Sacramento's 108-99 loss that there was no excuse for the stagnant offensive flow. In the four games since, the Kings have had 20 assists against Utah, 23 against Seattle, 19 against Portland and 21 against the Clippers. Entering Wednesday, the Kings ranked 20th in assists (19 per game). Last season, they ranked fifth at 22.3 assists per game.
Defensive display -- There were plenty of blown open looks, but there were plenty of contested shots, too.
That was Musselman's assessment of his team's defense against the Clippers, who were held to 30.6 percent shooting (30 for 98), an NBA season low.
"The guys really did a good job," Musselman said. "The defense has something to do with it. And we understand that (their) shots might not fall, or they may not have had all their players. Having said that, it's still an NBA game."
The 30.6 mark was the lowest by a Kings opponent since they held Miami to 29.8 percent (28 for 94) in a 96-70 home victory Jan. 5, 2003. The Rochester Royals set the franchise record when they held the St. Louis Hawks to 27 percent shooting Nov. 23, 1955.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@ sacbee.com.
