Grades v. Jazz 02/05

[Bricklayer]

Not complaining, just pointing out the bar had been raised, which is actually a good thing. Some people thought he was not capable of averaging double digits in the NBA and now he is knocking on the door at 9.4. (and that 2nd offensive foul was crap, should have been an And 1)

The real interesting thing is that he WASN'T good enough to average double figures in the NBA. And not that long ago either. His game has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year. And really the last 2 months. That awful looking windup twist flatfoot set shot thingie has largely been reworked (you can still see remnants), and now the kid who couldn't shoot straight can hit open jumpers as a matter of course as long as his feet are set. Furthermore, the kid who had absolutley no inbetween game to go with the no jumper, and so spent all his time charging into the lane out of control trying to force the drive, all of a sudden has come up with several different pullups off the drive that he is not only taking, but making. Its actually a fairly remarkable revolution in such a short time.

Remarkable enough in fact, that while I certainly know nothing about the program or coach, I do have to question why if he had the potential for a well rounded game did nobody pull him aside in college and work on it with him. I suspect the answer is just that at the small college level it was just too easy for him to charge into the paint and jump over the 6'7" Cs he was facing, and so maybe he didn't see the need to do it differently, nor did the coaches feel a need to work wtih him on growing his game, because what he was doing was working. Nonetheless, this has all come fairly quickly, and it appears that all he needed was somebody to challenge him. There was a real danger for his career when he got himself benched there at the end of November. But in the end maybe it did him some real good.

 

[Kingsgurl]

I'd say that his comfortableness on the court now has enabled him to play more like he did in College, where he did have a wicked mid-range game, was an excellent 3 point shooter (44+%) and knew how to get to the line consistently. Probably they didn't 'work on fixing his shot' because he was so effective with it, being the second leading college scorer in the Nation and all.
Yes, he did take a while to adjust to playing at this level, but he didn't just all of the sudden 2 months ago learn how to play.

 

[Bricklayer]

College threes appear to be 34% career? And of course that's a much shorter line. Better than what I would have expected actually giving the sub-zero confidence he showed in that jumper coming in.

I'll have to take your word for it on the inbetween game, although that seems odd. Doesn't make sense that he would come into a much tougher league, run into guys twice the size of the ones he's been playing against, and then not take a single midrange pullup for his entire first year if that was part of the arsenal. On the other hand, given the smoothness of the motion now, maybe its been something he's had for a long time and just never used until he was forced to alter his game.

In either case, something has clearly clicked in his head. In his first year his decisionmaking on offense was just terrible and he would force drive after drive after drive right into the teeth of the defense. He passed up every outside shot, never pulled up for a midranger. And the very logical conclusion would be that he did not have those shots, and knew it. Rather than that he had them and just refused to use them. And he started off this season not seeming to have made much progress. Looked stronger, but he was making the same mental mistakes. And now, very abruptly, he has "gotten it", and he is suddenly making very few bad decisions, at least when it comes to shooting the ball. And he is displaying tools he didn't display at ALL for the first 14 months of his professional career.

His first year he shot .385 and .200 from 3pt land (nor would he even take them unless forced). In November of this year he shot .366 and .176 from 3pt land. Now, in January, he shoots .516 and .463 from 3pt land. The change is dramatic. Not even remotely the same player. And I suspect this Kevin would completely destroy the Kevin of even one year ago in a one on one matchup because there is so much more to his game.

 

[1kingzfan]

It's really not hard to solve the riddle of Kevin Martin.

Some fans realized early in the game that all the kid needed was consistent time on the court. Others looked at his stats and played "shot doctor" on his shot form and concluded that he doesn't make it in the NBA, hands down.

While Kevin made some adjustments to his shot in the off-season working with Kings' assistant coaches, best I can tell is that it had more to do with the point of release more than anything. And that's what he brought into this season, and when he had a poor start, the shot doctors again complained about his poor form back in November and December.

Well, guess what? His shot form is the same as when he started THIS season and Kevin has made roughly half of his three-point shots in 2006. The simple difference is obtaining consistent on-court time to develop whcih did not happen until Bonzi went down at Charlotte. IMHO it was not some "challenge" to his playing time by Garcia or others.

Kevin has ALWAYS been good enough to average double digits in the NBA. That's why some fans chuckled when they saw such tripe posted, because they knew he just needed the development time, something GWall never truly got. Some fans knew that all of the tools were in place with Kevin, and that he just needed the time to gain a rhythm and more confidence on the floor.

Kevin's gotten that now, and he has blossomed.

There was not some magical-mystery change that all of a sudden took place. The kid just got the time and made the most of it.

As Kevin has said, he loves proving the naysayers (and shot doctors) wrong.

And, well, even though it's hard to admit for some who were so adamant about Kevin's future prospects, Kevin has indeed proven many wrong.

Let's hope that he continues to do so. He still has a long way from becoming a consistent, night in-night out NBA player, and he has to work on several aspects of his game, but he has certainly already proven beyond any doubt that he belongs and could be difference-maker.

In fact, it can already be argued that Kevin is a difference maker, with the Kings getting exactly HALF of their wins this season when Kevin has a strong scoring game (14 or more points). None of those games were one-man shows, they rarely are, but that litle stat is NOT a coincidence.

Anyway, it's all good, and so let's hope that Kevin continues to develop and contribute to our team's success.

 

[VF21]

I'd say that his comfortableness on the court now has enabled him to play more like he did in College, where he did have a wicked mid-range game, was an excellent 3 point shooter (44+%) and knew how to get to the line consistently. Probably they didn't 'work on fixing his shot' because he was so effective with it, being the second leading college scorer in the Nation and all.
Yes, he did take a while to adjust to playing at this level, but he didn't just all of the sudden 2 months ago learn how to play.

There's a key expression, I believe, that goes a long way towards explaining the seeming paradox.

He looks so much more comfortable out there than he did last year...

I also think there is something to be said for having someone more at your level in the pecking order on the team to be competitive with.

Kevin and Cisco clearly enjoy being the "new kids on the block." And they're both very competitive young men. I actually think they can exort and challenge each other to do better and better.

One thing I have to admit to really liking is Kevin's "landing gear up" jumper. I cannot be sure, but it seems as though when he does that move, his shot always falls.

Regardless, this year's Kevin Martin is vastly improved from last year's. And, I suspect, the 2007 model will be even more improved. I'm just glad he's wearing the uniform of the Sacramento Kings!

 

[LilMissDiva]

Ron Artest - A (if not solely for what he did, for the inspiration he gave the rest of the team. The guy IS the WARRIOR KING.)

Perhaps someday might be our "Lord of the Ring"? LOL

 

[NanaKing]

Brick, if you only knew!!!!!
Clearly you are one of the main naysayers to which Kevin always proves wrong. I could write a book! peace

 

[Kingsgurl]

Bricks not so bad. He is just very coldly analytical and very much a show me type of guy. You should be proud, NanaKing that he is raising the bar as high as he is, because in actuality, that speaks volumes.

 

[SacKings384]

There's a key expression, I believe, that goes a long way towards explaining the seeming paradox.

He looks so much more comfortable out there than he did last year...

I also think there is something to be said for having someone more at your level in the pecking order on the team to be competitive with.

Kevin and Cisco clearly enjoy being the "new kids on the block." And they're both very competitive young men. I actually think they can exort and challenge each other to do better and better.

One thing I have to admit to really liking is Kevin's "landing gear up" jumper. I cannot be sure, but it seems as though when he does that move, his shot always falls.

Regardless, this year's Kevin Martin is vastly improved from last year's. And, I suspect, the 2007 model will be even more improved. I'm just glad he's wearing the uniform of the Sacramento Kings!

Who was the first guy to run on to the court after Cisco hit those two threes? Kevin Martin... I'm glad these guys aren't jealous of eachother being that Adelman usually plays the rookie thats hot. Love it...

 

[Bricklayer]

Brick, if you only knew!!!!!
Clearly you are one of the main naysayers to which Kevin always proves wrong. I could write a book! peace

Well clearly.

 

[artestG]

Ron Artest - A (if not solely for what he did, for the inspiration he gave the rest of the team. The guy IS the WARRIOR KING.)

agree, his leadership alone is an A let alone his game.

 

[GoGoGadget]

That awful looking windup twist flatfoot set shot thingie.

During shootaround before one of the games I went to this year, Mike was joking around with Kevin and took a few shots with that windup -- balls were flying all over the place.






Don't really know what that had to do with anything, but I found it amusing at the time.