SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
I could have sworn he had more run outs of steals alone than two. Hmmm.
Grades v. Sonics 11/24
- Thread starter Bricklayer
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Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Eh...
Not to say he's bad. Has good moments to be sure. But the steals are a bit deceptive. The showy stuff, but really the result of gambling and leaking out. The problem coming when he doesn't get them we are playing 4 on 5. Its part of the game plan and helps lead to those easy points out on the break, but its not the same thing as a true defesnive gem like Artest who will just poke it away from his man off the dribble and create something from nothing. Kevin is gambling in the passing lanes for the most part.
In any case rarely does a game go by where I don't see Kevin make at least one or two good defensive plays/stops, and sometimes considerably more. But I'm not sure I've yet to see him ever just lock somebody down for the whole game. So hell of a defender may be a bit much.
kingsfan916
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SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
Playing the passing lanes is a part of defense. And from what I have seen he doesn't really get beat by it that much, the ones he really goes for he usually gets. But I agree it doesn't make him a stopper. There is one stopper in the league and that is Ron Artest.
He also stays in front of his man very well and picks up charges with some consistency. His athletic ability certainly helps in the way he plays defensively. His defense is starting to remind me a little bit of a less hell bent Doug Christie.
He also stays in front of his man very well and picks up charges with some consistency. His athletic ability certainly helps in the way he plays defensively. His defense is starting to remind me a little bit of a less hell bent Doug Christie.
Honolulu Kings Fan
G-League
Ha ha! I agree he resembles Christie to me too, except that Christie never scored much... Certainly not 20+ ppg
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
Kevin is getting much better at deflecting balls. Spending time with Doug Christie and Ron Artest couldn't have been a bad thing in regards to that area of his game.
slugking50
All-Star
Not a bad game for "The Zanesville Zipper". The kid continues to impress.
I have said this before, but I think defensively, Kevin Martin's a 1.5--and if anything, closer to a 1 than a 2. He has the quickness to guard most average NBA PGs, but lacks the strength to guard big OGs with a post-up game, a la Bonzi Wells. In fact, in last year's playoffs series against the Spurs, he was probably our most effective defender on Parker, although "most effective" here pretty much meant "you can only drive by me most of the time, not all the time". So in this way, he complements Artest's defense very well. The relatively small Ray Allen is actually a good matchup for him defensively--Martin's doesn't have to worry about getting posted up on by the opposing SG, and he has the length and quickness to contest Allen's shots and prevent drive drive penetration. Of course, there will be days where you can do whatever you want on defense and Allen will still torch you for 30. Fortunately for us, this was not one of those nights. 
Honolulu Kings Fan
G-League
1.5 out of ??? 5?
Kev.in
Starter
Sometimes he is. Against Utah he was getting killed on backdoors and he made too many mistakes gambling on help defense to get steals and leaving his man open along the baseline. He was active last night, but the Sonics aren't a particularly smart or well-coached team. He just needs to keep learning on defense and focus on making the smart plays.
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