He made it three times and was 20 in the bank. Logicially to be better Kevin woiuld have to be a step above that -- i.e. a true perennial go every year player type. And gee aren't we at that point just getting a TAD ahead of ourselves?
I disagree. If Martin put up 20 a game fairly efficiently and did ANYTHING else, he'd be better than Peja.
Martin's numbers as a starter: 13.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, .511 FG%, .423 3P% and 0.9 SPG.
Martin's nowhere close to Peja (in quarters 1-3, regular season) right now and I'd be shocked if he somehow managed those shooting percentage numbers again. I don't really EXPECT Martin to be better than Peja, and would frankly be surprised if he was. 20 point scorers don't come around every day. But I do think Martin has the potential to be better than Peja.
Which is exactly why I'd rather have Martin than Pedja. Pedja was an extremely talented player, but his heart just wasn't in it. You could tell that it was just a paycheck to him. His whole "I don't do basketball at home" quote is simply amazing. Unfathomable actually. Martin may or may not turn into a consistant 20ppg guy, and I think this is the top of his potential, but if he does, he'll be a clearly better basketball player, even if it's not in his season averages. Heart isn't something you can teach, or something that comes with hours of practice. Either you have it, or you don't, and Pedja didn't, Martin seems to.