Kevin Martin Needs Brad Miller?

[NewArena]

I know Martin is a great scorer and he has definitely grown before our eyes. He has shown that he isnt afraid at all of the big shot and im glad about that. BUT his ball handling has got to get better and it really ticked me off that Martin looked completely lost without brad miller on the floor.

Its great that Martin moves without the ball so well and feeds off brad and vice versa but brad isnt going to be here the rest of his contract and if he is then i strongly doubt he will be playing important minutes with kevin on the floor. Anyway...am i being too hard on kevin?

 

[VF21]

Are you being too hard on Kevin? Based on one game, yes. Players have off nights. And who knows - there could have been something bothering Martin that we'll never know about.

 

[Cal-Kings]

Nah. He didn't need him last year. I think that game was just an off-game for Kevin.

 

[Bricklayer]

I know Martin is a great scorer and he has definitely grown before our eyes. He has shown that he isnt afraid at all of the big shot and im glad about that. BUT his ball handling has got to get better and it really ticked me off that Martin looked completely lost without brad miller on the floor.

Its great that Martin moves without the ball so well and feeds off brad and vice versa but brad isnt going to be here the rest of his contract and if he is then i strongly doubt he will be playing important minutes with kevin on the floor. Anyway...am i being too hard on kevin?

I mentioend after that game that if our guys were as completely worthless wihtout Brad as they looked then they just aren;t very good at all -- blown up roleplayers.

But I don't think that's really true -- more of a one game exaggeration of a smaller trend. I do think Kevin will never be as good without a player like Brad around -- its part of that gap that seperates him from the Kobes of the world. His strength is not just squaring a guy (or multiple guys) up and beatng him, its off the ball movement, which is a skill itself, but obviously easier to perform than movement with the ball. And its a skill which requires an equally skilled partner in order to maximize. Kobe can take care of himself, regardless of teamates. But the team around Kevin will always be important for his success. But not important to the tune of 24ppg scorer down to 5ppg scorer. I think more likely something like last year -- 20ppg scorer without the special passer feeding him great looks. So sure, Kevin need Brad Miller, but I don't think he needs him to be a good and effective 20ppg type scorer. He just needs him to be a great one.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

He just needs him to be a great one.

I would definitely agree with that, as I've seen the same thing out of Kevin, too. That being said, I think that having a kid like Spencer Hawes on this team, and so young, like Kevin, can be nothing but a great thing to build around. I now see why we drafted the kid. He's very gifted, offensively, and can create in the post incredibly, which will only help create double teams on him, which will allow Kevin to do what he does best and move without the ball, GET the ball, and slash to the basket and draw a foul. I think that as good of a passer as Brad Miller is, and he's a VERY good passer in a Vlade mold, Hawes can be the same...a Martin/Hawes inside-outside tandem should work out fine.

 

[Cal-Kings]

Back cuts get him about 4 points a game. How does he get all the rest?

He creates them for himself.

If Kobe had a passer like Brad, would he refuse to take advantage of him? I doubt it.

 

[CruzDude]

Beno is the one who can be very valuable for Kevin with his "drive and dish" as is Cisco and the others. Brad benefits everyone and he will be mentoring Hawes to make a high post passer and player. Hawes has the tools for a great (in few years) high post big guy AS WELL AS doing better down low.

So IMHO Kevin needs Brad in the same vein as the other shooter-scorers but Kevin can make his shot better than most of the Kings so may be less dependent on Brad and more so on the other drivers to score or dish out to Kevin.

 

[RunNGun]

Well I think this is why Spencer Hawes is going to be groomed into more of a Brad Miller player. Players like Miller make their team better simply put. Players like Martin make guys like Miller look better (moving without the ball). If you're going to have a high post offense you need guys capable of scoring without the ball.

 

[AleksandarN]

I mentioend after that game that if our guys were as completely worthless wihtout Brad as they looked then they just aren;t very good at all -- blown up roleplayers.

But I don't think that's really true -- more of a one game exaggeration of a smaller trend. I do think Kevin will never be as good without a player like Brad around -- its part of that gap that seperates him from the Kobes of the world. His strength is not just squaring a guy (or multiple guys) up and beatng him, its off the ball movement, which is a skill itself, but obviously easier to perform than movement with the ball. And its a skill which requires an equally skilled partner in order to maximize. Kobe can take care of himself, regardless of teamates. But the team around Kevin will always be important for his success. But not important to the tune of 24ppg scorer down to 5ppg scorer. I think more likely something like last year -- 20ppg scorer without the special passer feeding him great looks. So sure, Kevin need Brad Miller, but I don't think he needs him to be a good and effective 20ppg type scorer. He just needs him to be a great one.

Like I said before Kevin is a younger Rip.

 

[CruzDude]

............. If you're going to have a high post offense you need guys capable of scoring without the ball.

I do believe you have to HAVE the ball to score it, doncha think? Don't you mean "moving without the ball"? Which is what Kevin does so well. Now we see Douby and Beno moving without the ball quite well that opens more opportunities.

 

[kyo2002]

I notice that Kevin always pump fake if a defender is running towards him. He would jab step to the right when a defender is next to him. He then would drive to the right and do his signature off balance glider for the and one. If he's beat to the spot he would give it to Brad and cut to the basket. He always tries to create of the dribble first, using Brad as a second option when he's stuck. He's much less sophisticated than Hamilton. He needs to curl around both sides of the court not just around Brad for a backdoor. He also needs to learn how to set downscreens for a cutter from the weakside. He has good range but he's not using it well. Perhaps its time to watch some Reggie Miller tapes and not just Hamiltion.

If Kevin is to develop into an allstar like everyone is hoping he needs to develop a finesse post game not just better ballhandling. He should use Rasheed Wallace's signature post faders on the smaller physical guards that will be matched up against him. I don't think he can improve his ballhandling any further unless he changes his posture. He doesn't dribble low enough, his drives aren't sharp enough seal off his defender. Spending a summer with Salmons can really help him.