Kevin Martin
- Thread starter VF21
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The amazing thing it seems to me is that the more shots he takes, the more dominant a role he plays in the offense, the more efficient he gets. This is certainly unusual, and a sign that his relative struggles in the last two seasons was certainly not for a lack of talent, but just a relative lack of experience or confidence.
The best part about this is that this, to me, is a sign that he has still not reached his maximum potential, that he can still take a more dominant role in the offense, and give us more production. Barring any injuries
crosses fingers or major changes (Kobe to the Kings! :shutters, I feel pretty confident that he can be even better next season.
The best part about this is that this, to me, is a sign that he has still not reached his maximum potential, that he can still take a more dominant role in the offense, and give us more production. Barring any injuries
crosses fingers or major changes (Kobe to the Kings! :shutters, I feel pretty confident that he can be even better next season.
Even if Kevin gets back to his 90% FT shooting, nobody's going to compare his shot to Bird's. He shoots well, but he shoots ugly!
Bird is the only player ever to put up 20ppg, 50%, 40%, and 90%.
Dirk is on pace to do that this season, and will be the 2nd player ever to do it.
Nash is a few PPG short, along with FT% being in the upper 80's....so chances are he wont.
If Kevin hadn't had this FT% slump, he'd be almost on target for that.
Pretty amazing.
Dirk is on pace to do that this season, and will be the 2nd player ever to do it.
Nash is a few PPG short, along with FT% being in the upper 80's....so chances are he wont.
If Kevin hadn't had this FT% slump, he'd be almost on target for that.
Pretty amazing.
Bird also grabbed 10 rebounds a game, and handed out 6 assists -- not just regularly, but as his average over a very long career. His well-rounded play got him 69 triple-doubles, including at least one before halftime. Plus, he was one of the very greatest clutch players that ever lived, pulling off disbelief-provoking miracles in the final seconds of games, either making the points himself, or using his excellent passing skills. He was big enough that he would fill in sometimes at PF, and his grabbing 20+ rebounds in a playoff game wasn't very surprising. Even though he was a little on the slow side, he made the NBA all-defensive team three times because he showed exceptional basketball IQ as a defender.
Peja used to get compared to Bird, but only as a shooter. Trying to imagine Peja making a triple-double + very solid D + killer clutch play in a playoff game shows how limited the comparison really is. But Peja still earned himself a perfectly pleasant spot in the NBA's history books, and the Kings wouldn't have been the same without him.
Kevin isn't Bird, can't be Bird, and shouldn't be. He's Kevin, and he's earning his own reputation quite nicely. I'm happy to leave it at that.
Peja used to get compared to Bird, but only as a shooter. Trying to imagine Peja making a triple-double + very solid D + killer clutch play in a playoff game shows how limited the comparison really is. But Peja still earned himself a perfectly pleasant spot in the NBA's history books, and the Kings wouldn't have been the same without him.
Kevin isn't Bird, can't be Bird, and shouldn't be. He's Kevin, and he's earning his own reputation quite nicely. I'm happy to leave it at that.
Nobody is comparting Kevin to Larry. Their games are nothing alike and Kevin is no place near that talent level.
However, Kevin is on the cusp of doing something 1 person in the history of the NBA has done...
(and most likely will be two with Dirk)...one of which is a HOF and the other most likely will be when all said and done.
That's a pretty nice thing.
Nobody thinks Kevin ='s Bird.
However, Kevin is on the cusp of doing something 1 person in the history of the NBA has done...
(and most likely will be two with Dirk)...one of which is a HOF and the other most likely will be when all said and done.
That's a pretty nice thing.
Nobody thinks Kevin ='s Bird.
I've never gotten terribly excited about records based on combinations of 3 or 4 or 5 things, but OK. They've usually impressed me as serving little purpose other than to single out a specific player as a record holder. If Kev does make it, we might as well throw in another stat, "over 100 three pointers," and then Kevin will be the only one to ever do it (Bird had 90 and 98 in his 50/40/90/20 years, Dirk's not even close).
Kevin is "the Core"
No other player. He's it. Everybody else is expendable in order to add to the core. Miller (30), Bibby (28) are too old to be in the core because Martin is 23. By the time Kevin enters into his prime at age 27, they are over the hill. Artest (27) is too unpredictably chaotic to be in the core. Everyone older than 26 needs to go, except for maybe a guy like Corliss, who is a tremendous character guy, and can helper the younger guys along.
No other player. He's it. Everybody else is expendable in order to add to the core. Miller (30), Bibby (28) are too old to be in the core because Martin is 23. By the time Kevin enters into his prime at age 27, they are over the hill. Artest (27) is too unpredictably chaotic to be in the core. Everyone older than 26 needs to go, except for maybe a guy like Corliss, who is a tremendous character guy, and can helper the younger guys along.
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