What Martin needs to start doing.....

[BALLER4LIFE]

I have been watching the games closley an it seems Martin has been too passive and just likes to hang out in corner behind the 3point line. Don't get me wrong, he has had an amazing start to the season but it seems lately he has not been moving around as much as he should. What Kevin needs to do is just keep running and not just hang out behind the three point line in the corner. he needs to have more screens ran for him and just keep moving kinda how Reggie miller used to play. Reggie was always running around the court which made him hard to guard and is what martin needs to start doing and then the ball will begin to touch his hands more.

 

[swisshh]

The reason he's been out there is because it is what the defense is giving him. The suns played Martin for the drive and in the past couple of games Kevin has had trouble with his jumper.

 

[Jechtsphere]

He does stand in the corner way too often, he should almost always be moving, when we had Peja he's move a lot at times.

 

[Kingzrool]

Um, before tonight, he was second in the league in getting to the line.

 

[Jechtsphere]

And...?

Good for him, doesn't mean he can't do things better.

Well at least martin knows he shouldn't be sitting there...

"It was too much too late," Martin said of the collective effort. "We had too much (isolation) play, times when we shouldn't have been doing that. And my (defender) is not going to leave me, so I've got to keep moving and get out of the corner. That's why they call it the coffin corner."

 

[NewArena]

He does stand in the corner way too often, he should almost always be moving, when we had Peja he's move a lot at times.

Not really, everytime we needed peja he would hide in the corner. Yeah he would move around alot in the first three quarters but once the pressure came he would hide and it would be like two hands were firmly around his neck...CHOKE!

Im just glad martin realizes that this isolation stuff wont get it done and neither will staying in one spot for an extended amount of time. The main thing Martin needs to do is work on his ball handling, i dont know why it isnt better than what it is.

 

[=LarryLegend=]

he is avg 2nd most mins in the league, hes tired! let him get he feet back. he will be fine.

 

[kennadog]

I heard a sound bite from Reggie this AM on the radio. He said the ball isn't always going to come to Kevin, Kevin has to go find the ball and get it. Obviously, from Kevin's quote, he knows it, too. I just think his teammates need to help out a little more. I do think a very quick Barbosa bothered him last night.

 

[BudWright]

Watching the game on t.v. and watching the game at Arco is two entirely different things. Firstly, Kevin does move without the ball--a lot. He is playing long minutes and by the fourth quarter he does seem a little tired. He was smothered last night by the Suns--the other teams are zeroing on Kevin (for good reason) and he works hard to get shots off. I agree that Kevin needs to be more aggressive about finding his shot, but he also needs his teammates to get him the ball. Without a true point guard most of this season (and at times with Beno), there is just way too much one on one playing. If the ball does get passed around and it gets to Ron, he generally ends the passing by whatever play HE does. If Ron does pass it once and he gets it the second time, HE again controls the ball without passing. Kevin is so good----and he is going to get better. We love this kid! Annie.

 

[Jerichoholic]

Kevin's game is dependent on his aggressiveness to drive to the basket. He gets 9 to 10 points a game from the line and that doesn't count the layups or dunks he gets. His mid range jumper and 3 point shot are secondary even though he is great at both.

The past two games Martin has been extremely passive and it doesn't appear to have anything to do with minutes or tough defenders. It's early in the season, minutes should be no factor right now, he was among the league leaders last year too. And last night Barbosa was on him, a guy who is 5 inches shorter and I wouldn't say any quicker than Kevin.

From what I've seen there are two things that makes Kevin passive. One, when a teammate becomes more of the focus for the offense such as Artest was last night. Instead of joining him like Garcia and Salmons did during our comeback he disappears, imagine how strong we'd be with Martin doing his thing at the same time Artest does his. Second, when he drives the line and either gets blocked or turns the ball over. A player that drives a lot should know those things come with the territory but Martin can't seem to handle it when that happens and he stops driving and is easy to defend at that point.

 

[Entity]

Kevin's game is dependent on his aggressiveness to drive to the basket. He gets 9 to 10 points a game from the line and that doesn't count the layups or dunks he gets. His mid range jumper and 3 point shot are secondary even though he is great at both.

The past two games Martin has been extremely passive and it doesn't appear to have anything to do with minutes or tough defenders. It's early in the season, minutes should be no factor right now, he was among the league leaders last year too. And last night Barbosa was on him, a guy who is 5 inches shorter and I wouldn't say any quicker than Kevin.

From what I've seen there are two things that makes Kevin passive. One, when a teammate becomes more of the focus for the offense such as Artest was last night. Instead of joining him like Garcia and Salmons did during our comeback he disappears, imagine how strong we'd be with Martin doing his thing at the same time Artest does his. Second, when he drives the line and either gets blocked or turns the ball over. A player that drives a lot should know those things come with the territory but Martin can't seem to handle it when that happens and he stops driving and is easy to defend at that point.

yeah I am affraid Kevin may be headed down EGO road. he could become whinner in the coming years and not be happy unless he puts up 25 shots. I implore you Keven don't be that guy.

 

[AyeCarly]

I think he stands around when the play call isn't for him (when Artest gets the ball in the post and such), he may be the 3rd option during these plays. And moving to the wrong spot will affect spacing sometimes. Standing in that corner works (Bruce Bowen for instance) when double teams come but no one is really commanding a double (like Duncan). But definitely he needs to be a little more active or aggressive and demand the ball more at these times.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Phoenix shadowing Martin all night did have a lot to do with his frustrations, but as Coach Reggie said he needs to be more aggressive and go get his shots. Shawn Marion put it this way after the game. "We tried to deny Martin the ball and make him take tough shots," Marion said. "He wasn't getting any fouls called like he usually does and he never got in a rhythm."

 

[bajaden]

I think he stands around when the play call isn't for him (when Artest gets the ball in the post and such), he may be the 3rd option during these plays. And moving to the wrong spot will affect spacing sometimes. Standing in that corner works (Bruce Bowen for instance) when double teams come but no one is really commanding a double (like Duncan). But definitely he needs to be a little more active or aggressive and demand the ball more at these times.

If you watch just one player closely, which I do sometimes, you'll find that no one, and I mean no one on the team moves without the ball as much as Kevin. Sometimes, when a play is called for someone else, such as Artest, your suspposed to spread the floor to open up the middle for post play. In those cases you'll see players standing in the corner or out outside the three pt line in order to draw their defender out with them. In other words, Martin is doing what he's suspposed to do.
I also think that if your constantly moving for three quarters and you aren't rewarded by your teammates with a pass when your open, after a while you tend to stop moving. I saw it happen to Peja. He was knocked for not being there in the fourth quarter, but in reallity, no one passed him the ball. And that was mostly after Valde and Christy were gone.
I played team sports when I was young and except for a very bad shoulder injury might have had a baseball career. I know what its like to bust your butt and for whatever reason be ignored by your teammates. After a while, you start to wonder why your busting your butt if its not going to matter. Not saying thats the case here, but there's a lot of things that were not privy to.

 

[Gary]

He does stand in the corner way too often, he should almost always be moving, when we had Peja he's move a lot at times.

Do you watch him constantly cutting, and slashing all over the place? He is always moving. Maybe just not so much in the last game, but this kid is always moving w/o the ball.

 

[Jechtsphere]

Of course I watch him and no he isn't ALWAYS moving.

Martin admitted he sticks to the corner too often and needs to move around more, it's not just one person who notices it...everyone can see it.

It's something he needs to improve upon, just because he's KM doesn't mean we can't be critical for certain things he does or doesn't do, it's good natured anyway because I want to see him be great, he's already a favorite of mine and I want to see improvments on certain parts that need improving.

 

[Kingster]

If you watch just one player closely, which I do sometimes, you'll find that no one, and I mean no one on the team moves without the ball as much as Kevin. Sometimes, when a play is called for someone else, such as Artest, your suspposed to spread the floor to open up the middle for post play. In those cases you'll see players standing in the corner or out outside the three pt line in order to draw their defender out with them. In other words, Martin is doing what he's suspposed to do.
I also think that if your constantly moving for three quarters and you aren't rewarded by your teammates with a pass when your open, after a while you tend to stop moving. I saw it happen to Peja. He was knocked for not being there in the fourth quarter, but in reallity, no one passed him the ball. And that was mostly after Valde and Christy were gone.
I played team sports when I was young and except for a very bad shoulder injury might have had a baseball career. I know what its like to bust your butt and for whatever reason be ignored by your teammates. After a while, you start to wonder why your busting your butt if its not going to matter. Not saying thats the case here, but there's a lot of things that were not privy to.

I concur: I don't see Salmons and Garcia and Artest and Beno moving nearly as much without ball as Kevin. This is not a good passing team. Sometimes, they don't look like a willing passing team. That's going to frustrate Martin, and anyone who does move a lot without the ball. I tend to look at this problem from a half-full glass, however. It's going to force Martin to be a better one-on-one player, and a better ball-handler. In the longer term, it could be a great thing for his development. The last thing I want is for him to be pidgeon-holed as move without the ball/outside shooter type. Personally, I think he needs to go out there with a little chip on his shoulder, a little edge, like he's going to ram it down their (the other team's) throat. Along those lines, he needs to continue to drive it in the paint, rise up, and shoot. He's been missing those shots lately, I think because he's trying to jump tooo high, and therefore he goes long on the shot. He can get that shot probably every night anytime he wants except against McGrady and Bryant. He'll be fine, and when he gets more talent around him - look out!

 

[bench_blob]

I have been watching the games closley an it seems Martin has been too passive and just likes to hang out in corner behind the 3point line. Don't get me wrong, he has had an amazing start to the season but it seems lately he has not been moving around as much as he should. What Kevin needs to do is just keep running and not just hang out behind the three point line in the corner. he needs to have more screens ran for him and just keep moving kinda how Reggie miller used to play. Reggie was always running around the court which made him hard to guard and is what martin needs to start doing and then the ball will begin to touch his hands more.

Thanks, coach. Maybe you should send Kevin an email or call Arco Arena to pass along your advice. I am sure he is awaiting your expertise and profound wisdom.

I don't mean to be rude, but let's get real: K-Mart knows how to ball. He lets the game come to him, and he exploits opportunites as he sees them arise on the court. He doesn't just stand passively. He would not be leading the league in free throw attempts and makes and the most efficient scorer in the league otherwise.

We have our problems, K-Mart is not one of them.

 

[Gary]

Of course I watch him and no he isn't ALWAYS moving.

Martin admitted he sticks to the corner too often and needs to move around more, it's not just one person who notices it...everyone can see it.

It's something he needs to improve upon, just because he's KM doesn't mean we can't be critical for certain things he does or doesn't do, it's good natured anyway because I want to see him be great, he's already a favorite of mine and I want to see improvments on certain parts that need improving.

I guess we have different thoughts on Martin then. I know he admits to needing to move more, but Martin is the most active player on the floor when it comes to cutting, and moving w/o the ball. I had no idea that people thought he didn't move enough. That's just crazy. I don't remember where I posted it but it was on a recent thread and that is something I had noticed about his game this year so far was he was one of the only players that moved w/o the ball constantly.

Plus there are certain sets where KM does not have to move. I just don't get why people are so critical on a guy that is the best at what you are being critical bout on the team. If you want to talk about people moving talk to Artest. If he gets the ball he moves, but that's just to be a ball hog and take the shot.. Nothing more.

 

[BALLER4LIFE]

Thanks, coach. Maybe you should send Kevin an email or call Arco Arena to pass along your advice. I am sure he is awaiting your expertise and profound wisdom.

I don't mean to be rude, but let's get real: K-Mart knows how to ball. He lets the game come to him, and he exploits opportunites as he sees them arise on the court. He doesn't just stand passively. He would not be leading the league in free throw attempts and makes and the most efficient scorer in the league otherwise.

We have our problems, K-Mart is not one of them.

yes kevin does know how to ball, but the point i am making is he can be more effective if he moves without the basketball. Moving without the basketball and moving off double screens makes you an even better player and more of a problem for the defense. If you don't understand that, i guess you just don't understand a whole lot about the game of basketball.

 

[kyo2002]

Martin uses his height to finish around the rim. He doesn't dunk with authority like Lebron. His layups are layins i.e. he shoots over the top rather than scoops under. He reminds me of how Iverson create angle shots. Martin's angle shots are hard to stop so I don't see him changing his technique or expanding. He'll just probably improve on his ballhandling. He'll probably be a good scorer for a long time but he'll never be the type to take over a game and break down double and triple teams unless he adds a quicker release, post game, and footwork. He also needs to dribble lower and use shamgod variations like Lebron on smaller guards. He also needs to change his posture like Tracy McGrady if he wants to slash because his cuts and drives aren't sharp enough and doesn't seal off his man, he's just relying on pure quickness for the moment. His potential is good but he'll need a lot of direction in his development. For now he should observe John Salmons' dribbling techniques. In the end if he doesn't develop these then more than likely he'll turn into a Richard Hamilton type player especially later in his career when he isn't as quick.

He looks really tired in the last few games. He might need more rest even though the Kings are shorthanded.