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Blackburn: Kings should build around Martin's talent
By SAM BLACKBURN
TR Sports Writer
Jan, 25, 2007
Zanesville's Kevin Martin has one big weakness, and it's not his spindly build or unorthodox jump shot.
It's his unselfishness.
They say basketball is the ultimate team sport, where it generally takes five players performing their duties well in unison to enjoy consistent success.
For teams to get layups in half-court sets, it usually means players are setting good screens, maintaining good spacing and making good passes after drawing the defense in penetration. That's real basketball, a concept whose very standard was built upon team play superseding individualism.
Martin, the Sacramento Kings' third-year shooting guard, understands this concept. Unfortunately, many of his esteemed teammates don't.
A few weeks ago, I watched Zanesville's boys team play a game at Winland Gym. The Blue Devils performed each of the aforementioned well, from screening, to spacing, to penetrating and passing. Cedric Harris deserves a medal for his skills as a point guard.
Then I watched a Kings game.
A team once known for their trademark high-post offense, with Chris Webber and Vlade Divac feeding cutters with brilliant passes, has amazingly turned into a "me first" group, with the likes of Mike Bibby and Ron Artest feeling they should be focal points.
Meanwhile, Martin and his 20.6 scoring average usually have to wait for Bibby and Artest to give the ball up - a rather substantial reason why Martin is attempting nearly three less shots per game on average than in November, when he averaged 23.2 points and shot 52.7 percent from the floor in 13 games.
It's no small coincidence that the Kings (16-23) are steadily falling out of contention in the Western Conference as a result.
In the NBA, when teams start losing, players start thinking about contracts. Players start focusing on themselves to ensure their values on the trade/free agent market, where they can still net a bundle of money. You don't need to be a winner to cash in, just merely productive.
Martin is on track for one of those deals. When the Kings picked up his fourth-year rookie option in June 2006, it basically assured him of a spot in the league for years to come. And that was before he became the team's most consistent offensive player.
That's also part of the Kings' problem.
The better Martin plays, even if the team is winning as a result, the chances are still good that Bibby and Artest will start to play for themselves, and ultimately, dip into Martin's chances to score.
That's bad news for the Kings, who can't decide whether to build around the young, explosive Martin, and give him the majority of the shots, or to tailor the offense around Bibby, who can shoot the 3 and create off the dribble.
Bibby shouldn't be the guy anymore. Shoot first, pass second point guards rarely win at any level of basketball. With Bibby, you know he's going to hoist perimeter shots with alarming regularity, and if he doesn't get going early, he keeps shooting until he does.
He's taken at least 10 shots in 38 of 39 games this season and at least 15 during seven games in January. He was shooting only 29 percent from 3-point range entering Wednesday's game against Milwaukee.
Bibby's mentality is the antithesis of Martin's, who prefers to attack the basket and pick his spots to shoot 3s, rather than keep shooting until he gets hot. When he's not on, he simply attacks the basket and forces teams to send him to the line.
Guys like that don't stay in prolonged scoring slumps. They'll always find ways to score, even if their perimeter shots aren't falling.
And Artest? He's a defensive whiz when his creaky back doesn't flare up, but offensively he's not quick enough to get to the basket with consistency, and he's just not the same player when he's not making shots.
Artest will always have a place in the league because of his willingness to defend, but he's not the kind of player you build a team around.
Martin will never be a Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant type, with the ability to go for 50 or 60 points on any given night. But he's a rare talent who can get his own points, while making teammates better because of his willingness to pass if someone else is open.
Unfortunately, it seems the Kings would rather choose veteran loyalty over an up-and-comer.
And they'll probably keep losing because of it.
About the writer: Sam Blackburn writes for the Zanesville Times Recorder. Email him at sblackburn@nncogannett.com
Blackburn: Kings should build around Martin's talent
By SAM BLACKBURN
TR Sports Writer
Jan, 25, 2007
Zanesville's Kevin Martin has one big weakness, and it's not his spindly build or unorthodox jump shot.
It's his unselfishness.
They say basketball is the ultimate team sport, where it generally takes five players performing their duties well in unison to enjoy consistent success.
For teams to get layups in half-court sets, it usually means players are setting good screens, maintaining good spacing and making good passes after drawing the defense in penetration. That's real basketball, a concept whose very standard was built upon team play superseding individualism.
Martin, the Sacramento Kings' third-year shooting guard, understands this concept. Unfortunately, many of his esteemed teammates don't.
A few weeks ago, I watched Zanesville's boys team play a game at Winland Gym. The Blue Devils performed each of the aforementioned well, from screening, to spacing, to penetrating and passing. Cedric Harris deserves a medal for his skills as a point guard.
Then I watched a Kings game.
A team once known for their trademark high-post offense, with Chris Webber and Vlade Divac feeding cutters with brilliant passes, has amazingly turned into a "me first" group, with the likes of Mike Bibby and Ron Artest feeling they should be focal points.
Meanwhile, Martin and his 20.6 scoring average usually have to wait for Bibby and Artest to give the ball up - a rather substantial reason why Martin is attempting nearly three less shots per game on average than in November, when he averaged 23.2 points and shot 52.7 percent from the floor in 13 games.
It's no small coincidence that the Kings (16-23) are steadily falling out of contention in the Western Conference as a result.
In the NBA, when teams start losing, players start thinking about contracts. Players start focusing on themselves to ensure their values on the trade/free agent market, where they can still net a bundle of money. You don't need to be a winner to cash in, just merely productive.
Martin is on track for one of those deals. When the Kings picked up his fourth-year rookie option in June 2006, it basically assured him of a spot in the league for years to come. And that was before he became the team's most consistent offensive player.
That's also part of the Kings' problem.
The better Martin plays, even if the team is winning as a result, the chances are still good that Bibby and Artest will start to play for themselves, and ultimately, dip into Martin's chances to score.
That's bad news for the Kings, who can't decide whether to build around the young, explosive Martin, and give him the majority of the shots, or to tailor the offense around Bibby, who can shoot the 3 and create off the dribble.
Bibby shouldn't be the guy anymore. Shoot first, pass second point guards rarely win at any level of basketball. With Bibby, you know he's going to hoist perimeter shots with alarming regularity, and if he doesn't get going early, he keeps shooting until he does.
He's taken at least 10 shots in 38 of 39 games this season and at least 15 during seven games in January. He was shooting only 29 percent from 3-point range entering Wednesday's game against Milwaukee.
Bibby's mentality is the antithesis of Martin's, who prefers to attack the basket and pick his spots to shoot 3s, rather than keep shooting until he gets hot. When he's not on, he simply attacks the basket and forces teams to send him to the line.
Guys like that don't stay in prolonged scoring slumps. They'll always find ways to score, even if their perimeter shots aren't falling.
And Artest? He's a defensive whiz when his creaky back doesn't flare up, but offensively he's not quick enough to get to the basket with consistency, and he's just not the same player when he's not making shots.
Artest will always have a place in the league because of his willingness to defend, but he's not the kind of player you build a team around.
Martin will never be a Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant type, with the ability to go for 50 or 60 points on any given night. But he's a rare talent who can get his own points, while making teammates better because of his willingness to pass if someone else is open.
Unfortunately, it seems the Kings would rather choose veteran loyalty over an up-and-comer.
And they'll probably keep losing because of it.
About the writer: Sam Blackburn writes for the Zanesville Times Recorder. Email him at sblackburn@nncogannett.com
