Ninety-Six: It's All About Acting (8/40)

Kevin Martin, produced by Western Carolina University. That's right, it's West Carolina, not North Carolina.

During the NCAA period, Martin averaged 23 points per game and ranked second in the NCAA Division I in total points in his junior season. But Martin wasn't drafted until late in the first round because of his thin body and weird shooting posture.

Even so, he was the first player to be drafted by a professional sports club in the first round of Western Carolina.

Martin was still criticized by the media for his ugly shooting posture until his third year in the NBA. Then Martin didn't care about it, and he went his own way. And in the third grade, he averaged 20 points per game. In the 08-09 season, he averaged a career-high 24.6 points per game, and was the well-deserved star of the Kings at that time.

However, few people noticed that in that year, Kevin Martin made 10.3 free throws per game in addition to his 41.5% three-point shooting rate! According to Martin's 86.7% free throw shooting rate, that means that Martin can get 9 points per game by free throws alone!

This guy can be a good scorer, and his superb fouling skills can not be separated.

This season, although Kevin Martin's free throws did not reach 10.3, he averaged 8.4 free throws per game, which is not low.

What is the concept of 8.4 free throws per game? This season, only two people in the league have more free throws than Kevin Martin. One is Blake Griffin, who delayed his rookie season by a year, and the other is Dwight Howard, who is often "cut".

However, these two guys are pure insiders and most of their shots are at the basket, so it's normal to be able to draw fouls. And Martin, as a shooter-type guard, can rank behind these two big guys, which shows how superb his foul-making skills are.

At the beginning of the game, he was fouled by Martin, and Link was really unwilling. Harden only took over the title of "Porcelain King" after Kevin Martin. It seems that facing Martin, it is not a good way to fight him.

From the free throw line, Kevin Martin hit two free throws to tie the game. And what Link is most passive about now is not that Martin gets two points, but a foul early on.

"Be careful of that guy, don't stick it too tightly!"

After Martin's free throw, Conley patted Link on the back as a reminder, Link nodded, and today's defense may not be enough.

In the next attack, Link used the ball-handling he had practiced before the game to forcefully ate Kevin Martin. A pure scorer like Martin is difficult to use as the core of a team. This is also the reason why, when he was in the king, his data was good but he couldn't score.

Aside from scoring, Martin's flaws are numerous. Among them, defense is undoubtedly one of his biggest shortcomings. Limited by the ability of physical confrontation, Martin's defense has been criticized. His defense is not the same as Harden's defense. Harden's defense is poor, mainly because of attitude. But if you take precautions seriously, you can still carry it for a while.

And Martin's poor defense is purely a question of ability.

Link slammed Martin to the basket, pushed him away and made an easy layup. Hayes made it up in time, and his grasp of defensive positioning was as precise as ever.

But limited by the height of the so-called "2 meters in shoes", Hayes is not an excellent shot blocker. Link's layup eventually passed Hayes' fingertips and fell into the net.

"Beautiful layup, Link and Martin started the mutual attack mode at the beginning of the game. The Rockets' defense must be strengthened!"

4-2, the two teams went head-to-head at the start. Adelman shook his head and sighed.

Link now has made great progress compared to when he was in the Rockets. His breakthrough is very decisive, and he has a higher grasp of layup in confrontation. Who said senior players are certain to be stereotyped? At least not Link!

But what's the use of feeling now? Link is already a player for other teams.

Although Link will become a free agent again this summer, Adelman can guarantee that Morey and team owner Alexander will not pay a high price to sign Link back.

Martin felt the pressure, and the No. 0's offense was stronger than he thought. So he just wants to do one thing now - get Link off the court as soon as possible!

As a result, Martin shot for the second consecutive round, and he has a strong desire to score today!

This time, Link deliberately did not press Martin. Because if there is another foul, he will go down to the bench. However, Martin's feel is really good, undoubtedly continuing the strong firepower of the previous two games.

Link only gave Martin a little space, but with this little space, Martin was stunned to use his "crooked handle" to make a good shot.

Link, who has advantages in height and wingspan, is actually sealed and in place, but for a shooting scorer with a touch, this little bit of interference is nothing at all!

4 to 4, the score is tied again!

"Although the game has only started, I can already smell the smell of gunpowder. Neither side wants to lose, and Link's early fouls have made him very passive now. Link's defensive style is actually more rude than this, but now he does not dare to be rude ."

Barkley was more focused, a master of fouling, an opponent Link had never met before. What will you do this time?

Link began to feel that Kevin Martin was very difficult to deal with. This humble guy has never been a superstar. But Link believes that he is definitely a player with more strength than fame.

This time, Link was still the ball-handling attacker. He swayed Martin with a sharp change in rhythm and passed Martin without even using a screen.

Now Martin is not only at a disadvantage in confrontation, but also not fast in lateral movement. I have to say, he is really a big colander.

Although Nash was not good at defense, the Suns were a team that was more offensive than defensive back then. Although Irving, Thomas and others later suffered losses on the defensive end, they could rely on the power of the system to cover up their disadvantages.

And Martin really exposed this naked disadvantage to his opponents. It's no wonder that the Rockets have to work hard for a playoff spot this year.

Martin's defense and Belinelli are really half-hearted. As someone who often practices offense and defense with Tony Allen, it's not a problem for Link to score under Martin's loose defense. Link felt that he should also be able to get a high score today.

After moving away from Martin, the Rockets couldn't just watch Link score again. "Diamond" Scola then made up the defense, and he had no choice.

Although Link wants to score high and teach the Houston Rockets a hard lesson, he has not lost his mind.

He calmly took the ball to the left and sent it to his good friend Randolph.

Randolph received the ball at a zero-degree angle on the right and made a mid-range shot. Although Randolph's shot speed is not fast, but Scola makes up more slowly.

Link's breakthrough made the Rockets' defense very passive. It can be said that he messed up the Rockets' defensive strategy by himself.

"brush."

Randolph, who is still full of energy, has a very steady hand, making a mid-range shot. The Grizzlies may be one of the most reliant mid-range shooting teams in the league. With this set of starters, players from all five positions stand out with half-balls.

6 to 4, the Grizzlies successfully attacked for three consecutive rounds, and Link and Randolph arranged all the points. Adelman sighed, it seems that today Link is looking for a breakthrough to beat Martin, no wonder he was practicing against breakthroughs when he warmed up before the game. Hollins and Link, which is going to grab the slam from the weakest link of the Rockets defense.

Now Adelman has two options. One is to go to the "top-notch" Courtney Lee to entangle with Link, but in that case the Rockets' offensive firepower will be greatly reduced.

The second is to let Captain Shane Battier defend Link, but since then, Martin has to face Gay, which is also not easy.

Adelman never expected that he would be given to the first army by Link. And this sharp knife was given to the Grizzlies by the Rockets... Really, it's impossible to live by doing something wrong.

The game continued as the two teams scored against each other. On the Rockets' side, Link's breakthrough made the Grizzlies blossom. Not only can he score by himself, he can also assist in time when his teammates have the opportunity.

The Rockets relied on Martin and Scola's personal attack to bite the situation. Martin felt hot, unless Link pressed, or it was a goal. Scola also played well in the low post today, and the big black bear encountered a hard stubble.

After 5 minutes of playing in the first quarter, Link had scored 6 points and 3 assists, with a 100% hit rate and no mistakes. The efficiency was terrifyingly high.

Martin was already out of breath, and the confrontation with Link took a huge toll on his energy. He knew that if he continued to consume like this, he would be killed by this No. 0 sooner or later.

So, this time, Martin gave Hayes a wink. Martin did not continue to play without the ball, but confronted Link with the ball beyond the three-point line and called Hayes to cover.

Link's defense was very active, and he got out of the screen very quickly. He turned around Hayes and went around Martin.

"Martin wanted to break through, but he didn't have a chance. Link's defense was tight, and he stuck with Martin!" Barkley was excited, but suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Stick to Martin? No, don't stick to him!

Before Barkley could say what was in his heart, Martin had already forcibly jumped up against Link.

Martin's fouls are different from Harden in the future. Harden relies on "lai", and you can't dodge it. And Martin's fouls are more based on "acting".

Link jumped up slightly to interfere, but found that Martin jumped backwards, fell to the ground and rolled twice.

"Dudududu!" The referee's whistle sounded, and Link looked at the referee's gesture, which was actually referring to himself!

"The Grizzlies foul shooting No. 0, the offense goes to the free throw line!"

"Fuck, what the hell!?" Link was also anxious, and a Chinese word popped out.

"Tomatoes? What are you talking about? Calm down, kid!" The referee sounded fucking tomato, making Link quite speechless.

It is estimated that the referee is still muttering in his heart, why is this kid's accent so strange.

"This is obviously a diving, he is a rogue!" Off the court, Hollins also got angry. Link played so well today, but if the penalty is true this time, Link will have to come off the court.

After all, it is quite dangerous to receive two fouls before the end of a game. In order to protect Link, Hollins must replace him.

However, instead of having an effect, Hollins' roar nearly took a technical foul. If it wasn't for assistant coach Elston Turner to stop him in time, this T Hollins might not be able to run.

Link shook his head with his hips on his hips. He glanced at Martin, who was still on the ground pretending to be in pain.

Tony Allen took off his training suit and stood in front of the technical table. Link knew he had to get off the court. Being restrained by Martin in this way, Link was really unhappy.

At the same time, Morey, who was far away in Houston, also smiled smugly. He wants to see how a player who cannot play can get revenge.