How Many Points Will Martin Score on Opening Night?

by Ziller on Aug 19, 2008 11:11 AM PDT

I keep seeing the inkling of the regular season schedule over there in the right sidebar. The season opener against Minnesota just stares at me. You know what it makes me think of? The last time the Kings played the Timberwolves. (Duh.) The time Kevin Martin scored 48 points.

Last year, in three games against Minny, Martin averaged 33 points on 19 shots. Also, he's traditionally been a good opener. He dropped 26 in last season's opener, and score 30 points twice during his first week as a full-time starter in 2006.

Martin averaged more than 26 points a game during March and April last season. The only King who took more shots than Martin has been traded, and Martin will be the unquestioned offensive focal point. Brad Miller will be out for the first five games.

...

I'm guessing 50.

Poll

How many points will Kevin Martin drop on opening night in Minnesota?

<18

7 votes

18-24

54 votes

25-30

146 votes

31-40

161 votes

41+

93 votes

461 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 39 comments

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Comments

And yes, it has come to this. F—- wins.

by Ziller on Aug 19, 2008 11:17 AM PDT 0 recs

38 pts and an f’ing win

I might also add that Jessica Alba is a championship piece, if he thinks Ron is too, more power to him. ;p -Kfan in Korea

by kangsfan on Aug 19, 2008 11:20 AM PDT 0 recs

18-24

Martin is going to get double-teamed by everyone in the league. It’s going to take time to adjust.

by Carl on Aug 19, 2008 11:26 AM PDT 0 recs

True but

We’re not talking about SA or Boston here. This is minny. I think he’ll get his shots.

I might also add that Jessica Alba is a championship piece, if he thinks Ron is too, more power to him. ;p -Kfan in Korea

by kangsfan on Aug 19, 2008 2:07 PM PDT up 0 recs

agree on the double team

but still think he’ll get his 26 – 32. I don’t think that he’ll score 50. Kevin just doesn’t shoot enough. And he is a pretty disciplined rhythm shooter. He doesn’t jack up a lot of crap. The only way I see TZ being correct is if he gets to the line 20+ times…..which, as we have all seen, is not impossible.

Hope I am wrong. Hey, when is the last time somebody scored 50 on this team? Webber?

by Kusian on Aug 19, 2008 3:40 PM PDT up 0 recs

That's the last time I remember any King doing it Kusian

Was the 51 he dropped against Indy in 2001.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Aug 25, 2008 4:57 PM PDT up 0 recs

The only 50 point game I remember

is Tony Delk coming in and lighting us up for 50 points after we got rid of him… but pookey is probably right about Webber being the last Kings player.

by cabz on Aug 26, 2008 10:57 AM PDT up 0 recs

a double team

from mike miller and rashad mccants adds up to being guarded by almost one real wing defender. i’d guess 32, the wolves are an atrocious defensive team.

by cap'n hack on Aug 22, 2008 10:55 PM PDT up 0 recs

30

He’ll look to score, but also look to be a leader and get his teammates involved.

by thekangarooster on Aug 19, 2008 11:27 AM PDT 0 recs

Go Kev!

I voted 25-30 though I hope you are right TZ. I will guess 29 to be exact.

Man, I CAN NOT WAIT for the season to start.

He can shoot, and he looks great in a suit. Hey, everybody - It's REGGIE TIME!

by dalt99 on Aug 19, 2008 11:56 AM PDT 0 recs

Who the $%#^ cares!!!!

You guys really should get out more, maybe hook up with a dating service! Maybe a circle jerk?

by deepnu666 on Aug 19, 2008 11:57 AM PDT 0 recs

Clearly a laker fan ^

I might also add that Jessica Alba is a championship piece, if he thinks Ron is too, more power to him. ;p -Kfan in Korea

by kangsfan on Aug 19, 2008 12:02 PM PDT up 0 recs

Nope

.Actually I’m a long time Celtic fan/ Kings fan. I just feel you guys are stretching it a bit topically. I’m sure there’s more interesting ideas to express. How about how many minutes the rookies might receive? Maybe, the possibility of Jason Thompson starting at the 4 over put me to sleep Mikki Moore

by deepnu666 on Aug 19, 2008 12:13 PM PDT up 0 recs

(psst. deepnu. Um, dude, it’s summer. We’re friends chatting about our favorite team. It’s all about community at this point. If you’re bored, call your own dating service.)

Let's go home.-Kevin Martin

by LeaguePassAddict on Aug 19, 2008 5:05 PM PDT up 0 recs

Plus...

It’s an open forum, so if you want to talk about the possibility of Thompson being the starting PF then write up a FanPost and get a discussion going.

Not every topic will resonate with every person.

by smgmatt on Aug 20, 2008 8:36 AM PDT up 0 recs

Are you serious?

2002 called, they want their internet putdowns back.

Kevin Pritchard has Chuck Norris tied up in the trunk of his car.

by otis29 on Aug 19, 2008 12:52 PM PDT up 0 recs

What? So no one else down for the circle jerk?

Got alot of time to kill till preseason. Just saying.

(been watching waaaaaay too much “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” – Danny Devito has found his perfect role).

I agree with Carl – 18-24. Kevin Martin will probably average less next season then he did last season, with steadily increasing scoring throughout the season as he adjusts to the adjustments. But that last month or two, right when people are quitting and Kevin is disappointed in a less-than-what-he-wanted season, the kid’s going to light somebody up. Bigtime. So I also support the hypothesis that he’ll drop 50 on somebody at some point.

Donte? Donte'! Donté?!?!
'spect da 'xtra E'

by iashwash on Aug 19, 2008 1:02 PM PDT up 1 recs

We could do without the trolling

The insults are unnecessary. We talk basketball here – that’s why the site exists. If you can’t talk basketball without trolling, go somewhere else.

by Carl on Aug 19, 2008 1:08 PM PDT up 0 recs

Totally!

I would rather see a hundred posts like this then NOTHING. I can’t live with nothing. I must have my STR fix. Everyday, more then once a day! I shall die without it, much like air, or food, or water. All hail TZ and STR and Co! Keep it up! For the sake of humanity! Thank you.

by idjpg85 on Aug 19, 2008 1:47 PM PDT up 0 recs

Just teasing

but since the day Artest was officially gone, I have been anticipating game one to see how Kmart steps into the lead role. I know I’m not the only one, and that alone makes it a topic worth discussing.

BTW I am guessing JT will start by mid season.

I might also add that Jessica Alba is a championship piece, if he thinks Ron is too, more power to him. ;p -Kfan in Korea

by kangsfan on Aug 19, 2008 12:52 PM PDT 0 recs

32+

Man, I was at the game K-Mart dropped 48. Shots were falling in for him like crazy. He’s gonna score 50+ this season at least once.

by rc360 on Aug 19, 2008 12:52 PM PDT 0 recs

Kevin's gonna drop 40 and the game winner

as a big opening night “told you so” to Theus

Guarantee he drops 60 at some point this season

Kevin Martin, line 1 holding for you. Your destiny is calling. - Section214

by vfettke on Aug 19, 2008 1:43 PM PDT 0 recs

101

He’ll break Wilt’s all time record

BOOK IT!

by kingme18 on Aug 19, 2008 3:21 PM PDT 0 recs

So Wilt's got 99 points, and the other team calls time out...

In the huddle, the coach looks at his team, too exasperated to speak. Finally, he stammers: “Who-who-who’s got Wilt??”

Meanwhile, in Wilt’s own huddle, one of his teammates is a bit frustrated, and confronts the big man a bit sheepish: “Wilt- Wilt- I’m open. I’m open, Wilt.”

This is from a classic bit I saw years ago and can’t remember the comedian. I want to say it was very early pre-SNL Adam Sandler. I love it.

Life is every mammal's journey from very very wet to very very dry.

by Holmdel on Aug 19, 2008 3:55 PM PDT up 0 recs

It was Sandler

I saw him do it on Letterman, but all he did was an impression of one of Wilt’s teammates. He looked directly into the camera, arms out, and said “Wilt, I’m f**king open”.

It was all about his delivery, probably doesn’t translate here.

by rockrichmond2 on Aug 19, 2008 6:11 PM PDT up 0 recs

But who will we throw the ball to at the end of the game? ;-)

by Carl on Aug 19, 2008 6:27 PM PDT up 0 recs

41+ in a win

which would put us over .500 for the first time since may 2006

by GOKINGS on Aug 19, 2008 5:16 PM PDT 0 recs

Oh goodness, is that right? UGH.

by Ziller on Aug 19, 2008 5:35 PM PDT up 0 recs

If there's a basketball god...

he’ll score 82.

by Shizzo on Aug 19, 2008 5:20 PM PDT 0 recs

Dont settle on Kobe's

Beat Wilt’s.

BOOK IT!

by kingme18 on Aug 19, 2008 8:39 PM PDT up 0 recs

He’ll go over 50 unless it’s a blowout, in which case I imagine Theus will take him out.

Third Quarter Collapse: An Orlando Magic blog at SB Nation

by Ben Q Rock on Aug 19, 2008 10:19 PM PDT 0 recs

Funny Team USA Hoops Video

First of all, I say Kmart will score about 25. Give the man a chance to get rolling.

Secondly, check out this hilarious team usa video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl4vXgwsxPM

by rockmile08 on Aug 20, 2008 7:55 AM PDT 0 recs

29 ppg?

Seriously guys, what do you expect of Martin this year?

He had a great season with 24 – 4.5 with 9.5 FTA. How much can he really improve offensively with Artest gone?

Realistic Scenario: He’ll average 4 more shots and 2 more Free Throws. He’ll make 1.5 of his 4 shots and 1.5 FT approximately for the sake of the scenario. That’s 3+1.5=4.5 points…

So we’re talking about a 28-29 ppg Martin? Sounds crazy but so real simultaneously, what do you think?

by ZenBaller on Aug 20, 2008 7:07 PM PDT 0 recs

I think it depends on whether or not Salmons plays similarly to Artest....

because he definitely has a tendency to run the shot-clock down while dribbling with his head down. If that’s the case, does Kevin really get 4 more shots a night? I don’t know. I’m hoping Salmons will play with his head up a bit more, and if not that Garcia will see a lot of minutes, but we’ll see how it plays out.

by cabz on Aug 20, 2008 10:34 PM PDT up 0 recs

I've noticed the same thing

But Salmons actually averaged the same amount of assists (3.5) as Artest when he started. A couple other stats for comparision purposes:

Artest averaged 17.1 shots per game and 3.8 free throws per game.
Salmons averaged 13.5 shots and 4.1 free throws per game.
Artest scored 20.9 points and Salmons 17.5 as a starter.
Salmons is a more efficient scorer and uses a lot less possessions per game. Statistically, he’s a better passer, as he got more assists on less possessions (though I’m not sure that’s a valid stat). The point is that statistically, Salmons isn’t going to take shots away from Martin to the same degree Artest did.

by Carl on Aug 21, 2008 9:56 AM PDT up 0 recs

Nice stats...

and I see your point, but 3.5 shots less doesn’t sound like it’s going to give Kevin a lot more room to operate. Once those shots are spread back into the offense, the net effect on Kevin would be what – 1-2 shots per game? It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, I guess I’m just not in the camp that Kevin is going to see a lot more looks now that Artest has been replaced by Salmons – but I do hope I’m proven wrong.

A lineup of Miller/JT/Garcia/Martin/Brown? could definitely see him get a lot of looks, but a lineup of Hawes/Moore/Salmons/Martin/Douby and he’s not going to even touch the rock before Hawes fires up a fade-away 20 footer. (Not saying those are going to be the most prominent lineups, just that we have some good passers and also some chuckers on this squad, which complicates things).

by cabz on Aug 21, 2008 10:18 AM PDT up 0 recs

Martin - 1.5 points per shot

Martin averaged over 1.5 points per shot last season, so 2 more shots per game would (in theory) lead to 2-3 more points per game. That puts Martin at 26-27 points per game, which would have been second or third in the league last season. I think that’s pretty damned good.

All that being said, I expect Martin’s efficiency to drop this year as he sees constant double teams and has to learn to adjust. If I had to predict, I’d say he gets two more shots per game and averages about 25 points.

by Carl on Aug 21, 2008 10:44 AM PDT up 0 recs

Many of Salmons' starts

came when both Artest and Martin injured or starting for Martin(so he’d be taking a lot of Kevin’s usual shots). The number of games Salmons started with Martin, Moore, Miller and either Beno or Bibby? One.

You really cannot make any predictions, about shots or about win/loss with Salmons as a starter vs. Artest as a starter, based on last season. The usable sample of games is just too small.

Ball movement ... is like jogging for most people: They do it occasionally, and it makes them happy. Then they go back to not doing it. - Henry Abbott

by Kfan in Korea on Aug 21, 2008 4:16 PM PDT up 0 recs