Finishing Strong

by Ziller on Mar 31, 2008 10:32 AM PDT in Commentary Comment 11 comments

Last year, not only did the team finish weak, but Sactown's bright spot limped into the offseason as well.

Not the case this season.

Kevin Martin just completed the best month of his pro career, with 26.3 points per game on .634 true shooting, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

Speed will finish the season in the league's top 15 in scoring, true shooting percentage, FTAs, FT%, offensive rating, and offensive win shares. He will finish in top 25 -- and possibly the top 20 -- in PER, and most likely 5th among all shooting guards (behind Manu Ginobili, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Allen Iverson).

We'll likely see his minutes cut in April as Reggie Theus deals with the mandate to get Quincy Douby more minutes. But if Sunday night's 31 points on .688 TS% are any indication, he'll finish out this strong season on a strong kick.

(Ron Artest had a great March, too: 23.8 points on .559 TS%, with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals. The team has as a whole went 7-8, which can be at least in part attributed to 6.5 DNPs for Beno Udrih, three for Artest, and one for Brad Miller.)

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Kevin is still improving

I have enjoyed watching his progress in the past month. He needs to continue to play at least 25-30 minutes a game through the end of the season.

by newkings on Mar 31, 2008 9:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Slumps

I wonder if it was just wear and tear of the way he plays that put him into several nasty shooting slumps or just learning how to handle the added attention he was getting. I still say this kid is going to be viewed as a bargain in years to come. And if he can stay consistent, he is going to play in more than one All Star game.

by SavageBeast on Mar 31, 2008 11:03 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

For Kevin to be an All-Star

I think the team needs more media coverage which means the Kings need to win a lot more games. He's not a flashy enough character to pull the popular votes while playing for a sorry team.

by NYCFan on Apr 1, 2008 6:28 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

Kevin + winning record = possible all star.
Kevin - winning record = guy that scores a lot for a losing team.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Apr 1, 2008 6:31 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

where's that picture from?

looks like an early 90's Air Jordan's ad, kinda like his old hair style

by vfettke on Apr 1, 2008 4:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

With 8 games to go

Kevin only needs 30 more made FTs to break his Sacramento record of 481 set last season. And he played 80 games last year vs. 64 this year if he plays the rest.

by Kfan in Korea on Apr 1, 2008 9:43 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

And I think

that he needs about 86 pts. to be officially counted among the scoring leaders (he would be 8th right now, just behind Nowitzki).

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Apr 1, 2008 10:07 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kevin in The 4th Quarter

Roland from 82games.com alerted me to their recent feature breaking down scoring by quarter.

http://www.82games.com/QTR4S11.HTM

I had asked for it when TZ posted the Mythbuster feature on Kevin a while back.

Kevin Martin by quarter:

1st Quarter - 6.5 pts avg. (9th in the league).
2nd Quarter - 5.4 pts (5th).
3rd Quarter - 6.9 pts (6th).
4th Quarter - 5.0 points (29th).

He was 34th less than a week ago, albeit with the same average. I think he is starting to step up more in crunch time, so these numbers should improve over time. That reverse doubleclutcher tonight was a keeper.

Kevin's not alone among the Kings in struggling late. Artest, Miller and Moore all score less in the 4th than their average. Salmons is tops on the team with almost a third of his 12.5 average coming in the last period (4 pts avg.). Garcia scores about 28% of his points in the 4th, and Beno also is above average in the final stanza.

Speaking of struggling in the 4th, it was nice to see Peja come through with six points in the last minute tonight, including a big three, as the Hornets beat Orlando 98-97.

by coolcatreportdotcom on Apr 2, 2008 12:47 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Interesting numbers

Keep in mind that Kevin usually plays the entire 1st and 3rd Qs and gets his rest early in the 2nd and 4th. So his scoring per minute for each quarter would be pretty consistent I'd guess.

by Kfan in Korea on Apr 2, 2008 6:13 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

Good call, and thanks for the link coolcat.

Here the min/quarter, pts/quarter, and pts/12 min (how much would he score if he played the entire q?).

1st: 10.5 min, 6.5 pts, 7.4 pts/12 min
2nd: 8.3 min, 5.4 pts, 7.8 pts/12 min
3rd: 10.2 min, 6.9 pts, 8.1 pts/12 min
4th: 8.2 min, 5.0 pts, 7.3 pts/12 min

So the fourth is his worst scoring quarter, barely. He shoots better in the first half, as well.

I wonder how much of it has to do with # of possessions and teamwide turnovers, but that's a look for another time.

by Ziller on Apr 2, 2008 7:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs