K-Sex Impresses

[.GR]

If you can blow away the scouts, then you're really doing something. And by those standards, Martin really did something in his incredible first half.

When Martin hit a three from the left wing that made him 5 for 5 and cut the Nets' lead to 29-28, a scout near my seat said, "He's the most unassuming 20-point scorer I've seen in the history of the game."

Vinsanity was impressed, too, even if the Nets had stuck Keyon Dooling on Martin and double- and triple-teamed him into 3-of-12 shooting in the second half.

"He was just lights out," Nets guard Vince Carter said afterward. "He's a tremendous player. He's a very unique player. He has a game that you don't see often.

"It was important for us to make it tough on him in the second half, to just make him give up the ball and if we were going to lose the game then we'd lose it (because) of somebody else. He was still trying to get to the basket and make plays. He's definitely playing at a high level right now."

And there was this from New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank before the game:

"Kevin's rise started a couple years ago. He's one of the elite players at his position. He's so good off the ball. There's Kevin and (Detroit's) Rip Hamilton are the two best guards off the ball. Whether playing off Brad Miller, scissors action or wide pindowns, he's great. Plus he's a double-digit free-throw taker. Pump-fakes, very unorthodox. If you haven't played him often, he can throw you off. He's a fun player to watch."

And all this from a reserve. Look for that to change against Chicago on Tuesday night. As if there needed to be evidence to make that move, the latest game provided even more. The Kings were 2 of 12 from the field and fell behind 9-4 before Martin entered for the first time with 6:16 left in the first quarter. From the sound of it, though, the decision to have Martin come off the bench has had more to do with the player than the coach.

Martin had said he preferred it for a few games and then wanted to keep it that way when Francisco Garcia had a decent game at Indiana on Saturday. In the process, he just set a record for points scored off the bench in consecutive games in the modern history of the NBA. Admittedly, that's a stat I didn't have until seeing it on "SportsCenter" a moment ago. So if it's wrong, it's on them.

 

[Mexi]

meh, i like KMart, but his stats are kinda inflated being in Sacramento
he's still a great player but he's gonna be one of those great players stuck on a bad team