Illness keeps Martin, Smith out of Knicks practice (Yahoo! Sports)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The New York Knicks practiced Monday without forward Kenyon Martin or guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert.
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Martin steps up as Thunder eliminate Rockets
The Thunder will advance to the second round and face the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Derek Fisher and Kevin Martin team up for synchronized flop (GIF)
Oklahoma City Thunder guards Derek Fisher and Kevin Martin should be ashamed today after teaming up for a synchronized flop during Wednesday night’s Game 5 of their NBA Western Conference first round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.
That’s a gold medal winning performance right there.
GIF via SBNation. H/T NIS.
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Harden for Martin trade worked for Houston and OKC
Harden for Martin seems like a win-win, a rare thing for an NBA trade
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Is Kenyon Martin the Best Value Free-Agent Pickup of the 2013 NBA Season?
Back at the start of the season, who would have thought the image of a floored, grimacing Kenyon Martin in a New York Knicks uniform would feel like a roundhouse to the gut?
Arguably the best value free-agent pickup of the 2013 NBA season, Martin was outperforming everyone’s mildest and wildest expectations before picking up this “sprained ankle.”
He had become, behind Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, the third-most critical factor in the Knicks’ second-half stabilization and ensuing dominance.
The Knicks’ back story all season has been age and injury, both of which opened the door for the yearning, yet almost-retired Martin (aged and oft-injured himself) to step in at the trade deadline.
New York dumped the increasingly unused Ronnie Brewer for a second-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder to make room for the big man.
Martin was picked up for insurance—before Amar’e Stoudemire went down—to shore up the rest of the wounded.
The result? Martin has essentially plugged the holes of five players and two positions over 18 games, 11 of which were during the 13-game win streak.
“With Marcus Camby (left plantar fasciitis), Rasheed Wallace (fractured left foot), Kurt Thomas (right foot stress reaction) and Amar’e Stoudemire (right knee surgery) out, Tyson Chandler sat [against the Washington Wizards] with a reoccurance of soreness from a bulging disc in his neck that recently kept him out of 10 games.” (via New York Post)
Martin has been starting in Chandler’s place: against the Wizards, in nine of the 11 games he played during the streak and two losses out West.
Though signed to a 10-day contract on Feb. 23, Martin saw action only once during its term—in the Feb. 27 win against the Golden State Warriors.
But with all the big men (but Stoudemire) hurting, he signed a second 10-day contract.
He became a permanent addition and game-impacting fixture when Stoudemire got hurt again on March 7. Since that time, Martin has played in 17 of the Knicks’ 19 games.
He has averaged 24 minutes per game, more than he did with the Los Angeles Clippers last year. Martin’s line per 36 minutes yields a more-than-respectable 11 points and eight rebounds (including 2.8 on the offensive end, second-best in his career).
His defensive play and fleetness, while not equal to his peak years, has been surprisingly youthful. He is blocking and stealing, at least statistically, as well as he ever did.
Martin has provided more than numbers, though. He has boosted team morale at just the right time. The Chicago Tribune took notice,
Kenyon Martin again sparked the team he joined a month ago … provid[ing] big plays on both ends of the court and an intensity the Knicks have needed. “It is contagious, but again, all I have ever known of him is that he plays with high energy and sometimes that rubs off,” Mike Woodson said of Martin. “Our defense has really picked up because he talks a lot and knows defensive rotations. He has been a major plus.”
The Knicks, behind GM Glen Grunwald, have been masters of the cheap, underestimated free-agent pickup during the last year. Well, they have to be.
Ronnie Brewer, Jason Kidd, Pablo Prigioni and Wallace have all contributed mightily at one point or another to the 50-plus season the Knicks, and their fans, are enjoying. All came relatively cheap.
For the first half of 2012-13, one could have argued that Wallace ($1.3M) was the NBA’s best value free-agent pickup.
But what makes Martin’s stint superior is timing (and he’s cheaper at about $430K). Wallace was signed to plug the hole left by Stoudemire early in the year. Martin came to plug the holes left by Wallace, Camby and Thomas, then filled in for Stoudemire and Chandler, too.
Martin joined just as the Knicks were falling apart—right after a four-game losing streak that straddled the All-Star Break. He started getting the nod in the midst of the Knicks’ horrific West Coast trip and helped turn things around.
The Knicks are 13-5 with Martin in the lineup and are now at their hottest heading into the postseason.
What about other free-agent pickups around the league? How does Martin’s impact compare with other value signings?
Derek Fisher (Oklahoma City Thunder), Josh Howard (Minnesota Timberwolves), Andray Blatche (Brooklyn Nets) and Nate Robinson (Chicago Bulls) are good examples.
But neither they, nor any of the other cheap, one-year deals on the complete list of 2012-13 free-agent transactions have been nearly as essential as Martin has been to the Knicks (or Wallace early on for that matter).
Alas, Martin’s season might be over. Or it might not be.
New York has been so clandestine about injuries that no one has any true idea of the severity of Martin’s injury or when he’ll be back.
The Knicks aren’t taking any chances. They’ve plucked James Singleton from China and will let Thomas go, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News,
Kurt Thomas will be released to create a roster spot for James Singleton, Daily News has learned. KT will have right foot surgery next week
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) April 10, 2013
But hopefully, Martin will be back for Round 1 where he will have the chance to cement his legacy as the best value free-agent pickup of 2012-13—and perhaps even earn a slightly more valuable contract for 2013-14.
He’s only 35. That’s like a kid in Knick years.
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Knicks’ Kenyon Martin sprains ankle
The New York Knicks continued their winning ways last night against the Washington Wizards, but they lost a key player in the process. Knicks forward Kenyon Martin sprained his knee late during last night’s contest, and coach Mike Woodson told reporters — including Ian Begley of ESPN New York — that the big man won’t possibly won’t play Thursday against the Chicago Bulls.Mike Woodson says there is a “possibility” that Kenyon Martin will miss Thursday’s game against Chicago. #Knicks— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) April 10, 2013 Martin sustained the injury while going up for a rebound in the fourth quarter of last night’s blowout win. X-rays were negative, but it appears unlikely that Martin will suit up for the Knicks tomorrow against the Bulls. He was already suffering a sore left knee.I never like to second-guess coaches, but Woodson is likely to hear it for having the veteran Martin on the floor during the fourth quarter of a blowout.The Knicks are the hottest team in the NBA
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The New York Knicks should shelve Kenyon Martin until the playoffs commence on April 20
With the New York Knicks reenergized power forward battling a knee ailment, Kenyon Martin is listed as day-to-day and there is no timetable for his return. The 35-year-old Martin, drafted by the New Jersey Nets out of the University of Cincinnati first overall in 2000, has greatly bolstered the Knicks (50-26) depleted frontcourt since joining the squad on February 23. As Amar’e Stoudemire, Rasheed Wallace, Marcus Camby and Tyson Chandler have struggled to remain on the hardwood due to injuries, the 6-foot-9, 240 pound Martin has averaged 7.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 17 contests as a Knick. … Continue reading →
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Kenyon Martin Puts Chris “Birdman” Anderson On A Poster
Kenyon Martin threw down a powerful two-handed dunk on his former teammate Chris “Birdman” Anderson during the Knicks over the Heat.
Early in the fourth quarter, Knicks point guard Raymond Felton drove the baseline, drawing three Heat players to him, which left a streaking Martin wide open in the middle of the lane. Felton dumped the ball off to Martin who finished with authority over Anderson.
The Knick’s went on to defeat the Heat comfortably thanks to Carmelo Anthony’s 50-point performance.
[Beyond the Buzzer]
Article found on: Next Impulse Sports
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Kenyon Martin rips Celtics
BOSTON — Through all the Celtics’ struggles early in the season, when they were incapable of protecting the rim on defense and seemed to suffer a double-digit deficit on the glass in every game, Kenyon Martin was waiting for their call. He was out there, available as a free agent until late February, yet a match was never made. Martin was in TD Garden on Tuesday, but it was not as a member of the Celtics. After several teams reportedly took fliers on the veteran big man, he finally settled with the Knicks on a 10-day contract last month. Another 10-day contract later, Martin received an extension with New York through the end of the season and has been a pivotal member of the team ever since. He was all over the parquet against the Celtics, scoring nine points and nabbing four offensive rebounds to help the Knicks batter the shorthanded Celtics 100-85. Afterward, it was clear that Martin harbors some ill will toward the Celtics, who could use a big body with experience now that Kevi…
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Anthony, Martin key Knicks on Kidd’s 40th birthday
Even at 40, Kidd is still playing one of the NBA’s most demanding positions.
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