Caleb Martin began his career with the Charlotte Hornets and it seems he learned a thing or two from owner Michael Jordan about taking stuff personally.
Now with the Miami Heat, the forward sounded off this week on the Boston Celtics’ defensive game plan for him in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Finals series. Late in the contest, the Celtics helped off Martin on the three-point arc to send another defender at the Heat’s drives. Martin responded by hitting three triples, including a dagger with two minutes left to put the Heat up by seven. Miami went on to win the game by a 123-116 score.
Martin was even better in Game 2. He went 11-of-16 from the field and 3-of-7 from three for 25 points. The Heat won Game 2, 111-105, and will have a chance to go up 3-1 in the series when they host the Celtics on Sunday.
“It’s definitely a sign of disrespect,” Martin said of Boston’s gambit, per the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. “But people have game plans and schemes, and you live with the result. So that’s just a part of their scheme, and part of my scheme is being confident and letting it go. They adjust, and I adjust to the adjustments.”
The undrafted Martin doesn’t start for the Heat, but often closes games for them due to his defensive prowess and high-energy play. Martin is also shooting a very respectable 39.2 percent from deep this postseason, in part due to the high-quality looks that opponents are giving him.
Truth be told, however, the Celtics might be content with letting Martin beat them. Their other options would be to let Jimmy Butler carve up one-on-one coverage, leave the restricted area open for a Bam Adebayo dunk or floater or cheat off someone like Max Strus (an elite three-point shooter) or Gabe Vincent (a strong catch-and-shoot guy who can attack closeouts and score off the dribble too) instead.
But if Martin continues to fire away with confidence from three (even if he is only hitting on one of every three attempts or so), it will make the Heat that much tougher to guard. That is the last thing opponents want right now, especially with the absolute smokeshow that Butler has been putting on.
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