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Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

Today's East showdown, the Heat, who had previously been beaten three games in a row, won 103-84 on the road, replicating the myth of the 1999 New York Knicks' "Black Eight Rush to the Finals".

But after the game, Jimmy Butler was only elected by a thrilling 5-4 total vote. And the man who got 4 votes and almost snatched the second "Larry Bird" Cup in history from the team boss was called Kleb Martin.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

Jimmy Butler had 28 points, 7 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals today, and he still performed well. But it is within the reach of the Green Army. Compared to the Bucks, who chopped him for 98 points in the last two games, the Celtics have been successful in defending Butler throughout the series.

But they couldn't bear the Heat's emergence of a 26-pointer, 10-rebound, three-assist Kleb Martin, who scored 26 points and 10 boards on 11-of-16 shooting and 4-of-6 three-point shooting, and he shot inside and outside like the league's top forwards, making the Green Army defense take care of the other.

For comparison, the double tanhua on the opposite side scored a total of 33 points today.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

Pat Riley's team, Spoh's men, Butler's side, you can never look down on this group, and in Game 6 by Derek White, everyone is looking forward to the first playoff game in history.

Especially in the Boston Garden Arena, which has been protected by countless heroes in history and made heroes such as Chamberlain, Jordan, Kobe, and LeBron bend their waist.

No one is optimistic that they can work miracles here after losing three games in a row.

And then they did it.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

In the seventh battle, in addition to the always tough Butler, the biggest contributor is Kleb Martin.

The game started in a direction that was unfavorable to the Celtics, and Tatum injured his foot in the first attack, and his fighting power was immediately halved.

More importantly, the Celtics' three-point shot lost its magic in this game, and 0-of-10 shooting from beyond the three-point line in the first quarter already foreshadowed the difficulty of the game.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

The Miami Heat, on the other hand, played steadily, especially Kleb Martin, who scored seven points and five boards in the first quarter. In the Heat's roster, he was the point where the outside could be waived, and this time he responded toughly. The Heat led 22-15 at the end of the first quarter.

"I told Adebayor that I am no longer the point that can be vacated last year, and they will pay the price."

In last year's East final, Martin was 7-of-15 from beyond the three-point line, with efficiency but limited production.

This year, it is 45 out of 20, a large amount of full.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

By the start of the second quarter, the game had entered the rhythm of the Heat. Tatum's injury left them without the sharpest knife on the outside, and Jaylen Brown continued his Eastern Conference slump, with the Celtics' repeated three-point misses giving the Heat plenty of opportunities to fight back and extend their lead to 52-41 at halftime.

Martin led one of them, scoring seven more points on three-of-three shooting in a single quarter, and the energy he embodied, his hard work and oiliness made the Celtics unable to find the right position for a while, leaving him to run up and down the offensive end.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

In the second half, the Celtics found their hands and chased 51-59, and it was Martin's accurate mid-range shot that helped stabilize the situation. He shot 4-of-4 from mid-range and hit three consecutive shots in the third quarter, making him the team's most confident scoring point on the offensive end in the most important life-and-death battle of the playoffs.

Compared to Butler's desperate fight under the basket, Martin's divine permission today made the Celtics completely desperate.

Especially when this sneak back on the bottom line before the end of the third quarter pulled the gap back to double digits (76-66), the hearts of the Boston Garden Arena audience were directly sunk to the bottom of the sea.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

After the opening of the fourth quarter, it was his 3-pointer, and Gabutler's consecutive four points widened the gap to 83-66, which had already declared the end of the Celtics and let the myth of three chases and four ruins.

26 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, as a 1.96 meter tall, but was placed in the No. 4 position by coach Spoo, taking turns with Tatum and Jaylen to put the right draft forward.

Not only in hand-to-hand combat on the defensive end, but also on the offensive end, he always uses accurate mid-range shots to silence opponents when the Green Army is rising.

No one denies that Butler is the heart and brain of the Heat, but today's Kleb Martin is the brightest star of the game.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

Lost draft, twins, Heat.

Before today, it was probably Kleb Martin's most obvious label in the NBA.

He and his brother Cody Martin, who was born 10 seconds before him, are now the NBA's twin brothers after the Lopez brothers and the Morris brothers.

But the two of them are much less famous than their predecessors, and in 2019, Cody was selected by the Hornets with the 6th pick in the second round, while Kleb directly lost.

Fortunately, the Hornets offered him a contract at training camp, so the two brothers played for the same team again after high school (Oak Hill) and college (University of Nevada).

So in the 2019-20 Hornets, you can often see two completely indistinguishable "Martins" on the court. (No. 10 for Kleb, No. 11 for Cody)

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

But the fate of the two forked in the 2021 offseason, because the brothers' style characteristics were too similar, and the Hornets had Oubre, Hayward, Washington and other good players, and after several trade-offs, they finally decided to cut their younger brother Kleib.

"It was a terrible feeling, Cody [Martin] had never been absent in my basketball career, but I knew this was the NBA."

Kleib Martin had to go back to the time when he lost the election two years ago, running around training camps to start looking for work, but fortunately he met his own nobleman.

Karon Butler.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

This Jimmy Butler, the last All-Star forward named "Butler" debuted from the Heat, career to the Lakers, Wizards, Lone Ranger, as an All-Star, won a championship, worked as a commentator, and now has become an assistant coach of the Heat.

In Kleb Martin's friend J. At Cole's recommendation, Butler watched a Martin practice game and then persuaded Heat management to offer him a ten-day contract.

"Kleib [Martin] has a good temperament on the pitch with Miami, and I think it's necessary to give him a chance."

Butler later said so.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

Then began the 2021-22 season, with Kleb Martin beginning his comeback with the Heat as a two-way contract player.

He loves the atmosphere so much, from management to the top card to the bench, everyone sticks to the tough law of the jungle.

"In Miami, only hard work and a comeback will buy you playing time. We don't look at contract numbers, we only look at whether you're desperate. ”

"Sometimes I feel like I'm back in college and the coach only decides whether you can play based on your performance. Sometimes it feels like you're on the street, you know, everybody is not so friendly on the training ground. ”

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

Last season, he earned himself 60 games of 22.9 minutes per game, contributing 9.2 points, 3.8 boards and an elite-level 41.6 percent three-point shooting.

Although he lost 4-3 to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, he was offered a three-year, $20.5 million contract at the end of the season.

He is no longer a dispensable little person with a temporary or basic salary contract.

At the beginning of the season, he was already a representative of the Heat's "undrafted turnover" after Dunroe.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

He started 49 games in the regular season this year, scoring 9.6 points and 4.8 boards, and formed the Heat's starting front court with Butler and Adebayo.

Most of the time, he played the No. 4 position at 1.96 meters, and every game he had to carry opponents who were much taller than himself.

And the Heat's hiring of Kevin Love from the buyout market was largely due to a lack of confidence in the forward line he and Adebayo.

But when it came to the East final, when the aging Love could no longer keep up with the Celtics' all-game rush, head coach Spoelstra decisively put him in the starting lineup.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

He was ready, and after Butler was injured in his first game against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, he scored 22 points and 8 assists in the G2 starter. Nearly helped the Heat leave New York with a 2-0 advantage.

Even as a substitute for Love in the first five games of the Eastern Conference, he showed greater mobility and firepower against the Celtics.

He averaged 17.6 points and 4.0 boards in his first five games, already the sharpest knife on the Heat's bench, which convinced Coach Spall to start his last two games.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

"Everyone in our team is competitive and has been with us for a year and we are always thinking about avenging last year's East showdown.

I trained alone two years ago waiting for my chance, and I'm thankful and proud of myself. ”

At today's post-G7 press conference in the Eastern Finals, Kleb Martin said emotionally.

Mo Chou has no knowledge of himself in the future, and no one in the world knows the king.

The man who just saved the Heat in G7 and almost snatched Butler's MVP, now the world knows his name.

Insider | From being cut by Jordan to the man who almost snatched Butler's MVP Who doesn't know since then?

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