Last year, when the Heat left the game in disappointment, Caleb Martin said to Adebayo: "I'm going to be the reason we can win, I'm going to be the reason we win the key game." ”
That game was also a game between the Heat and the Green Army, but Caleb Martin was pressed on the bench by Coach Spoo and didn't play a second...
The reason was simple, the Celtics were interested in releasing Martin for three points, but he couldn't respond.
Caleb Martin dominated the East Finale Seven.
On the same day a year later, the same grab, the same opponent, Martin fulfilled his promise to "win the game on his own" - playing 44 minutes and 48 seconds, shooting 11 of 16, 4 of 6 from three-point range, cutting 26 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, helping the Heat complete the "revenge".
From losing the draft in the league, to being cut by the Hornets, and then becoming the biggest surprise in the division finals, Martin achieved every cow he bragged about.
The Heat received the Eastern Conference championship trophy.
Played in the NBA for four years, and no one cared
In a regular-season game between the Raptors and the Heat in late October, the game went through to the third quarter, and Caleb Martin and Kolok twisted together while rebounding.
After Kolok fell to the ground, Martin stepped forward to provoke, and the two then directly hugged and fell up, and once rushed into the audience. After such a round, both Martin and Kolok were directly expelled by the referee.
After the game, Kolok felt a little wronged, so he said: "I am as confused as you are. We didn't say any trash talk before, and I didn't even know who Caleb Martin was! ”
Martin and Kolok clashed.
I don't know who Caleb Martin is, but this phrase is perfect for Martin this season.
In the cloud-like Heat, there is nothing noteworthy about Martin's undrafted status. And from a technical point of view, he has neither Dunroe's scalpel-like three points, nor amazing physical talent.
The biggest difference from most players is that he has a twin brother who also plays in the NBA, Cody Martin.
But even Cody Martin, who is 5 centimeters taller and has a better static talent, was only picked up by the Hornets with the 36th pick in 2019.
Caleb, on the other hand, unsurprisingly lost the election.
Caleb Martin (right) defends George while playing for the Hornets.
A month after the draft, Caleb Martin came to the Hornets with his brother, and the team offered him a short 10-day contract.
At the time, Caleb was still excited to play in the NBA: "I was so excited that I couldn't sleep because I could finally be with my brother again, and I played together in the NBA." ”
But in the Hornets, who "believe in the process" and accumulate talent for many years, Caleb did not gain a foothold, so on August 7, 2021, Caleb Martin was cut by the Hornets.
Recalling that time, Martin told the media: "It really surprised me, but from my own point of view, maybe I didn't do it well enough, and they didn't recognize me as a real NBA player. ”
After several turns, Martin put on the Heat jersey, but even after playing for the Heat for another two seasons, Martin still said this in an interview: "I've been in the league for four years, and there are still people who don't know who I am." There were so many unknown draft losses in the locker room and that's what motivates me to play. ”
Caleb Martin wears the hat of Eastern Conference champion.
Without a rapper, he wouldn't even be able to play in the NBA
If the first two years of Caleb's career were based on his brother, then the turning point in the Heat's career was because of a rapper, Grammy winner J. Cole。
Without J. Cole's help, Martin would have even faded out of the NBA.
In the late summer of 2021, the Heat were looking for a space-type winger to serve as a backup, and although Caleb Martin was on the Heat's search list, it was J. Lee Martin who really pushed both sides to further develop. Cole.
One day, Heat assistant coach Caron Butler suddenly received a message from J. Cole's phone call, the two have known each other since 2010, and the two sides often discuss the topic of basketball. This time, J. Cole recommended Butler that the player was Martin.
'It's not the first time he's called me about the players, he's recommended Dennis Smith Jr. to me before. Caron recalls, "But someone made a special call, and it was still impressive. ”
"My first reaction was, 'No, he really called me because of a kid?'" Caron went through the process, "and he said, 'Seriously, he needs this opportunity.'" ”
After hanging up, Butler immediately texted Martin: "Can you come tomorrow?" Martin replied: "No problem. ”
Caleb Martin defends Tatum.
So the next day, the Heat quickly arranged a tryout. But now looking back, Martin still has palpitations: "I was nervous because I thought it would be my last chance. I almost left the NBA at the time, and the Heat have filled some open spots. So I wanted to make sure they remembered me before I left the pitch. ”
Fortunately, Martin's performance conquered the Heat management, and the team with the "draft collector" gave Martin a chance, which is also the seventh draft pick collected by the Heat in the past five seasons.
After getting this opportunity, Martin broke into the world of the NBA and never looked back - on September 14, 2021, Martin signed a two-way contract with the Heat. In February 2022, Miami converted him to a formal contract.
Last summer, he signed a 3-year, $20.41 million contract with the Heat.
As Caron puts it, "The story is amazing because of the effort that Caleb put in." We gave him a platform and a chance, but his performance has exceeded everyone's expectations. He was incredible. ”
Caleb Martin breaks through Smart.
Jordan in his own story
But no one could have imagined that Martin, who had gone from being drafted to starting the team, would shine on the stage of the Eastern Conference Finals.
In the Eastern Conference finals between the Heat and Celtics last season, the Green Army chose to pair Lowe against Martin - Lowe who contracted the interior consciously cleared Martin's bottom corner to assist in the defensive rotation.
Last year, it worked very well, but this year when the Celtics did the same, the tactics failed. In the first three series against the Celtics, Martin shot 10-of-21 from three-point range.
Martin said after the game: "It was definitely disrespectful to me, but the team will always have a game plan and schedule and I accept the result. So if venturing me is part of their plan, then my plan is to stay confident, strike when it's time to shoot, they start adjusting, and I will adjust. ”
Caleb Martin seals Smart.
In fact, Martin's initial positioning in the Heat was a defensive titan, and even at 1.96 meters tall, he once became the Heat's starting No. 4, but Martin has no complaints about this.
Heat coach Spostela described it this way: "He played a lot of different roles, and he played a role that a lot of players who are new to the league don't want to take on, doing all the little things, doing the dirty work and defending. ”
Not only that, when the Heat signed Kevin Love halfway through the season, Martin returned to the bench, coach Spall worried that he was frustrated, wrote a full screen of text messages to explain the reason, Martin just silently accepted the team's arrangement.
So much so that Spall praised him: "Martin can't praise enough, I didn't even know at the time whether this decision was the best option for the team, but he was willing to make sacrifices and become the leader on the bench." There is no doubt that he is a supreme contender. ”
As a result, Martin began to bloom in the Eastern Conference Finals - Martin averaged 19.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 7 games, shooting 60.2% + 48.9% + 87.5% from three, scoring a total of 135 points.
In the past 25 years of division finals, the only players who have scored 135 points on 60 percent shooting are ahead of Martin as James, Wade and Howard.
Martin protects the rebound.
The 26 points of a career-high playoff in the Big Seven also made Martin the first draft in NBA history to win in G7 and score 25+.
Butler described his teammates after the game: "I don't want to call my teammates role players, they're my teammates, I know how hard they work. ”
When the Heat and Martin met, Martin, who had been abandoned by Jordan, became the Jordan in his own story.
Fans also jokingly said that Jordan and Hornets gave up Martin that year, perhaps because the Joe gang owner deliberately wanted to find a quality helper for his "son" Butler.