The Raptors Can't Afford To Keep Darrick Martin Around Much Longer
By Walter DubowecI stood up for him when most others were calling for his dismissal. Guess what? I'm now with you guys when it comes to Darrick Martin.
Sorry, but the Raptors can't afford to hang on to D-Mart much longer. He's got no game left. Martin is our Agent ZERO - only that zero is what he has left in the tank.
Outside of the Dallas game, the majority of Martin's 10 appearances thus far have been sub-par. The raw numbers make this glaringly obvious. They are as ugly as any you'll find in the NBA:
Darrick Martin 2007-08
Field Goal % - .241
3 - Point % - .200
You read correctly. He's shooting 24%! I honestly can't remember any Raptor ever bricking shots at such an abysmal rate. Problem is that these shooting woes don't stop Martin from launching ill-advised shots.
While his on court skills have diminished - his on court leadership has declined too. Martin simply cannot run the offence effectively.
Martin triggers the Portland comeback with ill-advised shots
Against Portland, he played terrible basketball which essentially handed the momentum back to Portland. The offence was largely ineffective under his direction, particularly when the Raptors had a golden opportunity to stretch the lead to 9 and possibly 11 points or more.
The Raptors were up 87-80 in the 4th quarter. Martin had a chance to set up a play and put Kapono or Delfino or Humphries in a position to put the Raptors up by 9. So what does the savvy vet do? He jacks up a long distance brick.
Back down the court a little later and what does D-Mart do? Yup. Throws up another ill-advised brick. See a trend here?
Then the floodgates opened up and the rest is history. Portland gets five quick points and the tide had turned. The Raptors needlessly snapped defeat from the jaws of victory.
The offence under D-Mart stagnates because the opposition can afford to back off Martin and invite him to shoot. I mean what team wouldn't want a lead-footed 24% shooter to launch shot after shot?
Raptors need a better PG option with TJ sidelined
With TJ Ford's immediate future in doubt, the Raptors can ill-afford a poor shooting D-Mart to play horribly for 13 minutes like he did against the Blazers. It was different when Darrick was a DNP on most nights. Now his performance matters.
To make matters worse, Juan Dixon is no better. He's a black hole, which is the worst trait possible for a point guard. As the old saying goes, "the good news is that Juan only shoots when he has the ball".
The success of the Raptors has been dependent to a great extent on exceptional point guard play. With Darrick Martin, they don't get anywhere near what they need.
Its time for D-Mart to hang up the sneakers and join the Raptors' coaching staff on a full-time basis. His $770,000 is only partially guaranteed (if D-Mart is on the roster on January 12th), so Bryan can quite easily send Martin into early retirement sooner than later.
I'd be shocked if D-Mart survives past January 12th on the Raptors roster. I hope Colangelo feels the same way. Time to be searching for a capable, younger, quicker third point guard.
Oh yes. Lets hope the new guy can shoot above 24%.
Totally agree man, if we need his "expertise" to help the PGs out (which I highly doubt), just sign him as an assistant coach and free up a roster spot. Juan Dixon is more than capable of running the point making Martin expendable.
His 6 minute spell in the fourth quarter of the Portland game was brutal and the worst part is that Juan Dixon was available! Since when did Dixon fall below Martin in our depth charts??
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Looks like d-mart is here to stay.
There must be some better D-League pgs available for 10 day contracts.
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