Charting Martell Webster's Defense
by Ben Golliver on Nov 2, 2009 1:38 PM PST
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PrintDepending on which side you listen to, the hot topic from yesterday's Blazers versus "Thunder" game was either:
- The great job Martell Webster did in shutting down Kevin Durant
- How "off" Kevin Durant was
Given Martell Webster's inconsistent defense in the past and Kevin Durant's proven ability as a shooter and scorer, I will admit to initially siding with the "Thunder" interpretation: Durant had an uncharacteristically cold shooting night and, essentially, that cost his team the game.
But given how hard Webster worked in defending Carmelo Anthony last week, and the importance of Webster's development on the defensive end, I thought a closer look at the Durant/Webster match-up was in order. So, much like last week's charting of Greg Oden's touches, I went back through the game tape and charted every "Thunder" offensive possession with Kevin Durant in the game. This time, I made a note of who was guarding Durant, the result of the play (if he shot the ball, where did he shoot from and how was he guarded.. if he didn't shoot the ball, where was he in relation to the play) and looked for any other stand out moments from Webster defensively.
The results were particularly interesting. Here's a link to the full size chart. Here's Durant's shot chart for reference, courtesy of ESPN.
My full charting is quite long and it gets repetitive so let me boil down the results.
- From my charting, it appears the scorekeeper charged Durant with a missed 3 point attempt with 7:44 in the 4th quarter that Jeff Green actually shot. Therefore, I have Durant shooting 3-20 from the field.
- Durant's 3 makes: a layup cutting back door on Webster. A short pull-up jumper over Joel Przybilla. An uncontested dunk in transition.
- Of Durant's 20 field goal attempts: 12 were contested with at least one hand in his face, 2 had Blazers close out, 6 were uncontested.
- The 6 uncontested shots: All 3 of Durant's makes, plus... a missed uncontested dunk in traffic, Webster fell down on one play to allow an uncontested pull up jumper that Durant missed, and Durant found space in the Blazers defense but missed an uncontested 8 footer in front of Przybilla.
- Durant was 0-14 on shots that were contested or had Blazers close out on him.
- Durant was 10-14 from the free throw line but Webster registered just two fouls in 39 minutes of play. 1 of the 2 occurred completely off the ball out of bounds as the two players jockeyed for position.
- Of the 74 possessions charted with Kevin Durant in the game, Martell Webster drew primary defensive responsibility on 56 of them, or roughly 3/4, and was single covering Durant on nearly every one of those 56. Webster gave up 1 field goal.
- Webster succeeded in a number of defensive areas against Durant: he regularly denied Durant the ball both in the post and on the wing, he successfully used his body without fouling to keep Durant from backing him down, he collapsed on penetrators and recovered out to Durant to challenge jump shots on multiple occasions, he played the few pick and rolls flawlessly (credit also to Greg Oden) and finished with 4 steals (many due to Westbrook's out of control forays into the teeth of the defense).
- In short, regardless of whether Durant was "off" or not, Webster arguably played the single best, most consistent defensive game of his NBA career. His only real mistakes: falling down on one play trying to stay with a driving Durant and getting beat backdoor one time off the dribble for a layup. It was as close to a flawless game defensively as I can remember a Blazer defender playing. It may well have exceeded any performance of Nicolas Batum's career.
- Webster did not do it alone: Roy, Outlaw, Fernandez and even Miller continued the solid defense on Durant when Webster was not in the game. Roy had a dumb foul on a 3 point attempt but otherwise every guy did a good job contesting shots and keeping Durant out of the key. If there was a player who could be singled out for any minor fault it would be Przybilla who, obviously wary of getting fouls called on him, didn't contest two short pull-ups from Durant that he might have been able to. At the end of the day, Durant was 1-2 on those and it was probably a smart decision on Przybilla's part, given his recent foul trouble and Durant's ability to elevate above Przybilla while shooting.
- The Blazers rarely had to truly rotate onto Durant defensively but the one time they did, Juwan Howard went flying out as fast an an old man can to get a hand up on Durant. This lack of defensive rotation can be chalked up to OKC's stagnant 1-on-1 off-the-dribble offense which had no real rhythm to it and saw Russell Westbrook take tough shot after tough shot without so much as looking in Durant's direction.
- Indeed, as great as Webster was defensively, you can give almost equal credit to Westbrook for finishing with 9 turnovers (a ton of wasted possessions) and not a single assist to his team's best player. He made a grand total of zero offensive plays over the course of the game to make Kevin Durant's life easier. Throughout the game (nearly 20 separate possessions!), Durant was standing at the 3 point line -- often with his hands on his hips or jogging back to play defense -- as his guards ignored him to throw up wild shots. Flashbacks to his rookie season.
- A final note: If Martell Webster shows this effort and intelligence on defense, Nate McMillan will gladly close games with him in the lineup, as he did on Sunday night. Webster didn't allow a single 4th quarter basket from Durant in a close game that was certainly winnable from OKC's perspective.
Click through for a shrunken down version of my charting results or click here to read the full size version.
-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter
-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter
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Very nice post, Ben.
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
good stuff
seeing Webster’s improvement on D makes it feel like losing Nic isn’t the end of the world defensively. Now if he can only hold lebron to 3-20…..
"I think twittering and all that facebook crap just makes you a loser." ~ Charles Barkley
Dear Ben
You, sir, never cease to amaze everyone with your posts. Good work!
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
Amazing post Ben.
I’d love to see someone chart his passes. Durant had zero assists last night and I’m curious if he has improved his playmaking skills.
"I'm at the thingamajig talking the yakety-yak" - Kenny Smith
he had very, very, very few passes other than passing to a guard on the perimeter. i don’t think he hit a cutter once. it was no accidence he had zero assists.
I'm sure that was an accident
Excellent post Ben. All credit to Martell and his coaches. Thanks for the great info. – Elgin
Travis Outlaw, the Funnel Cake of the Blazers
I guess that's why I don't view him as a superstar like many folks in the mainstream media
He seems like a player who ends possessions rather than one who starts possessions. I typically view him closer to the likes of Danny Granger and Kevin Martin.
"I'm at the thingamajig talking the yakety-yak" - Kenny Smith
He's Travis with more dribbling and a brighter green light.
I mean really. Gets his shot on anyone, can rebound if he feels like it, doesn’t make anyone else better.
He has 1.7 assists over those 3 games, and over his 2-year career he has 2.6. So no. Where he seems to have stepped up so far is reounding (9.3 over 5.5). His shooting is still obviously a bit off, so I would give Webster half the credit and Durant half the blame. He has a pretty healthy view on this today:
Headed to practice…another day to get better…blessed that I am able to play this game everyday
But slowly things happen that they cannot help and the Blazers Fellowship of the Ring begins to break apart
Interesting that Durant doesn't seem to dwell on his poor performance.
If he maintains that attitude and keeps practicing, getting better, he’ll be a good player one day.
I can't believe you are charting Martell
there have only been 4 games so far…give the guy a break
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Nov 2, 2009 1:56 PM PST reply actions 3 recs
Did you READ the post?
First, big kudos for Ben for spending the, what 2-3 hours or so it must have taken him to do that analysis.
Second, if you read the post, you’d see that Ben was complimenting Martell’s D.
I, for one, say keep up the good work, Ben! We’d never see this type of analysis from Quick or Clownzano…
He's kidding.
"Aneurysm".
When Outlaw wins a game on a last-second shot, it’s called an "annthefaneurysm". QualityPie
Oh... Then, never mind..
Roseanne Roseannadanna
+92
for Gilda Radner mention
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
I probably should signed it....
….Jason Quick
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
very interesting stuff
Well done again, Ben. This is the kind of stuff you would never get from traditional media outlets and really shows what a contribution to fan-understanding sites like this provide.
If Martell can continue to play high-intensity D while improving his accuracy offensively, he’ll find himself getting 35 minutes a night, including clutch time minutes. In fact, if he continues to improve, Nate is going to have to think seriously about switching to an end of game lineup that features Roy at the 1, Fernandez at the 2, Webster at the 3 and Blake/Miller on the bench.
www.blazerguy.com
by Blazer Guy on Nov 2, 2009 1:56 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Martell spent a whole season
sitting on the bench watching Nicolas Batum and cheering. Now I know what he was thinking: I’m doing some of THAT next year. He’s obviously got a new level of commitment. It’s great to see.
Channing Frye:
G: 3, Min: 32.0, FG: 58.3%, 3PT: 65%, FT: 66.7%, Reb: 5.7, Ast: 1.0, Stl: 2.0, BS: 0.7, PPG: 19.7
DeJuan Blair:
G: 3, Min: 20.7, FG: 70.6%, 3PT: 0%, FT: 33.3%, Reb: 8.3, Ast: 1.3, Stl: 0.7, BS: 0, PPG: 8.3
I'm telling Jason Quick you are charting this again.
Ohhhhh, you’re gonna get it.
by Sean M on Nov 2, 2009 1:58 PM PST reply actions 7 recs
2nd That
Boy is Quick gonna be pissed at you now. You thought he got bent out of shape charting Oden offense, now your charting Webster’s defense of Durant of all players. Ben don’t you know we the masses aren’t suppose to know anything other then what these insiders tell us? Anyway thanks for the hard work. Very nice.
Yes, if you keep this up, Ben, they'll have to confiscate your graph paper.
by CatMan2 on Nov 2, 2009 3:48 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
(Has jscot been influencing him?)
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
Ben is a Durant fan-boy
He isn’t really charting Martell here. He’s charting Durant.
Oden/Durant. Forever linked. When one is mentioned, the other is remembered.
Ben charted Oden, and fate decreed that this would happen.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
by jscot on Nov 3, 2009 12:08 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Martell has been the highlight of this short Blazer season
I am so happy I got him in the last round of my fantasy draft. I thought we would be hurting a lot more without Batum on defense but Webster has seven steals and five blocks already.
That being said our team D is still horrible
You have my axe!
I'm surprised you didn't mention that Webster was pulled from the previous game
for a lack of effort on defense, and as a result played less than 15 minutes. I say that not to criticize Webster, but to commend him for making that correction and also to commend Nate for sending the right message to Webster.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Nov 2, 2009 2:01 PM PST reply actions
Bad call.
Webster has played hard in all four games – including the loss in Houston. Singling out Webster for that one would be a classic McMillan boner, if true.
Worse, Webster was by far the most effective defender against Melo. McMillan benching Webster cost the Blazers the Nuggets game.
by blacknoiseNW on Nov 2, 2009 2:26 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I agree.
I was soo irritated that Nate did not bring in Webster to guard Melo and give Roy a break on defense to focus on his offense.
oh, and “McMillan boner” made me chuckle.
"We're going to play the right way. It ain't about you. It's about us. We can be successful if we play together. And that's what it's about. In this league, playing hard, playing together. Your numbers shouldn't matter. If we're not winning then you can say some things. But if we do it the right way, we should win, and you still shouldn't say anything." - Nate McMillan
by blazerbeliever on Nov 2, 2009 2:40 PM PST up reply actions
I also agree. I wrote a post about how Rudy being the "hot hand" actually hurt us in that game.
Since Rudy played great, it made it hard for Nate to take him out during the fourth quarter, but we really needed someone to guard Melo more than we needed Rudy on the floor at that moment. Nate made the change a couple minutes too late, and Melo had already taken over the game.
Reminds how I used to get upset when NAte would take Pryz out late in games.
This was before he noticeably improved his free-throw technique. But still, we had zero presence in the middle when that occurred, and opposing teams just drove to the hoop and scored with impunity, causing a number of Blazer losses, IMO.
Concur... Woulda that Martell was in
and coulda drawn one more foul from Anthony, even a few mins before the end of that game, to put Melo over the limit… Mighta changed the trajectory down the stretch there just enough so that they shoulda booked it under the W col.
Ah well: Woulda, Coulda, Mighta and Shoulda – the Four Horsemen of the Procrastocalypse
Nice last line
You are now quoted in my signature.
"Woulda, Coulda, Mighta and Shoulda – the Four Horsemen of the Procrastocalypse" - Red-5
Webster, Nate, and his teammates disagree with you.
Webster said after the OKC game: “My teammates got on me, coaches got on me, that Houston game was an upset for me. I got a little bit outworked … There’s no excuse for bad play, that’s just a lack of effort, heart …”
But what do they know?
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Nov 2, 2009 4:18 PM PST up reply actions
I know that Webster is the most humble, but hungry guy on the team
and I also know that if you only play 15 min, you didn’t have much impact on the defensive side of the equation.
That said – Martell has been the most consistent defender on the team, to date – and the most effective.
by blacknoiseNW on Nov 2, 2009 11:22 PM PST up reply actions
So you still maintain it was a "classic" Nate mistake to pull him out of the Houston game for poor defensive effort?
Were his teammates also wrong to talk to him about it? And you don’t think Nate deserves some credit for Webster’s improved defense in the OKC game? How about Nate’s message to the entire team about defense prior to the OKC game? Do you think Nate deserves any credit for the better team defense in that game?
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Nov 3, 2009 1:05 AM PST up reply actions
Nate deserves a lot less credit for OKC than he does discredit for Denver
Webster falling on his sword does not make McMillan a motivational master or innovative schemer.
Further, McMillan benching a single player after 15 minutes in the Houston game is simply a ratification of McMillan’s inability to make real-time adjustments. If he was responsible for Webster’s performance, he would have made adjustments that benefited the team in that game – not take punitive actions that hurt the player and hurt the team.
From the shot chart it looks like Martell did a good job keeping Durant out of the lane
My question is, how different is the shot chart from this game than Durant’s other games?
PROOF?
Does this count as scientific “Proof” that Martell is playing great defense?
I’d say so.
So stoked to see him playing so fired up, to say the least. :)
Enjoy the Ride
One thing jumped out at me
“Stands at 3 point line”
Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it
waiting for a shot
at the 3 point line…that’s where he is supposed to be spacing-wise
he can hit those 3’s
Enjoy the Ride
by DigitalDaggers on Nov 2, 2009 3:33 PM PST up reply actions
yes but if your best offensive player is standing on the perimeter for a huge chunk of possessions, that isn’t a good sign for the offense.
free bayless
i don't see how it is a bad sign...
…to have a good 3-point shooter standing in the position he is supposed to be standing in on offense. Usually our offense goes through roy/LMA so webs is ready on the kick-out.
I think Martell has been attacking the rim fairly well.
Enjoy the Ride
by DigitalDaggers on Nov 2, 2009 5:40 PM PST up reply actions
My mini-theory
is that Westbrook thought he could have a big night on Blake/Miller and never really strayed from this despite the fact that it wasn’t working. Constantly penetrating, out-of-control and either losing it or getting free throws. He was thoroughly outsmarted last night.
Then again, do you really give it up to a guy shooting as poorly as Durant was last night? Right or not, I’m sure that was in Westbrooks thinking too.
"What happened to Bayless anyway? Did he turn into a pumpkin? Most teams don’t just let #11 picks rot." - Xiane
I watched the game on League Pass Broadband.
I had to listen to the OKC announcers (ugh) and they made several comments about how Blake was getting under Westbrook’s skin and forcing him into mistakes.
by MiledAnimal on Nov 2, 2009 3:23 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I noticed this right away.
blake was pissing westbrook off by being in his face all the way down the court, right away from opening tip. when i saw that, i knew the blazers were serious about d that night.
I actually liked the announcers
they were rather unbiased for the home team. They’d admit when we or the other team got away with something and then would follow up with “but yea, they’re aggressive defensively and so the refs will toss that call to the aggressive team when in doubt”.
That’s what I wish the blazer announcers would do.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
I saw it the other way.
Their comments about the game were almost always an expression of things from a Thunder point of view. If Greg blew a shot, it was always because of great Thunders D. If a Blazer fouled a Thunder, it wasn’t because he was reaching, it was because the Thunder player forced him into it. If Nate sat down, it was because the Thunder coach told him to.
I especially noticed the above when I tuned into the Laker-Hawks game afterward. The Laker announcers are more like what you were saying about the Thunders announcers.
Regardless of the ridiculousness.
It’s still an awesome breakdown Ben. Thanks.
"We're going to play the right way. It ain't about you. It's about us. We can be successful if we play together. And that's what it's about. In this league, playing hard, playing together. Your numbers shouldn't matter. If we're not winning then you can say some things. But if we do it the right way, we should win, and you still shouldn't say anything." - Nate McMillan
Wesbster was really helped by the stagnant OKC offense
I feel like Webster’s biggest defensive gaffes come when he gets lost rotating on D. Because OKC did such a poor job of moving the ball, he was able to do what he does best—body up and play with intensity. Batum seems to do a better job of dealing with quick, jittery penetration, while Webster is almost certainly a better banger. I think that makes Webster a pretty ideal matchup for Durant, who’s soft and lacks lateral quickness too.
I would agree with you
he does get lost in rotation, but that’s something that should be fixed after the first 10-20 games.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
Nice work Ben.
It sure beats the heck out of people who provide us un-informed opinion.
You know, the people who thought it was graven in stone that the loss of Batum was going to be bad news for Portland’s defense.
hakkaa päälle !
It was
unless someone else stepped up. The hope was that Webster would and COULD do that. So far it looks like he’s doing and a decent job. however… two losses as well. One game is not every game.
Would Batum have effected those losses? don’t know.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
Kevin Durant pulled off a big Kevin Martin/Larry Hughes in this game
Brick a lot of jumpers and blame it on an off game. I’m afraid that Martell Webster won’t let Melo drop 41 on him again…
"I always believe there's a reason why you go through everything." -John Elway
Mrs. Golliver is further away than I thought.
by prezofdeath on Nov 2, 2009 3:21 PM PST reply actions 8 recs
Green it
Green it!
"HA HA HA HA HA
I'm not laughing, I'm just listing the five ugliest Blazers ever."
- rockingharder
How many needed for green?
IT has a star next to it, too
"I always believe there's a reason why you go through everything." -John Elway
Martell
4 games…4 posters
"Goals are good. Plans are better." -Ben.
by Sabonis4Ever on Nov 2, 2009 3:26 PM PST reply actions 4 recs
Just sent you a tweet Ben
But do you think we can get a Webster vs. Melo touch chart?
I think Martell played solid defense when he was on Melo, and that should have defended him all game.
Enjoy the Ride
AGreed
I’d be interested in that too.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
Heading towards super-hero status
You’ll know when you’ve really made it when other bloggers and posters start charting. Imitation is the severest form of flattery.
Humble research design suggestions from a researcher
Code the results of each possession into discrete categories. You’ve started to do this, but some of the results are unique and idiosyncratic. Lump unique results into other categories (you could even have an other category).
This will allow you to summarize and make comparisons, e.g. Durant stood at the three point line and never touched the ball on .15% of the possessions in which Webster was the primary defender, .05% when Outlaw was the defender… etc. Those percentages should be very easy to calculate. Creating additional columns from the coded result will make this even easier. Those types of comparisons are the best way to show that it was Webster and not simply an off-night that led to Durant’s poor shooting.
Define the criteria by which you decide who guarded Durant. For example, was Webster guarding Durant if Durant dribbled past Webster and Oden challenged the shot?
He may have to start charting....his charts
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
Nice
I was half-way joking about charting Durant’s shots last night in the game thread. It does make a good case for Martell’s defensive effort last night, though. It’s good to confirm statistically what our eyes are seeing.
I think, statisticly, what would help this argument...
would be knowing a few other things, such as:
fg% when he shoots open 3’s
fg% when he shoots contested 3’s
fg% when he shoots open long 2’s
fg% when he shoots contested long 2’s
fg% when he shoots open midrange 2’s
fg% when he shoots contested midrange 2’s
Obviously quantifying defense for one specific game is an art and not a science, so its safe to say it was a combination of good defense and an off night for Durant. I don’t see why it has to be either one or the other.
"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."
Like Glue
I’m glad Martell has finally got time late in the fourth. I think he has played with as much energy as anybody on this team this season.I hope Nateputshim in at the end of the game against Atlanta because he has earned it ..He is flat out workin it now.Not to mention a few sweeeeet rim shaker throw downs that have got me outta my chair.
Goodness, Ben...
You’re really earning that ostentatious salary that Dave’s paying you. And I know it’s been said before, but I’d also like to commend you on the quality and depth of your writing of late. You’ve really honed your skills in the time you’ve been on BE, and you and Dave make a great team. Nice work and keep it up.
Again
I agree. Ben’s articles in the early days were not must reads for me. This has definitely changed.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
Wow!
Thanks a lot for all of your hard work. We are lucky to have you. I’m sure this report suprised some people here. It is nice to have real facts to help relay a performance.
Please continue these kind of reports.
by Rick_D on Nov 2, 2009 5:45 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
I thought Nates reason for pulling him the game before was suspect
And then he plays Outlaw instead? You have to be kidding. Two years ago Webster was showing this kind of defense, I am not sure why its a big surprise now. I remember when he was the only guy on the team that could come close to guarding Kobe. I had visions of Bruce Bowen hounding guys and hitting big three’s and saw the potention for Webster to take on a simalar role for us. But enough of “I always said”, I will say it now. Webster will be a very important player for us this year, and he does have the potential to be even more then a Bruce Bowen. The guy is really good, its time to stop acting surprised. He is the best one on one defender on our team, he’s better then Batum. He is likely our best outside shooter as well.
Fantastic work... paging Henry Abbott...
This is the kind of thing that should earn you a link on truehoop tomorrow. Really adding solid, interesting analysis to inform the public debate.
This echoes my general sense after watching the game in realtime – Martell was really making KD work. Made him work to get open. Made him work to get the basketball. Made him really work to get the ball in any kind of decent position. Made him work to get shots once he got the ball.
Nobody could ever completely force another elite NBA scorer to go 3-for-21. The player has to be a little off on contested shots, some of which they might normally make. But Martell repeatedly made KD take difficult, low percentage looks. So regardless of whether KD was “off,” Marty did a phenomenal job.
Without question, Martell looks better than Nic on the defensive end so far this year. He’s not quite as quick or long as Nic, but he’s much stronger, and that’s a critical defensive component.
Q: Is Greg favoring his knee?
Frye: He favors dunking on your head, that's what he favors.
Steve's speed on both ends of the court was so impressive
I forgot what a good job Martell was doing. It was very quiet and cutthroat. In fact, that was good team defense all around.
My favorite snippet:
…can be chalked up to OKC’s stagnant 1-on-1 off-the-dribble offense which had no real rhythm to it and saw Russell Westbrook take tough shot after tough shot without so much as looking in Durant’s direction
Is it just me, or does this sound eerily familar? replace a couple of names in there, and we could be talking about our own beloved Blazers. Perhaps there is something to this “OKC is the next Portland” thing…
Great work Ben
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
Durant... simply not that great yet.
Batum can wear down real stars while Webster can wear down the stars of the future.
A great look at what happened and I loved reading it.
*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
I suspect this as well
Some people were stating that Batum is not missed thanks to Webster. I, however, Batum would have done even better all four games and Melo may not have been able to find his rhythm with Batum on him.
Still, I love that Webster is making an effort. He’s starting to look like a guy that buys in on defense. I just don’t think we have enough of those guys yet, but glad the webhead is one of them.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
When Nic is back and healthy, we'll have two great SF defenders to throw at KD.
I predict KD will starting getting a stress rash whenever the Thunders play the Blazers.
It's all been said, Ben. I will just add my admiration and thanks for fine, technical and insightful analyses. If you keep this up we may put you on full-time.
"I won't back down." -- Tom Petty
"History is important. If you don't know history it is as if you were born yesterday. And, if you were born yesterday, anybody up there in a position of power can tell you anything, and you have no way of checking up on it." -- Howard Zinn
Martell worked hard, but.
Durant was off. No one stops him unless he’s shooting poorly. Which he was.
"Bart, with $10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like...love!" Homer Simpson
I wish Greg Oden would take that many shots!
martell has been picking it up. good job. well see if it continues. lets talk bb karma. the thing i liked about la was his ability to create plays offensively and it seemed that the last few years (untill this year) a player that hustled and got a xtra offensive rebound or steal if they didnt take the shot themselves, they would karmicly get theirs from an teamate soon after. i dont see that happening so much this year. nate is choking off the karmic vibrations of the universe
I think Martell is better than Batum. It will be interesting to see what Coach does when Batum gets back. My thought is that Batum will come off the bench… Martell will either make his case to be the definitive starter on this team in the next few months, or he will leave it up in the air to be grabbed back by Batum — It’s his choice right now.
~first time post, reader for several months, blazer fan for life :p
Good call and welcome as well
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
I agree
Of course… there’s still the issue of what to do with Batum, Outlaw, Webster.
People playing excellent defense will make it tough to choose. People who aren’t, make it easy.
(assumption is that we can’t keep all of them.)
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
Marty playing hard D makes it easy for me to chose
Sorry Trav
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
Someone please send this link to Bill Simmons
Tell him we have his Kobe-bust, errr . . . Durant-buster here on the Blazers. And this one doesn’t have any sexual abuse convictions.
put a body on 'em
Awesome! My add is your dedication to feedback from the blog
You have a terrific sense of the pulse here and are feeding on it and to it. That is all-world blogging!
As far as Martell goes your data confirms my own impression which had to be formed without opportunity to see the game-day threads. The team defense was as good as I have seen it. The whole team seemed to get that without LMA we had to stop them every play. This is championship mentality. This is what Roy is demanding from them as well.
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
Hey Ben
After like 91 comments, i know im a little late, but did you know Martells 4 steals were the first time a Blazer has had atleast 4 steals since last January 24, 2009?, when Roy tied a franchise high with 10 steals. Remember, ROY almost had a triple quadruple double(lol) because he also had 7 ast and 5 rebs and 22 pts. ANyways, when I saw Martell had 4 steals I was like WHAT? and I asked myself when was the last time 4 steals had happened. Not very often apparently for us anyways.
Heres a quick link to that game. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recapgameId=290124022
The Dude: Hey, careful, man, there's a beverage here!
by cavejunctionblazer on Nov 3, 2009 12:17 AM PST reply actions
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