Whereas gamers like Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr. are revered scorers across the league, each workforce wants a man like Tyrese Martin, and some in the event that they’re fortunate.
Dependable. Unselfish. Coachable. Composed.
The numbers could not leap off the web page, however these traits are what Martin, a former second-round pick of UConn in 2022, has delivered to Brooklyn’s roster. As soon as on a two-way contract, he’s earned the belief of his coaches and teammates, labored his means into a normal NBA deal in February and secured a spot on the Nets’ roster this season.
And over Brooklyn’s final 4 video games getting into Monday’s matchup in opposition to the Knicks at Barclays Middle, Martin has began to indicate much more, pairing his typical effort and toughness with well timed scoring and a rising confidence that’s starting to face out.
“Just being aggressive,” Martin stated. “I know I didn’t start the first 10 games how I wanted to and to help this team, and mentally I was messed up, but then I kind of got out of that like five games ago and let myself play free mentally and not think about how I’ve been playing, just how I’m going to play going forward and it’s been working for me.”
Martin has lengthy been generally known as an off-ball taking pictures menace, however head coach Jordi Fernández has requested him to deal with extra accountability with the ball since coaching camp. That shift has been gradual. The 26-year-old didn’t have the strongest begin whereas adjusting to his new position, however in latest video games he’s begun to discover a rhythm. He’s averaging 16 factors over his final 4 appearances whereas taking pictures 57.9% from the sector and 47.6% from 3-point vary, together with 2.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals.
He additionally leads the workforce in true taking pictures at 74% over that span, and he’s beginning to make an actual identify for himself.
“I think he’s just a mature, steady person,” Fernández stated. “You see it in the day-to-day and it reflects on the court. All his teammates trust him. We trust him. And he’s been part of our success as far as competing every time we give ourselves a chance to compete.”
Even with the Nets investing closely in a younger core, Martin’s rise is a reminder that improvement doesn’t cease at 19 or 20. He’s older than the rookies Brooklyn is constructing round, however that shouldn’t exclude him from the identical persistence and runway they’re afforded. Progress comes at totally different speeds, and Martin is displaying what can occur when a participant in his mid-20s is given room to increase his recreation as a substitute of being boxed right into a label.
His latest stretch is proof of that, however now he has to maintain it. The extra accountability the teaching workers has given him, the extra he has responded. Not by altering who he’s, however by sharpening the qualities that already made him useful. And as his confidence has blossomed, so has his presence within the locker room.
“He’s always a person that will bring the group together, he’ll talk,” Fernández stated. “He doesn’t say much, but when he does say something, everybody really listens. That’s a guy that always leads by example. So, you always need a grownup, and I know he’s not very old, but he’s a reliable person, and I think we’ve tried to build something special. You definitely need people like him. He’s definitely a star in his role.”
