Breaking down Tyrese Martin’s top plays from the NBA Summer League
Former UConn guard Tyrese Martin impressed with the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
The 51st overall pick in the NBA draft averaged 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and four assists in five games. He shot 45.6% from the field. The Hawks rewarded Martin’s stellar play with a two-year contract.
Let’s look at some of Martin’s highlight plays from Las Vegas.
In May, Martin told The Courant his biggest strengths are: “My ability to guard multiple positions at my size and physicality.” He showcases his upper body strength here, which helps create space to take the shot. The NBA is much more physical than college basketball, so seeing him embrace the contact and make the basket is a promising sign.
In the NBA, Martin sees himself as a role player: “I don’t see myself going in there and being some Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant type,” he told The Courant in May. “I know what I can bring to an organization which is my toughness and hard work.”
Here, he gets the ball, sidesteps the jumping defender and drains the open shot. To succeed in the NBA, Martin must continue hitting 3s at a high rate. In his last season with UConn, Martin shot 43% from 3-point range. In the summer league, he shot 27.8% from 3. If he wants to see minutes with the Hawks this upcoming season, he needs to shoot at least 35%.
One of Martin’s most impressive skills at summer league was his ability to create offense with the ball in his hands. In both shots, he gets the ball, dribbles inside, creates space with the fadeaway and makes the basket.
In his time with the Huskies, Martin didn’t have the opportunity or spacing to show off his ability to create on offense. In the NBA, he will have the spacing. It’s just a matter of how much he will have the ball in his hands.
As a role player, Martin will get opportunities like in the clip above, where he must catch the ball and shoot. He gets the ball, steps in and drains the shot with little space between the defender and him. Martin’s ability to shoot the 3 is something Atlanta hoped for when they drafted him.
“Tough kid, brings defense, also versatile as a wing, can shoot the ball,” said Landry Fields, Hawks General Manager, at Martin’s introductory press conference. “Hopefully, we can continue to see that be consistent as we continue on here.”
Shooting consistency for Martin will be critical in his NBA career. He has two years to prove he can slot into any lineup to provide good defense and hit shots. If he can do that, he will have a long career.
Finally, Martin shows off his vision and passing ability in this play. He gets doubled-teamed, quickly finds a cutting teammate and makes a swift and timely pass for the score. One of Martin’s biggest strengths is his basketball IQ and ability to make the right play at the right time as seen in this clip.
While Martin only averaged 1.3 assists per game in his college career, he has never been a bad passer. He plays within the flow of the game and makes the right pass at the right time, even if it doesn’t necessarily lead to assists. In Vegas, he averaged four assists a game, which indicates that Martin could potentially be a secondary ball handler on the court.
