Miami Heat star Caleb Martin has enjoyed a nice season being one of the main “X factors” for the team besides the main stars like Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. He has seen a ton of uses this season where it was either in the starting lineup or recently has been coming off the bench being the sixth man, a role he embraces according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel.
“I enjoy the bench,” Martin said. “More of it is just clarity, just kind of knowing the pockets when you’re going to go in, windows you’re going to get in and just having to get more reps with different lineups. Now is the time of the year that you kind of know who you’re playing with and who you’re not, and that just seems to be getting easier as we’re playing.”
Martin doesn't care about starting for the Heat
Martin was integral last season, especially during the Heat's miraculous playoff run where he was the energy boost on the offensive side that they needed with the absence of Tyler Herro and when Butler would need a breather. This season, while he has tasted the starting lineup, usually in the four spot, he said he “really don't care” whether he is starting or not as he's confident he'll produce either way.
“I really don’t care. I really don’t,” Martin said. “Like I said, the biggest thing for me is getting minutes and finishing games. So it ultimately doesn’t matter if you come off the bench. If I’m playing 25, 30 minutes and I’m finishing games, I’m going to be able to produce.”
Martin talks about the benefits of coming off the bench for Miami as one being when a player starts, they have to be “picking up adjustments on the fly.” When you're on the bench however, “you get to see already the adjustments that are made.”
“I think the difference is starting a game, you get thrown right in and you’re picking up adjustments on the fly, so it takes a little bit to kind of adjust,” Martin said via The Sun Sentinel. “Being on the bench at the start, you get to see already the adjustments that are made for three-fourths of a quarter. So you kind of know more of what you’re doing and how to do it and what adjustments to make.”
Martin says players on Heat understand their roles
A lot of this mindset comes from the famed phrase of “Heat Culture” where it doesn't matter where a person is placed on the roster, the player only cares about one thing at the end and that is winning a championship. Martin reinforced that sentiment and said that “we've got a lot of guys who really understand what needs to be done.”
“We’ve just got a lot of guys that understand that’s our role, is to do that, is come off the bench and bring that energy, no matter how the game is going,” Martin said. “So we’ve got a lot of guys who really understand what needs to be done, and just understand their responsibilities off the bench.”
Martin has been averaging 10.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the field so far this season. He will be significant for the Heat especially with 14 games left of the regular season and going into the postseason as they are 38-31 and starting a four-game home stand against the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night.
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