With Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler still out with injuries, the Miami Heat have seen multiple players contribute, giving them much-needed production from the bench. One of these players has been Caleb Martin, who had his second career double-double against the Atlanta Hawks.
It was his first double-double this season. He also added in a taste of what has come to be known as his patented athleticism on a cutting jam from Omer Yurtseven.
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He would finish with 18 points, 10 rebounds, at 50 percent shooting from the field, and at just over 33 percent from behind the arc in the 33 minutes of action for that game.
In the 31 games he has played for the Miami Heat this season, he is averaging 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, while shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from behind the arc.
Martin is doing much more than your typical two-way player should be doing. Not only is he giving you production on the offensive side of the ball, but he has taken on the task of some of the toughest covers in the league as well.
He’s guarding them effectively and efficiently too, looking beyond decent against the likes of guys such as Stephen Curry and Trae Young.
Miami Heat: Is Caleb Martin Having The Best Two-Way Year… Ever?
Coach Erik Spoelstra can use Martin in many ways and on different areas of the court. Martin can play as a guard or a forward, giving the Miami Heat much-needed flexibility and options when they are off to a bad night or need a changeup of some sort.
Caleb Martin’s Development Proof Miami Heat’s Elite Player Development
It’s a brave notion to hint at. But with all he’s done and in the manner in which it happened, Martin might be having the best two-way year that anyone has ever seen.
With his performance this season, you couldn’t be surprised to see the Miami Heat convert his contract to a regular contract. With that in mind, he is still only 26 years old, so it would be interesting to see just how much further his development could go.
If there is a team that can find out what the peak of his powers may be, it’s certainly this one.
The Miami Heat are widely known around the league to have one of the best developmental programs in the NBA. It’s at the heart and root of the phrase Heat Culture.
Miami Heat: Perhaps A Reach, But Martin’s Year Certainly May Be In The Running
With the recent development of undrafted players like Martin, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, and Omer Yurtseven, alone, these are cases to be made from just the last season or so, never mind their long attack record of doing the very same thing.
You also can’t forget about Duncan Robinson, who is currently on a five-year $90 million contract with the Heat after becoming a premier marksmen in the game.
They may have outsmarted themselves there, leading to the largest contract ever received by an undrafted player in NBA history, but it’s a testament to their program. The Miami Heat have been able to utilize these undrafted players to win games consistently.
It might seem like the unorthodox way of finding players who can contribute on a higher level but they have a great scouting department that keeps turning up gold. Caleb Martin is just the latest gem in that mining process.
On top of that, the Miami Heat have the right coach in Erik Spoelstra to properly utilize these undrafted players to produce at a high level once they find them. Simply put, he gets the absolute most out of them more times than he doesn’t.
He’s, perhaps, getting the most ever out of a two-way guy this year though, as Martin might be having the best such year that’s ever existed.
When you look at how they landed Martin, what his role has been, how he has impacted winning, and how he has developed along the way— you can’t help but ask the question.