Miami Heat: Biggest question for Caleb Martin entering 2022-23 season
After dropping their season opener to the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat will now take on the challenge of facing the same team that beat them in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. With the Boston Celtics coming into the FTX Arena on Friday night, they’ll look to get their first win of the year while also getting a little payback.
Though it won’t be total retribution for being defeated in the postseason, it should feel good to a Heat team that has to have been itching to see those guys again. When it comes to this Miami Heat team though, it isn’t exactly the same one that faced off against the Celtics last year.
One of the main differences is that the roster no longer features the likes of P.J. Tucker, who has since gone on to Philadelphia. And with that, Caleb Martin has stepped in to become the Miami Heat’s starting power forward.
Those two facts, explicitly, take us to the biggest question for Caleb Martin in the 2022-23 season.
Biggest Question For Caleb Martin: Can He Offset The Loss Of P.J. Tucker
P.J Tucker is a defensive machine.
The Miami Heat think they have their power forward issue solved with Caleb Martin. But can he offset the loss of P.J Tucker this past offseason?
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He’s built sturdy, with a low center of gravity, and with the mass to be a load for opposing offensive players.
His unique combination of quickness, agility, and intelligence at his size allows him to be a weapon on that end of the floor, practically capable of guarding anyone on the opposing side. And Caleb Martin has a lot of that same stuff about him.
There are only two main differences though. Martin doesn’t have the girth to be able to guard centers, as Tucker can at times, while only experience can account for experience.
Tucker has seen it all and that is something that Caleb Martin can only do by playing. On the other side of the ball, Martin actually offers a bit more than Tucker.
He isn’t the corner three-point shooter that Tucker is, but he offers a more multiple offensive game than Tucker does. So, while there will be growing pains as he continues to see and learn more, you should have confidence that he’ll be just fine.
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And with that, he should be able to account for the fact that they no longer have Tucker. He should be able to answer this question with a “yes”.