Caleb Martin Is Arguably The Miami Heat’s Third-Best Player Outside Of Bam Adebayo And Jimmy Butler In Conference Finals
Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin’s label as a role player is slowly drifting, and is now transforming into a conversation of him as the Heat’s third option this postseason.
In the absence of Tyler Herro, Martin is averaging 12.2 points in the playoffs, and 20 in the series against the Boston Celtics. He had a playoff career-high 25 points Friday, scoring 12 in the second quarter to keep the Heat alive. .
Martin said he understands his role, and craves the opportunity to prove himself every night.
“Everybody’s got a game plan and a scheme to follow,” Martin said. “When you have guys as good as Jimmy and Bam, those guys draw so much attention. You kind of have to pick your poison, and I’m on the short end of the stick with that. But I welcome that, and it’s my job to continue proving to people that I can be that guy. That’s just me doing my job, which is creating space and making things easier on our main guys.”
Martin played a lot at the four this season after the loss of power forward P.J. Tucker. Fans generally disapproved of him in this position, but celebrated his production as a wing again.
As coach Erik Spoelstra says, the days of Martin being referred to as an undrafted player is over.
“That’s kind of played out,” Spoelstra said. “That’s so disrespectful to keep on talking about it that way… That storyline is over, these guys have proven themselves as competitors and winning players.”
Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
