Miami Heat's Caleb Martin Caps Roller Coaster Season With A Dominant Series Against Celtics

Caleb Martin was arguably the Miami Heat's best player in the Eastern Conference finals

 The season began for Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin with some criticizing him for struggling while playing out of position. 

By midseason, he was moved to the bench. By March, he was an afterthought. 

For the past few weeks, Martin made sure to get his name back on everyone's minds. Martin was arguably the most important player in clinching a berth in the NBA Finals,. 

"I think as soon as we got done with the New York series, I felt like I instantly got, I felt kind of disrespected just off how I got guarded last year," Martin said. "I definitely just wanted to take a, I guess, like a sense of pride and just I think a sense of just understanding how they were going to guard me. They were going to make me have to earn their respect, which I totally understand."

Martin had 26 points on 11 of 16 shooting in the Game 7 victory against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals. He should have been named MVP of the series, but that honor went to Jimmy Butler based on his work throughout the playoffs. 

But Martin was the superstar during this series, averaging 19.3 points and 6.4 assists. 

"I had to leave my mark on this series and understand I was going to be the guy that had to prove himself in order to contribute and change their schemes or whatever it is," Martin said. "I just wanted to make sure I came in to contribute any way I could to make sure that I was being able to move the needle to get to the Finals."

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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