Hoops

Damian Martin appreciation thread

Man... that stings hard!

Martin is a disgraceful flopper and should be ashamed as should all Perth fans.

Your fanbase, and your team is purely shit.

Not sure where you got "meaningless" from- you were reading, you'd notice I said every championship team needs role players.

I specifically compared Martin to an NBL version of Rodman or Bowen. High praise.

Championships are won over a season- not just the Grand Final.

Damian Martin has more grand final MVPs than Andrew Gaze.

But somehow Gaze was the star and Damo was a meaningless role player?

CG43 was the Sengstock medalist last year but he wasn't The Man on a Championship team.

CG was the 4th most valuable player on that team.

Championships are won over a season.

Gaze was also The Man on multiple championship teams, whereas Martin has only ever been a supporting role player.

I think it's only natural that Perth fans and neutral fans "get it" more than opposition fans when it comes to his value. I know that when I'm watching a game as a fan, I tend to pay more attention to my team's players and what they're doing, than the opposition's.
People who don't see it by now likely aren't going to see it at all.
I enjoy my team winning titles so I'm very appreciative for Damo, because he has been instrumental in a lot of them. He's almost the male version of Tully Bevilaqua, other than never reaching the world's top league. Great defender, great leader by example, and great person.

I guess though, if you're saying Drewy was always below average defensively (I only saw him in his 30's), then that makes him the exception that proves the rule!

Gaze was also The Man on multiple championship teams, whereas Martin has only ever been a supporting role player.

All championship teams need great role players, yes. But being the clear best player on a championship team puts you in a different category.

Re: Offense, this needs to be teased out a little- since Paul’s referred to his assists and 3 point shooting.

He’s below average offensively in terms of starting point guards.
There would’ve been individual seasons through his career where that wasn’t the case, but on the whole that’s a fair statement.

Stats never tell the full story- Martin has played efficiently, and played to his strengths by crashing the boards and not taking too many shots. But he’s played in a system that’s allowed him to play to those strengths.

He’s limited offensively, but it hasn’t hurt his team when he’s had elite MVP Level studs like Ennis, Lisch, Prather and Cotton on the wings next to him.

Look at the current crop of starting NBL PG’s- Randle, Ware, Trimble, Ili, Sobey/Deleon, Cadee, Jackson. Thought experiment- ignore defence completely for a second and imagine basketball is like NFL with constant stoppages so you switch players for every set. Martin is an offense only player. Would you rather have Martin running your offense or most of those guys?

If you were starting a team from scratch, a team in a parallel world who plays offense only- would you pick Martin ahead of most of the NBL’s starting PG’s through the years?

Gaze was indeed below average at one end towards the end of his career- but was that the case in his prime?

Even if that were true- Gaze led the league in scoring 16 times. He was better at offense than Martin is on defense.

Damian Martin can hugely influence a game without scoring many points.

He’s also an “intangibles” guy- he seems to have an influence that boosts the morale of his entire group. You just know where he is on the court- you need to be constantly aware of him.

Having said that, while Martin is arguably the best perimeter defender ever in the NBL, there are other point guards who have been elite at both ends- like D-Mac or Cedric Jackson in their primes. Casper Ware is a current example of a guy who is very effective at both ends.

He was a key part of 4 championship teams, but he’s been part of a great system where elite imports have led the way.

In my mind he’s probably the ultimate role player. A bit like say, Dennis Rodman or Bruce Bowen in the NBA. I’m just not sure if a role player can be considered an “all time great”. To place yourself in that category, you’d probably can’t be below average at one end of the floor, which his career scoring average – and watching him play- shows that he is.

I think the reluctance of many to recognise him as an all-time great stems from the long-held fans view that offence is more important than defence

Surely Mock has RSI after starting this thread and getting so much unwarranted response-- Then I join the party- Doh!

Definately onboard with the Ennis and Prather comment

I can just see Isaac pulling his hair out over this thread

I don't see the logic of saying playing on 4 cashed up championship teams makes him some super player. What if he'd played for the Kings instead?

Also, if you go back 4-5 years the league was floundering and only Perth and NZ had any cash or decent management.

maybe they could just preemptively wire his jaw shut this year

This thread is DAZzling!

Jocks just got stickier then

Damo is my second favourite player...Vlahov will always be the ultimate Wildcat

Someone got sticky jocks thinking about his favourite player.

"Say a bad word about him and any Cats fan will knock you onto your backside."


That would be right. Feral Cats fans will resort to violence any time they hear something they don't like, such as Damo's substandard shooting ability or his flopping.

#NOHOMO?

Yawn....good chat

Jog on Damo, you're not fooling anyone

Didn't school holidays finish?

Can anybody tell me a good place to get some old NBL games? Anybody here have a collection?

Recently bought and watched the two 36ers DVDs, as well as box sets for the Lakers, Spurs, Bulls and Celtics and all were thoroughly enjoyed. However, for each Championship year the NBA DVDs had one full game from that Finals series, while the 36ers dics just had highlights.

I am in no way knocking the 36ers DVDs as they were great, but now I have a hankering for watching some old NBL games from the heyday.

Can anybody point me in a good direction?