San Antonio Spurs: Expectations For Kevin Martin

The San Antonio Spurs have added sharpshooter Kevin Martin to their bench, but what should they be expecting from him in 2015-16.

The San Antonio Spurs have only played the Golden State Warriors once this season, but that 30-point rout at Oracle Arena — even without Tim Duncan — was a statement game. The statement being made? Even with the offseason addition of LaMarcus Aldridge, the ever-dangerous Spurs still weren’t quite in the same tier as the defending champs.

That’s not to say the Spurs are scrubs by any means. They lead the league in defensive rating by a wide margin (95.4 points per 100 possessions), they’re on pace to post the largest point differential in NBA history (+12.5) and with a stellar 52-9 record, they’re on pace to win 70 games this season.

The fact that they only trail the 55-5 Warriors by 3.5 games speaks volumes as to the kind of historic season San Antonio is having.

But the smart money is on the Dubs, not only because they have the most unstoppable force in the NBA today in Stephen Curry, and not only because they always get up for the big games (they’re a perfect 18-0 against the teams with the nine best records in the NBA). The Warriors out-classed San Antonio in every way imaginable in their first meeting, and the bench — an area that was supposed to be an advantage for the Spurs — was outworked by the Warriors’ more experienced second unit.

Boban Marjanovic, Jonathon Simmons, Kyle Anderson and David West have been terrific against the rest of the league, and Gregg Popovich’s superior coaching really shines in that way. But against a group of veterans coming off a championship run like Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa and a healthy Festus Ezeli, the Spurs don’t match up quite as well.

It’s no surprise, then, that the Spurs were active on the buyout market, adding two former Minnesota Timberwolves in Andre Miller and now Kevin Martin.

Miller, A.K.A. The Professor, is a savvy addition to the backcourt, supplying the team with a third string point guard who can play filler minutes in the most dire of situations. But when it comes to K-Mart, a well-renowned bench scorer who’s had a down season in Minny this year, what should Spurs fans expect?

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In 39 games with the Wolves this year, Martin averaged 10.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game, getting edged out of the rotation by Zach LaVine and Minnesota’s ongoing youth movement. He’s shot a horrendous 37.7 percent from the field, but he did convert a respectable 36.9 percent of his three-point attempts.

There’s no doubt that his minimized role took a toll on his efficiency and even his will to compete. On a title contender like the Spurs, K-Mart’s will have the luxury of adding whatever he can off the bench in limited minutes. There will be some pressure to perform, but the challenge of performing well to earn minutes on a great team can inspire a lot more confidence than the same situation on a Western Conference bottom-feeder.

After all, it was only one season ago that Martin averaged 20.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in 33.4 minutes per game while posting .427/.393/.881 shooting splits. In a limited role, he can be an efficient spot shooter who will thrive with all the open looks that San Antonio’s offense generates.

Martin and Miller don’t exactly tip the championship scales completely in the Spurs’ favor, and in a seven-game series against the Dubs, it’s hard to predict the kind of impact that two potentially washed up players will have in that kind of high-octane affair.

There is also Martin’s biggest flaw to consider: his completely nonexistent defense. But if there’s one team that can afford to take that kind of risk in trading off K-Mart’s long range shooting for his poor defense, it’s the Spurs, who lead the league in defensive rating by a Boris Diaw-sized margin.

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Gregg Popovich won’t play a guy who can’t hold his own for long minutes in an intense playoff series with a team like the Warriors or Oklahoma City Thunder, but he’d find a way to allocate him spot minutes, maximize his skill set as a spot-up shooter, and stagger his minutes against Golden State’s least threatening offensive lineups to mitigate the damage he does on the other end.

While it was wise for the Spurs to hold off at the trade deadline to avoid giving up an important part of their rotation, they were also cunning enough to add a few savvy and potentially useful bench pieces on the buyout market for added depth and, in Martin’s case, perimeter shooting that could really help San Antonio in a seven-game series against the league’s most formidable long range duo.

Kevin Martin may not be a double-digit scorer off the bench anymore, and his defense will likely prevent him from playing major minutes in San Antonio. But Pop is too smart to not figure out how to use a player with a useful skill set, and even if he contributes nothing to the cause, the Spurs are still a damn good team regardless.

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With a stifling defense, Pop’s wits and all that championship experience, the Spurs may have a puncher’s chance at knocking off those Golden State juggernauts if Martin brings anything significant to the table.