Two months ago, KJ Martin was in the G League. Now he’s part of the young core at the center of the Rockets’ rebuild, and the upcoming home stretch of the season is a harbinger of how he and the team plan to maximize his potential.
Martin, who signed a four-year deal with the Rockets in November, was sent down to the G League this winter and played 10 games in the bubble. Since his return to the Rockets on March 6, his explosive athleticism and impressive hops have embarrassed 7-footers with blocks and popularized variations of the phrase “cleared for takeoff” on Rockets social media.
Martin, who passed on college for a postgraduate year at IMG Academy, said his stint in the G League bubble helped ease the transition to the NBA.
“Really, everything just made the game easier for me,” he said. “I just feel like sending me down there helped me a lot, just the spacing and what sets we were in, plus the defensive schemes that we ran also was basically identical to what we do up here. So just going down there and getting those reps in, just working on my game helped me a lot before I moved back up here.”
In Houston, Martin has taken on an increasingly important sixth-man role — the team’s game notes for Wednesday literally designate him as such — as the injury-riddled Rockets seldom go more than eight deep.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas likes Martin’s shot-blocking and ability to switch onto smaller opponents. But the thinning active roster has afforded the rookie forward a chance to blossom on offense, too.
“Now he’s getting the minutes and he’s getting the opportunity,” Silas said, “and on the offensive end, we’re finding that he can low side screen-and-roll and he can get out in transition and finish and make the occasional 3.”
In the past five games, including his lone career start April 24 against Denver, Martin has scored in double figures four times while averaging 29.6 minutes, 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game and shooting 54.2 percent from the field.
His increased playing time naturally has led him to take more shots. Before April 24, he had attempted more than 10 field goals in only two games; in the past five games, he did so three times.
Martin said that while minutes are a factor, he also has made an effort to be more aggressive.
“It’s just me being more in attack mode,” he said. “I know I get to that basket, then teams are going to have to help, and I can help my teammates get open shots also. So really just seeing those spaces from film where, ‘Oh, I could have done this or could have done that,’ and just improving on it next game.”
For all his explosiveness, Martin rarely puts the ball on the floor. Most of his field goal attempts (63.3 percent) are taken with no dribbles. He averages 0.59 dribbles per touch and 1.44 seconds per touch, last among active Rockets players. Martin shoots just 29.4 percent from 3-point range, so teams often sag off him on the perimeter when he has the ball.
“The next step for him would be catching it on the wing and taking a few dribbles and either finishing or finding a teammate or, as his 3-point shot develops, attacking a close-out with the dribble,” Silas said. “So yeah, those will be things that we’re working on this summer with him.”
What remains to be seen is how the Rockets will use Martin next season once the roster is replenished. He has spent time this season at small forward alongside big men Christian Wood and Kelly Olynyk but also has played center in a small-ball lineup.
“If you’re the big in that unit like that, you’ve got to get to screens, you’ve got to get to actions and stuff so we don’t get stagnant,” Olynyk said. “That’s kind of the biggest thing I told him.”
Martin said last week he doesn’t think about his role in terms of position but in terms of what he needs to work on.
“I know what I need to focus on and what I need to work on,” he said. “Making my shot more consistent, being comfortable on the ball, and defensively just learning from watching film and picking it up more on that side of the floor. Those are the main three things.”
Martin’s attention to detail should serve him well. Silas described Martin — whose father, Kenyon, played in the NBA for 15 seasons — as a “basketball junkie.”
“His NBA history, knowledge of NBA history, recent NBA history is probably at the top of our team,” Silas said. “He’s a super smart kid.”
On Wednesday the Rockets play the East-leading 76ers, who have one of the best defenses in the NBA. In the teams’ first meeting this season, a 118-113 Philadelphia win Feb. 17, Martin was still in the G League.
So Wednesday will be Martin’s first time going up against the three-headed monster of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris. But Martin said he won’t be intimidated by opponents’ records.
“I just go and try to have fun every game, regardless of who we’re playing,” he said. “I love the game of basketball, and any time I have to go out and compete against a different team, I’m just going to go out and play … my hardest and do what I can to help my team win. So that’s something I’m always looking forward to — playing those top teams and showcasing my abilities and just helping my team out.”
danielle.lerner@chron.com
twitter.com/danielle_lerner
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