The Martin Brothers, Cody and Caleb, were usually known for their defensive work in the NBA, but look at what the former Davie County War Eagle, Caleb Martin, is doing now…Caleb is going off, and his old coach at Davie County, Coach Absher, has to be proud of what he is seeing from Caleb Martin, as he helps lead the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals, vs. the Denver Nuggets….
Caleb Martin shines as Heat become first No. 8 seed since 1999 to reach NBA Finals
from Eric Smithling, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
Miami avoided becoming the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-0 series lead in large part due to the contributions of Caleb Martin and in the process became only the second No. 8 seed in league history to reach the NBA Finals.
The Heat blew the Celtics out 103-84 Monday night, avoiding an epic collapse and setting up a finals matchup with the West’s No. 1 seed, the Denver Nuggets, that tips off Thursday.
Jimmy Butler led Miami with 28 points and was named Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player, but it was Martin who generated a spark in the closing moments of the third quarter and early in the fourth with eight consecutive points that pushed the Miami lead from 71-64 to 79-66.
Boston never got any closer.
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1663368413102604294?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1663368413102604294%7Ctwgr%5Ec43d472509f82cf01093695f01696dc75d6e71c7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yardbarker.com%2Fnba%2Farticles%2Fcaleb_martin_shines_as_heat_become_first_no_8_seed_since_1999_to_reach_nba_finals%2Fs1_13132_38864675
For the series, Martin averaged 19.3 points while shooting 60.2% from the field and 48.9% from three.
Former Nets front office executive Bobby Marks gave a rundown of how remarkable Martin’s run to his big game was.
https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1663369975422423041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1663369975422423041%7Ctwgr%5Ec43d472509f82cf01093695f01696dc75d6e71c7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yardbarker.com%2Fnba%2Farticles%2Fcaleb_martin_shines_as_heat_become_first_no_8_seed_since_1999_to_reach_nba_finals%2Fs1_13132_38864675
Martin was a fan-favorite online with multiple people rushing to Twitter to praise his effort.
https://twitter.com/BenVolin/status/1663368322430189569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1663368322430189569%7Ctwgr%5E37ee6cdd68900944f36b3d5066a604aea7b5601c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yardbarker.com%2Fnba%2Farticles%2Fcaleb_martin_shines_as_heat_become_first_no_8_seed_since_1999_to_reach_nba_finals%2Fs1_13132_38864675
https://twitter.com/roybelly/status/1663368242499317763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1663368242499317763%7Ctwgr%5E37ee6cdd68900944f36b3d5066a604aea7b5601c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yardbarker.com%2Fnba%2Farticles%2Fcaleb_martin_shines_as_heat_become_first_no_8_seed_since_1999_to_reach_nba_finals%2Fs1_13132_38864675
https://twitter.com/SIChrisMannix/status/1663376067908849664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1663376067908849664%7Ctwgr%5E37ee6cdd68900944f36b3d5066a604aea7b5601c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yardbarker.com%2Fnba%2Farticles%2Fcaleb_martin_shines_as_heat_become_first_no_8_seed_since_1999_to_reach_nba_finals%2Fs1_13132_38864675
StatMuse posted a couple of stats to highlight the absurdity of Martin’s productivity. The undrafted East Finals star has four 20-point games this postseason after recording that many in the regular season.
And in the series, he outplayed Celtics star Jaylen Brown, a former No. 3 overall draft pick.
https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1663367861253947392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1663367861253947392%7Ctwgr%5E37ee6cdd68900944f36b3d5066a604aea7b5601c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yardbarker.com%2Fnba%2Farticles%2Fcaleb_martin_shines_as_heat_become_first_no_8_seed_since_1999_to_reach_nba_finals%2Fs1_13132_38864675
https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1663377342532579328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1663377342532579328%7Ctwgr%5E37ee6cdd68900944f36b3d5066a604aea7b5601c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yardbarker.com%2Fnba%2Farticles%2Fcaleb_martin_shines_as_heat_become_first_no_8_seed_since_1999_to_reach_nba_finals%2Fs1_13132_38864675
Butler is the clear leader for Miami, but as Game 7 in Boston showed, if it stuns the world again in the NBA Finals, it will be due to unsung heroes like Martin continuing to punch above their weight.