Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin earned himself free drinks for life in South Beach while plunging a dagger into an entire city’s heart with his magnificent play against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the midst of all the postseason heroics, it was easy to overlook just how impressive his numbers really were, especially when compared to the C’s star duo.
Martin’s 22 made 3-pointers in the seven-game series were four more than Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had combined, per ClutchPoints. Brown shot 20 percent or worse from distance in all but one game while Tatum was not much better.
Conversely, Martin was hot throughout and never dipped below 40 percent. He was 4-of-6 with a playoff career-high 26 points in Game 7, repeatedly thwarting Boston runs with devastating jumpers coming off the catch and dribble. This inconceivable statistic will just further amplify the Celtics’ colossal perimeter shortcomings, especially in the last two games. But it should also be used to accentuate the so-called role player’s true conference finals excellence, as he had a strong claim to the series’ MVP award that was bestowed on Jimmy Butler.
Caleb Martin and Tyler Herro combined for more 3s in the Heat-Celtics series than the star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Herro didn’t play in the ECF 💀 pic.twitter.com/tOwcQKlliR
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 31, 2023
The Heat will need Caleb Martin to stay on the best run of his career when they face the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals beginning Thursday. He shot 46 percent from the floor and over 35 percent from 3-point range during the regular season, so there were signs a breakout could be looming. The 27-year-old chose the best possible time to blossom into a vital contributor.
That has been Miami’s narrative in the 2023 NBA Playoffs as a whole. Players show up in the most dire of times. It has not been just Butler. Martin just single-handedly outshot possibly the best one-two punch in the league.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will now have to sit with that information all offseason long.
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Courtesy : https://clutchpoints.com/heat-news-caleb-martin-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown-mind-boggling-feat