2019 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: Jarell Martin
What To Look For
In a trend that always feels a bit odd, Jarell Martin had one of his best games last year against the Orlando Magic. He scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Memphis Grizzlies’ trip to Orlando last March.
That displayed a lot of what Martin can do.
He is not a flashy player at all. If he were, he might have a clearer role. Martin has struggled to find his fit and a consistent role throughout his career. But there are a few things he is clearly good at.
Martin is a very good shooter when he has his feet under him. For a player of his size, that is a good thing. You can run him in pick and rolls and use him as a jump shooting threat or as a roller who can suck in the defense with him. He has a smoothe form that seems reliable.
Again, this is all with his feet under him.
Martin shot 38.5 percent on mid-range jumpers last year, according to NBA.com. He shot 35.4 percent on spot-up jumpers, scoring 0.88 points per possession. He shot only 47.1 percent on field goals where he did not dribble. On open jumpers (NBA.com defines that as having no defender within four feet of the shooter), Martin made just 44.6 percent of those shots.
He scored 0.95 points per possession as the roll man on pick and rolls last year. A solid number if not for the fact he was involved in so few in total.
So even the things Martin would appear to be strong in, hide a bit of a weakness. Maybe some of this is a lack of rhythm from a consistent role. Or maybe Martin is just an extremely streaky player.
No one has really given Martin the full chance. Then again, maybe Martin has never taken the chance when he has gotten it. That is going to be part of the puzzle the Magic are going to solve in Martin’s one-year audition this year.
Martin has the talent and potential. He has shown enough flashes of it over the past few years. It is not about putting it all together.