Caleb Martin inquisitive, Council ‘a whole different person,’ more Sixers notes originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
In Caleb Martin’s mind, it can’t ever hurt to ask reasonable questions.
Head coach Nick Nurse agrees with the new Sixers forward.
“I think that he’s got a really high IQ,” Nurse said Wednesday of Martin. “He knows how to play and he also understands that he’s learning some new stuff. And he asks really good questions about what we’re doing and what we’re getting into, which shows he’s got a high level of thought going on there.”
Following his three years with the Heat, Martin’s trying to understand the nuances of the Sixers’ schemes.
“It’s a little bit of a different system,” he said. “It’s a different place. I’m just the type where I don’t like to leave any stone unturned. I know everybody’s got their own style and their own principles. I just want to make sure I’m doing everything as right as possible, as often as possible. So I just ask a ton of questions because I want to make sure that I’m close to the same page as they are early on.”
Martin’s pre-Sixers connections have been helpful as he digests all the change.
He developed a close relationship with Kyle Lowry during their Heat days. And Kelly Oubre Jr. has called himself a Martin family “triplet” with twin brothers Cody and Caleb.
As he acclimates to playing alongside Oubre for the first time, Caleb Martin is encouraged by their preseason reps at the top of the Sixers’ zone defense.
“The one guy he really reminds me of, especially in the zones that we’ll play, is (former Heat and current Lakers guard) Gabe Vincent. I had such a good chemistry with him. I think me and him kind of perfected the top of the zone really fast. … Just based on the chemistry we already have and the way that we’re maneuvering with each other already at the top of the zone, it reminds me of that.
“So I’ll definitely take a couple pages out of mine and Gabe’s book and start to try to implement that as much as possible. And (Oubre) is asking a ton of questions, too. Just trying to get a feel for each other and see what works best for us. I think we’re on the right track with that already.”
Martin was guarded (and good-natured) when asked to compare the Sixers’ zone with the Heat’s, though he did highlight size as a significant difference. Oubre’s wingspan is up there with just about any perimeter player’s. He officially had a wingspan slightly over 7-foot-2 at the 2015 NBA draft combine.
“Can’t tell you all that,” Martin said with a smile. “There’s a lot of similarities for sure. But I will say that here, we’re bigger — the zone is bigger … probably a little bit more athletic and just different pieces. The style’s always going to be similar; you can’t do anything too different in a zone. But I think we’ll be able to cover a lot of ground in ours for sure.”
Council a ‘whole different person’
Both Martin and Ricky Council IV played in college for current USC head coach Eric Musselman.
In the NBA, Council aims to keep walking a path like Martin’s: From undrafted to two-way contract player to fully established, obviously valuable member of winning teams.
His head coach sees a player that doesn’t remotely resemble a rookie anymore.
“I know I keep saying this about Kelly … Ricky seems like a whole different person coming back this year than he was a year ago,” Nurse said. “Both of them were, ‘What the hell’s going on? What are we doing? Where do I fit in?’ He knows what we’re doing. Our coaches have to stay on him to make sure he really uses the two or three (main) skills he has all the time. All the time. But he certainly feels good about his shot. He obviously feels good about going to the basket. He’s got an uncanny ability at drawing fouls.
“I would say he’s still got some growth to do at the defensive end and it’s all just focus and locking in, and just never really relaxing. And again, just building up that awareness takes a little experience.”
Council was characteristically sharp as a downhill, open-court player in the Sixers’ blowout preseason opener win Monday night over the New Zealand Breakers. He tallied 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting, made his only three-point attempt and grabbed six rebounds.
“Just knowing the game, knowing where to be,” Council said of his development since this time last year. “Just being comfortable out there and not having to overthink things. You know to run to the corner, stay spaced. When you get it, go. Just not overthinking things and playing my game.”
Expanded rotation a possibility
Council will hope he’s part of the Sixers’ rotation when the team’s opening night rolls around on Oct. 23.
While Nurse is still evaluating players and sorting through potential lineup combinations, he indicated Tuesday that he’s open to using 10 or 11 rotation players early in the season.
“I hope we have that many,” Nurse said. “I think we do at this point. I think there’s a lot of guys I feel comfortable playing out there in a game. It does present its challenges, but I also think we need to put some thought and some creativity into it. Playing more than nine is pretty difficult, right? Nine, 10 is about what you can do, just to keep the flow of the subbing going.
“So maybe there will be some nights where certain guys play and then the next night, certain guys don’t play, and you can keep that thing kind of flowing back and forth. I hope that’s what we get to, but usually it sorts itself out when you’ve got nine or 10 (rotation players) of those 12 available.”
