Charlotte Hornets rookie Cody Martin’s infectious intensity: ‘Just in my DNA’
Too cool.
Charlotte Hornets rookie Cody Martin has seen a lot of that already in his three months in the NBA. There are players who can cruise on talent, who don’t have to play with constant energy and effort.
That can never be him.
“Playing hard nowadays is a skill set,” Martin, the Hornets’ second-round rookie, said after a 110-102 victory over the Sacramento Kings. “A lot of times nowadays people are trying to just be cool out there on the court. Everyone is good — shoot, dribble pass. Now it’s about finding something that separates you from everybody else.
“Playing hard is that. I’m going to do that. To be honest, it’s just in my DNA.”
That’s why Martin played 25 minutes Tuesday. His stats — seven points, six rebounds and three assists —- don’t convey all he contributed as far as hustle, defense and intensity. Martin also made a bunch of hockey assists — the pass that leads to the assist.
His teammates see something the Hornets need — a tough guy who raises the temperature and makes opponents uneasy.
“The way they play forces their teammates to play a certain way,” veteran forward Marvin Williams said of Martin and his twin brother Caleb, also on the roster. “They play hard, and the way they play is very contagious.”
Template
The Hornets have won four of their last five, and you can see a difference in the players’ approach. A team that was all offense a month ago is guarding and rebounding.
Over the last three games the Hornets have the fourth-best defensive efficiency in the NBA, allowing 0.97 points per opponent possession. Tuesday, they outrebounded the Kings by 18.
“They were just more physical than we were tonight,” said Sacramento coach Luke Walton. “They killed us on the glass, and they got to the free-throw line.”
You hardly ever hear an opponent call the Hornets the more physical team. But that’s what they’ve been lately, and look at coach James Borrego’s rotation tweaks: More Bismack Biyombo, more Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and now more Cody Martin. Those are all nods to defense.
Do I think these changes are permanent? No, because teams will come up with ways to attack those players’ flaws. But Borrego is getting far more of what he aspires to at the defensive end. Also, the offense is more from the desired template: lots of shots at the rim or at the 3-point line, fewer guarded 2-point jump shots.
Greensboro value
Cody Martin’s path this season is similar to what then-rookie Devonte Graham’s was last season: Some time in Charlotte to grasp NBA level, then a G-League assignment with the Greensboro Swarm to practice what he’s absorbed.
Martin spent three games with the Swarm, then two more on the Hornets bench, before Borrego moved him back into the rotation. Martin acquired what Borrego hoped for from that stint: Greater confidence, particularly at the offensive end, because Martin got so many more touches in Swarm games.
“Comfortable is the word,” Martin said. “And more confident. When I first was playing (with the Hornets) I was second-guessing a lot of my plays.
“Now, it’s about me trusting in myself and my teammates trusting in me.”
His coach has sure bought in.
“He’s making the right decisions, he’s in attack mode,” Borrego said. “He’s trending the right way.”
