Is Caleb Martin the ultimate Celtics killer?
In Wednesday’s 118-114 Celtics Christmas loss to Philadelphia, Martin delivered 23 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists on 8/11 from the field and 7/9 from three.
LeBron and Steph will haunt me forever but those guys haunt everyone, Caleb Martin hasn’t been good this season for the 76ers.
7 for 9 is unbelievable shooting the ball as poorly as Martin has this season. If it was anyone else, I would have rolled my eyes and said ‘whatever’ but since it is Martin, it hurt.
He has hurt the Celtics so many times.
It wasn’t like the Celtics didn’t dare Martin to beat them.
It was clearly the Celtics gameplay to let Martin’s threes beat them and they did, which is infuriating because he has not had a game like this all season. Of course, Caleb Martin has a huge game against the Celtics.
Tonight was the 9th time Caleb Martin has shot 40% or better against Boston on six or more attempts from 3. He’s done it twice v. Detroit and never more than once against anyone else.
It’s his 5th time shooting better than 50% vs. Boston. He’s never done it more than once vs.…
— John Karalis (@John_Karalis) December 26, 2024
The Celtics dominated the Heat in the first round last year, aside from Game 2 where Martin scored 21 points on 7/12 from the field and 5/6 from three. He always haunts the Celtics and I have not even mentioned the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals yet, a series I still believe he should have won MVP.
In that series, Martin averaged 19.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game on 60% from the field and 49% from three. In that years Finals, he averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game on 38% from the field and 33% from three.
How does someone have that big of a drop off from one series to the next?
Players with 45+ 3PM on 45%+ 3P% against a team in the last two calendar years:
Derrick White vs. the Heat
Michael Porter Jr vs. the Lakers
Stephen Curry vs. the Thunder
Caleb Martin vs. the Celtics pic.twitter.com/YLevlK7XdD— Automatic (@automaticnba) December 26, 2024
There are three elite shooters on this list and CALEB MARTIN!
All of these stats make it even more clear how 1 improbable all of these games Martin has against the Celtics are. Yet, he just continues to have them and they are always against the Celtics.
I don’t think the Celtics should change the way they guard Martin either. He isn’t a good shooter. If he is going to keep burying above the break threes than he is going to do that. That shouldn’t lead to an overreaction from Joe Mazzulla.
However, that doesn’t mean when he does hit all those threes, we should be surprised. He always hits those shots against the Celtics.
As Joel Embiid said in his postgame press conference, “he was playing against Boston. He hates Boston as much as I do.”
Martin and Embiid are two players who go in exactly different directions when they see the Celtics.
Embiid also called Martin, “the Boston Killer.”
He really is the Boston killer. He prevented another trip to the Finals for the Celtics in 2023 and now he has ruined Christmas in 2024. I thought this nonsense was supposed to end when he left Miami and their black magic. It turns out, Martin is the magic.
I am so over this dude.
