The Wizards are a little banged up, and are sitting Rashard Lewis and Nick Young against the Magic. The move gets those guys some extra rest when you factor in the upcoming All-Star break, which unofficially starts for Washington after tonight's contest. Cartier Martin got the start in place of Young. The Wizards lead by a score of 18-17 after the first quarter.
Fans of the Wizards know Cartier Martin, but if you're a casual observer or you like reading and learning, here's the Cartier Martin excerpt from my feature today on Hopes and Dreams for the Wizards.
Cartier Martin can shoot the basketball. Need proof? Then you don’t remember his five three-pointers against Milwaukee. As a D-League call-up last season, Martin told me he needed to improve his handle and ability to shoot off the dribble in order to stick in the league. If he continues to improve those aspects of his game, he could be stretch the floor for the Wizards as a shooter off the bench. His true shooting percentage is much higher than it’s ever been in the NBA during the largest sample size of his career.
Of course, I might have jinxed Martin, who could not buy a bucket in the first quarter, however, missing all five of his field goal attempts.
John Wall has been getting to the cup at will, and has 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
If you're REALLY interested in Cartier Martin, you could check out a post I wrote on his journey from the D-League to NBA last season for NBA FanHouse.