Caleb Martin's Significant Contribution

In Order To Win A Championship It Takes More Than Just Star Power, It Takes The Players You Least Expect To Play Major Roles

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The Miami Heat's been dealing with a lot of injuries for their players during the playoffs. Tyler Herro broke his hand, Victor Oladipo tore his tendon in his knee and Jimmy Butler injured his ankle - the Heat's got some hurt players.

In fact, they have had to use 4 different starting lineups and have had constant changes in their rotation. But one name that has been a constant in the rotation as a reserve or needed as a starter has been Forward Caleb Martin.

Martin has played a key role off the bench for Erik Spoelstra’s Heat for the past two seasons. How important of a role you might ask? If you look at the Heat’s most successful lineups in the regular season, Martin is a part of each of the top-6 lineups that have the highest point difference between offense and defense. The only other player on the Miami roster that is a part of the top-6 is Bam Adebayo.

In the playoffs, Martin has become even more important for the Heat. Per 100 possessions, Martin’s efficiency difference is plus 19.3 (If you don’t know that Efficiency Difference means it is the difference between team points scored and team points allowed over 100 possessions). He is fifth in the league among players who have had at least 270 minutes of play. Anthony Davis, Tyrese Maxey, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant are the only players that rank ahead of him.

Martin has been very successful at shooting when he has the ball during the playoffs. His rank is in the top-5 for both effective Field Goal Percentage and two-point field goal percentage. With the Heat's having multiple injuries in the playoffs, Martin's increased playoff production has been a major help in getting them one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals.

Friday Night’s Game 6 at home against the New York Knicks, Spoelstra knows who he can count on coming off the bench to make an impact.