Nick Nurse Praises KJ Martin's Defensive Work vs Giannis
On Thursday night, the Philadelphia 76ers took on the Milwaukee Bucks, hoping to pull something from their season series against Doc Rivers' team.
One of the big reasons for the Sixers' struggles against the Bucks this season has been former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds against them this season.
Given that Joel Embiid, the player who will be occasionally slated against Antetokounmpo, has been out for some time now, Nick Nurse had to make some adjustments for guarding the Bucks' star, opting to use KJ Martin.
The Sixers' head coach highlighted Martin's efforts on the defensive end of the court in his post game press conference, noting that his size and strength allows him to go head-to-head with Antetokounmpo.
"He's done a good job twice now with Giannis, and he just uses his strength and stands in there on him," said Nurse, "You know, he starts driving, he stands him up, you know, right there with some good defense, power, and stuff, so I thought he was very effective."
The use of height may not be something that is seen on paper, given that Martin stands at 6'6" as opposed to Antetokounmpo's 6'11 frame, which is why Tobias Harris or the aforementioned Embiid will be put onto him.
Nurse would later explain that their decision to put Martin on the former MVP came as a result of his strong start for the Bucks in the first half, scoring 14 points on 62 percent shooting.
"We got in a situation where we were kind of trying to match him [Antetokounmpo] in the first half with him [Martin] because he was doing such a good job."
While it wasn't specifically targeting Giannis, Martin was able to pick Bobby Portis' pocket on two separate occasions in the match.
Despite Martin and the rest of the Sixers' efforts, Antetokounmpo would end the match with 32 points and 11 rebounds en route to a Milwaukee victory.
