Raptors' Alijah Martin promises to 'stay ready' after breakthrough performance

TORONTO — It was a made-for-Hollywood moment, but will it have a made-for-TV ending?

As Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said: “That’s a complicated question, and it deserves a complicated answer.”

But first, let’s revel in the wonder that was Alijah Martin’s performance on Friday in Milwaukee.

It really was movie-type stuff: a second-round pick who had to slug it out in the G League last season on a two-way contract finally gets converted to a standard NBA deal, but still faces an uphill battle for playing time on a roster well-stocked with young talent at his best positions.

Then he suffers a knee injury, setting him back even further. In limited minutes, he shows his worth, making contributions where he can until suddenly a trio of injuries leave the door open a crack and he smashes through it.

Not only did his 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting (6-of-7 from three) in 31 minutes of playing time represent his career highs for points, minutes, field goals and three-point field goals, but they came at a crucial time in the Raptors' schedule.

Even against the lowly Milwaukee Bucks, the Raptors were in tough without Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley. Take away Martin’s explosion and it’s hard to see how the Raptors would have gotten out of Milwaukee with a win.

And his mom just happened to have made the trip from Mississippi to watch it in person.

But as the Raptors gathered for practice on Sunday in advance of a demanding stretch of the schedule that tips off Monday night against the upstart Memphis Grizzlies at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, Sportsnet+), reality had set in a little bit.

It would be a nice story if Martin’s big game was a ticket to steady rotation minutes. But he’ll likely be in a similar position as he was before the ball went up Friday.

“He needs to continue developing and getting better,” said Rajakovic. “This is his first year of being on a regular contract. Definitely after this performance, he's putting more attention (on himself) that we know that we can count on him. And all he's gotta do is be ready for every game.

“Sometimes it's gonna be five minutes, sometimes it's gonna be 25 minutes, but definitely that game gives confidence to coaches and his teammates that he can be looked (at) more.”

Which is all Martin has wanted. He was third-team all-league and earned all-defence honours playing for Raptors 905 in his first professional season after helping Florida win the NCAA title as a fifth-year senior.

He had pedigree and answered questions about his ability to shoot at the NBA level when he converted 39.6 per cent of his looks from deep in the G League.

But it’s hard to prove yourself when you’re hurt, which interrupted Martin’s progress this summer.

“I remember just preparing for Summer League … I was trying to make a mark there (and) going really hard back in Boca every day with my trainer, and then we got back here (Toronto), and it's like something (was) still nagging,” said Martin. “We check it out, and then I just gotta get (surgery) done. So I went through that. That was a process itself (and) it’s still a work in progress today. Just feeling all the way 100 per cent, and that pop, that explosiveness is still coming back. It’s been a long, long journey, man.”

No one was happier to see him get his moment in the sun than his teammates, who mobbed him after the win and applauded him being awarded the thick gold chain that goes to the player of the game after big wins.

“It meant the world, man. Those guys, I grew up watching them. They've been in the league for a while,” said Martin. “So just getting respect from them means a lot.”

Having pushed the door open, Martin is determined to keep it that way. Given the top-heavy nature of the team's salary-cap structure, nothing would make the Raptors happier than a player on a minimum contract proving himself worthy of a bigger role.

Martin is sure of one thing. If and when he gets another chance, he’ll be ready to take advantage.

"Stay ready" is both a cliché and a mantra in the NBA. Over a long season, everyone gets a chance to show they deserve another chance. Having delivered once, Martin is confident he’ll be ready when the next opportunity comes around.

“If you’re a worker, you naturally want to stay ready,” said Martin. “They have these (programs) and stuff that they put you through, and if you apply that to your day-to-day work, you’ll be ready.”

If he does, Martin could end up with a starring role — or at least being a star in his role — sooner rather than later.

Three-point Grange

Fastest gun in the East and West

Jamison Battle’s ability to knock down threes — even in limited minutes — is well known. The third-year wing is shooting 42 per cent from deep this season and 40.8 per cent for his career.

It's impressive because his playing time always has been sporadic at best, although he’s had double-digit minutes in every game to start the season this year. But a new piece of data surfaced over the weekend in the form of a tweet from Basketball University that identified Battle as having the quickest release time among shooters with at least 30 three-point attempts this season.

Battle said he wasn’t aware of the honour, but his quick release is not an accident: “I've been working a lot trying to get my shot faster, and I think we kind of honed in on that in the summer, and I’m obviously reaping the benefit.”

He credits assistant coach Matt Vest for helping him get quicker without sacrificing accuracy, saying they focused on pre-shot readiness and getting shots up effectively even when the passes are off target.

He’s in the building

The latest update on Leonard is that he is back in Toronto and continuing his return-to-play protocol with the team after spending the first two weeks since he came out of the lineup due to swelling in his left knee resting and receiving treatment “outside of Toronto.”

Leonard has missed seven games. It’s expected an update on his return will come on Tuesday.

So there’s a chance

Quickley (right hamstring) and Barnes (left adductor) were limited participants in practice on Sunday and are questionable for Monday night’s game against the 6-3 Grizzlies.