Memphis Grizzlies All-Star Break Player Review: The Jarell Martin Project

Although his playing time has been somewhat limited in the first half of the season, Martin may be poised for breakout second half.

Ok so right out of the gate, I have to be honest.

I have a basketball crush on Jarell Martin.

Not like a “I love you so much, Jarell! I want to have your babies!” type of love. That would be a little weird. It’s more like a 90’s Peanut Butter Crunch Commercial kind of crush. I know i’m not the only one that remembers that commercial. The one where the kid tells his sister how much he loves Peanut Butter Crunch. After awhile, she finally says “If you love it so much, why don’t you marry it?”. Then it flips through the kid marrying his cereal and going on all kinds of adventures and things with it. He isn’t really in love with it, but he enjoys it so much he can’t help but proclaim that he loves it.

I am that little boy.

Jarell Martin is that box of Peanut Butter Crunch.

It is completely justified though. If you have watched Jarell play at all in the first half you would see that he has shown flashes of dominance. Whether it was at in college, With Iowa down in the D-League, or in his short run with the Grizz he has shown that he is more than capable of being an offensive juggernaut.

Patience is Key:

It is going to take some time for him to round in to form, though, so patience is key. With him being  involved in many trade speculations involving the Grizzlies, it may not even happen with this team. One day, down the road, we are going to look back and think to ourselves, “Remember when we sent that guy down to the D-League? Why’d we ever do that”.

When that time comes, look for a guy somewhere on the internet (probably twitter) with a big ol’ sign that says “I told you so!”

That guy will be me.