“He called me before I got undressed” – Caleb Martin says J. Cole called him after Game 7 of NBA Conference Finals
Caleb Martin helped the Miami Heat advance to the NBA Finals after putting up 26 points and 10 rebounds in Game 7 against the Boston Celtics on Monday. Following their incredible blowout win against the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, Martin shared the moment he had with famous hip-hop artist J. Cole.
J. Cole was the one person who recommended the undrafted star to the Heat's assistant coach, Caron Butler. After giving him a chance, Martin became part of the team. Now, he's a huge piece in the team's run to the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets.
After Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, Martin talked about how Cole called him in the locker room before even getting a chance to change.
"He called me before I got undressed," Martin said. "He's definitely at some games, for sure. Yeah, he called me before I got undressed after Game 7, just hyped, screaming, jumping up and down. That's, like, my brother, so he was just hyped as my family was.
"He was one of the first people to call me. He's super proud, super appreciative and I couldn't be happier."
Martin has emerged as one of the more reliable role players for the Heat this postseason. In the seven-game series against Boston, the 6-foot-5 forward averaged 19.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists. His play against the Celtics' star duo of the Celtics was too much for them to handle.
J. Cole is an American rapper, songwriter and producer who has made his mark in the music industry. He's worked with acclaimed artists like Jay-Z, Drake and Kendrick Lamar. His song, "KOD," went platinum in 2018 despite not having any featured artist on the track.
The Heat will take on the Nuggets on Thursday in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
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Caleb Martin talked about the Heat's game plan against Jaylen Brown
During Game 7 of the conference finals between the Heat and the Celtics, Jayson Tatum had an injury that held him back. In the first play, Tatum twisted his ankle and wasn't the same player afterwards. Due to this, majority of the work had to be done by Jaylen Brown, but his eight turnovers didn't help Boston make it a competitive game.
Caleb Martin said that it was their gameplan for the entire series to force Brown to his left side. This was emphasized after Tatum got hurt in Game 7.
"That’s always the game plan," Martin said. "I never lost hope. We knew what we had. We knew what we were capable of. We just knew what we could do, but we weren't doing it. ... I never lost hope. It's just frustrating that time especially because I knew we were capable of so much more."
Also read: How did Caleb Martin get into the NBA? Finding out more about the Miami Heat player's journey