Stephen Curry played 36 minutes and Monta Ellis played 33 minutes and the Warriors still lose 118-105 @ Portland. The past few games have looked alarmingly like the Warriors of old. What happened to the emphasis on defense? Not surprisingly, Jeremy Lin did not get off the pine. Aaron Miles played 5 minutes and had zero points. Also, here's a nice article online at the Boston Globe on why we need to stay patient. Lin is focused on succeeding.
The few bright spots from the box score were David Lee with 17 pts. and 11 reb. and BWright getting some meaningful minutes and going for 11 and 6. At least we can rejoice in the great win by the Giants.
Also keep in mind that the Warriors have back-to-back "doubleheaders" for their final four preseason games. Which means that Smart might have to play Lin 20-30 mpg for either the front or back end of the doubleheader to rest Curry. In which case, it makes sense Lin didn't get any time tonight.
ReplyDeleteAaron Miles had 0 pts (A/T = 2/1) and even worse was (-9) in 5 measly minutes! That guy has been given chance after chance and needs to be cut. Give Adrien or nobody the 15th spot.
Nice article. Smart has the right mindset and understands the difficulty of the transition for almost anyone. He just needs to make sure he's giving Lin a legit chance to gain experience -- or not play him at all. Bench him until garbage time for the regular season. But let him play real minutes (20+) in preseason.
ReplyDeleteCurry is a horrible point guard. It's only pre-season and the guy turns the ball over like there is no tomorrow. How can you expect to make to the play-offs if your point guard has a tendency to turn the ball over so many times. Tonight he had 8 turnovers by himself? You might as well toss the rookie Lin in there. At least it would be entertaining to watch Lin play.
ReplyDeleteJL had 2 TOs in 1:30 in his "ugly" game. Two games ago, Curry had 3 TOs in 2:30 with none of the pressure that Lin faced. I realize the TOs aren't identical, but everyone -- including Lin and Smart -- is making too much of his "not ready-ness." Dude is supposed to suck -- he's a rookie in preaseason.
ReplyDeleteAnd preseason in any sport often means "looking ugly" in order to get warmed up for the real thing. Notice how the Yankees are seldom above .500 in spring training. Why? Because you play bench guys while the starters just focus on their weaknesses. Let Lin -- and Adrien and Bell etc. -- play some regular minutes!
I wonder what Keith Smart's thoughts are on Aaron Miles? I think Keith Smart says good things about Jeremy Lin, but how does he really feel and how much of the decision will be in his hands?
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin is safe. If Smart cuts Jeremy without giving him minutes, Smart is going to hear it from us. As a first year coach I do not think he wants controversy on his hands. Smart is probably one of the many Jeremy doubters, but the best thing Smart can do right now is to delay playing Jeremy by saying all the right things. Smart probably has to cut the roster down to 14 players so he is trying to convince management to keep 15 by giving more PT to the player he really wants (which is not Jeremy Lin).
ReplyDeleteHow can anyone be a productive player in only 2 minutes, at the end of the game ? In only 1 minute ?
ReplyDeleteThe team was already down by 20 or more. The players were tired and content to just dribble out the clock. Even if JL brought some new energy, it wouldn't matter. He's not being given a chance to show his talents.
If the team waives Jeremy, I will not attend any W game for the rest of the season. I have better things to do with my $50. I can go to a movie and dinner with friends, shop at the mall, invest in stocks ... etc.
I'm still a Dubs fan. But I would feel angry if the front office just wants to put an Asian face on the team to sell more tickets, without actually giving said Asian a chance. I would consider it a slap in the face to Asian Americans to use Lin as a marketing gimmick to extract money from our hard working, honest community.
Management is there to make money. Whether they play Jeremy or not they still want money from us. The question is whether or not we have the fight in us like the previous post to use management's greed against them and force them to let Jeremy play.
ReplyDeleteI'm torn in my opinion of Smart. On one hand, Smart speaks well of Lin in his interviews, and it seems like Smart is protecting Lin from failure. Like Smart knows that Lin has not adjusted to the NBA level yet, so he doesn't want to humiliate him out there.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, maybe Smart's just saying the PC things, but deep down he doesn't think Lin has NBA level ability.
I'm going to give Smart the benefit of the doubt for now and go with the former. I hope that it is because Lin needs a period of adjustment to the NBA game, but he'll eventually get there.
What fustrate me from all these BS is that he is not playing. Yes, he is learning, he doesn't want to embarass him b/c the speed of the NBA. Smart, look at the John Wall clip. See what he did against Uconn. Jeremy Lin can play. Stop treating him like a baby, let him walk and play, dam it. This is the preseason and you are trying to develop a bench and backup point guard. YOu know what you got in Miles, now it's time to see JLin can do for the team, the fans, and the organization.
ReplyDeletedude its preseason. Let the guy play! go Jeremy! Azn pride baby! iloveyou!
ReplyDeleteLin just checked in...2nd quarter! Let's see if how he plays when he's allowed to get settled.
ReplyDelete