After 4 days off, Jeremy Lin and the Reno Bighorns are back on the hardwood Wednesday night. I really liked what I saw in the last two games against Bakersfield. He is coming off the bench as he will be with the Warriors and his play has not dropped off. Coming in cold off the bench and producing is a lot tougher than producing as a starter so this will help when he gets called back up. I'm particularly happy with his outside shooting (51% fg, 43% 3p) and his passing. His stroke looks pretty sweet as his confidence is back and he is starting to make some nice passes in transition as well (see video). Obviously, he knows that he needs to improve his decision making around the basket and around traps. Steph Curry knows he has to stop making one handed passes. However, these tendencies and habits take some time to reverse. They don't happen overnight. The same goes with his free throw shooting. I'm sure he is shooting lots of them.
His interior passing has been good. He has no problem hitting the big man and the cutters under the basket for easy assists. But I notice that he doesn't kick out to shooters on the break. Either he drives straight to the basket or dishing it inside, even if the lane is crowded. He needs to be aware of who is around him. Not just focus on the rim.
Yeah, I think in Friday's game late he was leading the break and had a teammate running up on the right that he might have been able to dish to but instead tried to drive to the rim and got tied up but fortunately the ball went out of bounds off an opponent. But one of the assistant coaches (the balding heavy caucasian) just went ballistic. I'm not 100% sure but I thought he was pissed at Lin for not passing the ball.
Exactly, when driving to the rim, Lin does almost a Corey Maggette, he lowers his shoulders and runs right into the defense to draw contact. While completely ignoring the open teammates on the perimeter.
That's not always going to work, and in the NBA it will often lead to an offensive foul and/or turnover. He needs to pass it out to shooters.
I think the D-League is where Lin should have started at, but I can't blame him for taking guaranteed money from the W's. Lin has all-around skills, but no skill that stands out. I remember Mardy Collins (drafted by the Knicks in 2006 with the 29th pick). The pre-draft analysis by NBA TV: Good player, but nothing stands out. Lin's in the same boat. I think Lin can develop his skills but he definitely needs playing time. Maybe he could ask to be traded to the Cleveland Cavs... Plenty of playing time there.
Lin can't make a so so or even good team great, but he can be the final piece that takes a very good team and makes them great.
If you watch his games, he can be a catalyst that breaks open a close game and just does subtle things that may give a very good team a few extra good looks at basket (or take a few away from opponent) that might be difference between winning or losing.
He also needs to be able to make both foul shots in fourth quarter when driving to basket and gets fouled. I saw him practicing putting backspin on foul shot during one game, so I suspect his poor foul shooting recently may be because coaches are reworking his free throw motion right now while he is still in D-League.
He shouldn't be primary offensive option, but needs to be able to make open jumpers if other options are not open. Then just play good off ball defense, getting steals, deflections, tips, and triggering transition offense when he gets rebound from fast shot put up by opposition.
"I think the D-League is where Lin should have started at, but I can't blame him for taking guaranteed money from the W's."
Minimum NBA rookie salary is $473,604. The *maximum* salary in D-League is $24,000. I think Lin's in the most ideal situation right now, as a D-League assignee with an NBA contract.
"Good player, but nothing stands out."
You could say that for most NBA players who aren't stars. Look at Charlie Ward, former Knicks PG. For his career, he averaged 6.3 pts, 4.0 ast, 2.6 reb, 1.2 stl, 40.8% fg, 36.4% 3pt, 77.1% ft. Despite not "standing out", he played 11 years, started for 5 years, and earned $34 million over the course of his career.
"Minimum NBA rookie salary is $473,604. The *maximum* salary in D-League is $24,000. I think Lin's in the most ideal situation right now, as a D-League assignee with an NBA contract."
It doesn't matter how much money Lin makes his first year. That's pennies compared to an NBA veteran salary. Which is what he should be aiming for. And in order to get there JLin needs: 1. More experience and playing time. 2. A team where he can fit into the long term roster. 3. Quality training and development.
He gets none of that sitting on the Warriors bench. All those games sitting on the bench listening to Coach Smart was essentially time wasted. Donnie Nelson, the GM of the Mavericks saw a lot of potential in him. He may even have offered Lin a better contract to match Golden State if given the chance.
I still think Lin should have signed with the Mavs. They wanted him for reasons other than marketing.
i'm loving lin's game. this kid is good. we knew he had a knack for stealing and blocking but now he is consistently rebounding like a big man. i wonder what other things he is hiding?
Great game from Jeremy tonight! His jumpshot was a little off, but he didnt settle and drove into the lane multiple times for layups. His passing has definetely improved especially in transition which is great for the warriors. I like how Lin chooses to box out his man before rising up for the rebound, its those little things which make him a good player.
His 3-point shot is either hot or cold. Tonight it was ice cold. Needs to work on that jumpshot stroke. But it's good that he drove the lane when the 3's weren't falling.
Marcus Landry, the best 3-point shooter on the team was 0 for 6 from behind the arc and 4-14 overall. Yet he kept on shooting it.
I hate to say it, but D-League is probably gonna be good for him. If nothing else, he's gonna play with more swagger and calm -- he knows he's much better than the average fringe NBA player. He definitely looked nervous as a PG (understandable...even Wall has struggled).
agree d league has really helped jeremy look much more comfortable out there on the court. his shot was off today though, I don't think he hit a jump shot all night, all his baskets were around the rim.
lin is remarkably consistent you don't even realize the severity of his impact to the game. a drive and dish here, a monster reboud to start the break, a reverse layup there, a tough floater in the lane, and then at the end of the game he just dropped 20 pts 6 assists and 4 steals to lead the team. the d-league should be doing great things for his confidence and i would expect him to come back to help the big club off the bench for a hopeful (albeit unlikely) playoff run. at the least he bought himself a ton of other options whether it's with the dubs or another team that could his tenacious d.
It was enjoyable watching Lin score against the porous "defense" (if you can call it that) of Springfield, but Lin's recent games against Bakersfield probably more realistically represent how he can contribute to an NBA team against legitimate NBA defenses.
His transition offense, however, should translate easily to NBA as long as he has athletic bigs that are willing to run with him.
Did you all see the news that the Bighorns acquired a new guard Thomas Gardner from the Austin Toros? 6-5, 210 lb from Missouri. The Bighorns didn't give up a player, just a 3rd round pick. What's up with this? That makes 6 guards for the Biggie Ho's. You think they might want a center since they barely have one now. Will this take away a few mins for Lin?
Wow, I didn't know that D-League teams can have draft picks.
Anyways, Coach Musselman believes that he has enough front court depth with O'bryant, Landry, Doug Thomas, and the return of Nick Fazekas from injury.
Jeremy Lin will play significant minutes because he is an NBA assigned player and he gets priority. The Warriors co-own and operate the Bighorns, so the coach must give NBA players priority. I think there is some friction going on in the D-League between the NBA assignees and non-NBA players. There's got to be some jealousy of the "veteran" NBA players with guaranteed contracts.
Coach Musselman made a comment that once Fazekas is back, he fells Big Horns have pieces in place to make a championhship run.
Lin is supposed to be on a set time table for D-League, so it sounds like he won't be around for playoff run.
Plus other Reno players could be called up also, so Musselman is probably stocking up while he can.
Also probably explains why Lin is coming off the bench so starting five will be around in playoffs and sounds like Davis might end up taking Lin's spot running second team down the road.
I hope the Warriors don't call him up again. He's shown a lot of improvement in just a few games, but has a long way to go before he can be an NBA starter.
He needs to make better use of the pick and roll. In that last game he always ended up being double teamed by the post player and defending guard. He needs to find the open man in that split second when somebody is open on the wing.
Just imagine how much better his skills would be, if he started playing for Reno from Day one......
Yeah, I agree JLin should stay with Reno and continue to improve. The jump shot looks good but it needs to become consistent. Assist to TO ratio has to improve too. Coming back to the W's and getting 8-9 minutes per game is not better than playing 30 mins with Reno.
Acie Law hasn't been healthy for a while. When they sent him to the wrist specialist earlier, he was able to somehow hide his injury(ies) to get his contract for the rest of the season. The guy is playing for his next contract so I don't expect him to sit out too many games...
I don't know what it is about that jumpshot. Notice that when he shoots, he jumps forward instead of straight up in the air. And there's not much spin on the ball, kind of like a shotput. It's going to take some time to get comfortable shooting it from NBA range. A 3-pointer is a lot more useful to a team than a long 2-pointer.
It's been posted before about Jeremy's shooting form. It is a style that was obviously developed on the playground or YMCA when he was young, rather than having attended numerous basketball camps. That's not necessarily a bad thing for most individuals. The differences in his form stem from the fact that most youngsters try to develop power in their release because they are not fully grown. Thus the jump forward, the "push" and if you'll notice he gives a little kick for extra "oomph." He also tends to hold it off to one side. I once saw on a video about shooting that the position of the hand after released tells if a person has a "schooled" shot. The hand position after the follow through actually points slightly off to the right for right handers, etc.
I think his shooting percentages are fine. Scouts would be skeptical (as is Blackie) if a person doesn't have classic form. Right now, only two things matter: 1) What does the coach think? He controls playing time. 2) What does the stat sheet say? Being in the d-league is good because it affords the opportunity to prove he can shoot.
Bottom line, it doesn't matter if he has Ray Allen's shooting form or Tim Hardaway's or Norman Owyang's, he needs to show he is "money" with it. There's millions of dollars at stake here so I'm sure he's working on it with the best coaches he can find, and ignoring anything we suggest.
His interior passing has been good. He has no problem hitting the big man and the cutters under the basket for easy assists. But I notice that he doesn't kick out to shooters on the break. Either he drives straight to the basket or dishing it inside, even if the lane is crowded.
ReplyDeleteHe needs to be aware of who is around him. Not just focus on the rim.
Yeah, I think in Friday's game late he was leading the break and had a teammate running up on the right that he might have been able to dish to but instead tried to drive to the rim and got tied up but fortunately the ball went out of bounds off an opponent. But one of the assistant coaches (the balding heavy caucasian) just went ballistic. I'm not 100% sure but I thought he was pissed at Lin for not passing the ball.
ReplyDeleteExactly, when driving to the rim, Lin does almost a Corey Maggette, he lowers his shoulders and runs right into the defense to draw contact. While completely ignoring the open teammates on the perimeter.
ReplyDeleteThat's not always going to work, and in the NBA it will often lead to an offensive foul and/or turnover. He needs to pass it out to shooters.
I think the D-League is where Lin should have started at, but I can't blame him for taking guaranteed money from the W's. Lin has all-around skills, but no skill that stands out. I remember Mardy Collins (drafted by the Knicks in 2006 with the 29th pick). The pre-draft analysis by NBA TV: Good player, but nothing stands out. Lin's in the same boat. I think Lin can develop his skills but he definitely needs playing time. Maybe he could ask to be traded to the Cleveland Cavs... Plenty of playing time there.
ReplyDeleteLin can't make a so so or even good team great, but he can be the final piece that takes a very good team and makes them great.
ReplyDeleteIf you watch his games, he can be a catalyst that breaks open a close game and just does subtle things that may give a very good team a few extra good looks at basket (or take a few away from opponent) that might be difference between winning or losing.
He also needs to be able to make both foul shots in fourth quarter when driving to basket and gets fouled. I saw him practicing putting backspin on foul shot during one game, so I suspect his poor foul shooting recently may be because coaches are reworking his free throw motion right now while he is still in D-League.
He shouldn't be primary offensive option, but needs to be able to make open jumpers if other options are not open. Then just play good off ball defense, getting steals, deflections, tips, and triggering transition offense when he gets rebound from fast shot put up by opposition.
"I think the D-League is where Lin should have started at, but I can't blame him for taking guaranteed money from the W's."
ReplyDeleteMinimum NBA rookie salary is $473,604. The *maximum* salary in D-League is $24,000. I think Lin's in the most ideal situation right now, as a D-League assignee with an NBA contract.
"Good player, but nothing stands out."
You could say that for most NBA players who aren't stars. Look at Charlie Ward, former Knicks PG. For his career, he averaged 6.3 pts, 4.0 ast, 2.6 reb, 1.2 stl, 40.8% fg, 36.4% 3pt, 77.1% ft. Despite not "standing out", he played 11 years, started for 5 years, and earned $34 million over the course of his career.
haha, i juat had a dream that jeremy got called back up and score 14 points and 14 assists with 5 turnovers in his first gane back! maybe its a sign.
ReplyDelete14-14 isn't that Danny Green's number? lol What have you been thinking?
ReplyDelete"Minimum NBA rookie salary is $473,604. The *maximum* salary in D-League is $24,000. I think Lin's in the most ideal situation right now, as a D-League assignee with an NBA contract."
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter how much money Lin makes his first year. That's pennies compared to an NBA veteran salary. Which is what he should be aiming for. And in order to get there JLin needs:
1. More experience and playing time.
2. A team where he can fit into the long term roster.
3. Quality training and development.
He gets none of that sitting on the Warriors bench. All those games sitting on the bench listening to Coach Smart was essentially time wasted.
Donnie Nelson, the GM of the Mavericks saw a lot of potential in him. He may even have offered Lin a better contract to match Golden State if given the chance.
I still think Lin should have signed with the Mavs. They wanted him for reasons other than marketing.
Happy Chinese New Year Jeremy!
ReplyDeletehes f'king taiwanese, get it right!
ReplyDelete:) haha just kiddin
i'm loving lin's game. this kid is good. we knew he had a knack for stealing and blocking but now he is consistently rebounding like a big man. i wonder what other things he is hiding?
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else having trouble watching the NBA futurecast ?
ReplyDeleteVery nice stat line tonight. All that's needed now is a roster opening on the W's.
ReplyDeleteThe backups 5 with Lin outscore the starting 5. Excellent!
ReplyDeleteGreat game from Jeremy tonight!
ReplyDeleteHis jumpshot was a little off, but he didnt settle and drove into the lane multiple times for layups.
His passing has definetely improved especially in transition which is great for the warriors.
I like how Lin chooses to box out his man before rising up for the rebound, its those little things which make him a good player.
His 3-point shot is either hot or cold. Tonight it was ice cold. Needs to work on that jumpshot stroke. But it's good that he drove the lane when the 3's weren't falling.
ReplyDeleteMarcus Landry, the best 3-point shooter on the team was 0 for 6 from behind the arc and 4-14 overall. Yet he kept on shooting it.
pretty sweet stat line tonight
ReplyDelete20 pts, 9/16 fg, 4 reb, 6 asst, 4 steals, 0 to, 1 bs
damn it, lin is so consistent!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see him just break out and score like 30 points!
I hate to say it, but D-League is probably gonna be good for him. If nothing else, he's gonna play with more swagger and calm -- he knows he's much better than the average fringe NBA player. He definitely looked nervous as a PG (understandable...even Wall has struggled).
ReplyDeleteagree d league has really helped jeremy look much more comfortable out there on the court. his shot was off today though, I don't think he hit a jump shot all night, all his baskets were around the rim.
ReplyDeletelin is remarkably consistent you don't even realize the severity of his impact to the game. a drive and dish here, a monster reboud to start the break, a reverse layup there, a tough floater in the lane, and then at the end of the game he just dropped 20 pts 6 assists and 4 steals to lead the team. the d-league should be doing great things for his confidence and i would expect him to come back to help the big club off the bench for a hopeful (albeit unlikely) playoff run. at the least he bought himself a ton of other options whether it's with the dubs or another team that could his tenacious d.
ReplyDeleteIt was enjoyable watching Lin score against the porous "defense" (if you can call it that) of Springfield, but Lin's recent games against Bakersfield probably more realistically represent how he can contribute to an NBA team against legitimate NBA defenses.
ReplyDeleteHis transition offense, however, should translate easily to NBA as long as he has athletic bigs that are willing to run with him.
Did you all see the news that the Bighorns acquired a new guard Thomas Gardner from the Austin Toros? 6-5, 210 lb from Missouri. The Bighorns didn't give up a player, just a 3rd round pick. What's up with this? That makes 6 guards for the Biggie Ho's. You think they might want a center since they barely have one now. Will this take away a few mins for Lin?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nba.com/dleague/reno/bighorns_acquire_gardner__th_2011_02_02.html
Wow, I didn't know that D-League teams can have draft picks.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, Coach Musselman believes that he has enough front court depth with O'bryant, Landry, Doug Thomas, and the return of Nick Fazekas from injury.
Jeremy Lin will play significant minutes because he is an NBA assigned player and he gets priority. The Warriors co-own and operate the Bighorns, so the coach must give NBA players priority.
I think there is some friction going on in the D-League between the NBA assignees and non-NBA players. There's got to be some jealousy of the "veteran" NBA players with guaranteed contracts.
Coach Musselman made a comment that once Fazekas is back, he fells Big Horns have pieces in place to make a championhship run.
ReplyDeleteLin is supposed to be on a set time table for D-League, so it sounds like he won't be around for playoff run.
Plus other Reno players could be called up also, so Musselman is probably stocking up while he can.
Also probably explains why Lin is coming off the bench so starting five will be around in playoffs and sounds like Davis might end up taking Lin's spot running second team down the road.
This might be off the topic. Does anyone knew that how much a D League Head coach made?
ReplyDeleteWe all knew that D league player make 25K maximum.
Hopefully the coach makes more than the announcers. lol
ReplyDeleteToo bad, Acie Law out tonight. wonder how long
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, Charlie Bell was with the Bucks. He suited up instead of Law. it would make sense to bring Jeremy up,but who knows?
ReplyDeleteI hope the Warriors don't call him up again. He's shown a lot of improvement in just a few games, but has a long way to go before he can be an NBA starter.
ReplyDeleteHe needs to make better use of the pick and roll. In that last game he always ended up being double teamed by the post player and defending guard. He needs to find the open man in that split second when somebody is open on the wing.
Just imagine how much better his skills would be, if he started playing for Reno from Day one......
Yeah, I agree JLin should stay with Reno and continue to improve. The jump shot looks good but it needs to become consistent. Assist to TO ratio has to improve too. Coming back to the W's and getting 8-9 minutes per game is not better than playing 30 mins with Reno.
ReplyDeleteAcie Law hasn't been healthy for a while. When they sent him to the wrist specialist earlier, he was able to somehow hide his injury(ies) to get his contract for the rest of the season. The guy is playing for his next contract so I don't expect him to sit out too many games...
I don't know what it is about that jumpshot. Notice that when he shoots, he jumps forward instead of straight up in the air. And there's not much spin on the ball, kind of like a shotput.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to take some time to get comfortable shooting it from NBA range. A 3-pointer is a lot more useful to a team than a long 2-pointer.
It's been posted before about Jeremy's shooting form. It is a style that was obviously developed on the playground or YMCA when he was young, rather than having attended numerous basketball camps. That's not necessarily a bad thing for most individuals. The differences in his form stem from the fact that most youngsters try to develop power in their release because they are not fully grown. Thus the jump forward, the "push" and if you'll notice he gives a little kick for extra "oomph." He also tends to hold it off to one side. I once saw on a video about shooting that the position of the hand after released tells if a person has a "schooled" shot. The hand position after the follow through actually points slightly off to the right for right handers, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think his shooting percentages are fine. Scouts would be skeptical (as is Blackie) if a person doesn't have classic form. Right now, only two things matter: 1) What does the coach think? He controls playing time. 2) What does the stat sheet say? Being in the d-league is good because it affords the opportunity to prove he can shoot.
Bottom line, it doesn't matter if he has Ray Allen's shooting form or Tim Hardaway's or Norman Owyang's, he needs to show he is "money" with it. There's millions of dollars at stake here so I'm sure he's working on it with the best coaches he can find, and ignoring anything we suggest.