Saturday, December 31, 2011

That Was Ugly

When you're the 15th man on an NBA team, you have to make the most of every opportunity. Jeremy would be the first to admit how bad he was tonight. Again, it was just  3 minutes of garbage time and it was a bad match up going against one of the quickest guards in the NBA, Isiah Thomas. However, you still have to show you belong. Tonight, JLin didn't do that.

23 comments:

  1. Lin's game footage has now been posted on Youtube, as "Jeremy Lin is not good". Haters coming out in numbers now.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiANpmUtXhw

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  2. Like I said before, he's playing like he's trying to prove something to the coaches, to other players, to the fans, etc.

    First possession, he's driving to his left, when there was a crowd of defenders on his left. There was an open lane on the right, but he kept going left trying really hard to split two defenders, but has the ball stolen away.
    Why was he deliberately driving into a crowd?

    Is he trying to prove that he can dribble through heavy traffic and score like some superstar guards do in highlight reels (Kobe, Wade, Rose) ?
    Or was he aiming towards the crowd of defenders, hoping they would collapse on him, and he can pass to an open man. I remember he did this in his first NBA game vs. the Kings, and it also resulted in a jump ball.

    2nd possession: Again he's driving towards his left against some heavy defense, this time resulting in a jump ball. It looks like he's trying to do something more difficult, just to prove a point.

    3rd possession (after jump ball): He misses the layup, rushed it. It's understandable, when you have only 3 minutes to prove your worth as a basketball player, you want to score no matter what. That time he tried too hard to put the ball in, didn't use his soft touch around the rim that he's known for. Not only that, but he has a habit of falling down after every layup attempt. Why does he do this ? Is he afraid of hurting his knees and ankles on the landing ? Is he trying to draw a foul by making it look like he got bumped ? Falling down after each layup attempt, even if he gets up fast, takes him out of the game momentarily, and puts his team at a one-man disadvantage momentarily...


    4th possession: After getting a steal on the rebound, he goes to the rim again resulting in a charge, he did not wait for his teammates, he wanted to score .... NOW.

    It's understandable, he only has a minute or two each game to prove his worth to the team. Everything he did looked rushed, and more difficult than it had to be. Maybe he is trying too hard to score, get steals, create a highlight reel ... etc.

    He needs to take his time on each possession, and make some good quality plays, instead of fast and flashy plays.

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  3. DC said...
    Why do we overanalyze everything?

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  4. In any sport, the fans analyze the game that they see.

    We're basketball fans. We know the game.

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  5. "Not only that, but he has a habit of falling down after every layup attempt. Why does he do this ? Is he afraid of hurting his knees and ankles on the landing ? Is he trying to draw a foul by making it look like he got bumped?"

    Lin's leg was bumped by #34 after he released the ball. That explains why he fallen down...

    Also the charge call should have been a blocking foul as the defender is moving both his feet...

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  6. To Hoopmastermind: I watched the video of the charge and I would politely disagree. Jeremy initiated contact into the defender after the steal. It's a bit of a misnomer that defenders have to be "set" for charges to be called. I've officiated years of high school ball and as long as the defender has previously established position, the offensive player can't just bull his way in. If it was a little less obvious, the play could have been a no call instead.

    As for over analyzing Jeremy' performance, it's alright. We want him to do well. Alas, we have to understand the circumstances. He's on a new team, doesn't really know anyone and trying to prove his worth.

    BTW - if anyone noticed after the charge call, Jerome Jordan (#44) was giving Jeremy some encouragement. There is one positive of Jeremy being in the NBA and that's being able to share the experience of being an "Asian player" in the NBA for us regular folks (in the future when his career is complete). Jeremy seemed to earn some of his teammate's respect with the Warriors and I think he did so with the Rockets too.

    The fans may go "high and low" with the Warriors but I think teammates are not so tough and appreciate the 12th to 15th people on the team for their hustle and energy.

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  7. It's unfair to judge a player who plays a minute or two at a time. Look at Harrellson, he did nothing on the bench and shot under 40%, then tonight he gets 38 minutes and goes for 14 pts, 12 boards on 5-11 shooting. When a player knows he is only in for a short while, it completely changes how he plays and makes him force plays that aren't there in order to show something to the coach.

    It's extremely frustrating waiting for ONE coach to give Lin an opportunity. I truly think he could shine if he got more than 15 minutes just once, like how he went for 12 pts, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds in his last game as a Warrior. I think it's not good for Lin to play for any team where the coach is on the hot seat. Lin already faces superficial discrimination/hesitation every time he joins a new team, where the coach won't put him in due to lack of comfort or trust. Lin will shine when he is in a stable system, with an entrenched coach, where his game can be appreciated. Lin's game is the type that takes time, and an attentive eye, for one to fully appreciate since he plays team, winning basketball and isn't suited to show off like most other players.

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  8. When it's the last three minutes of a blowout game, the coach isn't drawing up any plays or instructing players. D'Antoni was probably getting ready to go into the locker room.

    Coaches pay more attention to what players do in practice. That's where Lin will earn his minutes, make or break in practice. And since we don't see the practice sessions ... we don't know if JLin is doing good or bad.

    Btw ... Did anyone else notice the much hyped Jimmer went 2 for 10 FG including 1 of 7 from 3-point land ?

    Which goes to show that anyone can have a bad game against any team.

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  9. Anyone ever think we should just delete this website or put it on hiatus for awhile? Most players in his situation have no fan base and are just fighting/worrying only for themselves. Although we support Lin, we are putting more weight on his shoulders. Thus, we might be putting pressure on him mentally. He might feel that he has to do super good in order to represent the Asian American community. I mean just imagine him reading these comments every single night after every single game and imagine the stress he goes through. (Not saying it's true, but it's possible.) From personal experience I used be to be a play basketball plus I was weak mentally. Nerves, anxiety, jitters, you name it. I was a pretty skilled player during practice and pickup games. But I just couldn't convert in game. I used to overshoot, and I lost my handles in game. (Similar to Lin's recent performances) It seems like he's been only looking to drive/score as well. This is not the Lin we usually watch. He needs to play smart/like a team player/hustle again like what he was known for!

    I don't know who runs this site, but please consider shutting down this site for say... 2 or 3 weeks? I think it could honestly help him a little mentally. Just a possibility...

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  10. All of us fail, but few of us do it so publicly. Jeremy should continue to work hard and seek out the counsel of his coaches and other players. He shouldn't be reading these websites or the newspapers. He will turn in a good performance, and last night will be forgotten.

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  11. well, only at this point, people start to have courage to face the reality.

    but you can not say so on this web-owner run site anything, anything at about Lin's reality.

    Yi Jianlian is going to D-L and next month Lin stay at gym if he would like to, so
    find somebody who can let him stay on the roaster and make a living, this can only happen in China, remember he will make his money out of court, but not on the court, this is reality. That web troll who calls every body a low life scrub should rest in peace and get a life.

    What a loser, he does not know anything.


    What American dream, what Asian self-reliance and pursuit of dream?

    Well, figure it out.

    Every body wants to play, but you are not able to do it, so what next?

    This board needs to cool down and face reality, no more Day-Dreaming!

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  12. For those that don't like the "overanalyzing" or have agendas to write about other than basketball, you can stop reading now.....It's fun for me to study Lin's game which obviously wasn't his best last night. It looks to me that he must recognize double teams more quickly and pass the ball off. It also seems that he needs to work on going to his left a little more. The Knicks isolate Anthony on the right side so the offense initiates from the left quite often. Lastly, time to show off that new jumper rather than trying to take it all the way to the basket. What do you fellow basketball fans think?

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  13. I don't think last night's game had anything to do with flawed technique.. It was more about his mental approach. JLin is putting too much pressure on himself to show his stuff to the coahes in very limited garbage time. There's only so much you can do. The majority of his evaluation will happen during practices. I think he should just continue to work hard in practice and pick up D'Antoni's system quickly. When he does get in the game in garbage time, focus on making good decisions and be a good distributor. Call the right plays and move the ball around. Then pick his spot to attack the basket when there's an opening in the defense. That's really what the Knicks need from their PG's until Baron is healrhy.
    JLin can play. Those of us who have watched him know that. He does have a tendency to make errors when he tries to force things - it happened in Reno in stretches even when he was getting plenty of playing time. He's relatively inexperienced. Preventing those mental mistakes is part of every player's development.

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  14. The problem wasn't that he didn't see the double team, the defense was clearly there ... the problem was he was trying to SPLIT the double team, twice.
    I don't even think Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, or Kobe could have split that double team.

    He was trying too hard to put on a highlight reel play, either for the coaches to see, or for the Bay area fans who drove a couple hours to watch him play.

    He keeps trying to drive through crowds of defenders because if he scores, it makes the highlight reel. If it results in a turnover, people hate him for it.

    On defense, he keeps reaching in to get steals, if he knocks the ball away people praise his defense, but if he picks up a foul ... people call him foul prone.

    He's trying too hard to impress others and put up points in the boxscore, when he should have just dribbled around the double team, used the pick, or just passed the ball to an open player. He's not playing like a team player right now.

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  15. Jeremy did have a nice assist where he passed the ball to for a Steve Novak for a 3-pointer. Why isn't that shown on any video ?

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  16. Yo this guy who keeps suggesting Jeremy should play in China and tells people to "rest in peace" needs to 1) learn English and then 2) chill out.

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  17. Looks to me like he's trying to force it and do too much. That's somewhat understandable because the only opportunity he's getting is a garbage time minute here and there. He probably feels like he needs to make a huge impression in that limited time. Because as an undrafted, waiver pickup, coaches don't owe it to you to give you meaningful PT.

    I'm pretty sure that if Lin were playing non-garbage time, he wouldn't be making those bad decisions. It's a tough chicken and egg situation. Hopefully, he'll get a coach that believes in him and give him meaningful PT.

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  18. I totally agree it would help Jeremy to shut down this site for a couple weeks. During the King's game he was simply trying too hard to impress. Also, can you update the title picture? There's gotta be at least one picture of him that is more powerful and confident.

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  19. Hiding behind a random handle like b5b1493c-30dc-11e1-970b-000bcdcb5194, looks like a troll and sounds like one. Reality is Lin had a bad few minutes of basketball in garbage time, nothing more and nothing less. I didn't see coming here to praise Lin when he did well. And, reality is Yi's going to D-league to rehab, that's fact. Everybody, including a low life scrub like you can come post to this site, but don't bring crap and intentionally mislead. Why don't you just go trash Lin in knicks sites, we won't miss you comments for sure. Oh, bet you've been doing that with a more recognizable handle(s) already.

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  20. At this point, I think Lin's game is play smart basketball and don't hurt your team.

    He looked like a rookie with no court awareness yesterday.

    Really disappointing performance, but hope he learns from it.

    Mike Bibby is steady at point and doesn't make obvious mistakes, but Knicks turn into perimeter jump shooting team when he is in game.

    Just run the offense, play smart basketball, and let the game come to him.

    Look at the good that happened when he just got that rebound.

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  21. Umm let's just ignore all the negativity and low life scrubs. We all support you Lin, keep doing your best and the rest is up to God!!!!!

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  22. JLin should watch Rubio in tonight's Mavs-Twolves game, he ran the pick-&-roll to perfection. That was beautiful and exciting to watch!

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  23. Next game is vs. the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden on Monday. We'll see if he gets more minutes or if he sits the entire game. At least he'll have a chance to practice with the Knicks at their home gym.

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