Here is an excerpt from the GoErie.com article of January 26th that has been mentioned before:
With the NBA having a shortened season due to the lockout, there isn't much practice time, so D'Antoni likes the idea of putting Lin and Jordan in game situations with Erie.
"We won't be able to assess them anyway, so it's better that they go down and play so we can watch them play and develop," D'Antoni said.
NBA teams can send down first- and second-year players up to three times a season. Next season, they'll be able to send down first- to third-year players as often as they want.
D'Antoni said it's easier to send down players like Jordan and Lin because they weren't expected to play much for the Knicks this season.
"If they figured in our plans, we wouldn't send them down in the first place," he said.
This excerpt tells you all you need to know about Jeremy's lack of playing time. Funny, it seems that D'Antoni hasn't even watched the tape of JLin's D-league game as he states. Sadly, only if all the other guards come down with the flu or get injured in the same game, will Jeremy get any rotation minutes. Unless, through some miraculous change in thinking, D'Antoni looks down the bench and says to himself, "I'm going to get fired anyway, lets try the Asian dude who's bigger than all of my current point guards. He plays a little D, and can actually beat his man off the dribble." Nah, that's not going to happen.
Anyway, It will be interesting to see what happens with Jeremy as his contract guarantee date approaches. Assistant GM, Allan Houston, looks to be a backer. Also, the rumor is that Phil Jackson may take over if D'Antoni is fired. We will see very soon.
Houston Rockets are 7 point favorites tonight (pathetic). Look for a blowout here. After crunching some numbers and throwing in some exotic fomulas I came to the conclusion that Jeremy has a 78.4% chance of entering the game tonight. Let's go!
ReplyDelete"If they figured in our plans, we wouldn't send them down in the first place," he said.
ReplyDeleteAs a coach I'm unsure what D'Antoni was thinking when he said this. How can you blatantly tell the media that one of YOUR players, is not part of the teams future. These guys are working their ass off for a chance and Pringles is saying 'we dont need you', despite their incredibly sub-par record. It doesn't do much to build and sort of player-coach relationship between Lin and Jordan.
Good point. This is the first time I've ever heard anything like this. Especially since basketball is a team sport. You need 12 players to create a wholesome team. It just goes the show whether you look at the top or bottom, there are idiots everywhere.
DeleteThe definition of insanity: Doing the same things over and over again, and expecting different results.
ReplyDeleteD'antoni has done this before.
ReplyDeleteHe played this game with Stephon Marbury by playing him behind Chris Duhon. While Marbury is no saint, he produced a lot more than Duhon did. Marbury was eventually kicked off the Knicks. Dantoni badmouthed him to the press the whole way.
Darko Milicic was traded to the Knicks for Quentin Richardson. He never got to play, which is probably justifiable. When Darko was asked about his playing time, he said that he could "play like Michael Jordan in practice and he still wouldn't play. D'antoni then laughed and said "Yeah, what's Michael Jordan's age, like 55?"
Last year, Jordan Hill was drafted in the lottery. Dantoni enraged Hill by saying "I only play good rookies". Hill wasn't playing much and angrily denied that he was a bad player. Ex gm Donnie Walsh came to Hill's defense, but Walsh is now gone.
I don't know what Jerome Jordan is like, but I know that Lin is tough enough mentally to keep on playing even if his coach says that Lin is not part of the plans.
Fate or Irony... J. Lin gets exactly 20 minutes against Goran Dragic the day after we talk about it. Didn't watch the game but sounds like he got meaningful minutes. We should have said something like he goes 30 min with a triple double, who knew?
DeleteWith the payroll the Knicks have, this team is a world of hurt. The only thing that can really be changed is the coach. Who would want Anthony, Amare, or Chandler now with their enormous contracts?
ReplyDeletePlease tell me this isn't a dream. I think I see jeremy playing in meaningful minutes..
ReplyDeleteLOL the announcer just said "Dantoni shocking us all by putting Jeremy Lin in".... and "Jeremy Lin contributing fast by racking up some assists"
ReplyDeleteLin is in!
ReplyDeleteLooks a little tentative, but holding his own all in all (he looks like he is trying to hard, instead of just playing the game).
Douglas is truly blind as a bat running point.
Lin is leading them back. 2 Assists already!
ReplyDeleteIf Phil Jackson takes over, Jeremy will end up playing even less. I just wanted to post that Dwight Howard sucks as a basketball player and as a human being.
ReplyDeleteBibby, Shumpert, Lin, Chandler, Jeffries..... what an odd combination on the court. Let me guess, too many people bet on the Knicks tonight in Vegas.
ReplyDeleteLin was plying well, but he's getting no help from his teammates or the refs. The announcers keep saying that "Lin has the right idea" but his teammates keep fumbling passes. And Balkman didn't even go to the rim, resulting in a TO charged to TO.
ReplyDeleteNow watch Lin be trashed even though he's been the best Knick on the court since he came in.
*charged to Lin, I mean.
Delete9 Points, 6 Assists, 3 Rebounds 3 Turnovers in 20 minutes of play.
DeleteHe also knocked 3 balls loose on D that his teammates couldn't recover/convert. His steal came on a TO caused by someone else, go figure.
DeleteAnyway, it was a good not great performance (wish he knocked down that open 3!), but JL clearly made a positive impact in several ways. And that's more than you can say for Douglas, Shumpert and Bibby. No doubt that he deserves 15mpg.
Although some Knick fans have pointed out that Lin needs work and may play reckless at times, the general perception that Jeremy Lin can play and he's at least better than Toney Douglas.
DeleteLin should have had a double double today. I thought he was going to convert against Dragic on that open drive.
Here are some topics discussing him now:
http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1156629
http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1156633
I'm not sure why the announcers made it seem like the Knicks were so bad when the Knicks outscored the Rockets 24-22 in the 4th quarter?
ReplyDeleteIf you compare Lin's stats to Douglas, Shumpert, Bibby, he actually outperformed them all (maybe a tie with shumpert. It will be interesting to see if Dantoni will continue using Lin in more meaningful moments.
ReplyDeleteWhen D'Antoni didn't pull him after he made a few mistakes, you can see he settled down.
ReplyDeleteI think he really needs to get some real minutes (even if it is just 5 - 10 minutes off the bench in second quarter) to get comfortable whenever he is put in.
Saw a lot of mixed feedback on twitter. People were calling him a bum. Others were calling him the best player out there. Gotta see the film to decide for myself.
ReplyDeleteDragic got some good plays against Lin. Contesting his shot and forcing a missed layup while he was open trying to drive in. He also got another turnover as he deflected the ball. Lin also got some plays on Dragic as well, as Dragic committed a turnover against Lin.
DeleteOverall I would say Lin looks like a serviceable backup at least. His per should be still be good, if not better after today's game. He just needs to work on his handles under pressure a little bit more and converting while driving into traffic, which probably could be fixed if he got more playing time.
Yea he totally needs to bring more energy to his game. At least make it more entertaining When he walks up the court, it makes him look very un-energetic. This is the entertainment industry after all... its not always about playing the best, but rather entertaining the masses.
DeleteYes, he wasn't the greatest, but there are so much more to the situation. The Knicks just stopped caring, Chandler got ejected, and most importantly, this is Jeremy's "REAL" debut playing in a meaningful time so he was really shaky with millions of eyes on him. I think after this experience, he has learned a lot more. I think the J-Lin followers had too high of an expectation that we ended up a bit disappointed, but overall he didn't perform worse than what we've seen with Bibby or Douglas so far this season.
ReplyDeleteChandler didnt get ejected. He just didnt play the 4th quarter. I agree with u 1000% that he was nervous out there, playing real meaningful minutes. and he definitely cant perform worse than Mike Bibby out there, who isnt even a PG anymore. hes just a player clearly past his prime who doesnt even drive or create for other players and just shoots 3's all the time. T-Douglas is a SG, and his injured shoulder doesnt help at all, and hes another one who just jacks up 3's all the time and doesnt dish out the ball. But i think the JLin groupies need to relax and realize that AT BEST he's a backup 15-17 minutes per game PG in this league. Where do these all expectations come from anyway??? Just bcuz hes Asian I bet. I like the kid but im a realist and dont expect him to be an NBA All-Star like all these other guys in here do.
DeleteMy high expectations for Lin have NOTHING to do with his Asian ethnicity.
DeleteI follow Jeremy Lin because his on court performances suggest that he eventually may be capable of big things on an NBA court. So far, Jeremy Lin has done nothing to refute the claim thay he deserves more minutes.
To me, the NBA should have the best basketball players in the world. Due to many nonbasketball reasons, there are guys like Lin who go unnoticed despite having NBA ability. I am a big follower of those players because I don't like watching scrubs like Jonny Flynn when I can be watching good players like Lin.
Lin is not the only player I follow. I follow lots of guys who are not Asian. I am very interested in Omar Samhan, who I think would eventually be a very good NBA player. I also kept my eye on Trajan Langdon who has played very well overseas. Walter Herrmann is another guy who I think is a terrific NBA player who never got a real chance. I never could figure out why Lawrence Moten could not play in the NBA. I think that Theo Papaloukas would be a good NBA player right now even though he's old, though I don't feel the same way about Dimitris Diamantidis who is sort of like a Greek Jeremy Lin without the penetrating finishing ability.
Going back a bit, I am a huge Nick Galis fan. There's a guy I like more than Jeremy Lin I believe that he is one of the greatest guards ever to play the game even though he never played in the NBA. By the way, Galis supposedly scored 50 points against Michael Jordan and his Tarheels when Galis was dominating Europe on ths Greek National Team. I think Galis would have been an incredible teammate to Bird and Parish and McHale on ths Celtics who drafted him and later regretted cutting him. I would have liked to see if Galis could have scored 30 against the 1996 Dream Team, as Drazen Petrovic scored 24 against them. Both Petrovic and Sarunas Marciulionis insisted that Galis and Jordan were the most unstoppable scorers they ever played against, and Petro in particular was a great NBA player (All NBA 3rd team).
If I liked Jeremy Lin for racial as opposed to basketball reasons, I'd be hyping Yi Jianlian who has done far less with more chances than Lin has. Personally, I feel that Yi is not truly capable of playing in the NBA and needs to learn how to do something other than drive to the hole and dunk.
Guys like you who assume that guys like me like Jeremy Lin just because he is Asian are the same guys that felt that Lin can never succeed "at the next level". The thing is that I'd agree with you if Lin wasn't constantly having games like this at every level of basketball he's ever played. So far, I see no reason to doubt Lin's ability to succeed big in the NBA.
I never said that Lin cant succeed in the NBA. I do think he can, but he'll be nothing more than a backup PG at best. All these JLin groupies in here talk about him like hes NBA All-Star material, and whine & cry when he doesnt play any minutes. Relax, he is in his 2nd season, which and I dont even count his rookie year cuz he spent alot of it in the D-League. Believe me I pull for JLin & Id rather see him run the point rather than seeing Bibby and Toney Douglas out there jacking up 26 footers. All the other players u listed, theres a reason they didnt play in the NBA. Dont compare dominating a European league to the NBA, remember the NBA has the best players in the whole world. & lastly Jonny Flynn is nothing close to a scrub. Hes just in another bad situation with Houston. Hes the 3rd string PG behind Lowry and Dragic. thus he gets no playing time. And last year in Minnesota, they signed Luke Ridnour and went with him at PG cuz hes an established veteran. Look at Flynn's rookie season, all he needs is playing time, just like J-lin does, but in no way do I think they compare. Flynn is clearly a better player.
DeleteWell, at least we're off the race thing.
DeleteLots of people incorrectly assume that the best Euroleague stars cannot measure up to the worst players on NBA rosters. That has proven to be totally.false over repeated instances. Juan Carlos "La Bomba" Navarro played quality minutes in the NBA but chose to play in Spain. Magic lottery pick Fran Vasquez seems to be waiting for Dwight Howard to leave in order to play center for Orlando. Andre Kirilenko chose to stay in Russia over the NBA. All of these players are stars who started their careers overseas and are highly regarded.by NBA personnel.
Galis is a great player who beat the Soviet team all by himself, according to legebdary Soviet coach Alexandr Gomelsky. That Soviet team had Sabonis, Marcioulinis, and Volkov who all played in the NBA. Galis had repeated offers to join the NBA but turned them all down. Do not assume that Galis could not play in the NBA, especially since he averaged 28 ppg in his senior year at Seton Hall and was a superb player. Drazen Petrovic who was an NBA star rated Galis higher than himself, and Hall of Famer Bob Mcadoo was amazed ny Galis too.
I politely but totally disagree with you about Jonny Flynn being better than Jeremy Lin. I cannot imagine Flynn being an NBA player, not even a 3rd stringer. Flyn has been one of the worst statistical performers in the NBA, especially since that hip injury that knocked him out for a while. I could easily see Flyn struggling in the D league next year. Flynn is a great personality, but I openly question his ability to read situations on a basketball court.
Jeremy Lin, on the other hand, is a guy I think would be at worst a capable backup pg and possible starter. Whenever Lin is given real coaching and a whiff of a chance, he has historically dominated because of his well rounded athletic game and excellent court sense. And if Lin received real starter minutes and coahing (i.e. would somebody actually run a play for him?) I firmly believe that he will produce BIG like he has in every other situation he has played in.
Oh yeah.
DeleteI forgot to mention that the same Soviet team that lost to Galis's Greek team in thw 87 European Championship beat our vaunted 88 college team of NBA draftees including David Robinson, Danny Manning, Dan Majerle, Mitch Richmond, and other future NBA players. The Soviet team as well as the Yugoslavians who crushed our US collegians of Mourning, Owens, Kenmy Anderson, and other players were the reasons why the Dream Team was made. Both the Soviet Union and especially Yugoslavia were filled with future NBA players, yet neither country could even slow Galis down. Not even a college Michael Jordan could do that in two tries.
The "look test" that NBA scouts and fans use to rate players often turns out horrendously wrong. Flynn was picked over guys like Stephen Curry, let alone Ty Lawson who was a huge producer in college. Lin does not pass the "look test", but the production is there. Notice how every time Lin plays, he leads his team.in something?
As much as I like Lin, assuming Galis could not play in the NBA is a far bigger mistake. Red Auerbach said that cutting Galis from the Celtics was the worst mistake he ever made. Disagree with Red if you wish.
Lin needs to play more to get a deeper courtvision of the other players. Just like when Lin was driving in the lane and passed it back to jordan to get an easy 2. That's because Jordan knows where Lin will go and Lin knows where Jordan will go. They both played together in the D-league. If Lin plays with the others more, he will know where the others are and the others will know where Lin will pass it.
ReplyDeleteDragic isn't too shabby himself. So Lin went against real NBA talent.
ReplyDeleteI think he will be okay. As his first time playing so long in the meaningful minutes, it was actually a good performance. I hope his ankle did not get worse and he has next performance soon.
ReplyDeleteWho here thinks Jeremy needs to get more attention by getting a tattoo or coloring his hair like Dennis Rodman? That will make him more well known or make him look more intimidating.
ReplyDeleteI don't think so! He will be a laughing stock. And Dennis Rodman could do that cause he was a great player. Lin can't do that right now maybe when he gets recognized as an all-star player he could.
DeleteNL-NBA, Nemo was joking. He is too happy tonight.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone watch the post game interview? Is there any video you guys can post here? I would like to see how JLin said about the game.
Bottom line:
ReplyDeleteLin played only 20 minutes and still led ALL players (on both teams) in assists. And his A/T ratio was the Knicks' best.
Sure, he was playing against backups, but he was also playing WITH backups. It works both ways.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-knicks-fail-carmelo-anthony-houston-rockets-lose-10-games-article-1.1013548?localLinksEnabled=false
ReplyDeleteHere comes the media reporting on Jeremy.
"Iman Shumpert came off the bench for 11 points in 28 minutes, while the desperate Knicks gave Jeremy Lin 20 minutes. Lin had nine points and six assists, but the fact he played that much is telling of just how desperate Mike D'Antoni is for a true point guard. Baron Davis still isn't back, and the Knicks point guard situation appears to be a five-man rotation, with none of them looking like great options. Jan. 28 - 10:53 pm et" -rotoworld.com
ReplyDelete"It continues to get worse for D'Antoni and the Knicks and who can really say if and when it will get better. The Knicks, playing their fourth road game in five nights, collapsed in the second half and were embarrassed by the Houston Rockets, losing 97-84.
ReplyDeleteThe loss was the Knicks ninth in 10 games and their record is now 7-13, including a 0-3 mark with Anthony, who missed his second straight game with a sore wrist, thumb and ankle. Throw in the fact that Baron Davis wasn't available, Iman Shumpert was hurting, Landry Fields is struggling and what you had was Jeremy Lin running the point for the final 20 minutes.
Lin, who played at Harvard, gave the Knicks effort and a quick first step. But he's not Raymond Felton. He's not Chauncey Billups and he's not even Toney Douglas."
- nydailynews.com
"Jeremy Lin, the seldom-used point guard, played critical minutes for the first time, in a three-guard alignment in the third quarter. Lin, Renaldo Balkman and Steve Novak — all end-of-the-bench players — started the fourth quarter.
ReplyDeleteAll the hunting and pecking went for naught, as the Knicks absorbed a 97-84 rout by the Houston Rockets to conclude a 1-3 trip. They have lost nine of their last 10 games, the last two without the injured Carmelo Anthony, to fall to 7-13.
The game was lost in the third quarter, when the Knicks scored only 14 points and fell behind by double digits. Houston (12-8) pushed the lead to 20 points early in the fourth quarter against that awkward lineup featuring Lin, Balkman and Novak alongside Amar’e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert."
-nytimes.com
This is good production for an undrafted 2nd year player who joined the team in midseason (no training camp) and who has just played his first meaningful minutes in an NBA game.
ReplyDeleteToday Lin played essentially his first real NBA game. One cannot read too much into one game. After all, the undrafted Anthony Morrow scored 38 points in his first rookie game with GS and now he's an adequate backup sg and occasional starter.
Lin historically starts out in unspectacular fashion but gradually ups his game as.he becomes more comfortable. Let's hope that he gets more chances to adjust to the NBA game.
Guys, there was that one play where Jeremy did a sick bounce pass to Amare as he went into the lane resulting in a nice layup finish. I think there was a lot of potential in that play. If the coaches put any value in that, they may start to develop plays for Jeremy to dish to Amare more. Let's see what happens.
ReplyDelete"Toney Douglas really did make some nice passes early, penetrating off the dribble and either wheeling under the rim or drifting aside to dump the ball off for Chandler. As the game progressed, though, the usual ineptitude of he, Iman Shumpert, and Mike Bibby was palpable (especially in a lineup that saw all three on the floor at the same time)! So D'Antoni threw up his hands and put Jeremy Lin in the game and Lin was...well, good isn't the right word, but he certainly wasn't any worse than Douglas or Shump at running the point. He got into the paint pretty easily, made some nice, clean passes (6 assists), missed a bunch of shots, and committed 3 turnovers. Very Toney-esque, in fact!"
ReplyDelete-postingandtoasting.com
Jeremy led with a game-high 6 assists, which says a lot, considering the Knick's assist leader for the season is Carmelo Anthony with 4.3 per game.
ReplyDelete"After crunching some numbers and throwing in some exotic fomulas I came to the conclusion that Jeremy has a 78.4% chance of entering the game tonight."
ReplyDeletewow, you were right!
video anyone?! aman2k?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI found the post game interview videos:
ReplyDeleteStoudemire, Chandler, and Lin all expressed frustration after the Knicks' loss to the Rockets. Watch their full postgame interviews.
http://knicksnow.com/videos/378
Jeremy says that was the first time he's actually gotten to play with Amare and Tyson on the court. Wow, I am curious to know what goes on in practice...
DeleteI didn't think Lin played poorly, I thought that he played as well as you can expect someone playing some of their first meaningful minutes in a while can play. He made mistakes, but they were lack of experience mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI thought that he played phenomenal defense at his position (perhaps he over-helped a little), he got into the lane and made plays, and he tried to create high percentage opportunities. He doesn't hold the ball and his passes are really accurate, usually right to a teammate's shooting pocket, or where they can otherwise score.
I saw something in him. Sure I'm a huge fan of him, which gives me a bias, but I thought he made the right plays, penetrated into the lane and played good defense. He's better than any of the Knicks' point guards. If he doesn't get more playing time, it would be a damn shame.
Lightning is totally right. Seems like everyone is only focusing on how the team collapsed and Jeremy was part of it, but no one has given any attention to his defense. It was excellent if you see how well he guarded and prevented his man from scoring most of the time.
DeleteI like what I read below:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-knicks-fail-carmelo-anthony-houston-rockets-lose-10-games-article-1.1013548
"Lin, who played at Harvard, gave the Knicks effort and the type of penetration they haven’t gotten from any of their point guards this season. But Lin, who was in the D-League last week, had played just 22 minutes this season. It’s asking a lot of him to become Chauncey Billups or Raymond Felton.
Lin did finish with nine points — two more than Toney Douglas and Mike Bibby combined. Fields was held scoreless, and Bill Walker failed to duplicate his performance from the Miami game and scored just five in a starting role." -Frank Isola
Does anyone have a link to download the game?
ReplyDeleteTo download? Yes but Aman2K will have it up eventually. Just a matter of waiting.
Deletehttp://nbaspot.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=25489
gensu3k1 from RealGm says:
ReplyDelete"Lin is absolutely awful. Incredibly slow, plays scared, probably the worst finisher at his position in the entire league. It's amazing to me that any of you saw his performance tonight and thought it was in any way impressive."
http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1156633&start=15
Funny Gif responses from others! lol
I have a good feeling that Jeremy will be the turning point for Knicks in the upcoming games. Everyone knows that Knicks needs a point guard that perform like a point guard and after tonight's game, i think it is safe to say that currently there is no one else better than Lin in the team. If D'Antoni fail to see that, then he doesn't deserve to be a nba coach.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/iman_off_the_point_nojkS7vBRFdPJ7LKYE4AiJ#ixzz1krJ1TNz6
ReplyDeleteThis article suggests Lin has a chance to get some more P/T depending on how Douglas does or doesn't.
Check this one out:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.postingandtoasting.com/2012/1/29/2756275/toney-douglas-is-back-at-point-guard-for-now?ref=yahoo
His defense was impressive. I can only remember him closing out on Flynn in the corner, turning 180 and runs towards the middle to strip him clean.
ReplyDeleteI like how the NY press is criticizing Lin for not being as good as Billups and Felton.
ReplyDeleteIn a weird way, I see that as a major compliment. It's remarkable that an unheralded player like Lin can even be compared at all to those two successful ex Knicks point guards.
The way things are going, Lin might crack that Knicks starting lineup. Then the press can go crazy and compare him negatively to Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis too!
LOL you got that right Huang. The media will do what they do best, which is attack people who perform poorly for their home team (Marbury, Obama, Lebron, and now Lin). As for Lin's exposure, I feel that it is kind of premature. Since he was the 3rd string PG going in to this game, it wasn't him who lost, it was the players who were "above" him in the depth chart who failed the team. I would say the criticism is fair if Jeremy started the game and resulted in a blowout. Looking at stats purely, there is much argument that he should deserve to be given a chance to start. Let's see how this plays out.
DeleteActually, I think that the media has been in utter awe of Lin's superb performance(s).
DeleteI see the media complimenting Lin by comparing him to Billups and Felton. Scrubs are not expected to fill the shoes of NY's two most beloved pgs of recent years. The media is genuinely expecting Lin to be a savior becauss he showed enough good play in this short stint to whet their appetites.
The NY media is finding out what we all have long known here at jeremylin.net: that Jeremy Lin is a bona fide NBA talent who possibly can become a solid rotation player if given the opportunity.
Folks, any highlights of the game? Just saw the box scores, and the assist number is rather high compared to the other all star guards on the team. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's not Lin thats the problem....he has no support everyone he pass the ball to seem to miss the shot so we cannot blame him. Lets see what D'antoni do the next game. It would be nice if Lin is backup for douglas.
ReplyDeleteGood point.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that Lin was thrown into this game with no warning or adjustments. I'd imagine that he had nobody giving him advice because nobody really knew what he could do. Lin had never even played with some of his teammates before. Likely Lin was thrown out there as a human curse finger extended from the coaches toward their poorly performing guards. And STILL Lin produced.
I am not so concerned about Lin's "Band Aid" moments this season. Every NBA player who plays real minutes has a niche defined by the coaches, and Lin does not seem to have one. For all we know, Lin could be playing 20 min against NBA starters next game or he could be playing 20 min against D league backups in his next game. Lin can only be as successful as his coaches allow him to be.
I would imagine that Lin poses a quandary for the Knicks. He hasn't had opportunity, and one can point to his low fg% and high TOs as signs that he cannot play. On the other hand, he is producing in his minutes despite essentially playing pickup ball with his players being the last ones picked.
I feel that if the Knicks are just going to throw Lin out there without coaching or a set role, they should waive him by Feb 10. Putting any NBA player on the court without defining his role would devalue that player's stock. If the Knicks keep him, then the coaching staff needs to either start coaching Lin for real or keep him off an NBA court and use him strictly as a practice player.
It seems that NYK is as bad as GSW as an NBA organization. Both are losers...
DeleteYou are totally correct. NY and GS have been losers for years.
DeleteThe main problem with both NY and Golden State is that they have had meddlesome owners who hire good basketball people but then quarrel with their employees on basketball decisions.
Teams that win have coordinated efforts. The bottom listens to the top and the top listens to the bottom. They can hate each other, like in Chicago with Jerry Krause and Phil Jackson or LA with Jerry West and Pat Riley. But when the make.basketball decisions, everybody is on the same page.
The Knicks under James Dolan always try to get the most expensive talent money can buy. They then leave it to whatever hapless coach to sort out that talent, even if the talent doesn't fit. If it fails, coaches and GMs take the fall even.though it's Dolan who's screwing up the team by playing bad fantasy basketball with his real life players. That's why no coach or GM can seem to win in NY.
Jeremy Lin has to put up with this as a Knick. Oddly enough, Dolan's inept roster shuffling seems to have created the BEST opportunity Jeremy Lin can get rigt mow to prove that he has NBA talent. The worse Dolan's handpicked guards play,.the more Lin gets to play.
Years ago, Dolan went through this with Coach Jeff Van Gundy. He put 7foot stiff Felton Spencer on the Knicks when it was clear Spencer could not play. Van.Gundy played Spencer heavy minutes to spite Dolan and then quit. Now Danto.i is playing Lin heavy minutes to spite someone (his nonperforming guards? Dolan? Himself?)
The bottom line is that the Knicks front office ineptitude just might save Jeremy Lin's NBA career!
KHuang,
DeleteSlow down for a second. I respect your opinions but I am not sure where you get that Golden State has a "meddlesome" owner. As a Bay Area native, I'm well aware the Warriors have not been good for years. New owner Joe Lacob is enthusiastic and from some sources, had some input on things. However, I don't think he meddles in the day to day affairs of the front office or coaches.
Remember, Lacob was the one that pushed the Warriors to SIGN Jeremy Lin. The Warriors released Lin in a failed attempted to land some free agent centers (which we badly need). The Warriors tried with Ish Smith and Charles Jenkins as back up PG's and that has gone away. Smigh was released when Kwame Brown got hurt. Jenkins is not playing and the Warriors are running a three guard rotation with Rush swinging to guard every now and then.
If Lacob had not bought the team, there is a chance Jeremy would have never signed with the Warriors. He may have signed with the Mavs and things could have gone differently BUt can't worry about that now. Jeremy may get a shot down with the Knicks going downhill.
I totally agree with you that Lacob seems to be a good owner.
ReplyDeleteMy sentence said that the Warriors have "had" meddlesome owners before. I actually used the past tense to EXCLUDE current owner Lacob from the meddlesome bunch. Like you, I feel that Golden State is headed in the right direction.
Lacob wisely fired Keith Smart who I felt was not a good NBA coach for Lin. I don't know how Mark Jackson would have treated Lin, but I suspect Jackson would be a better coach for Lin than Smart or Dantoni. I am a huge fan of Mark Jackson the player and strongly believe that he has the right skillset to help Lin.
I also don't know what Jerry West thinks of Lin. My uneducated guess is that he is not impressed with Lin. The thing that rocked my faith in Jerry West was that Shane Battier said that West didn't like his game. I love Battier because he is a glue guy. Similarly, I didn't like how Jerry West openly complained that Mike Bibby should never have been dealt for Jason "White Chocolate" Williams who I felt was a more dynamic and talented player than the shoot first Bibby. That said, Jerry West is a great basketball man who I have no business questioning.
I wouldn't mind seeing Lin return to the Warriors next year.
Kevin McHale is the ideal coach for Lin. In addition to being a very intelligent coach (instead of going on "gut" and snap judgments), he really appreciated JL's talents and valued defense. He even said outright: "Jeremy Lin is a GOOD player." [emphasis his, not mine!]
DeleteUnfortunately, once they signed Dalembert (a great pickup), either Lin or Flynn had to go and JL was the one without a guaranteed contract. They didn't offer Flynn an extension and he hasn't been playing much this year. So maybe Lin returns to Houston next year.
But I still think NY is the best place for Jeremy. It's such a mess at PG, he might finish the season as the official backup if he keeps up the good work and makes a couple 3s, heh.
Game highlights vs Knicks!!!
ReplyDeleteLonger version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0yaNY9nuBQ
Shorter version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mBOFu34-sU
Video about Jeremy Lin talking about how wasn't surprised when Houston waived him.
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpxupAKeIkM
Thanks for the video. Jeremy seems to have good rapport even with his former team mates. His basketball skills are what counts of course, but being a good "ambassador" is a factor too.
DeleteThank you for the highlights.
DeleteJL had a better game than the stat. I think JL is a smart player who will use this experience to adjust his game. You can see that he is making adjustments already during the game.
When JL drive to the basket, if his teammates follow him, they may get the rebound and a quick put back.
Video of Jeremy Lin talking about possibly future Asian-Americans in the NBA.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBJHkIZPXK0
Whatever team Lin ends up on next season (and I truly believe that it will be an NBA team), I would hope that his (new) coaches actually put him into their gameplan.
ReplyDeleteRotation players in the NBA are not just sent onto the court without preparation to fend for themselves. For example, Toney Douglas has been officially made the Knicks starting pg and is likely being given specific instructions on what is expected of him. Lin is likely being sitting in team sessions and listening to the coaches instruct other players, but I seriously doubt that he is getting any individual help from the coaching staff. If Lin fails, the coaches will assume it's Lin's fault even though they haven't done anything to help him.
This is why Lin impresses me so much. He's not getting real coaching, yet he's learning by osmosis with no visible NBA mentor. Lin gets sent into battle against opposing teams whose rotation players have specific game plans and scouting reports designed to stop him. Despite getting sent out there with no coaching, Lin manages to outplay the Knick guards that ARE getting coaching. To me, that makes his achievement even greater.
I agree that Kevin Mchale would be a terrific coach for Lin. Mchale is noted for working with big men after practice, but I'd imagine that he would know how to develop Lin. Plus, Mchale appreciates Lin's game and likely would play him if the Rockets weren't already set at the guard positions. I still think McHale would find a way to coach and play Lin, even with that solid Rockets backcourt.
Another team that has a coach I really like is Charlotte with Paul Silas. He historically has been a great coach for struggling players, though he was also Lebron's first pro coach. Anybody that can turn Kwame Brown, BJ Mullens, Gerald Henderson, and DJ Augustin into pro players is a GREAT coach. However, Silas keeps getting his team dismantled by Michael Jordan who has become the Eastern Conference version of Donald Sterling (though Sterling no longer has yes-man Elgin Baylor as GM to carry out his insane orders despite massive objections from Baylor who had no choice but to do what his owner asked). If Lin signed with Charlotte, Paul Silas would probably raise Lin's stock enough such that Jordan could trade him after his first season for a 2nd round draft pick.
At this point I think D'antoni will be gone before Jeremy. Right now he is the only guard working his way into the paint and looking for the dump or kick out. That is what a true 1 does and should do. Involve your bigs and get them the ball where they can quickly score or draw fouls. Hit the 2 and 3 when they correctly ball drift. You can see that Lin understands this. Unfortunately, the coaches do not. I hate watching Melo hold the ball for 5 seconds contemplating how he is going to go one on one and use up another 10 seconds - is this what you would want as a coach? When Paul, Nash and Rondo are on the floor everyone WANTS to play because they know they will be involved. Lin is of the same make.
ReplyDeleteHave been curious why Lin got so much playing time this last game. I'm wondering if it's because Baron Davis' comeback is slow and the Knicks must make a decision about whether to guarantee his contract.
ReplyDeleteThe role that Lin plays will depend heavily on what team gets him.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in the NBA, a guy who is versatile and can play multiple positions can be thrust.into no win situations where he can only perform average at best.
Dallas drafted Ohio State's do-everything guard Jimmy Jackson at #4 in the Shaq-Zo draft. Jackson was a 6'6" bruising swingman who essentially played all 5 positions for OSU. He gets to the NBA and scores 25 ppg in his 2nd season alongside Jason Kidd and Jamal Mashburn. But then the insane pre Cuban Mavs traded him because of a perceived feud with Kidd over Toni Braxton who neither of them were interested in. Jackson then bounced around the NBA for like 15 teams because he was a Band Aid who could play 4 positions and erase the mistakes of the guys screwing up around him. I felt that Jackson was never ever used right since his 28 game rookie year and his awesome 2nd year. He should have been an All Star every year at SG had teams used him at just one position.
Syracuse's Billy Owens was terrific player. I didn't think he was a scoring star, but he was a solid glue guy who could play all 5 positions in the NBA. That is how Don Nelson (ab)used Owens when he would have been a fine power forward or backup center exclusively. Owens never was used right after GS and flamed out.
I love Coach Paul Silas, but it is hard for me to watch the way he is using Boris Diaw. I liked Diaw in Phx because he was a skilled sf who could score 20 a game playing against other sfs. Diaw started out in Atlanta as a PG, played PF in Phoenix, and was Charlotte's starting center until Silas shut him down. I still think Diaw is mainly a rangy point forward who belongs on the perimeter, not as an undersized big man who is the only guy on the roster with enough defensive smarts and skill to play against Bynum amd Gasol.
Everybody is typecasting Lin as a PG because he is listed at 6'3" without shoes. But put him in shoes and he appears to be 6'5". While I do believe that he would be a fine backup NBA point guard, I am a bit surprised that teams aren't using Lin as a low usage defensive stopper like Bruce Bowen, Sasha Pavlovic, Deshawn Stevenson, Shane Battier, or Keith Bogans. Of course, I feel that Lin can create shots for people much better than those guys can and so he is playing well as a pg. I'm not saying that Lin's ceiling is Pavlovic or Bogans, but I do believe that he'd excel in such a role.
Then again, NBA teams are using Lin strictly as a pg and not as a combo guard or defensive stopper. Frankly, I as a coach would be sorely tempted to try Lin not just as a defensive stopper but also as a SF against teams like NJ that have smaller players. That's why I am not smarter than the people that run NBA teams.
with shumpert officially off pg duties, bibby laying down and throwing dirt on himself, the likelihood that #17 is gonna see some more quality minutes behind douglas is looking promising. i'm confident that if jeremy gets in the game with amare and tyson together, he'd work his magic off the dribble. he's not confident when he tries to take it strong to the hoop, but with the big guys in the game, i doubt he'll attempt to do that too often. somebody PLEASE tell bibby go get another laser treatment on a tattoo? get him to do anything but play in a knicks uniform?
DeleteJLIN makes ESPN's Knicks by the #'s video on the Knick's ESPN site
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:7516630
Listen to Stephen, he talks about the knicks and Jeremy Lin
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=7520568
I hope JLin will play tomorrow to show them all that Jeremy is a good and necessary point guard for the knicks. And maybe than let him play 5-8 minutes a quarter. The other point guards don't really drive the lane, they are looking for the 3-point shots. If the other team gets comfortable with those, Lin can get in and disrupt their pace with his fast drive in the lane.
DeleteOh yeah, and if they get confortable with Lin driving in the lane they will leave a man open to stop Lin. And I have seen that if Lin sees a man open he will pass to him. It can create an opportunity to score a wide open shot. Lin is a little unpredictable and predictable because he mostly does 2 things drive the lane and shoot it himself or drive the lane and pass it outside. The other team has to decide which one it will be. But there is a chance that they will defend all players one-on-one when Lin has the ball. If Lin can go pass his defender one-on-one he can shoot and after that they will most likely defend Lin more. If that happens there will be an opportunity to pass it to the open man.
DeleteStephen A Smith is a jerk. He's stupid and he's wrong about so many things. He insults Lin because of the school he went to, because the coach sent him to D-league. He's an idiot.
DeleteThe Knicks would like to know what they have in Davis because it could affect their interest level in power forward Kenyon Martin. An NBA source said the Knicks “are in consideration’’ along with five clubs, including the Heat. Martin could be eligible in mid-to-late February after getting out of his contract in China.
ReplyDeleteIn order to make room for Martin, however, the Knicks would have to cut point guard Jeremy Lin, who has a non-guaranteed contract. Lin played the game’s final 20 minutes Saturday, finishing with nine points and six assists and looking aggressive. D’Antoni may have wanted to see what he has in Lin because he could be needed as insurance for Davis.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/point_ed_critique_of_baron_QD3fVDTqpPB4UxYByNwXwK#ixzz1kztu8QJV
Nice article by the nypost. It is highly doubtful the Knicks will sign Kmart especially with this team sinking so fast. I think they would rather go for a lottery pick then to spend more money on a losing team. With Baron looking more fragile everyday, and Bibby sinking fast, It would be the best idea to keep Lin.
DeleteJeremy Lin gets so much unwarranted criticism. Every Knick news outlet has used him playing as proof of the Knicks sucking. Yet they don't look at how he plays, no, he was designated as the third string point guard, he's asian and he went to Harvard and he sucks. I haven't heard anyone other than a couple of Knicks bloggers, that was positive about him. HE'S NOT TERRIBLE.
ReplyDeleteNo one looks at his excellent defense, no one looks at his ability to carve through opposing defenses, no one cares about his ability to get to the paint, they talk about how he shouldn't be playing and only got minutes because the Knicks suck. That's bullshit. He's not perfect, but he has tangible skills that are applicable and valuable in today's NBA. He's never been given enough of a leash, it's always shorter than it is for other players. Nobody sees him as part of the future. He's a young player, teams should be looking to grow him, to fulfill his potential. But no. They relegate him to the bench. They don't pay too much attention to his play because he's simply the 12th or 13th man.
There have been so many players in this league that couldn't really play that have been given way more chances than Jeremy. I wish someone would take a chance on the kid and tell him "You're part of this team, we're going to give you a chance in our rotation this season, don't worry about getting pulled, just play your game." If this happens, and he comes up wanting, then fine, don't play the damn kid. But give him the chance that he deserves.
Rumor has it that the Lakers are trying to trade for Ramon Sessions
ReplyDeletehttp://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/218668/Lakers_Talk_Trade_For_Ramon_Sessions
That's a guard that Lin is comparable to, in my opinion. Alas, the Knicks will probably keep him. Sigh.
I see not a ton of people commented on the game itself......so some thoughts:
ReplyDeletePLUSSES:
1.
Was confident out on the court. He looked shaky in his first few games but obviously a little more comfortable now.
2.
Got to the key pretty easily, whether it was off the dribble or via screens.
3.
Teammates seemed to respect him to give him the ball. If you think about the Warriors last season, Jeremy might bring the ball up, pass it and never get it back.
4.
Of course, always looking to pass to his teammates.
5.
Quick first step and got by some of the Rockets defenders.
6.
He got some tough rebounds.
MINUSES:
1.
While he got to the rim a few times, he had trouble finishing. A couple of times, he tried to anticipate contact and missed the layups. He took a few off balance shots that didn't go in. He did try to adjust later by taking some floaters which was good.
2.
Had a bad stretch from the 10 min to 11 min mark in the video. He was probably fatigued but seemed to bounce back a little later.
3.
Made one jumper and missed one three pointer. Still needs to prove his outside can go in as teams will start playing his drives if he can't shoot.
Overall, there were more plusses than minuses and I think Jeremy showed a little something out there. It's a little unfair to pin the loss on a undrafted PG who barely played. If you put some decent players around Jeremy, I think the Knicks might have had a chance. Can't expect Jeremy to play like he did at Harvard and be the leading the scorer (though it would be fun to see a team let Jeremy do that....one can dream.....hahahah)
I'm hoping Lin takes all of this 'ridicule' as motivation. Work hard and prove em wrong Jeremy!
ReplyDeleteMike D'Antoni's list of favorite players and their analysis.
ReplyDeleteJared Jeffries: One dimensional, plays only defense. Couldn't drive against a 5 year old even if you gave him Jordan legs.
Mike Bibby: So washed up, old and slow that even my grandmother can school him in basketball
Toney Douglas: Shoot first, ask questions later. Put up contested shots over passing kind of point guard. Throws boneheaded threes just like daddy D'Antoni wants.
Iman Shumpert: Great defense! but wait, what's he doing on the offense side?