I just finished watching the DVR of Jeremy's 1st/2nd quarter 6 minute stint. After reading the comments here, I was expecting a lot worse. It wasn't what I had hoped for as he didn't finish well and had a lazy turnover. However, after getting his pocket picked by Bradley early on, he settled down and handled it OK. He was able to get into the paint as usual and was active around the ball. His drive to his left past Bradley was called a block but in slow mo it looked like he had Jeremy's arm hooked. Overall, Jeremy was solid but not spectacular. However, his -1 plus/minus looks spectacular compared to Tony Douglas's -9.
I saw highlights where he drove in aggressively and dished it out to Amare.. Did he play the 2nd half???
ReplyDeleteMusselman, the former Warriors and Kings coach, said it's a "realistic goal" for Lin to become the first guard off the bench for either Curry or Ellis next season.
ReplyDelete"He's got intangibles you can't teach," said Musselman, who coached Lin for 20 games in Reno this season. "No matter how he's playing, he's always going to be an unbelievable loose-ball getter. He's got will and determination when pursing the ball.
"He can pressure and wreak some havoc, turn people. He's a change-of-pace guy who can do multiple things."
Lin's weaknesses? His shot and the ability to go left. Then again, Musselman said Lin kept defenses honest with his perimeter jumper, and Lin did shoot 39 percent from 3-point range.
Musselman did say Lin needs to improve his jump shot, and also said if Lin "could ever drive left like he does right his game could go to another level." But one thing Lin does have is something not every guy does: Toughness.
"When a guy comes to the D-League from the NBA, everyone wants to go at him," Musselman said. "He didn't even flinch. There are some hungry, junkyard dogs down here, and he's a tough-minded kid. Nothing fazed him."
Musselman said Lin did just fine when he had to guard bigger players, say 6-foot-5 or 6-6. If he can do that with moderate success at the next level, doesn't that make Lin a possible factor?
"That's the advantage he has," Ellis said. "We really don't need him for scoring. We need him directing the team and getting after it at the defensive end. That's what he brings."
Those of us who followed Lin last year at Golden State and Reno know how much of a Lin hater Steinmetz is, so that article must have burned him up to have to write.
Plus grudging comments from Monta, who didn't want Lin on floor with him because he was buddy buddy with Acie Law, as was Coach Dumbo (Keith Smart).
And remember his early playing time with Golden State he was always pulled from game after he made first minor mistake and never got into game again. Acie Law would stink up place and Smart kept just putting him back in there (there was one particular game where Law was -20 in first HALF of game, single handedly losing game for team, yet Smart put him right back in there in third quarter (he made a few good plays and commentators were saying how Warriors had now found their back-up point guard in Law).
Forgot link: http://www.csnbayarea.com/04/11/11/Lin-might-be-third-guard-Warriors-are-se/landing_warriors.html?blockID=501921
DeleteAlso can't find link to radio interview (KNBR?) Coach Musselman did last year where he said Lin, at worst, would be serviceable backup in NBA, but had a lot more potential if he could develop some things (forgot what he said, but I am guessing outside jumper and ability to drive left as strongly and effectively as he drives right).
Remember, Coach Musselman said Lin can drive right at will.
Found KNBR interview of Coach Musselman talking about Lin last year:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.knbr.com/HOSTS/DamonBruce/tabid/597/Default.aspx
IIRC, he said his greatest value is that he gets team extra possessions during games, and that, AT WORST, in 2 - 3 years, Lin will be a solid back up point guard who actually contributes off bench.
A few games ago, the Orlando Magic was horribly blown out by the Celtics.
ReplyDeleteAvery Bradley, the player guarding Lin, pressed All Star pg Jameer Nelson so hard that Bradley said that Nelson begged him to stop pressing. Bradley then told the press that he really started attacking. The Magic lost by about 40.
This is how it looks to me: It's OK when All Star Jameer Nelson cannot bring the ball upcourt against the Celtics and his team loses by 40. But the Lin haters want him out of the NBA because makes one turnover and his team loses by 1 point when he's in the game against the same team that destroyed All Star Nelson.
I am getting tired of people using negatively selective vision to proclaim that Jeremy Lin cannot play in the NBA. If people want to do that, they need to say that All Stars like Jameer Nelson and rotation players like Toney Douglas cannot play in the NBA either when they play worse against the defensively minded Celtics than Lin did.
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Deletedoc rivers said
bradley is one of the best 1on1 defenders in basketball, i dont bash lin for having problems against him. there a lot more established nba players, who had problems against him, when he started for rondo.
and you have positively selective vision.
DeleteJameer nelson made one all star team... i wouldn't label him as an "all-star," not at all. (especially this season, when he is out of shape and injury prone)
Let me just say that I am a Knicks fan first and an un-biased Lin fan second.
What I have noticed about Lin (aside from the obvious fact that he is able to defend/bring energy/penetrate/make plays against 2nd unit players) is that he will often have one really "ugly" mistake when he is in the game (eg getting picked by bradely; 2 bad possessions in the game against the bobcats; missed layup against lakers; etc.) You might say that every starting, rotational, NBA player makes those type of mistakes... However, Lin is not a rotational player for MDA. Thus, any of his mistakes are magnified and knit-picked against.
With that said, I think that Lin should be getting TD's PT... because TD is pissing the entire Knicks fanbase off. I think Lin will eventually become a solid back-up (rather on the knicks or for another team)... but when I read posters say that he will be an all star or that will manhandle rondo... it's just ridiculous
I am a basketball fan first, second, and third. I want to see the best producing players take the court while the less productive ones play as reserves.
DeleteMost of us agree that Toney Douglas is struggling at pg. I'd like to see him play more alongside Lin so that he can have shots created for him. Douglas can be an explosive scorer in short stints if he has somebody to feed the ball to him. I actually like Toney Douglas's game and feel that he can become a solid combo.guard as long as he is surrounded with players who can create shots for him.
Rondo just came off an injury. So this game would have been a perfect time to play Lin against him. Nobody here is claiming that Lin would "manhandle" Rondo who is a terrific NBA pg whether he is injured or not.
Jameer Nelson has made the All Star Team and is Orlando's starting pg. He is a big part of Orlando's success because of his wonderful starting caliber pg skills. But even he struggled against the Celtics. Besides, he got beat up in that awful Orlando blowout worse than Lin did in his short stint.
Any NBA guard is capable of making awful plays against the world's best guards. Even Jason Kidd has been run down the court and had his layup forcefully rejected by Sasha Pavlovic. Jeremy Lin has clowned a few guys by stealing their.dribble or blocking their shots or scoring on them. Besides, the stats indicate that Jeremy Lin is producing despite these mistakes. I don't mind Lin making.mistakes as long as his net production is positive.
As far as the assertion that Lin cannot be an All Star, maybe that is so. But let's see what happens if Lin gets regular minutes based on his steady production. At.the least, Jeremy Lin deserves more Knick minutes than the guys he is outproducing. Lin may have already beaten out Bibby and is inching up on Douglas. After Feb 10, none of us should be surprised if Lin starts and plays real minutes (especially if the Knicks are eliminated from playoff contention).
A starting lineup of Lin, Fields, Anthony, Stoudemire, and Chandler looks pretty good to me down the line. Of course, Lin probably doesn't even get to practice with those guys let alone play in games with them. Lin wouldn't even have to shoot the ball to be effective playing alongside those guys, plus he would have guys like Fields and Anthony who can help handle the ball. I would expect that the Knicks are giving Lin the coaching he needs to go out and not mess up the team whenever he steps onto the court.
I should also add that there is no PG in the NBA who can singlehandedly break any defensive trap in the backcourt. Without SGs and SFs who can dribble and pass, even players like Deron Williams and John Wall and Tyreke Evans will struggle to bring the ball upcourt and make plays.
The saddest part was the look on JLin's face when he was on the bench. He seemed like he was more upset with himself than anyone else, although he did leave the game with the team up half a dozen points. The main thing was to HOLD the score, he messed up with the foul on a 3 pointer but redeemed himself by getting a foul right after at the buzzer with .01 seconds. However, DAntoni decided to go with Tony Douglas and HE was the SOLE reason they lost. I saw him play, no drive, no passing, he just started taking 3 pointers and shots randomly, missing and losing the team momentum his defense sucked too. All he did was bring the ball up, pass to Carmelo and wait there or get it and shoot. No movement on the court, when JLin was playing there was a lot of "deep penetration". If he played JLin, I guarantee you he wouldn't have done as bad as Tony because its almost impossible to be 0/5 in 10 minutes and have contributed almost nothing. JLin got a chance to prove himself and didn't do the best, but the announcers were really supportive of him. They were amazed by he how moved the ball around, and that's more important than Tony Douglas just shooting the ball all day.
ReplyDelete"Bradley fired up his teammates, and he also appeared to unnerve Nelson.
ReplyDelete“He seemed like he didn’t even want to bring the ball up,” Bradley said in a postgame interview with NBA TV. “I looked at him and he kept telling me throughout the game, ‘You know what, don’t pick me up, don’t pick me up.’ And that’s when I knew, if I brought pressure, he didn’t want nothing to do with it.”
http://www.celticstown.com/2012/01/24/avery-bradley-developing-strong-confidence-in-defensive-abilities/
Bradley is a great defensive specialist. If we like JL's defense, I think Bradley is even better. However, when Rondo was out and Bradley took over the PG position, Bradley also have lots of problem running the offense. Pierce has to bring up the ball and initiate the offense many times against the Cavs. Look at his overall stat and you will find very low AST. At times he looks lost.
DeleteI think last night was a wonderful experience for JL. I believe he will quickly adjust to the pace. JL can't elevate to the next level if he don't know what it is. Go JL!
Not sure why everyone is so negative. I was following the Twitter trends during the game and while Lin did have that one turnover and was 0-3, the overwhelming majority of fans and Knicks beat writers wanted to see Lin in the second half instead of Douglas. Why? Because Lin can run the offense, penetrate and make things happen- something Douglas has failed to do this year. Everyone relax.
ReplyDelete"I really do think it’s time to see Jeremy Lin inserted into the second line up. I don’t see how his play would be any more detrimental. TD continues to have problems when he forces the issue. I don’t see Lin having that problem. I think he’ll come in, play his role, look to facilitate, and try to make hustle/toughness plays. The only way to know is to give the kid a shot…I think it’s time."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theknicksblog.com/2012/02/03/off-the-cuff-knicks-xs-and-os-breakdown-14/
Does Douglas ever even enter the paint? Literally, has he gotten to the paint in the past week with the ball in his hands? Doesn't Jeremy do this basically every second possession? Isn't this what breaks defenses down, opening up looks for teammates? If D'Antoni wants to run an offense in which the point guard is a spot up shooter that isn't shooting very well, and a guy that dribbles east-west, then great, Toney Douglas is his man. Every shot is a difficult shot when he's on the floor. Never do you see open looks for anyone except for the opposing team. If the Knicks want to win games with the roster they have, they need to play Jeremy Lin.
ReplyDeleteThis is Lin's stat right now:
ReplyDelete9 Games played <-- lowest same with Jordan
0 Games started
6.0 minutes per games <-- lowest after Jordan
3.6 points per games <-- 0.1 point more than Bibby
0.2 offensive rebound <--third of lowest. 0.1 more than Novak and Bibby
0.9 defensive rebound <--third of lowest. 0.2 lower than Bibby
1.1 rebounds per games <-- lowest after Novak. same as Bibby
1.9 assist per games <-- fifth place. between Douglas and Bibby
0.33 steals per games <-- third/fourth of lowest. same as Balkman
0.11 blocks per games <-- fourth/fifth of lowest same as Jordan
0.9 turnovers per games <-- 8th place between walker and jeffries
1.3 field goals per games <-- 9th place. Fields has 0.5 more. same as Bibby
2.1 assist to turnover ratio <-- second after Bibby
24.3 player efficiency rating <-- highest in Knicks
per game stats mean nothing because Lin doesn't pay enough minutes each game. Per 36 might be a better barometer...but keep in mind that most of his minutes thus far have been in garbage time
ReplyDeleteLin is in! Doin work!
ReplyDelete