New York magazine has some thoughts on JLin's impact on the Knicks' bench. I have to say that I agree with this analysis. One of the biggest problems that NBA teams have is when they have a SG that they try to make into a PG. There's a premium on good PGs, let alone great PGs like JLin can be (and some say already is) for this very reason.
Greg Damhorst (with Interfaith in Action) has a thought-provoking OpEd on the impact of Christianity on Linsanity and it's not necessarily the take you might think he would have.
great posts! love reading those kind of articles. The deep NY bench will be the key in this shortened season.
ReplyDeleteAnd teams that rely on the 3 super star formula will have to work extra hard in the playoffs. Lin just brought back the idea that basketball is a team game and each person is essential to victory.
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ReplyDeleteI miss Jeremy Lin's lock down defense. Last year, he led the Golden State Warriors (and the league) in steals and deflections.
ReplyDeleteEven Coach Smart would occasionally sub-in Lin to defend the guy who was blowing by Stephen Curry or Monta Ellis. He was usually the only one in a Warriors uniform to dive on the floor to retrieve a loose ball. He was the go-to guard to defend the other team's "last shot" attempt. That spoke volumes about his scrappy defense.
I don't see that tenacious 'D' anymore. Last night vs. the Cleveland Cavs, he was allowing Kyrie Irving to dribble right past him for layups and passes. Last year J-Lin would never let his man beat him off the dribble, and he wouldn't give up enough space to shoot over him either.
Defense at the point is the key to stopping the other team.
Yeah I know... I miss that too. It was still there in his breakout game against Deron. Later on I'm sure his legs were just dead. That kind of D is something he's giving away in order to conserve the energy for more important possessions down the line, and for the length of the season.
DeleteAt the same time it makes us appreciate how Gary Payton could do this night in a night out.
No guard in the NBA can defend effectively if he does not have a good big.man defender behind him.
DeleteGary Payton had Shawn Kemp behind him. Plus I saw plenty of games where Payton just got roasted by quick guards. I remember Tony Parker running a full circle around Payton while dribbling the ball before going in for an easy layup.
Lin often gets scored on when Amare Stoudemire is behind him. In the beginning of Linsanity, Stoudemire was absent. Stoudemire has historically been an uninterested defender that opponents exploit.
Did you guys hear that Keith Smart is returning as the Kings coach next year? Give me a break. The only reason he's being brought back is because he's buddies with his star players and lets them do whatever they want (like Monta and Cousins).
ReplyDeletehttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/sam_amick/03/02/smart.kings/index.html
Lin's defense seems to be turning Nash-like. He has a hard time dealing with screens.
ReplyDeleteThe Celtics game will be a good test for Lin. Rondo is one of my favorite players. The Celtics defense isn't what it used to be, but Rondo is still a top defensive PG and playmaker, he has a star ego, and I expect him to challenge Lin on both ends. At this point, I'm confident Lin will be fine against mediocre teams - he's past that gate. The test now is against the top teams that are picking up their level for their play-off runs and elite PGs who want to beat "Linsanity". The scouting report is now out on Lin and several teams and PGs have provided a blueprint to stop him.
Rondo is a championship level PG. If Rondo takes it to Lin on both ends on Sunday and Lin emerges the better PG, that'll be a promising indicator of Lin's ceiling. If the Celtics and Rondo stop Lin while Davis is able to run the offense effectively, then that opens the door for Davis to take on more point duties as the Knicks approach the play-offs.
The PG match up will be a good indicator of where Jeremy has progressed so far, but I do not agree that it will be an indicator of Lin's ceiling.
DeleteHow can you sensibly talk about an indicator for a ceiling when a player is only 12 starts into his career The use of the words ceiling is disappointingly disparaging.
If Lin takes it to Rondo on both ends, is that an indication of Rondo's ceiling or that Lin's ceiling is higher than a "championship level" PG?
That label itself seems to falsely assume that a PG which has won a championship is necessarily an elite PG.
It is a fact that Lin has been a major factor in transforming the Knicks into a winning team. We can only speculate whether Rondo would be as successful if he did not play with three future hall-of-famers.
I give due credit to Rondo for being an impressive play-maker. As for Jeremy, we still have a lot to see how much he can develope beyond Sunday's game no matter how he fares. From the 12 starts we have seen so far, the way he has played and how he has adapted, you should be more fairly talking about Jeremy's huge upside instead of a ceiling.