It' been 3 weeks since Jeremy's knee surgery. With JLin just starting to jog, he is still weeks away from returning.
Also, I just saw on TNT, Grant Hill on the bench because of swelling in his knee. He came back after a few weeks from meniscus surgery. This should be a good reminder for Jeremy not to rush back. It's not worth the risk at this point of his career.
Here is another 2010 summer league game with Jeremy again scoring over a lottery pick. This time it's DeMarcus Cousins.:
It looks like Jeremy isn't going to fast-track it and come back in time for the playoff...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/18811864/jeremy-lin-has-swelling-in-his-knee-still-three-weeks-away-from-returning
Oh well, take care!
I concur. Knicks are definitely not beating Miami with or without Jeremy this year (next year though ....). Chicago is probably the same deal though they might have a bit of a chance with them. I do think they have a legitimate shot of beating Indiana though.
ReplyDeleteOn a separate note, my guess is we are going to be stuck with Woodson for awhile. Regardless of what you think of Woodson, I don't think his system will allow Jeremy to reach his potential. I also don't think he's offensive minded enough to win a championship. Only time will tell.:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/good-news-ny-knicks-mike-woodson-good-friend-glen-grunwald-interim-tag-gm-title-article-1.1066949
latest news from Jared Zwerling - ESPN New York
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin doing light movement and shooting .
Jeremy Lin is moving very gingerly still. Always tripped over himself once. Very little basic movement and shooting.
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started light shooting
I am not expecting to see Lin much even if he does return.
ReplyDeleteWoodson would be correct in not playing Lin much, if at all. The Knicks are on a roll and introducing a freshly recovered Lin would need to be done in small spurts.
I would be just as happy to see Lin shut down for the season as I would be to see him return.
Especially if the Knicks manage to beat the Heat in the 1st round without Lin, there is even less incentive for Lin to return to affect that chemistry.
DeleteLin has already proven himself he can play in this league. Even if he doesn't work out with Woodson's system, he can always leave or be traded to another team where he can get consistent playing time and play. And this is the worst case scenario. I know there are still a lot of doubters in the media or even among the Knicks fanbase. But let's just wait and see.
ReplyDeleteOr the Knicks can get Phil Jackson.
DeleteJackson is a Lin fan. He liked him in Golden State and was likely a reason why Lin was being courted by the Lakers before he signed with the Warriors. Plus, Jackson likes big ballhandling guards like Lin.
That said, Mike Woodson has done a phenomenal job with the Knicks and the record shows it. I thought he coached Lin extremely well. While I don't know if he would play Lin much next year, I do feel that Woodson would be a worthy coach for the Knicks even if Phil Jackson were available.
This is the NBA where wild things can happen. For all I know, Phil Jackson would join ANOTHER team which Lin would also be on. Eric Musselman and Mike Dantoni would be the assistant coaches while Micheal Ray Richardson worked with the guards and Kareem Abdul Jabbar worked with the big men.
i dont think lin would do well in a triangle offense. When was the last time a PG was featured in the triangle? The PG in the triangle really just has to shoot the three and play D. Not good for Lin
DeleteLegendary ABA coach Babe McCarthy had a name for small dribble driving scoring point guards of the type that litter the NBA today: "PISS ANT" guards.
DeleteTypical NBA piss ant pgs are shoot first small guards who move poorly without the ball and need lots of court space and iso screens to drive to the basket. They also defend poorly and do not function well in halfcourt offenses.
The triangle offense puts 2 floating men in one side of the court and 3 men in a rotating triangle on the other side. There is always a player stationed at the side of the lane, and it is not always a big man. Piss ant point guards have trouble with the triangle because that post player is always blocking the driving lane with his defender ready to help. This allows perimeter defenders to squeeze the piss ant players onto the sideline on the triangle side while the two man side can always be stopped by the big man rotating over. That is why Phil Jackson prefers tall physical pgs that can shoot midrange jumpers and insists that his small pgs be able to shoot 3s.
Lin is not a "piss ant" NBA PG. He is a big NBA pg who can move without the basketball, score from all over the court, post up, and set screens. Lin is less like Derek Fisher who could only shoot 3s off the option and more like Ron Harper who is about the same size as Lin and played extremely well in the triangle offense. With Lin's increasingly good midrange and postup games, he could play on either side of the triangle and be nearly unstoppable.
On the defensive end, Lin is Phil Jackson's kind of player. Jackson likes rangy physical athletes with quick hands that can blanket opposing piss ant pgs, switch down low onto bigger players, and play the passing lanes for scores.
Lin would do fine in the triangle or any other offense he plays in. That's because he is not a "piss ant" guard!
too late but I'll answer this also - the triangle does away with conventional PG role per se, because all 5 will be required to handle the ball. however, the characteristics that PJ probably saw in Jeremy is his great court vision (essential to see if a player should pass and cut on the strong side or weak side), his sharp cuts, good rotation play and wise decision making. D. Fish's flaws in being a conventional PG was well hidden when he ran the triangle offense. so yeah, just imagine if PJ is coaching Jeremy Lin now....
DeleteLatest quote from Woodson hints that he will have to "fit Lin in" -- not quite like the "Amare is definitely starting" when STAT came back. But I believe Woodson is a Lin fan too so if Knicks get past the first round, we should see Lin in action.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Lin met Amy Chua -- the tiger mom. http://bit.ly/IlxrCf
Well if Woodson said that he's dumb. When JLin comes back he will be healthy.. he already said I wont come back until I'm 100%.. so, whats to fit in? Comments like that from him get on my nerves especially considering he's playing PG by comitte right now and even if you havent watched the knicks you can tell its the weakest position they have on the team. If Knicks go out in the first round 0-4 or 1-4 which I think they will... I wouldnt say his job is safe. Playoffs start Saturday so well see.
DeleteCheers
Well you can't blame Woodson. Amare is the team's 100m man. You don't want to make your employer's 100m investment look bad and you want to please you employer and the stars with power especially Woodson is fighting for the job himself. On the other hand, Lin's still a minimum guy. We really can't expect him to receive the same type of respect as those established stars, This is harsh politics, unfortunately.
DeleteAgreed 100% that Woodson definitely knows Knicks is better with Lin (especially in the 4th quarter - see his 10-10 FT in 82-79 Knicks-Sixers 3/23 game even with only 4-17 FG).
ReplyDeleteCara is correct that Woodson is only being politically correct in his wording for Amare and Lin. Let's not read too much on what Woodson said.
Let's all hope that Lin is only coming back when 100% healthy, perhaps when Knicks is down 1-3 in the 2nd round and bring them to victory! Let Linsanity 2.0 begin with a touch of Willis Reed moment :D
I hope Phil Jackson will coach Knicks, I hope Lin will stay with Knicks! ;)
DeleteI agree we can't read too much into off-the-cuff interviews. Plus reporters sometimes select quotes to fit the story. For example, Woodson mentioned how he sat as a rookie because his coach (Holtzman) believed rookies should learn. That was twisted to become "Woodson believes Lin should sit". But look how he is using "The Rook" -- riding Shump like "friggin Secretariat" for 40+ minutes when Davis was hurting. My guess is Woodson will use Lin but very carefully. But that doesn't matter if we don't get past the 1st round.
ReplyDeleteI think Woodson likes Jeremy and knows that he's a good player. I heard him on Boomer and Carton once say that "he is a good play trying to be great" which pretty much sums it up. However, I don't think his system is conducive to getting the most out of Jeremy unfortunately. Also, I have doubts about this offensive coaching style. Despite what everyone says about defense, you still need a good offense (doesn't have to be great, but at least good enough).
ReplyDeleteWoodson has done a really good job with the team. However, I wonder if the main reason is because Carmelo is playing the best basketball of his life because he's trying to prove something.
Woodson's system is not ideal for Lin but I don't see how it is not ideal for the Knicks. The Knicks best scorer Anthony is at his best isolated at the post. He can score mostly and pass when doubled team. And Woodson just takes advantage of it. Nothing wrong. Let's be objective, Lin at his best is a 20-25 pt scorer as a 1st option as evident in the Linsanity period while Anthony is a 30-35 pt scorer as a 1st option evident by his latest period. At of right now it is clearly better to build the offense around Anthony than Lin.
DeleteI'm in total agreement with you about Woodson.
DeleteI am also on the same page with you about Carmelo. Yes, Carmelo's trying to prove something. He probably has achieved his objective but I'm not impressed at all...with the frequency the team fed him the ball, it shouldn't be difficult for him to have high score every game.
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DeleteI am also a biased Lin fan. And I also somewhat agree that Woodson's Anthony-centric iso system won't take any team to true contender status. But as of right now Anthony is at least and simply a better bet than Lin as evident by the pre Woodson and post Woodson results. Lin is simply not ready to be the main guy, yet. And I have no problem with him learning his trade behind the more established veterans. There are many routes to success. Let's not forget that Steve Nash didn't become MVP Nash until he got to a new team at 30. And Tony Parker didn't become this MVP contender when Duncan started to regress these last few years. There are only so few Derrick Rose and Chris Paul of the world where they are built around from day 1. I know that as Lin fans, we are all hungry for more Lin success. But we shouldn't be disappointed if Lin is to go the former route rather than the latter one. If Lin is destined to be a star, he will manage to shine no matter any system, situation and circumstance.
Deletei agree with Cara, usually a PG gets to his full potential on their 4th or 5th year. I dont want the knicks to put too much pressure on Jlin, just let him play and learn from the veterans. He will still be the starter when he comes back. If he can play well with Melo he can play well with anybody. Its too early to tell if those two can't work it out. I'm an optimist so by next season Melo will still get his 30 points average while Jeremy will get 20 plus PPG and 10 plus APG.
DeleteActually, Woodson only said that Lin was good at that moment and he could be a very good player. He never used the word "great" to describe Lin or his play. I don't know if he was trying to be realistic or trying to temper the hype. But the truth is that he never praised Lin the same way like he did with his seemingly favourites like Melo, Amare, Baron, Shumpert and JR Smith. I could understand his need to please Melo and Amare. But he seems to love the likes of JR over Lin? Mike Bibby over Teague at Atlanta? This coach is not without his problem and agenda...
Delete@Cara,
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you. The two primary reason's that the Knicks are playing well are because of defense and the fact that Carmelo is actually more motivated than he's ever been in his career. Carmelo Anthony is a supremely talented individual offensive player- probably the best in the league, but an offense built on having one guy hold the ball while everyone watches will never win championships. Michael Jordan never won a championship without Scottie Pippen, the offense, and sharing the basketball/trusting his teammates (ie see Paxson and BJ Armstrong).
Jeremy elevates the play of his teammates, and makes them feel involved in the offense which leads to better defense. There's no way they could have gone on that 7 game win streak without his ability to make teammates better and his desire to compete/win. During that stretch, Jeremy was the focal point of the offense. Admittedly, In the Woodson system, it is better for Carmelo to be the focal point of the offense because that is how the system is structured. This will become more evident next year once Woodson puts more of his plays in place. I don't believe his system will take them to the elite level of yearly 50+ wins for the next 5 years and championships.
BTW, I don't make statements without having strong logical reasoning behind them. I do feel like people on this blog are afraid to be "pro Jeremy" because we have gotten attacked for being perceived as too biased. I embrace this pro-Jeremy bias, but am more than open to honest critique of Jeremy's game and or
opposing view points provided **they are backed with logical arguments and not emotion** (ie Jeremy lin is a d-leaguer-- really? based on what ??!!).
Don't be discouraged by those silly comments. And at the same time don't be discouraged by Lin's less than stellar play and status either. Everyone has different growth speed. It's prefectly okay to be a late bloomer.
DeleteIdk, a lot of people think the Knicks should have a better record and be higher than 7th in the Eastern Conference. They have 3 superstar players in Melo, Amare, and Chandler.
DeleteWith all that talent, why weren't they winning more games ?
Because NBA basketball is 5 on 5 and not 2.5 vs 5.
Delete@jlinisasuperhero, I like how you think.
ReplyDeleteMore people on this blog should discuss strong logical reasoning and stats that showcase Jeremy's strength and weakness (yes, even a big fan like me can admit he has room for improvement :)
Let me start by briefly discussing 1 type of stat and its significance:
1. Rank 1ST on +/- with highest W/L% at 62% for NY Knicks Individual Player Floor Time statistics
http://www.82games.com/1112/1112NYK1.HTM
"The +/- stat is tied to team performance during the time that that particular player is on the court. The games official scorer records the differential in terms of gain (plus) or loss (minus)."
I can't copy the table here because it would look horrible but if you click on the link, you would see that Jeremy is ranked #1 with +/- of +142. Carmelo is ranked #5 with +/- of +75. It's even more amazing that Jeremy did it in only 34 games, 10 fewer than Carmelo.
This clearly supports the argument that Jeremy elevates the play of his teammates when he is on the floor.
Even casual fans can see Jeremy made an impact on both ends on the floor. How many times we watched him attacking the baskets with many 3-point plays followed immediately by a steal and deflection here and there culminating with long passes to his teammates to score? The +/- numbers don't lie.
Again, this does not say that Carmelo is less of a player than Jeremy. I think he is a supremely talented offensive and (sometimes) defensive player but he expends so much energy playing iso ball on the offensive end that he has to pick and choose to play hard defense (i.e. against LeBron). But like Jordan, Melo would need to trust his teammates more and more to win championship. That's why I believe he is truly excited to imagine him and Jeremy becoming like a Durant/Westbrook duo. Not quite sure if that leaves Amare to be James Harden :)
Jeremy still has a lot to learn but I believe Coach Woodson is actually good for his long-term career. I loved Linsanity period when he was #1 offensive option but I cringed everytime I watched hard fouls by Jason Kidd and other NBA players. Jeremy said it himself that as a PG, he can't score that many points. I believe at this moment he'd rather be #3 offensive option behind Melo and Amare and facilitating ala Steve Nash. And if Melo and Amare don't perform well that night, he can be the closer in the 4th quarter. Also, there'll be less jealousy and more camaraderie. He's still a 2nd year player after all so he wouldn't mind.
Any thoughts?
I think Lin absolutely has no problem of being a 3rd option on a playoffs team like the Knicks next season. He will be 24 years old and only in his 3rd nba season then. This role fits him and will do him better career wise than being a No 1 option on a hopeless lottory team. The only thing bother me at the moment is that seemingly collective effort in the media and among a lot of fans to push Steve Nash to NY. I mean Nash is likable but still are you kidding me? How could they be so hateful against Lin that they would think that a 40-year-old is a better choice than Lin?
DeleteThe utter irony is that Jeremy Lin would be more helpful to the Suns and Nash would be more helpful to the Knicks!
DeleteThe Suns need a scoring PG while the Knicks need a cerebral distributing PG.
Lin could easily come onto the Suns and fully replace Steve Nash. Nash would fit right onto the increasingly veteran Knicks.
@Cara, the media will always have to come up with something new to talk about no matter how unlikely it is. Will Nash want to come to NY for a meager Mid-Level Exception pay? Perhaps a small chance. But even more unlikely would be letting Lin go for next year, NY wouldn't want to lose a cash-cow like Lin, and that would invite some severe backlash from the fans.
DeleteBut @Khuang, I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of Jeremy Lin in Phoenix Suns jersey. It's my hometown too so I'd be bringing my boys to the Suns games several times a year :) Realisticaly, it's not gonna happen but stranger things have happened.
I think the Suns are already set at point guard with Aaron Brooks. They traded away Dragic for Brooks, they want Brooks to be their leading man.
DeleteThere is absolutely no question that Carmelo is pulling out all the stops to remind everyone that HE and not Lin is the superstar. All those questions, the Trade Melo twitter chants, the musings that he would ruin the chemistry of the team after his return from groin injury, must have really stung. Understandable though. The thing is, he now has to maintain this form from here on in, because suddenly there's competition. If he slumps again, the questions will be right back and even louder. In that sense, it really is in his best interest to involve Jeremy as much as possible and to try and form a tandem with him. Hence, the Durant/Westbrook comparison. Keep Lin onside, keep his form going and he will remain Carmelo the superstar. Anything other than that, and he's not going to have an uncomfortable time going forward.
DeleteOf course if the Knicks go ahead and beat the Heat and win the conference finals, this will all be a moot point. :)
A lottery team like Charlotte that acquires Jeremy Lin would not stay a lottery team for long.
DeleteLin has already proven that he not only can elevate the play of career benchwarmers like Jared Jeffries and Steve Novak, he can also attract quality free agents like JR Smith that want to benefit from playing with Lin. A team like Charlotte that cannot attract free agents would suddenly be able to do so with Lin as the team captain.
I find it amusing that people say Lin is not a "pure" pg when the NBA is littered with small shoot first "pure" pgs who pass only when they cannot score themselves. There are hardly any true pgs like Lin who actively try to improve the play of their teammates by featuring them. While I do not consider Lin strictly a passer, I do believe that Lin's ability to make his teammates better is as good as anybody I have seen in the NBA.
If I were a GM in danger of losing my job, I'd throw a backloaded multiyear MAX contract with a 1st year midlevel restricted exception at Lin. I'd make Lin the team captain and let him put guys in positions where they can succeed.
Just as Ricky Rubio singlehandedly saved the nearly incompetent David Kahn's job, Lin has already saved Glen Grunwald's job and would have saved Mike D'Antoni's job had Carmelo Anthony not engineered a team mutiny.
New update on Lin's rehab and doing lightly jogging and shooting, but he is moving very gingerly still. From ESPN @JaredZwerling(Twitter). Here's complete quote from his Twits:
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin is moving very gingerly still. Almost tripped over himself once...
Very little basic movement and shooting.Jeremy Lin doing end to end light knee-ups after shooting free throws....
Jeremy Lin doing light movement and shooting....
I still predict a potential 2nd round return for Lin with limited minutes. Adjusting to playoff intensity won't be easy. Keep that in mind...
NY are unlikely going to the 2nd round though. So let's not get any hope to see him again this season. But good to see Lin rehab nicely anyway. Hope he recover fully and have a great offseason to prepare for next season.
Deleteum...the last 'predict' quote was also quote from @JaredZwerilng thought...~not from me..., in case any misinterpret. cheers
DeleteI have a mundane question: Does Jeremy get a share of the revenue generated from jersey sales? I am hoping that Jeremy can financially benefit from the 2nd highest NBA jersey sales(Apr 2011 onward) as his pay cheque is relatively smaller than many NBA players.
ReplyDeleteJeremy is already very rich. Haha.
DeleteNot directly. ESPN TrueHoop says that the player unions have an agreement for revenue sharing from jersey sales that are distributed (equally?) to players.
Deleteundrafted player smashes ethnic stereotypes to star in the major league. Scores game 7 winner to knock out defending champs in playoffs. Faces racist tweets after he scores. NO - this is not a JLin fantasy. This is true story and it happened yesterday to Joel Ward after he scored for Caps v Bruins in NHL. (http://usat.ly/IThh3M#).
ReplyDeleteJLin fans everywhere should tweet support to @JRandalWard42. Show the world that this kind of behavior is NOT OK.
Absolutely. Despicable tweets.
DeleteI know, it's like hockey fans have never seen a Black person before. Same thing is happening to Jeremy Lin ... when he's the only one (One of a few) players of his race in a sport, he will get most of the criticism.
DeleteGreat to see Jeremy back to practice. I have mixed feelings whether to root for the Knicks to get past the Heat or not.
ReplyDeleteThere is no possible way the Knicks can beat the Heat this year. My prediction is that Miami will win in 6. The Knicks will make it at least an interesting series with Carmelo going off offensively. The fact that they will lose will be a good thing. It will make Carmelo and the Knick fans who are also Lin haters finally realize that they do in fact need a more balanced team to take it to the next level. This is what I was really hoping for...a Miami and Knicks matchup to prove the point- a team with an offense centered around Carmelo Anthony will never go anywhere. This will be another first round exit for the Knicks complements of Melo and his decision to quit on the team in the Dantoni era. They could have had better seeding had he tried, and would have had a much better chance with any team from Boston down.
ReplyDeleteThis is the Miami Heat's year and I believe they will win the championship. They are 40-6 when leading FG percentage with opponents FG % at 43 percent versus their 48 percent (5th in the league in defensive fg percentage). They are on a mission. I'm neither a Knicks nor a Miami fan, but I have grown to like Novak, Chandler, Shumpert, and Jeffries and of course Jeremy. I'm not concerned that Jeremy will be MIA for 6 months until next year. He's already made his mark, and if he continues to improve, his star power will only grow from here on out. Jordan was injured his entire second year, but people never forgot him.
I am afraid that if the Knicks lose as expected and especially have poor PG play, the fans, media, Anthony and Amare etc will push for Nash to come to NY. A lot of people around the league and fans love and endorse Nash and you can bet Amare will sure be the first one to want it happen.
DeleteYou're afraid of that? I would LOVE that. Jeremy can succeed anywhere, but he would excel without a ball-dominant forward like Melo. I'm afraid Jeremy will feel pressured to stay with the Knicks because he doesn't want to be seen as "selfish" (leaving the team he broke through with to go to a better individual situation).
DeleteStill, I'm fully buying into the "BrookLIN Nets" movement where Jeremy helps build that franchise into a contender.
I predict the Suns will sign and trade Steve Nash to the Knicks for Lin. I think it allows the Knicks to get rid of Lin without incurring the wrath of its fans. Since Lin is often compared to Nash, it makes sense for everyone. Nash also wants to be with the Knicks. It doesn't matter where Lin goes, his fans will follow.
DeleteJust read SI's cover story on LBJ. Very similar to Beck's story on Lin's summer where Lin worked on his shot and explosiveness. All elite players take hard looks at themselves and work hard to succeed. I'm still holding out hope for a NYK win over MIA though. My fantasy: NYK and MEM final: Linsanity meets Lesanity (see http://www.21shumpstreet.com/2012/04/linsanity-versus-lesanity.html)
DeleteI like LeBron more than Carmelo honestly. I don't know how he is as a person but as a player on the court, LeBron's style is actually very unselfish. And he really expands his game a lot since he came to the league and actually works hard on the defensive side. On the other hand, Carmelo's game is definition of selfish iso play. He also really didn't change much for so many years in the league and only half ass on D most of the time. I really wish Lin has LeBron as his teammate rather than Carmelo.
DeleteHave you seen the ESPN NY poll to chase Steve Nash vs Jeremy Lin in the offseason? Lin is leading at 66%
Deletehttp://espn.go.com/newyork/hot/?id=7770261
The main question is if Dolan, Grunwald and Woodson (if he's still there) want to win NOW with Nash or build for the future with Lin. This is being New York, I can see they justify chasing Nash no matter how popular Jeremy is in New York because Melo and Amare are at their peak years plus Amare's chronic injury (balky back and perhaps knees).
Can they get Nash and keep Lin at the same time? I wonder if the luxury tax would be prohibitive. If Steve Nash can mentor Jeremy for 1-2 years, Jeremy would be unstoppable very soon :)
The best way to learn is start and play, not warm the bench to watch Nash play. My this opinion will not be popular but this is my bold prediction: Lin will be better than Nash as soon as next season! So he doesn't really need to be mentored by anyone including Nash for 1-2 years!
DeleteHow come Jeremy Lin is not on this list. Even though he didn't play, his name should still be on the list, correct? Not that it matters, I'm hoping Lin gets a team that builds around him. http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=320426030
ReplyDeleteLin is a "forgotten man" now. That's okay. I don't think he minds one bit. It's not like Lin is short of fans. Haha. And also let the bangwagon Lin fans go away and true fans stay here. ;-)
Delete