Airballing the game winning attempt is not what you dream about growing up. But it's these tough lessons that will make you, make Jeremy, a better player down the road. Yes, Jeremy choked on an open jumper to win it. I'm glad he didn't hesitate, dribble in and take a contested shot, or wait and pass it back to Harden. You make it, you're the hero, you miss it, you're the goat. I know it's hard for many of us to swallow, especially as we've been spoiled by Linsanity, but lets put this in perspective.
Here are the 3 point percentages of some of the all time greats in the beginning of their careers:
Michael Jordan:
First 5 years, first 13,442 minutes:
24.8%
Lebron James:
First year, first 3,122 minutes:
29.0%
It seemed like it took years before Lebron could make a clutch outside shot.
Kobe Bryant:
First 6 years, first 13,425 minutes
31.4%
Kobe tossed up a bunch of airballs during his early playoff career
Jason Kidd:
First year, first 2,668 minutes:
27.2%
Here is what Jeremy has done in much less minutes played:
3 years, first 1,467 minutes
31.1%
Oh yeah, and James Harden is shooting 25.6% compared to Jeremy's 30.8% through 7 games.
Now, this is not an excuse but just a reality check for those who think that he now a scrub because he airballed a shot. Yes, he is definitely not in the flow with this offense. I don't understand why he is not initiating the offense more. You could still have Harden come off a down screen to receive the entry pass to initiate the offense. But at least you put it in your best passers hands every time down. Also, he needs to get the outlet and bring the ball up 80-90% of the time. How many great half court passes has he made for easy early offense layups? How many has Harden? Putting the ball in Harden's hands to initiate has just killed his own efficiency as well.
However, I still think it is really up to Jeremy to step up and take control of this offense. He needs to show, by consistent strong play, that he should be running the show. I just don't think he has really found his mojo yet. He doesn't seem to be having much fun and everything really seems to be a struggle. It's still so early, but with JLin, everything is put under a microscope and it seems like he is feeling the pressure.
Maybe Lin should sue his "shooting" coach, Doc Sheppler, for malpractice.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, Lin needs to be more aggressive in his game and attack the basket.
He is now been morphed into a catch and shoot guy, which is not his game.
Yeah, Lin really needs to relax and just play his own game instead of deferring and thinking too much. He has to understand that missing a lot of shots and turning it over a lot and then getting benched is still better than doing nothing and hurting his team on the court. But I am not worried yet. This is the same guy who wouldn't back down from Carmelo. Harden couldn't be worse than Carmelo right?
ReplyDeleteNo. Harden could be worse for Lin than Anthony.
DeleteWhen Lin played with Anthony, Lin's role as PG was clearly delineated and his control of the ball at the point was undisputed. Woodson, a former PG, used Lin thoughtfully. Woodson also trusted Lin with the ball with the game on the line, even when Anthony was on the court, too. Under Woodson, Anthony and Lin played fairly well together and showed positive signs of developing into a G/F dynamic duo.
Structurally speaking, Anthony is a forward who, by his own admission, is not a point forward and depends on a PG to set him up. As such, Anthony has played well with Andre Miller and Chauncey Billups. So far this season, Anthony has meshed successfully with Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton.
Anthony would have meshed well with Lin, too. Lin's game actually fits well at PG in an offense built around Anthony. Anthony needs to play with a point guard AND a viable complementary perimeter scorer. Lin fills both roles. Lin's game is also a tailor-made fit with Kidd's game. In short, Lin would have thrived in Felton's current role with the Knicks playing with Anthony and Kidd.
In contrast, Harden is a combo guard like Lin. Harden can keep the ball away from Lin. Anthony could not do that. That means Harden can hog shots AND control the ball at the point.
Remember, when the Rockets first signed Lin, the promise wasn't that Lin would be a starting PG. Lin would have been the Knicks starting PG, too. The enticing promise of the Rockets is that the Linsanity conditions would be restored where Lin would be the Sun around which the young Rockets would revolve. The young Rockets would be Lin's team to shape in Lin's image. But then the Harden signing took that promise away and instead paired Lin with another higher-status volume scorer, like Anthony, who was also a ball-handler, unlike Anthony.
On the other hand, if Harden can channel his inner Manu better than he has shown so far, he potentially be an excellent running mate for Lin, and perhaps even develop into a better G/G combo with Lin than the naturally complementary G/F dynamic duo that Lin would have had with Anthony.
i never really believed that the rockets were going to build a team around jlin, with him being the "sun".
DeleteIt was Lin's team for a short while there, though.
DeleteBut yes, the talk never stopped that Morey was shopping for an established star with all those trade assets he had collected. But after Howard fell through, we didn't expect a major trade this early in the season.
More to the point, we didn't expect the Rockets would sign a max-contract guard who shared Lin's skillset. If the new Rockets star was a C, like Bynum or Howard, or at least an F, then Lin's role wouldn't have been challenged or required redefinition.
There is NO WAY Harden could be worse than Jeremy Lin.
DeleteAt least Harden can't get Lin KICKED OFF THE TEAM.
There's no way to spin that, even by a Knick apologist.
error: worse than Carmelo Anthony
Deleteoh kobe's had his share of clutch airballs.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzMYKBtl5Xw&feature=plcp
I don't consider Bryant especially clutch. I think he's played for an all-time coach and with clutch teammates who've carried him when he's played poorly with the game on the line.
DeleteNot making excuses for JLin, but airballs do happen.
DeleteD-Wade airballs game winner
you are trying to make up excuses for jeremy by putting him in the same sentence as proven champions? this is implying that is on the same level as these guys, which is absurd to say the least. we all KNOW jeremy has potential to be just as great, but let's get ahead of ourselves here.
Delete???
DeleteWouldn't the implication be -> Even players with this experience airball at clutch-time?
Yeah, that's what I was thinking, via. I don't understand how he came to that conclusion. Thanks for the link, great reminder to everyone that even star players are prone to these same errors. Although, I don't think it's fair to compare contested shots to Jeremy's open 3. Here are better examples, in my opinion.
DeleteLebron
Lebron as Cav
Bosh
Freethrows (these are mid-range, definitely uncontested!):
Rondo
Dwight Howard
Lebron
Blake Griffin
There are plenty more examples...
i guess at least Jeremy didn't do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMllo5cVQZ8
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis really ruined my night. It was pretty ugly the crowd and even other team were almost speechless. He came alive at the end of the 3rd and was a lot more active in the 4th especially defensively, had 3 blocks for the game, even stopping mvp Lebron on a play. hated having everything end on that kind of a note.
ReplyDeleteI think this new role of his is getting to him. If you watched the 4th, it wasn't even dribble around and pretend to work the offense it was give it to harden like pretty much his entire houston rockets career thus far. So the spotlight on a linsanity clutch moment all of sudden was maybe something he wasn't ready for. Its hard to turn something on that has been suppressed for so long.
JLin steal, fast break bounce pass to Parsons for a slam.
Delete[Brings Rox back within 2, 3Q]
Lin was tentative to start, found his groove in the middle, but then underused late. It's clear the Rockets haven't figured out how best to use Lin in relation to Harden.
DeleteIt's like Lin had a clearly defined role as team leader from his signing through the pre-season. Then that role - his role - was lifted suddenly from Lin's shoulders by Morey and McHale and placed on Harden's shoulders. And now they're trying to figure out the dimensions of Lin's new role as Harden's sidekick.
Ok i'm done following Lin and the Rockets for now. I've been caught in Linsanity for 8 months, it's time to take a break. This is not healthy, i'm emotionally invested. I don't dare to see the backlash from fans and media, it's ugly and i can't handle it. I hope you keep supporting him, you can be critical but don't flame him, that's the last thing he needs. Hopefully he'll come back stronger and take this loss as a wake up call. See y'all again in the future. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteWe gotta stick together, productive criticism or flame, blind followers whatever we're all on team jlin. The racists crawling out of the woodwork is disgusting. Harden actually blew the very last game tying shot and no backlash. It seems people just want an opportunity to hate on Asians. I'm guessing the movie Red Dawn is going to be a blockbuster hit for these low lives.
Deletehope you won't get so emotionally spent, 777am. Been there, done that in the Bulls era :(
DeleteIt might help to lower your expectations for the first 20-25 games because he is just not himself out there because his knee won't allow him to play his aggressive game on the offense.
It's not easy too watch as his fans but long term it will be good for his career not to overdo it now.
Lin will probably heat up by Jan or Feb.
DeleteThe racists hate on Lin whether he scores or not.
DeleteIf Lin wants to succeed in the NBA, he's going to have to take his lumps. ALL great players in the NBA went through moments like these - it's part of being an NBA star.
I'm not going to feel sorry for Lin no matter how much hate he gets. Lin is getting paid $25 million to be hated on!!!
Enjoy the game.
His jumpshot has a very slow release, and it's hard to get into that rythm when the defense is swarming him. It might work for high school girls team, but not in the NBA where defenders close fast and have longer reach.
ReplyDeleteHe needs to develop a quicker release that he can shoot on the fly.
My advice, get a new shooting coach...
According to ESPN sports science, Lin's release is faster than Ray Allen's release.
Deletehttp://youtu.be/oebq1J-R9tg
I think Lin is just a streaky shooter. And if his legs aren't right yet, then he'll be streakier than usual shooting because he relies on a lot of lift from his jump in his jumpshots. If his lift is inconsistent, so will be his shot.
i agree his release is very slow, that's why he has almost no mid-range game, and no short range stop and pop shot in the lane.
DeleteMaybe he needs to work on his arm, wrist, and triceps strength so that he doesn't need to rely so much on his legs, which might get fatigued in the 3rd quarter.
DeleteBtw, does anyone know why he's still putting ice on both his knees when he sits down ?
He has shown an effective mid-range game. He just hasn't had the chance to use it as much this season compared to last season.
Delete"does anyone know why he's still putting ice on both his knees when he sits down?"
DeleteTo relieve pain [analgesic]?
Phil Wagner: Ice is never good [for the healing process.]
Icing is just another placebo.
If it's just for inflammation, I would think it stiffens your muscles if anything. Fine if you're out of the game and don't plan to go back in (like pitchers in baseball), but it doesn't make much sense to do it every time he's resting.
DeleteI really hope the ice is not for pain, because that is a very bad sign.
I personally think that Lin cannot shoot a midrange shot with that funky looking shot that Doc Scheppler taught him.
DeleteThere's no flex in Lin's legs, plus he still looks corkscrewed to me.
When Lin was firing away in Linsanity, he had reverted to the shooting form his FATHER taught him. He turned his right side forward and let the ball fly comfortably. That's not what Lin is doing now with that uncomfortable looking squareup in his legs.
Lin's shooting form is the sole complaint I have of his game. Yet it's KILLING HIM. I think he overtrained his shooting in a wrong technique this summer.
I'd love to see Lin fly back to Palo Alto and shoot with his DAD. It was his dad that taught him the accurate NBA style shot that got him into the league, and so Lin should go back to what works for him!
His dad is in Houston at the moment.
DeleteMaybe he'd get the idea to do something with JLin about his shooting [?]
Lin won't win any shooting contests in empty gyms with that seemingly unstable NBA shot that his father taught him.
DeleteOn the other hand, that unstable looking NBA shot is great for scoring in a league where it's rare for a player to get his feet set before he shoots.
Obviously Lin has a shooting GIFT - 90+% FT% is evidence of that. On the other hand, Lin isn't shooting a jump shot from the free throw line.
Lin will talk to his father. It was those father son sessions that got Lin into the NBA in the first place! Lin needs to remember who he is and stick to what works naturally for him.
FT shooting and jump shooting are very different things. He should continue practicing drills, but in gametime situations it seems like he doesn't have the energy to put the ball up. Hopefully he's not wearing out his knees further from playing games and constant practice.
DeleteI don't want him to end up like Brandon Roy.
It's a tough loss. Rockets didn't lose because of Jlin's missed 3PT. They lost because of defensive lapses allowing Ray Allen to make a wide open 3PT and LeBron to have driving layup. They lost because they gave up the lead on the 2 possessions to let Harden be the offense with 7 seconds of the shot clock.
ReplyDeleteBu I am beginning to be concerned with Jeremy Lin's knee. Not because he air-balled the 3 pointer that could retake the lead from Miami Heat. No, he had the guts to take the shot to take the lead but he just missed it badly.
It's because a few possessions before that he tried to take over the game by going strong to the basket and getting an 'and-1' like so many times he did in NY last season … only to find out that his knee betrayed him. He couldn't explode to the basket and came down with such pain holding on to his left knee. Good thing Patterson got the ball and made the jumper.
I don't think the knee affected his missed 3-PT shot because he made two of them before. IMO he tried to be 'careful' in shooting the 3PT shot so that's why it came up short. He just didn't have the self-confidence because he couldn't use his strength to attack the basket explosively.
There is no easy answer for him because he probably won't recover 100% until20-25 games. He just needs to find his self-confidence to play more traditional PG role, keep shooting, make decent 30-35% 3PT FG. He is still dominating defensively but he just couldn't find his comfort zone not being able to drive aggressively to the basket.
Let's hope and pray that his knee recovery won't be regressing by playing heavy minutes. I have suspicion his minutes were reduced in the past 2 games due to problems with his knee. They wouldn't bring out heavy ice pack if there was no serious swelling with the knee.
He's just not himself out there. I'd rather him rest his knee for 5-10 games if he's regressing than jeopardizing his recovery timetable or even his future.
I didn't see that. Good catch. That's worrisome because a meniscal injury should have been fully healed by now.
DeleteIf his knee gave out just a few possessions before the airball, as you say, then it would have affected his last 3 pointer because Lin relies heavily on lift from his jump to get off his jumpshot. You take away his legs, you take away the lift he needs to shoot.
I usually associate playing back into shape as a matter of building up wind, muscle, and muscle memory (coordination). His meniscal injury last season was described as a 'wear and tear' injury. If his knee is hurting again like it did last season, he should do more than rest. He should get a second medical opinion.
Could be some scar tissue left in his meniscus that's causing some pain and swelling. If that's the case, he should not play through it.
DeleteI hope he's receiving some good medical advice and not some quack physical therapist for cheap.
Yes, icing/ numbing the pain and plowing through might not be the best thing to do...
DeleteIt actually takes more like a year to fully heal from ANY surgery.
DeletePsalm, I am glad you are not Lin's advisor. That's no need for Lin to sit out any games because he doesn't play well and is "not himself". The most important factor to earn coaches' trust is to be healthy and present in every practice and game, even more important than performance on the court. Just ask Royce White how missing a few days of training camp hurt him or Tracy McGrady how his injury run him out of Houston in the past. Lin has his doctors telling him if he can play or not.
DeleteNo, I said he should rest if he is regressing in the next few games.
DeleteI hope I'm wrong because he's been getting his conditioning back in the past few games and his 3PT shooting has been improving steadily but to have an airball after experiencing pain on the knee could be an indication something is wrong with the knee as Eric said.
One thing we all can agree is hopefully Houston has good doctors who can tell if it's just scar tissues that he can play through it or it's something else to take precaution. The last thing we want is for him to re-injure the knee. As you said, it's better for him to be on the floor and contributing than sitting on the bench.
[scroll down] Dr Wagner answers MTerry's Q about JLin icing his knee.
DeleteI think everyone just needs to take a step back and just breathe. This is only the 7th game of a very long season. This is a brand new team with young, inexperienced players and just added new players at the beginning of the regular season. It's going to take time to build up the chemistry. There's going to be a lot of experimenting to see what works and what doesn't. In the meantime expect a lot of rough road. Everyone has to set their expectations much lower. This is going to be a rebuilding year and if they make the playoffs I'll be totally stoked. Expecting any more and you're going to make yourself sick with disappointment. Plus you're going to drive other fans crazy. People want instant results, but it doesn't work that way. I'm not estatic about Lin's shooting or his tentative gameplay, either, but I'm sure there's a good reason for that and we just need to be patient and support him to get better. Thanks to JLinfan#1 for putting things back into perspective with this post.
ReplyDeleteBest post of the thread!
DeleteI am actually glad that Lin is having some kind of struggle so bandwagoners like some posters above can just go away. :-)
Good point. If Lin had returned to the Knicks, his role on a veteran win-now team, with a familiar coach, and familiar teammates would have been defined and comfortable for Lin going into the season.
DeleteLin's role was also defined for the Rockets before the Harden signing. It was his team to carry, like in high school, college, and the Linsanity Knicks. Then they suddenly took his team leader role away, gave it to Harden, and we've had to redefine on the fly our hopes and expectations for Lin as a Rocket.
The airball stood out due to the game situation and that the Heat left him open on the play. Missed 3s happen, and it's even understandable if indeed his knee is acting up again. More interesting is how Lin was used by his coach during the course of the game, which also may have been influenced by the condition of Lin's knee.
it's funny people now say to step back and relax because it's only been 7 games. I remember after their 2nd loss of the season which was only FOUR games in, people on these boards were calling for firing of coaches and trading of harden. ironic.
DeleteI don't know if that's addressed to me but I've never mentioned firing of coaches or anything like that. I know what you're saying though. People need to keep cool.
DeleteCara, I know things have been crazy here lately, but I think we can all learn to co-exist! We just need to slow down, read what everyone is writing and take a minute before responding. I feel sometimes that people are talking at or above each other instead of WITH each other. You can't have a good dialog when people are just shouting their opinion at you.
DeleteEric, I agree. Jeremy's NBA career has always been in flux so hopefully now that things are beginning to settle down, the team will find a way to gel together. It's going to take many more games if not the season. The knee problem really hampers things but hopefully it's getting better.
Contrary to Eric's stance, I do not agree at all that the Knicks are the panacea.
DeleteFirst of all, the Knicks REFUSED to sign Lin. Case closed right there.
Second, the Knicks told Lin that they were shopping for point guards. Those guys were designed to supplant Lin, especially since the Knicks gave Lin nothing but the token minimim wage contract offer.
This is the NBA where players get played according to what they're paid. And since the Knicks paid Lin NOTHING, there's no point in fantasizing about Lin's NOTHING role!
888, I don't feel that Lin is in flux this year in Houston. Actually he is in a great situation and pretty much got the treatment of a top 5 draft pick, that is getting 35 mpg of playing time every game to develop no matter how he performs without much competition in his position and the pressure of making/going far in the playoffs. Okay, he's not handed the keys to be the go to guy on the team. But if you haven't noticed, very few young players with only 30 starts did either. Ask many rookies or young players how they don't get much playing time to develop their game and how they feel they would be happy to just play 10-15 mins a night. If Lin was on the Lakers, guys would complain he needed to play behind Nash and got 10-15 mins a night and put up even more lousy numbers. If he was still with the Knicks, not only he got paid minimum salary, people would complain how he got benched for Kidd due to every of his turnover and might never get off the bench in crunch time. On top of that, Lin got paid 5 millions this year while many players in his draft class got paid less than 1 million. Ha, I would say Lin is pretty lucky rather than in a flux situation, especially considering last year he just wanted not to be got cut as a minimum salary guy.
Deletegreat reminder, 888. We need to talk WITH each other, not above or shout down one another.
Delete"I feel sometimes that people are talking at or above each other instead of WITH each other. You can't have a good dialog when people are just shouting their opinion at you."
It's a long season and I am happy that Houston as one of the youngest team with least NBA experience has progressed quickly by coming back from 15 pts down against NBA Champ. They just need to learn how to close out games.
In perspective, they have done so much better than other young teams like Cleveland (2-5), Sacramento (2-5), Portland (2-5), Toronto (1-6), Washington (0-5), Detroit (0-8). And what I like the best is they always compete and fight. In their 4 losses, they kept the game close (losing by -10, -8, -6, -3 pts)
That airball is not the only thing he did.
ReplyDeleteJLin highlights vs Heat - Nov 12, 2012
Nice, thanks for the highlight link, via! And thanks to geraldd39lin, need subscribe to his channel!
Delete:) @888, yeah thanks to geraldd39lin!
Deletethanks! gerald does such a great job in his videos.
DeleteI think Parsons said it best:
ReplyDelete"Never in a game one play wins or loses a game so...That was actually a great shot. Now James drove, kicks it to me they both ran at me and he got a wide open shot. You are going to miss shots, that's no big deal, Jeremy knows that, we all know that, but uh you know we lost the game for everything that happened before that, that was not..That's just a little tiny piece of the game that everybody is going to talk about that doesn't know anything about basketball"
Parsons was pretty upset that Rockets lost, he feels they should have won. But the fact that he defended Lin's airball, says a lot about their chemistry, and how he felt about why they lost...Cause he played his heart out to see the lead whittled away in 2 minutes...Its not "hard" to guess why he's mad.
Sampson when asked if given the same circumstances would get the same look...He reassured everyone, that if its as wide open as it was, that he can never, never, never be disappointed about a player with a wide open shot...And he reiterated that it was things that led up to the end that lost the game.
Media is going to crucify Lin for the shot...Heck I got a lil worked up myself, had to step back for a second and look at it for what it was...Just a missed shot...Although a badly timed, and well he did miss by a lot.
Jeremy's shooting is a problem however, though looking back I think its gotten better this game, though it looks like his knees are bothering him more. I just hope everything is ok.
If Lin had passed up an open shot in that situation and passed the ball to a defended teammate, and forced the surprised teammate to improvise a play, the criticism would be much worse.
DeleteIt's not as though the Heat bottled up Lin in this game like they did last season, when he admitted he could hardly dribble the ball against the Heat pressure. He missed an open shot on his own. He wasn't forced into the miss.
Yes, great points. I'm also glad to see that Parsons and Sampson spoke up for Lin.
Deletethat was his shot to take. he was wide open, no way you pass up that shot. even a nervous Jlin couldnt have passed on that.
DeleteGuys - even the best shooters dont shoot 3pointers at 100%. With that said -> luck is always part of the game. And we know -> luck is a bitch.
DeleteYou make it -> you the man.
You miss it -> booooooh.
To be able to live with it - move on and produce - thats what these guys are being paid for. Yes - as fans we want our guy to be the hero - we want to cheer and celebrate but people sometime struggle - thats it.
If it was easy to make those shots everybody would be a pro. JLins getting better and better. I still dont understand the system and I worry about JLins shots. Then again - I dont expect anything great to happen this year... its the Rockets...
Lin will probably struggle shooting the ball for the first 2-3 months. He'll still be productive at other things but I think we'll still see a lot of Harden isolations and pnrs. Probably, Parsons might be the secondary scorer until Lin is truly 100% healthy.
ReplyDeleteHe has absolutely lost his confidence.
He just have to find other ways to contribute until his shot comes back.
DeleteAbsolutely right -
Deleteand Lin has been helping guys score by spacing the court, making passes, and keeping his turnovers down on a turnover happy team.
Plus, Lin's defense is a thing of beauty. He TOTALLY shut down Chalmers, which is an embarrasament to the people that said that Lin was no match for Chalmers.
Lin might not have the greatest games, but he'll drag his man down with him!!!
JLin is the kind of guy who is stubborn to the point that he would bang his head against the wall to get what he wants (his mother said he did that as a child). He may not look happy because he doesnt feel 100% or worries about his shots - but - stubborn guys who play to win never completely lose confidence...
DeleteReading the comments above, it seemed like JLin had a horrible shooting night. Watching the highlights, he hit a couple of open threes. The shot looked fine to me. Of course the miss was ugly but it's life.
ReplyDeleteAs far as getting a new shooting coach, I'm split 50-50 on this. There was an article a while back which said Jeremy likes to do things his own way and the shooting may be an example of this.
I'm not 100% why Jeremy Lin doesn't shoot mid range jumpers either. It looked like he was working on it during the summer. When he drives, he doesn't always have to go the whole way. A part of the reason is that Jeremy Lin goes so hard that it's tough to stop and pop.
because he (and the coaches) believe that the good shots are open 3's, layups, and free throws. that what he said in an interview a few days ago.
Deleteif you look at his shot pattern it all makes sense now. he's either shooting open 3's or going all the way for layup or try to get contact to get to free throw line. we will probably not see him shoot many 15ft jumpers and floaters.
Rocket's 2nd loss of season(4 games in) - OMG FIRE MCHALE, TRADE HARDEN, BENCH EVERYONE EXCEPT LIN LET HIM PLAY 1v5!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteRocket's 4th loss (7 games in) - Don't worry it's only 7 games in stop overreacting.
lolololol the ironnnnnnny
Although everyone is talking about how Lin is underutilised, the main issue is that he is not hitting shots.( I am not saying this because of the what happened but just in general)
ReplyDeleteMany of us think that the coach is not utilising Lin's strength. However, Khuang talks about how Mchale might be forcing Lin to correct his weaknesses . While this may seem to be an optimistic viewpoint, IF this really is Mchale's plan for him, I am all for it. Lin will get criticised no matter what he does, people will see things differently. Think about it guys, if Lin were to keep driving to the paint, it would eventually hurt his knees. When Lin came to Houston, Mchale already said that Lin should try to drive less to the paint, that is not to take away his strengths but to force Lin to develop other offensive "weapons". Once lin develops that, together with his improved defense ,things might be bright. If they are going to build around Lin and Harden , they both have to be elite and Lin had a glimpse of that last year.
Now, my view points are dependent on Lin's confidence as well.
Lin's position is different from that in ny because people did not know him then. Lin really has many haters and he knows that. While Lin was in ny, he was well liked but after what Dolan did, many turned against him and more are rooting for him to fail. There is alot of pressure for him being seen as the"Face of the franchise" together with the fact that is repping for Asians.
If Lin becomes a fluke, then the world will suddenly make sense, those who doubted him will be happy and I am inclined to think that Lin does not want to give them that satisfaction.
What is important is that Lin must pick himself up and not lose confidence even though it is tough.
great post. truly interesting perspective and I thank you for this. i didn't even thought about it like that. and it makes a lot of sense. Mchale must know that Lin's knees aren't 100% and the constantly driving into the lane for 82 games would probably do a lot of harm to Lin in the long run. he definitely needs to improve his jumpers to free himself up for the occasional penetrations. and teams are making him shoot. and they are game planning against his dribble penetrations. before your post, i was think how awful this coaching staff has been.. maximizing Lin's and Harden's weaknesses and minimizing their strengths.
Deleteagree, jlin has no mid-range or any sort of inside the key short game (floaters, and stop and pop jump shots). he must develop that to become an all-star.
Delete@Blake : thanks Blake! Credit should go to Khuang though. When I saw his post I was abit annoyed because it seemed too optimistic but it is not too far fetched actually. I am just thinking, if I want to develop Lin as an elite player, he is going to have to be an all around player. Going to the paint as your only offensive weapon will not only hurt you in the long run, it gives opponents a definitive plan to stop you.Right now, it is ugly because when we compare him with last year, he seems like a far cry. I am hoping that this is really Mchale's plan in the long run to groom him. People want Lin to reunite with Mike D with the lakers but this will only give haters the benefit of the doubt that Lin is a "system" guy. I would like to believe that he is NOT a system guy .
DeleteI actaully like Lin getting few touches because it forces him to work on his shooting , and improve on other aspects of the game. As fans, we want Lin to do well to shut up the haters BUT right now, it is a process which I hopefully would pay off. I do not know how Lin will turn out in the future but I just hope he keeps his head up :)
mint, I really hope that the possibility you and KHuang suggested about Mchale forcing Lin to develop his game is true. That would explain why the offense doesn't seem to be utilizing Lin's proven strengths. If the current role Lin is assigned to play on offense is purposeful (be it to have him work on areas of his game, or to protect his knee), and temporary; that would be truly wonderful. I certainly hope that what some here have identified as marginalizing and distrust from the coaching staff isn't the truth. I suppose we can only find out in time.
DeleteIt hasn't been easy to watch Lin to appear less in control and less engaged on offense than most of us fans would like to see him be (or perhaps are used to seeing him be) in the last few games. It certainly is good advice to take a step back and watch this season, and Lin's multi-year career unfold.
I really don't think McHale has a "long term plan" specifically for Jeremy Lin or any other player.
DeleteI think that McHale just wants Lin to be successful. McHale will help Lin out by putting Lin in spots where he can succeed.
We saw Lin get BATTERED by double and triple teams this preseason. Had James Harden not showed up, Lin would be taking those beatings. Instead, McHale has PROTECTED Lin by letting him roam the weak side like Lin did at Harvard!
McHale wants his players to be great NOW. His players may hate him for it, but virtually all of them have succeeded once his teachings sink in. IMPATIENCE IS A VIRTUE!!!
JLin's game last nite is a more impressive when compare to the game against the heats while with NYKnicks. Fans who are disappointed are impatient and wants Linsanity 2 now, hence the critical assessment and close scrutiny on JLin. Relax and continue to wish the best for JLin in his growing pains journey.
ReplyDeleteNice post, again. Every Lin fan wants the offense run through Lin and forgets how that went last season with a less than 100% Lin.
DeleteEven this situation will turn out good. Keep having faith.
ReplyDeleteWhen a shot is front rim it means the player is tired. When it's not even front rim it means jeremy is not in shape at all. He misses so many games and need time now. We are here waiting... Then everything will turn out good....
Jeremy's 3 blocks are impressive and also helped narrow the gap. I wouldn't complain about his game at all. Fans forever.
ReplyDeleteI want to apologize to blog readers for my overheated angry comments.
ReplyDeleteI just get really emotional as a diehard sports fan and a diehard J-Lin fan. Whether it's fair or not (it isn't), Jeremy Lin is the rare athlete whose successes and failures mean more than Ws and Ls for obvious reasons.
Anyways, it's soooo frustrating to see the Rockets coaches and players make the same mistakes over and over and over again. The Rockets got back in the game by letting JL be a point guard and sharing the ball -- Harden even did a nice job passing out of double-teams.
But then in crunch time, they went to Hero Ball again. And after sitting him on the bench for a huge period of time -- muscles stiffen, confidence gets shaken -- Jeremy airballs a 3 and is seen as a "choker." I just can't stand that...but I'll try to control my emotions better from now on!
well if he didnt air ball it wouldnt have been so bad. but he air balled it. it looks bad, but if he is a real gamer, he'll block it out and be ready for the next opportunity.
Deletei think the bigger issue is the way jlin is being used on this team. forget the spin docters, other than upped defensive intensity he was playing the same kind of forgettable game, 8 shot attempts, only one trip to the stripe. not sure who mentioned it but you can expect numbers like these for months to come if the offensive scheme doesn't change. if you're down with his 8 million dollar role player status this should not even concern you. another great game with one off shot.
DeleteWhat need is there to spin a game where Lin's sole flaw was his reluctance to shoot?
DeleteThe Rockets nearly won this game against the HEAT. They're the defending champions. Since when were the Rockets SUPPOSED to beat the best team in the NBA?
Lin is paid $25 million to make the Rockets competitive. He HAS.
actually if you watch the last two minutes of the game, harden played very very well. driving into the lane, passing into the corners to parsons, and morris for open threes. I really dont think you guys here should single out harden or mchale as the source of the problem. Actually there really isnt any problems to JLin. I for one think JLin is progressing nicely and learning to play off the ball. Houston's record is about where I think they would be, their schedule has been weak so far. I am a little worried about his knee though, but other than that all i would say to JLin, is keep up the good work. YOu are playing great basketball. People need to stop asking him to duplicate linsanity. Linsanity wont ever happen again stop putting so much pressure on the guy on recreating a string of performances that was simply un-real.
ReplyDeleteLinsanity won't ever happen again from the standpoint that no team will ever let Lin go unscouted.
DeleteBut if Lin rediscovers his fluid natural jump shot that he used to destroy people up until late last season, big scoring numbers would happen for Lin NOW.
Lin's got the athleticism to score. He wouldn't be a defensive superstar if the athleticism wasn't there, and I'm including the bad knee. Just a little technical tweak or two and Lin will EXPLODE.
Lin is soooo close to lasting NBA success. Soon it'll work itself out because Lin is too much of a competitor to keep doing the same wrong things. Once he fixes his jump shot form, the court will open right up for him and he'll ATTACK.
No 1 goal for Lin this season is to play all 82 games before anything else. Lin has never set any goal to average 20 ppg or 10 apg or recreate Linsanity this season. He's basically learning how to be play the full schedule in his 1st year of a full time starter. I think some fast career start by the new age PGs like Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving really spoiled a lot of fan perspective. People used to say PG is hardest position to learn in the game. You go to check out the careers of some of the greatest PGs ever like Steve Nash, Gary Payton, John Stockton. They didn't really break out before 3-5 years in the league. The key to lasting success is longevity and good health which is exactly what Lin values most, even more than his performance and jump shot.
DeleteI don't think Kyrie Irving had a "fast start".
DeleteHe was the worst rated defensive player in the entire NBA! That's gotta HURT.
By the way, both Kyrie Irving and a rookie Chris Paul played for Byron Scott who's very much into his point guards. I'm not saying that Lin would do better with Byron Scott as his coach, I'm just pointing out that Scott gives his point guards unlimited freedom while beating on them relentlessly!
The problem with Lin is confidence. The way he plays now is no difference from a bench player. He needs to stop playing like Mike Bibby and start playing his game. No attack means the end of his career. It is sad to see him having the spot light and nothing to show for it. Jeremy is not a shooter and will never be one. He is an attacker. For us asian, we have good form. Either we have it or we don’t. Does not take 10 years to get a form. Even I can shoot better than Jeremy as of today…….He needs to attempt more shots per game. The more he attempts, the more his shots will go in.
Delete"For us...", "Either we..."...
DeletePlease don't say us. It's just you here who proclaimed you could shoot better than a nba player. You are not a representative of the people around here by any means.
@Cara,
DeleteSee, this tells me you've probably never played organized hoops.
Lots of guys out there can shoot better than NBA players. Shooting ability is not a pre-req to get into the League. There are plenty of college and HS players that are great shooters that never make it because basketball DOES involve more than just being a good shooter.
TVN, you and advisor are SERIOUS that you think "lots of guys" can shoot better than NBA players?
DeleteLet's see these guys, wherever they are. Better yet, let's do what you suggest and put advisor in a Rockets uniform. Stick Mario Chalmers on advisor and see if he can make a shot.
In your efforts to flame Cara, you have once again overstepped your boundaries. And if you think you or advisor or "lots of guys" can shoot better than Lin, think again. KNOW YOUR PLACE.
@TVN and Advisor:
DeleteA lot of guys shoot great when they are playing in front of their garage door but play full games back to back with REAL NBA pros going after you - blocking your shots - with thousand of people watching you - out of breath - gasping for air... make your shots under these conditions and see if your numbers hold up.
NBA is top of the food chain - for good reason! You may have better numbers than JLin does right now but you dont play under the same conditions. So - whatever you say - unless you are an NBA pro you are just comparing apples and pears. If you claim you are better than Lin -> reexamine your life...
Why reexamine your life ? Because you either have a very distorted view on reality or you just want to bash JLin...
Ok, JLin just needs to learn from his mistakes and move on. He just needs to be more relaxed and not think too much when he plays. Anyway, hoping for the best. He needs to chill idk go out with friends & dance the Gangnam style, just kidding.
ReplyDeleteThat's actually SUPERB advice, Adrien!!!
DeleteIt reminds me, or most of us, those moments that I wish for a "redo". Learn and move on. Godspeed Jeremy.
ReplyDeleteToo bad Lin didn't buy a house and build a basketball court like many players do, which is one of the reasons why so many players can shoot the 3's easily. The more practice, the better muscle memory. Also, playing without pressure and with confidence - but more practice will help with that.
ReplyDeleteMaybe his condo living isn't just about convenience. Maybe he realizes that he could be traded at any time.
The Lakers could want Lin as a backup to Nash. Lin's salary is modest for the next two years. It would work.
Give it a rest. Lin doesn't need to practice his shooting 24/7 nor he needs to be traded to the Lakers to be successful.
DeleteCan this bullshit about him being traded stop already???? The dude airball a shot and already trade speculations are being tossed around like crazy!!!!
DeleteI say that because it could very well be in Lin's FAVOR.
DeleteHow do we know what the Rockets' front office is really thinking? Besides, the way Lin has been utilized on the team is very different from what he or the public was lead to believe. Therefore, it's even less of a stretch to think about possible trades.
You do realize that the Rockets could have acquired Lin with a trade in mind?! Even some of the top 20 players in the league have been traded and still could be traded, so not many players are ever "safe". Some trades are actually safe and good for players.
No matter what happens, Lin still wound up in the best situation by being a Rocket. It was a blessing that Lin got out of the Nits, because they *certainly* would have traded him after one year - except that Lin's salary w/h/been much less and he w/h/been much more marginalized until then.
Lin would have been traded almost immediately had the Nits re-signed him by June 30 (prior to the free agency period). But had the Nits re-signed Lin through matching, they couldn't trade him for one year.
Delete@R_U_Sure_It's_Mine?
DeleteThe airball has nothing to do with it - it happens to the best of them. What about Harden - he missed the shot also and his shot was THE lst one. It's not Lin's fault that the Rockets lost - it's a team sport.
Also, the Rockets would have won the game if the referee didn't favor the Heat down the stretch with the 2 phony fouls on the Rockets (for their highnesses LeBron and Bosch).
ha. couldn't stop shaking my head after that airball. still, lin had a great game, along with playing incredible D on lebron, allen, and wade.
ReplyDeletenew day. move on.
A very positive aspect indeed. I'm stoked!
DeleteSome perspective:
ReplyDeleteMichael Jordan - Failure
More perspective is to read back the posts of one year ago on this forum. At that time, people just prayed for Lin to even get lucky to be a 10 mpg backup in GS. Now people complained he's not making the game winning shot to beat the nba champions and complained why all his teammates and coaches didn't cater to him and his game. Lol.
DeleteTrue. Expectations had snowballed out of proportions. Game threads -> meltdowns, smh.
DeletePeople, let’s face reality and stop making excuses for Lin. Lin is nothing more than a bench player. First of all, Lin is not a great shooter. He is an attacker. If he don’t want to attack, then he can kiss his NBA career good bye. I watched all of the 7 games. It seems Lin lost confidence. I can see him being open for a 3 or mid range jumper but he hesitate to take the shot. I see him drive to the basket but stop half way. It seems he is scared to get injured from attacking. What good is Jeremy Lin if he does not attack? I don’t see Jeremy Lin helping Hardin with scoring. If you see otherwise, you must be blind.
ReplyDeleteOh so Lin is a bench player now?? So airballing a shot against the Miami Heat is bench player?? I'd rather him be called trash than a bench player, lol...
DeleteDid I said anything about his airballing making him a bench player? I am a big fan of Jeremy, but let’s face reality he is not as good as we thought he was. Throughout the preseason and 7 regular games, Jeremy is lost. He has no confidence, hesitate to shoot or drive, and does not play good offense. He is only averaging 6 assists per game. There is nothing special about 6 assists. Sorry, Jeremy is not a defender, he needs to be an offensive threat. Jeremy is a star for the Rockets…he needs to play like one. With only 6 assists, I don’t mind him taking 20 shot attempts like Rose or Westbrook. At least have 20’s points to show for it while losing….haha.
Delete@advisor,
DeleteRight now, you're right, he's playing like a bench player. His PER isn't even in the Top 30 (he's #34) among PG's in the NBA, and the last time I checked, there are 30 starting jobs. He shows very little aggression in creating offense or getting into the lane. He's basically an Asian Steve Blake at this point. He's just out there. The other 4 starters in last night's game had productive outings.
Advisor, you said are a big fan of Jeremy Lin but you don't like anything he is doing. You advised him not to be a defender and shoot 20 times a game. And you don't mind Lin's team winning or losing. Then why don't you just stop being a fan of this bench player?
DeleteTVN, I like that you only come and post extensively when Lin doesn't play well and then dissappear when he does!
DeleteJeremy Lin was never known to be a defender. He became one this year playing for the Rockets. So what, you rather have Jeremy play defense like this with an average of 2 steals, 6 assists, and 8 points.? This is not good stats for a franchise player. I rather have him with 0 steals, 7 assists, and 18 points. I watched all his preseason and 7 games. I bought NBA league pass because of Lin. If you watched the games, you will have the same feeling I do……..when will this kid step up his game???
Deletelol @ "bench player". if you're not smart enough to realize the rockets are telling lin to stand in a corner, then you have no business posting, advisor.
Deletefail troll with piss poor eye for basketball is fail.
"advisor", lin has always been a good defender, including the time he shut down durant when he guarded him 1on1 during his golden state days. he has problems with the quickest guards in the league, but can flat out dominate defensively everywhere else.
Deletenice try, though.
"What good is Jeremy Lin if he does not attack?"
Deleteadvisor, if you click on the geraldlin youtube link above, you will be able to see a lot of good things that he did on defense leading to a quick transition and easy scores. Even the announcers are impressed with his quick hands to steal from Bosh, Wade, block on LeBron and it's not just this game.
Unfortunately you will surely be disappointed if you just want to see Linsanity numbers while he's not 100% due to the knee recovery and ignore his contribution to the team. I bought NBA LP pass because of Lin too but I don't have the same sunken feeling that you do because I focus on the positives of what he can do with injured knee, not what he can't do on the offense yet. Just be patient. Great players always come back stronger.
Haha….you guys are hilarious. Lin is an average defender. Just because he makes one or two good stops does not mean he is a great defender. Go look at his opponent stats….did Lin really shut them down? All I am saying is that Lin needs to play offense. He needs to have confidence and take his open shots. 80% of the time, he is hesitant to take the open shot. There were many times he would drive to the hoop and change his mind. Yes, from time to time, Lin would stay at the corner. This is only on some occasion. If you really watched the games, Lin touches the ball 90% of the time. Is he really making plays…..his assists speaks for itself? You guys are blaming the coach due to his poor offense performance. You guys are an idiot. He is the 2nd option on offense. Why would McHale tell his 2nd option to only take 10 shot attempt per game?
DeleteYes, Lin is not 100% healthy. Do you need to be 100% healthy to shoot the ball? His legs seems fine to me because I see him shake other components back and forth.
Here is my point. I want to see the old Jeremy Lin from NY and play aggressive offense. Just look at his last 3 game stats. How is Lin going to gain confidence if he takes 7, 8 or 10 shot attempts per game? Look at Lebron, Kobe, Durant, Westbrook, Parker, etc they don’t take 10 or less shot attempts. I play basketball on a daily basis. You gain confidence when your shots go in. Sometimes, it takes the 5 or 6 shot attempts before you become confidence and have a hot hand.
Does this stats look like a franchise player?
11/13 play Miami - 8 shot attempt - one steal
11/10 play Detroit - 7 shot attempt - one steal
11/9 - play Memphis - 10 shot attempt - 2 steal
Say what you want…..this is open discussion…..open feelings…..I will still support Lin regardless of how I feel. Hopefully after All Star Break, Lin will improve.
Houston is #5 in defense in the entire NBA.
DeleteJeremy Lin is #15 on defense among ALL PLAYERS in the entire NBA, #1 on the Rockets.
Advisor, why is this not good enough?
And stop thinking that you're BETTER than Lin! I haven't seen you in a Rockets uniform yet.
Like I said, Lin needs to play offense. Otherwise Rockets is not going no where.
DeleteOne thing people should stop is using the knee as an excuse. I never understood why people expect Lin to be a franchise player -- and others got mad when I said this as an indication that I was a Lin hater -- but come on people, Lin can still be a very good player if he can improve his offense. If he cannot, then he will be an average NBA PG who can pass well and score 10 to 12 points a game. I just want to see Lin try different mode of attacking the basket and see what works for him.
Delete@eb5attorney:
DeleteBad argument. You are like the guy who never served and yet claim that militaries must not talk about their service - otherwise they would cheapen it which would mean they dont have honor. You are the kind of guy with no honor who sets verbal traps for people with honor...
Say what you want - JLin has knee trouble. He is slower right now than he was last year. In case you didnt know - Basketball is a sport where you have to rely on your knee - people actually have to run, cut, stop, jump. Bad knee - bad everything. Im glad your bad knee doesnt show or even influence you in your NBA career but not everyone is a superman like you are.
You dont think JLin should be franchise player - everyone gets it. You claim that JLins knee is no excuse when it is clearly bothering him - got it. You dont aknowledge his achievements, you dont aknowledge his injury, you just want to marginalize him. We get it. Move on...
advisor, you're not getting the basic concept. houston's gameplan is calling for lin to set up everyone else. that's why he's sitting in the corner most of the game.
Deleteget it? go write to morey and mchale to change their offensive gameplan if you continue to have mental issues. it is clear as day what's going on.
DRose and Shump are still out from knee injuries last year. You get criticized if you play hurt and miss the shot. You get criticized for not playing hurt. Ultimately. You gotta do what you gotta do.
ReplyDeleteThats what happens when coach potatoes and keyboard warriors judge over real athletes. By bickering and bashing players they feel better about themselves. Just take advisor -> claims to shoot better than JLin. I keep googling for "advisor - the nba star" but cant find him...
DeleteTake eb5attorney -> claims a bad knee is no excuse for playing bad. I keep googling for "eb5attorney the wonderman with medical degree" - no luck...
No luck with TVN as well...
YouTube clip of the Lin airball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GQHW0pXYm4g
ReplyDeleteHe was posing after the shot. Didn't look like he choked it. Like he said, it came off his hand funny.
Probably still regaining his range and touch after not playing for quite a while after knee surgery.
He had another airball 3 earlier in game which was way long, but Asik caught it and laid it in, so no one remembers that.
It takes time, but looks like his knee is doing fine.
I was so excited that the ball came to him because he was open for a shot. I fully expected him to make it and when it came up 2 feet short, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then, the crowd let out a loud groan and I think everyone in the building was shocked at that point. My heart sank and I was embarrassed for the kid.
DeleteWhy should you and Lin be embarrassed, TVN?
Delete@Cara,
DeleteBecause he was airbalLIN.
He shot an air ball and you should be embarrassed? Lin will remember this one if he is a fighter. Pick up the lesson and move on. The pursuit of happiness is that Lin can prove all the doubters are wrong at the end. I am not talking about this season. I am talking about the time when he is retired from the NBA. Waiting for that moment...
DeleteI'd be more embarrassed if I were James Harden shooting 6-17 than Lin shooting 3-8.
DeleteI just don't understand why people here are HATING ON LIN when Harden is the real bricker.
The Lin haters need to explain to everyone here why Harden's 6-17 is a better percentage than Lin's 3-8.
I saw the air ball again, and the ball kinda squirted out of his hand. Kinda funny how badly the shot missed -- I actually laughed when I saw it, even when I saw it again.
Delete@cara:
DeleteTVN feels embarassed because he thinks hes JLins ice-skate-mom. Its some sort of identity disorder. Thats why he also insists that THE MAN is a kid. For him to be the mom JLins gotta be a kid...
I'm really glad to see so many positive Lin fans on here. Personally, I can't be that positive and I can't see any silver lining in Lin's play currently. Lin has regressed badly, and for me, I'll give him this entire year to relearn how to play ball at this point. I still believe this kid will get it together down the line, hopefully sooner than later.
ReplyDeleteWhat's truly disappointing is that this is the first time I have seen him play poorly in the NBA. Even on the GSW, he was effective for almost all that year from start to end when he did play from Toronto to Houston to Dleague back to GSW, I saw good things. I wondered how they could keep him on the bench. Now I see very little I can cheer about if I'm being honest.
How a guy forgets to shoot is COMPLETELY beyond me. When you shoot hundreds of jumpers a day, and you consistently shoot airballs, I just don't understand it. For me it's mind boggling. This kid thinks way too much, which is why he's so good at getting steals and assists, but hurting his overall productivity.
He is in his 3rd year in the NBA, I don't care how little he has played. The Kobe airballs were from another generation of basketball from the 90's. You don't see the young stars of today hardly do that ever in game winning situations except for other undrafted guys like Brad Miller. Something mentally is just way off for him.
Lastly, I saw Harden push Lin at the end of the game like Lin was the token loser scrub. It was disconcerting for me to see. Lin is allowing himself to become a follower who is lost. He needs to take back this team with Parsons. Harden clearly doesn't respect Lin and that's sad to see. Lin isn't a vocal leader with bravado so he needs to rock with his play
Harden honestly looked great for 3 quarters then dissapears in the 4th Q every game. And it's made worse with the Harden iso ball via PnR sets they keep giving him. It's a complete coaching fail, uncreative and pathetic.
Amen, I agreed with you. Here is the problem with Lin. He doesn’t have confidence in his shots. That is why he is dodging a lot of open shots. He gets cold throughout the game but wants to become the hero. It does not work like that when you have cold hands. The only reason why he made the last shot while being in NY playing Toronto was because he had the hot hand. Now with the Rockets, Lin has not proven that he can score or shoot. He needs to penetrate and attack the basket to create space and open opportunities.
DeleteIf you guys think that Harden's 6-17 is "great", then Lin's 3-8 must be "beyond great".
DeleteHarden is shooting a WORSE percentage than Lin this season from both inside and outside the arc. Why are you guys saying that Harden's a better shooter than Lin when the numbers say that Harden is MUCH WORSE than Lin in shooting?
Here's the deal. Jeremy Lin missed 5 shots. Harden missed 11. You're all picking on the WRONG GUY in Lin!
You are missing the point here. Lin needs to play offense or Rockets is not going no where. For a franchise player to take 10 shot attempts or less is unacceptable. His stats speaks for itself. Hopefully Lin will improve.
DeleteLin is not a franchise player; that's why they brought in Harden, but Harden is turning out to be not a franchise player. Lin can be a very good player, although I do not think at an All-star level unless his offensive skills improve significantly.
DeleteIf Harden did push or ignore Lin at the end of the game, that's a bad sign of bad chemistry. Very sad to see.
DeleteI'm "missing the point", advisor?
DeleteSince when did "franchise players" earn $5 million when there is James Harden earning the max?
And why are you blaming Lin for hitting nearly 50% of his shots? Harden shot 35% from the field, which is actually HIGHER than his season average (frightening). Why are you blaming Lin for HARDEN'S poor shooting?
As far as pushes or ignores go in basketball, stuff happens in the heat of battle. I've done the same to esteemed teammates and they've done the same to me. The NBA is a grown man's league and fans unfamiliar with the sport need to understand that rough treatment between teammates is a normal part of the game.
At the rate James Harden is shooting, he should go learn from Doc Scheppler who's Lin's summer girls basketball shooting coach. Lin could teach Harden a thing or two about shooting better!
Khuang, I am not a Harden apologist.
DeleteI think Harden played great for 3Q against the Heat and carried then in the 1st half. As always in 4Q, Harden dissappears, ballhogs, and won't pass and wants to score. In 4Q, he was horrible like Lin was all game. I believe if Lin was given control of the show, he couldn't do much worse.
I believe the idiot Rockets organization has lost their marbles with the horrific Harden Ball all game long. They are trying to prove to themselves and the NBA that Harden can be Kobe and that Morey was a genius for the signing. It is killing the team but that's what they are trying to do.
Lin just looked horrible from start to end. He didn't even get the rebounds and assists and steals stats I was expecting. He started off the game so horribly and finished horribly and did some ok things in them middle.
Yes Harden hard shoved Lin away from him when Lin was trying to talk to him at the end when Miami was shooting free throws. Apparently Lin is the scrub you can push around as your starting back court teammate...
The Rockets created this mess, not Harden/Lin. I have a feeling Morey is an idiot the more I see what's going on. He's trying to prove his genius right now and the coaches are forced in trying to find ways to make him look good through the Harden iso PnR ball. Problem is Harden has yet to come through.
HOw long will it last?
It'll last as long as it needs to.
DeleteIn a way, Jeremy Lin is STRINGING HARDEN OUT TO DRY. He's like "You think you're the hero? OK, BE the hero. Show us all that you're DA MAN".
When the coaches and teammates and even Harden finally realize that his 33% shooting is UNACCEPTABLE, the Rockets will get back to playing team basketball. And then BOTH Jeremy Lin and Harden can shine.
Harden pushed Lin away? Big friggin' deal. I've pushed away teammates too, and they've pushed me.
I disagree in that the push was pretty telling. It shows Harden thinks Lin is an incompetent scrub. Lin has a long way to go before this thing turns around. If you don't trust your teammates you have nothing going on. Nobody at the NBA level can do it alone, aside from Lebron.
DeleteIf teammates are pushing each other around, you're definitely doing something wrong whether its pro or rec ball. 99% of the time, it means there's a teammate who is egotistical and thinks he is better than he really is, and the team is usually losing due to some form of incompetence.
Harden is clearly the best player on the team but every single guy on that team is under performing and underwhelming and that's where the frustration is coming from.
Morey is an incompetent tool. He wants Harden to be an all-star in Houston so badly this year, he is willing to kill the team to get Harden into the game, and it's actually counterproductive for everyone on the team.
I agree with you things will change, but their answer wont be "lets put the ball in Lin's hands". The answer will be to run more sets for Parsons and Delfino and get the ball into the post more often.
I wish they would tell us what happened to the offense predicated on ball movement that they were running before the Harden trade. Kmart was getting 20pt in that offense.
Guess they want Harden to average 35ppg above all else....
Wheres the push? Have I missed it? When JLin airballed and walked back Harden came by and consolled Lin - gave him a hand to show he is with Lin. Whats wrong with that?
DeleteWhen JLin was in NY I always had to laugh when I watched the game highlights. JLin would score and immediately celebtrate - Chandler would reach out to congratulate and JLin would turn around and walk away :) cause he wouldnt notice Chanler. Then he would turn around again and notice Tyson and they would fist bump or something. Watch the Linsanity videos and you would find many of these situations. That doesnt mean that JLin is disrespecting anyone. They are grown man. If Harden would push Lin inappropriately it would have consequences for him as well...
Contrary to what someone said, jeremy needs to practice shooting 24/7. This is his profession. He needs to eat, sleep, and drink shooting. Damn, airballing a game winner is not acceptable. It shouldn't be acceptable to him either. I won't be able to sleep after that one. I'll be dreaming about it all night. I'll wake up at dawn and start shooting like crazy. To me it looks like lin doesn't have a rhythm to his shot, and i don't mean rhythm from external sources. All good shooters have a rhythm, some trigger. It could be the stance, the grip, the extension. It could happen before the shot or during the shot. For lin, I believe it's in the grip and the wrist action that happens before the shot goes up. He just doesn't have a good feel of the ball. Alot of times if you look at the wrist action, you can tell if a player will make the shot or not. His wrist is too loose, so I believe he overcompensates in other ways. Which makes the shot unpredictable. Even when Lin shoots the FT it looks like a floater. I looks funny somehow.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, Lin does NOT need to think about basketball 24/7. Jeremy just needs his swagger back. He's been hoopin' all of his life he knows how to he just needs relax and play BALL and not overthink the game. He's trying too hard to fit in and please everyone. I agree with @Adrien's post just learn, relax, and move on. Maybe Lin needs to get a girl to get his swag back (relieve some stress). lol kidding (I don't want to offend any of his religious fans).
Delete100% agreed pl17.
Deletemt, you ever tried doing 24/7 of any tasks? trust me, you'll get burned out, fall into depression, and have anxiety attacks. Life is about balance. Do and improve in your profession, but unwind and re-energize as well.
depression? I doubt it. You're talking physical not mental. So he's not gonna burn out. trust me. 24/7 doesn't mean 24/7. Come on now, a bit melodramatic aren't we? The point is he had plenty of time to relax over the summer. It's time to get to work.
Delete@mt:
Deleteyou shoot too much -> you cramp. Your arm would feel different at different times of the day and your numbers would go down. And btw - who says JLin is not already shooting all day long?
Everyone has their ups and downs. I was hoping Jlin to make the last shot. It didn't happen, and he'll learn from the experience. I also hope Harden gets it through his thick skull that the hero ball isolation play at the end of every game is not the most efficient way to win a game. Yes, you just signed a huge contract, but look at the other teammates who had the hot hand shooting the 3's. This is at least 3-4 games where Harden has tried to play hero ball in the 4th Quarter. It's not going to work too often. I think it kills the team chemistry they are trying to build.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, there are a lot of games to be played to see how everyone adapts and adjusts.
On to the next game!
I just hope this incident doesn't ruin the confidence that the team has in Lin. These next couple games, if he's wide open on the perimeter, but his teammates don't pass him the ball ... I will know why.
ReplyDeleteBut I hope they can look past this and give him another chance.
Dont paint the devil onto the wall.
DeleteIf they deny JLin the ball its not just the end of the season for JLin but the end of the season for all of them. People keep bashing Lin here - why? Its worse HERE than it is on clutchfans. You guys talk like Lin is a liabiliy. Isnt it strange how "well" Rockets played against Lebrons Heat despite carrying the DEAD WEIGHT that you see in Lin? Tststs
An air ball in a basketball game, so what. It's not career ending mistake. There's always next game. Why worry about haters, even if Jeremy made that shot and Rockets won the game, doesn't mean Jeremy won't have another bad game. Haters will always hate and always wait for the next bad game. I hope Jeremy will look pass this game, he's a professional, he should be able to do that.
ReplyDeleteColin Cowherd, who is a Carmelo hater and whom I personally find to be generally accurate most of the time, said today on ESPN: "Who the heck is Linsanity going to guard in the playoffs? Linsanity couldn't guard a barstool."
ReplyDeleteI laughed when he said that. It's an obvious exaggeration but there is some truth to it. Being good at steals and being good at man to man defense are 2 different things. Lin needs to stop cheating and trying with the useless help defense Sampson wants to implement so he gets burned less. Lin has a tendency to get burned particularly in the 4th Q all the time and those are the highlights they show on TV. The NBA is about all about perception. Please Lin, stay at home, and let Asik and Patterson get burned more...
He also said that Houston's problem is that Harden is a "B player" they are masquerading around as an "A player." I also agree with that. So the mass media pretty much thinks Harden is a second rate player ala Rudy Gay, Igudola, Granger etc. and Lin is a complete scrub masquerading as an NBA player.
I think they've got it right about Harden (although it's partly the idiotic coaching staff using him improperly as well), but I'm hoping Lin can prove them wrong yet again as he always does.
Linsanity took a poorly ranked defense to #5 last year, all by himself.
DeleteMario Chalmers had such a great shooting night against Lin - NOT. Lin completely shut him down and kept Houston in the game with his blocks and steals.
There ain't NO TRUTH to Cowherd's anti-Lin defensive haterade, swinglinezigzag. Neither the numbers nor the eye test bear that out.
There's a lot of anti-Lin peer pressure out there, and it's COMPLETELY DEBUNKED by the NUMBERS.
Khuang, sometimes in life you have to open your eyes and stop being defensive. We are all Lin's fan. Sometimes, we just have to get over it. Lin did not kept Houston in the game with his blocks and steals. Lin had 1 steal and 3 blocks. This stats does not keep a team in the game. What kept Houston in the game was Parsons, Asik and Patterson. Like I said, you will never beat the defending champ if your franchise player is only taking 8 shot attempts. End of story.
DeleteWait a minute.
DeleteWhy SHOULDN'T I be defensive?
Here you are, crowing that Lin can't defend. The numbers have completely debunked your incorrect fantasy. Lin is the BEST defensive PG in the league, and his Rockets are #5.
I'm not going at you because I don't think you're Lin's fan. Like your incorrect perception that Lin can't defend, I have never questioned your fanness. But the NUMBERS show a defensively DOMINANT Lin, contrary to your assertion that he's weak defensively.
If you don't think steals and blocks kept the Rockets in this game, think again. When you finally make the NBA because you say you're a better shooter than Lin, you'll discover that coaches and teammates will be constantly harping on you to get those steals and blocked shots.
What kept Houston in the game was HOUSTON. The entire team contributes, including Lin. Also, the blame for the loss is on the entire team and not JUST Lin.
If we want to talk franchise players, how about blaming the $20 million guy that took 17 shots and bricked 11 instead of the $5 million guy that took 8 shots and bricked 3? Why are you targeting Lin when Harden earns more money as the "franchise player" and shot WORSE than Lin did?
So in eyes who is the franchise player? Please think for a minute before you give your answer.
DeleteThe real truth is that in the NBA, there's no such thing as a "franchise player".
DeleteThis isn't the NFL with special salaries and slots. This is the NBA where guys get no special designations other than "captain" and "rook".
Now when it comes to pecking order, Kelvin Sampson wants to make Harden the isolation superstar. The trouble is that it's FAILING MISERABLY.
It's on Lin to pick up the slack caused by James Harden. Of course, there's an absolute limit to what Lin can do when Harden has the ball so much. The best Lin can do is attack when given the opportunity and MAKE the coaches give the ball back to him. That's what Lin did in NY, and that worked despite Carmelo Anthony demanding the ball.
Teams that cannot figure out that isolation ball doesn't work as well as team ball end up in the lottery no matter how talented they are. Just look at the Sacramento Kings who can't play as a team.
I watched where you say Harden "shoved" or "pushed away" Lin when Miami was shooting FTs. I am almost sure that it was a "push" to tell Lin to go and stand at the four line to put his body. It wasn't anything. It was like "Hey, go stand there and block out this Miami player from getting a rebound." It wasn't a disrespect at all.
DeleteI think it goes both ways for Lin and Harden. Lin is picking up the slack caused by James inconsistent shootings. James is picking up the slack from Lin for not wanting to play offense.
Delete@advisor:
DeleteSo you say if Douglas would have played instead of Lin - Rockets would have defeated the champs? Lin was dead weight out there? No good? Basicly Rockets were a 4 man team and almost outplayed the 5 man Heat? Good point mate.
It's the knee...
ReplyDeletehe's not a bad player when playing off the ball and attack from weak side. that's what he played at harvard and we think he did pretty well there.
he had plenty of opportunities last night to take his man off the dribble but did not. we know he can pretty take anyone of the dribble and create shots for himself. he would try, then back off. on one of the fast breaks instead of exploding to the rim like he would've done last year, he slowed down and passed it back to the trailer. i really think it's the knee and without his first step, he's trying to figure out other ways to contribute.
one way is by playing off the ball and shoot jumpers. unfortunately that's iffy and he's in a slump. there's no consistency because his knee is not consistent. it's also unfortunate that it's been drilled into his head that good shots are open 3's, layups, and free throws. well, without a good knee he has no layups and can't get contact to get free throws. that leaves him with 3's.
he's doing other things like passing and playing really good D, to contribute to the team.
this is what we're gonna see for a while until he gets his explosiveness back. until then his job is to shoot open 3's, pass, play D.
if you think about it, though, this could be a blessing in disguise. it forces him to develop into a complete game who's a threat to hit a three as much as taking it to the whole. the good thing is, he's still young and the rockets aren't in a rush to win now which allows him time to grow his game.
this is the only logical explanation.
See, I don't think it's the knee AT ALL.
DeleteI see Jeremy Lin still blowing by people when he feels like it. I see Jeremy Lin just ATTACKING people on defense where he's easily the BEST defensive point guard in the entire NBA. I even see a Rockets team that is giving him the ball and saying "Be Jeremy Lin!"
For whatever reason, Jeremy Lin is consciously giving up the ball. I'm sure that the reason is MENTAL, not physical. Otherwise Jeremy Lin would be getting burned on defense and wouldn't even be allowed to play in games if he physically couldn't get the job done.
Lin is steadily getting used to his new Rockets job, a task that took him 23 games in NY. Each game, he shows something new. This game he completely shut down Mario Chalmers and made some astonishing defensive plays. Plus, the Rockets were supposed to be murdered by the Heat and they'd have won this one had Harden not bricked his shots!
I have absolutely ZERO worries for Jeremy Lin. He's improving game by game. Not if but WHEN his string of "breakout" games comes, I won't be the least bit surprised because I'm watching a DRAMATIC upward progression of his overall ability.
The best is yet to come - sooner rather than later!
i don't know, man.
Deleteagree that the best is yet to come. i mean, c'mon.. it's his second year starting. in his second system in 2 years. going from a ball dominant PG to learning to play off the ball and making decision BEFORE getting the ball not while he has the ball. he's getting better at it. good thing usually happens when he penetrates into the paint and we saw some of that yesterday. which tells me that he isn't ready to do it as much as we like and i think it is physical rather than mental. he tried shaking his man a few times but backed off.
he's also making a conscious effort go left - maybe he is doing everything he can to develop his game in a real game environment.
if this is jeremy in his 5th yr in the league then i'll say yeah, this is his ceiling. but i'm not worried yet - second year, second system. he'll come around.
Jeremy Lin has soldiered through much more difficult situations than this.
DeleteIn the context of his maximally bricking teammate Harden, Lin's play is not bad. Lin needs to attack a little more, but that's not coaching. That's LIN.
When a guy is doing as much quantifiably positive good stuff as Lin is, he is bound to be a good if not great player. Breaking out in the NBA isn't a sudden burst of brilliance, but a slow steady progression of positives that leads up to a quality finish. Lin is doing just that.
Lin's still learning his teammates and learning his own role. Eventually he'll attack because there'll be no other way for him to stay on the court. And when he attacks, LOOK OUT.
Because I posted even before the preseason that Lin will have a problem this season driving to the basket and scoring and his jump shot is too inconsistent (and the max stats Lin will get is around 12 to 14 points per game and 9 assists -- which might well be on the high side now), I am not surprised at at Lin's level of performance -- it's pretty much in line with what I expected.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is Rockets keep losing "closely fought" games -- and some of those they should have won -- and that's a bad sign of things to come. If Rockets did not play Detroit twice, then their record might be 1-6.
One player who is really upping his value (money value for future) is Asik. He is getting a lot of opportunities to score and develop his offensive game, and his offensive game seems to be improving somewhat. In future, I would not be surprised if he gets a bigger contract. Asik is really in an ideal situation for him because no one expects him to be an offensive weapon, and he is doing very well defensively; therefore, he will be viewed as a bargain.
Harden's play is disappointing because I thought he would be smart enough to realize that he cannot just keep driving and get the ball stolen (this is exactly what I noticed at OKC), and I thought from his play during the first two games with Rockets, Harden realized that he must look to pass and take smarter shots to win; but that's not happening at the crunch time.
It's good though Rockets has Douglas as a back-up, so Lin will continue to get his minutes. He has to take more shots than 7 or 8 shots per game, and also vary his shots.
I am hoping that Lin can gradually improve and end this season at 13 points and 8 assists level. He needs to be more selfish player, with a concrete view of improving his game as soon as possible. It's not a bad life getting paid $25 Mill to improve one's basketball game. I just hope Lin will have a long NBA career, so that he will be able to help other Asian-American players play in NBA.
Deleteand he won't have a long career if he can't make spot up jumpers. he needs to develop this part of his game and he's doing it.
DeleteInteresting article:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/20959241/video-how-hero-ball-doomed-the-rockets-and-the-heat-maximized-lebron-for-the-win
Illustrates well what we already know. You would think Harden would have learned. Can anyone post a linke to the video where Harden pushes at Lin at the end of the game? I didn't see that.
DeleteThe problem with Lin is that he's living in and buying into the NY hype as the humble and unselfish player. And he really tries to live up to that billing. But being humble and unselfish professional player on the professional basketball court means playing like a wimp. And that's what he's becoming. And that means playing without aggressiveness. Lin should lay off that unselfish and humble mindset and play basketball like a mean and fearless warrior. And he also needs to keep his religion to himself and rely on himself and not some superpower that could help him play better. Remember Michael Chang who won the French Tennis Open at 17? He then went on praising and repraising his lord and his game went to hell ever since.
ReplyDeleteBeing humble and unselfish are good social characters, but they do not belong on a professional basketball court.
Lin, trust yourself, don't afraid to make mistakes, play with no hesitation. Remember, the best shot after hesitation is worse than the worst shot without hesitation.
It did concern me when he said it was a miracle that he played so well during Linsanity. I was thinking to myself "Damn, if he thinks it was a miracle, does that mean he really thinks he cannot play well without God's help?"
DeleteI agree with what you are saying.
This is the NBA.
DeleteHumility and unselfishness are NOT opposite of aggressiveness.
Lin can be humble, unselfish, AND aggressive. Take the opportunities when they're there, that's what you guys are correctly saying.
It's NOT humble or unselfish to constantly give up scoring opportunities to other players. Giving up good opportunities to feed teammates who are closely guarded is harmful to the NBA game.
Lin will eventually attack. When he does, the Jeremy Lin that we all know will instantly roar right back. The athleticism is there and the game is too.
A lot of people remembered that Michael Chang won only one grand slam title. Do you know how many 2nd place he won? Michael did not go to the hell of the game after his French title. He was at the top of the tennis world for almost ten years after his French title.
Delete@tiger and eb..
Deleteit's only when he's playing for God will he be able to play freely and not afraid to make mistakes, because he's not playing for anyone else's approval. and there's nothing wrong with believing that your talent was giving to you by God because frankly, nothing he did made him 6-3 200lbs and quick when his parents are 5-7. in fact, that makes him work even harder knowing it's a gift given to him and not a given right that he demanded.
and i don't think he's afraid to make mistakes at all. he did take the shot. it came off of his hands funny and he missed it.
there is something else at play here - either he's trying to accomplish something in terms of expanding his game, or playing within the system that he's in. or in my opinion, it's the knee and the system. even if he wanted to drive and be aggressive and play freely, how the heck do you do that when you you're knee doesn't allow you do that?! also keep in mind that mchale said from the beginning that they want the free wheeling, aggressive jeremy BUT within a set structure and i think that's what he's trying to figure out. it's gonna take more than 7 games.
you can't expect him to play outside of the system because the would make things even harder for him and most of all, the team suffers and they would lose, and he cares all about the W.
though disappointing, these opportunities will only make him stronger. i'm glad he had a chance to take the big shot. i'm glad he's getting to focus on other areas of his game.
ReplyDeletei admit that the first 2 games did skew my expectations of the season. let's be patient and try not to over-analyze. if lin takes a .500 houston team into the allstar and doesn't have any prolonged injuries- that's great news.
be patient lin fans, rocket fans, there's plenty to be happy about.
Gotta support Jeremy no matter what! The only Asian NBA player now. Believing you not just a hype. Of course you got the potential just stay confident. Struggle, courage, confident and faith are all elements need for victory. Go Jeremy! Last night was not bad at all. The heat only win by 3 points not like people predict 15 or 20 points.
ReplyDeleteHint to everyone here:
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin doesn't have a beard. He's not black. He doesn't have a max contract. He wasn't traded from the Thunder. He's not shooting the worst percentage on the team. He's not "leading" the league in turnovers.
Lin's teammate James Harden is all of those things. He's been laying brick after brick since his first two games and has constantly been turning the ball over. Why are people criticizing Lin for HARDEN'S mistakes?
At least during Linsanity, Lin WON THE GAMES. He shot a blistering 57% despite the high turnover numbers. Harden is neither winning nor shooting effectively. If one player deserves the blame, it's Harden and not Lin.
The way people talk on this forum, it seems like Lin is the sole problem for the Rockets losing. In truth Lin has MINIMIZED any negative contribution to the Rockets, so much so that he's minimized his positives too.
Lin needs more shots? How about Harden give up the ball and STOP BRICKING? Lin needs more assists? How about Harden actually hit some shots and Asik start catching the basketball? Lin needs more defense? That's just BUNK because he's the best PG defender in basketball.
I as the "token Asian guy" have been blamed before for other people's failures. So when I see Lin getting blamed for Harden's failures, I find that UNACCEPTABLE.
Go after the right guy, folks. Blame Harden, not Lin.
I also blame Harden the most, since he's supposedly the franchise player, getting paid the most money, who is playing very dumb and selfish basketball now. But since this is Lin forum, I think people talk about Lin. A loss is loss, whether you lose by 20 or 3. It's the fact that Rockets had a chance to win and lost which hurts.
DeleteIf they can not learn from the failure, they do not deserve to win. They are paying their due. Lin is actually playing better than last season. To be honest, the Rocket is a board line play off team. Even if they make it, it is not easy to get to the conference final. Let alone the final. So, in some sense, they will have games lost. The important issue is whether they can improve after the loss.
DeleteI don't think Lin's airball was embarrassing. However, I do think TVN's comments are embarrassing. TVN, are you jobless or part of the 47 percent, and thus you have so much time to take jabs at Jlin?
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for you. You are one of those people that put down others ideas and opinions by virtue of your self-proclaimed superior experiences and status..ie "See, this tells me you've probably never played organized hoops.". Anyway, keep posting as much as possible. I need my laugh for the day.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAlso,
DeleteI still remember when you said to someone.."did you watch Jlin play in high school..I did" . You must really be a Jlin expert....hahhahahha. Keep posting broh..luvin it. I know you won't respond to me, but again ...a non-reaction is a reaction.
I was incredulous and actually laughing and saying "WTF" when I saw it -- just telling you how I reacted. Then saw Lin say "My fault" and felt really bad for Lin, until I realized Lin is getting paid $25 Mill USD for next 3 years. Then, I didn't feel bad for Lin.
DeleteWhile everyone is asking Lin to be more aggressive, did anyone ever wonder why he is doing that besides being unselfishness? Since Lin is the kind of player who always follow the coach's instruction, I'll not be surprised if all these is the coach's idea. In one of the games that Lin scored over 20+ points, I saw from TV that the then-assistant coach was full of anger instead of joy when Lin came back. After that game, Lin's number is getting lower and lower. In yesterday's game, he only got 8 balls to shoot - as he always HAS TO pass the ball to Harden. I feel so frustrated as there is nothing we can do to change this.
ReplyDeleteHis FG% is abysmal. There's no need to argue in his behalf. Shooting 3 for 7, 3 for 9, etc. is not gonna cut it. He's getting wide open looks but he's not draining them. Honestly, right now the naysayers who said he's a backup PG have the upper hand in the Lin debate. He needs to turn it around or the boo birds are going to give it to him. It's not unheard of for a player to get booed on his own homecourt. I remember Mike Dunleavy Jr. getting booed on his own team's homecourt every single game. It was ugly to watch.
DeleteMrScrewup, I agree with you. But note Harden's shooting percentage sucks also. The way I see the state of his game currently are:
Delete1. His D is OK, not great but decent and improving.
2. His passing is very good.
3. His rebounding is solid
4. His offensive variety of scoring, very limited.
5. His jump shots, not as easy to improve as I see it. But I am willing to wait for 25 more games for a better sample.
6. His confidence is low, and the pressure is high.
Hey, I think Lin is better than Chalmers though, which means there will be a NBA starting PG job for him. Does anyone know how much Chalmers is getting paid? Damn, LeBron made so many outrageous 3s.
Anyone learned probability knows that the more you tried, the more likely you'll get better. See how many balls harden got -- 16, and how many balls Lin got: 8. The result: Harden 9/16, which is not any better than Lin's 3/8. If Lin also got 16 balls and still only score 3, then that is a problem. But now the problem I am trying to point out is he does NOT get a fair number of balls at all.
DeleteCan you post a link showing when the assistant got angry or a game so I can watch the replay? I'm really disturbed by that. I haven't been following the games as closely since it has been painful to watch Jlin struggle.
DeleteI just answered my own question. Chalmers getting paid $4 Mill.
Deletehttp://hoopshype.com/salaries/miami.htm
I would have thought Battier would get paid more than $4 Mill. He's worth $4 Mill.
Let's not start pointing finger as to who's at fault. When they lose, it's all their fault. Remember, it takes a team to win games not one or two guys. Like JLin says, as long as he sees progress on each games, it's a good thing. Let's give him some more time. Atleast he's moving forward and not backwards.
ReplyDeleteIn professional sports, a franchise player is an athlete who is not simply the best player on their team, but a player that the team can build their "franchise" (team) around for the foreseeable future. A franchise player is someone that is marketable. When you hear the word Lakers, you think about Kobe Bryant. When you hear Rockets, majority of the people think of Jeremy Lin, not James Hardin. I have watched all the preseason and 7 games and the commentaries is about Lin. Online, 90% of the Rocket’s headlines is about Jeremy Lin. Rockets made Lin a franchise player because he was marketable. They got rid of Kevin Martin, Scola, and the point guards so that Lin can be the new face of the Rockets. James Harden will never be marketable as Jeremy Lin, but is a stronger player. The way Jeremy is playing right now, he will never ever get a max contract of $80mm.
ReplyDeleteYa people need to watch all the games before making assumptions. From my view of the games, Jeremy loss confidence in his shooting and attacking abilities. He would hesitate to shoot when open, he would think twice about driving in when he have the first step, and he rather take a long two instead of setting his feet by the 3 point line. Jeremy would bring the ball to halfcourt, pass it to Harden, Harden pass back to him and instead of scoring, he would pass back to Harden or other teammates. Yes, Harden does a lot of ISO plays, but when he passes to Lin, what does Lin do? Stats don’t lie. If Jeremy was in offensive mode, he would have taken more shot attempts. A Star that takes 7 or 8 or 10 shot attempts per game is unacceptable. Sometimes, I feel that Harden is in a lot of pressure because Jeremy is not helping him on offense. I can see it on his gestures when he keeps passing to Jeremy and he is not attacking or shooting. If Harden is not shooting, he always pass to Lin. After that pass, it’s up to Lin to distribute back or attack.
Let’s put it this way. If you have media attention and the spot light right now to become famous and to outshine other superstars due to Linsanity, wouldn’t you try to at least live up to that spot light?
I am not blaming Jeremy for Rocket losses. I am not saying James Harden is the savior. You play as a team and die as a team. But there is a difference. When you become a Star, you have to perform.
Rockets best offensive players are Jeremy Lin and James Harden. Jeremy needs to step up his game and put some points on the board. Otherwise, Rocket will have a hard time winning teams.
I would like to see Jeremy take at least 15 shot attempts per game. At least it will help him during clutch time if he has the hot hands. A hot Jeremy Lin can score on any direction. You can’t be a clutch player being cold and only attempting 8 shots in 34 minutes of the Miami game.
I agree with all your points, except for your statement that James Harden will never be as marketable as Lin. Harden has the beard, and I dare say most non-Asian-Americans probably go to games to see Harden rather than Lin. Not sure though.
DeleteI cannot agree more with you that Lin should get at least 15 shooting attempt each game. The problem is will the coach give him the power to shoot? I really doubt that. So far Lin's best game he scored 20+, but I saw the assistant coach only gave me an angry look, rather than joy. After that game, his number of balls is lower and lower. This coaching team sucks and that frustration is bigger than Lin's performance itself.
DeleteWas this the Atlanta game? What time was this and what quarter are you talking about..I want to take a look at the replay.
Deletehttp://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/11/jeremy-lin-livin-his-dream/2/
ReplyDeleteAn interesting read. Maybe Lin will keep on surprising us.
Just saw the post game interview, and the coach has said repeatedly that he will NOT change the current way and will continue to let Harden conduct the offense. For anyone wondering why Lin did not aggressively make shooting attempt, please consider poor Lin's situation: he knows his shooting number does not look good, but his coach instruct him to always pass the ball to Harden who almost never will pass the ball back to Lin - so what can he do? Anyone has any idea to help Lin out?
ReplyDeleteIt's very simple.
DeleteLin just has to ATTACK and PLAY HIS GAME.
No matter what Kelvin Sampson says, it's on Lin to attack and not be passive.
If Lin attacks more, Kelvin Sampson will either be forced to play Lin or bench him. And if Sampson benches Lin for playing well, Les Alexander up top will KICK SAMPSON OUT.
I'll bet that Lin himself realizes that his only solution is to attack. Lin needs to go back to being "Jeremy Lin!"
KHuang,
DeleteI agree with you and don't know how you're keeping your cool. We must be watching some alternate universe games.
When Lin is dictating the offense, this team plays so much better. The problem isn't Lin. He's the answer. This obsession with TOs has stifled the team as well as Lin. No risk no reward. Sacred money is lost money. Three pointers are fools gold.
Did anyone else notice in last nights game Jeremy made cuts to the basket and was WIDE OPEN underneath but Harden would not pass the ball?
ReplyDeleteThis happened on MULTIPLE occasions. Harden's court vision is not as great as touted or he's simply not wanting to make the pass.
I feel like the guy has a large ego and really isn't as much of a team player as people are led to believe. He spends his free time going to strip clubs instead of working his game, and his attitude and ethic is seeming more like the direct opposite of Jeremy's.
I feel a bit relived that Sampson outright admitted today that Harden Hero Ball doesn't work.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nba.com/rockets/video/kelvin-sampson-11132012
Still waffling on Harden vs. Jeremy being primary ball-handler, but Harden's PnR stats and Jeremy's recovering knee make that understandable. I don't mind Jeremy playing off the ball sometimes, but it should be Plan B. And it shouldn't happen during crunch time...he's the point guard after all.
Man, Landry Fields PER and stats are horrible. PER of around 2. Man, Fields got paid good money to deliver horrible stats.
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/4274/landry-fields
Actually, Lin's PER is around 15 (average), while Kevin Lowry's PER is 30 (LeBron level). Felton's PER is around 15 also. PER seems to provide pretty decent indication.