After 4 great games, Jeremy had an off game against the Wolves. The T-Wolves coming in after a few days of rest were all over the court defensively. They really took the Rockets starters out of their offense with aggressive, overplaying defense. Playing the 2nd game of their back to back, Houston looked sluggish and reverted back to their bad habit of isolations with not much ball or man movement.
Instead of setting hard screens and more ball movement, we saw the starters get lazy and just go one on one. This type of offense just kills Jeremy's game. How many times did they come down and JLin not even touch the ball. Or, how often is the ball reversed and swung to him? Is it just me or does it seem like it's few and far between when Jeremy actually gets an assisted basket? This must be so frustrating for him.
Yes, JLin's shot was off and he had a bunch of unforced TO's but you still gotta give your starting point guard more opportunities to play through that. It really looked like the guys found out JLin is still close to being named as an All-Star starter and they wanted to make sure that doesn't happen. I know that's not the case but it sure seemed like it.
For JLin, he still needs to really work on getting the ball when he is being overplayed on the initial pass. He's got to use his body better and make harder sharper cuts to get it at the top to start the offense. You know once Harden has it, he probably won't see it again. Also, he's got to make sure his foot is behind the line on his 3 pointers. At least 5 times this season he's had his foot on the line. If those are three's, he's shooting .33 %. Still not great but acceptable.
Sorry, I'm just frustrated seeing the lack of respect given to Jeremy. They win four straight with JLin putting up All-Star numbers, but it looks like his teammates and coaches still see him as just an OK guard. How many players in the modern era put up 37 pts and 7 asts twice in their first 50 starts? I found just two. Michael Jordan and listen to this, James Harden.
I guess there in lies the problem. As good as Harden is, Jeremy just doesn't get the type of touches he needs to get going some games. Imagine the type of numbers he'd be putting up in place of Lillard on the Trail Blazers. Everything runs through him, with Aldridge to run pick and roll and Batum to catch and shoot?
I'll stop complaining here. Even though it could be better, it could be a lot worse. Eventually, defenses will just force it out of Hardens hands. Jeremy will get more opportunities. The main thing is they are winning. The whole key is to get Jeremy to the playoffs. We're heading in the right direction but sometimes we have to take a step back before taking two steps forward.
I understand what your saying here. This game was not a great one for our jlin I think he is progressing well. We all have to remember jlin has played in ~80 games (~35 as starter). james harden has played in over 240 nba games. Experience is important, jlin as smart as he is I believe will pick up the small adjustments needed to make him much more dangerous. I don't like the way the Rockets coaching staff has handled jlin at all, I'm looking to see jlin get much needed experience and more consistent. consistency is the key. Once we all see that, which we will, then the sky's the limit :)
ReplyDeleteCheers.
Yep, it's frustrating. If the Rockets coaching staff used a different strategy, they could be maximizing Harden and Lin much better. But they're going to keep trying things their way, so it will take longer to figure out.
ReplyDeleteAs for All Star voting, the only other players with at least as any points, reb, ast, stls per game as Lin are Rondo and Westbrook.
Agree with jlinfan#1. Although the team is jelling more I don't sense a bond amongst the guys. Definitely not "okc-ish" during their infant years. It's not out of possibility but definitely an uphill climb for lin to develop that bond like he had at NY. Chief obstacle in the way are the coaches. According to them, harden is #1, and #2 is up for grabs . Without a clearcut pecking order the players fall out of line, thus players play out of wack and the team plays inconsistent. It's a very simple fix, but the coaches refuse to do it. Make harden captain and lin co-captain. Every team has 2 of them. The rox so far have none, cuz they haven't designated any titles. Once they do that, the rest of the guys will fall in line and develop that 'real' comraderie based on respect.
ReplyDeleteThere is no "bond" amongst the current Rockets because they made it clear that basically everyone is on trading block and could be moved at any time for that "2nd star" except Harden. It created a culture that every player just wants to build up their own stats instead of playing for win. Lin couldn't command the same respect when the management didn't even appoint you to be on the team long term.
DeleteSad but true
Deleteyou know s.hit is whack as hell when Parsons, Delfino and TD think they're primary playmakers.
DeleteI think Parson can do no wrong in his dad's and uncle's(i mean mchale and samshit) eyes. Your beloved son and nephew always get the green light no matter what. He was never benched, even in games where he played poorly. Parson is being treated like a star while on his rookie contract. Lin on the other hand was and still is treated like a yoyo. You don't treat a newly 25m guy like that, especially when your marketing campaign is built around him. If you benched him in the 4th or overtime, how is he going to grow. Please some posters here do use common sense. Don't give me this tough love shit and good coaching shit! They are winning despite incompetent coaching act.
DeleteLin was playing as a PG during their first two games. Because Harden put up unbelievable numbers, they decided to let Harden be "Mr Everything." He was their savior. Lin was being treated like an undrafted scrub. The coaches was able to treat Lin like that because Lin was an after thought in Les' eyes after Harden got traded. I don't buy the crap that Samshit was spitting out to the Chinese reporter about Lin was passive and that Lin wasn't instructed to give the ball to Harden at half court. I don't buy the crap the coaches are protecting his knee. It is the coaching staff responsibility to draw up plays and get their players in the right position to win games. I don't buy this crap that Lin had to step up and do this and do that because this is the NBA and that he is a big boy. BULLSHIT!!! He is fighting an uphill battle when the coaches, teammates, management, and the owner don't have his back.
Parson did a lot of kissing up to mchale, then Lin and now Harden. This is the sole reason why Parson will get into politics when his basketball days are over. He speaks and acts like a sleek politician.
I think Parson wants to be co-captains. He thought Lin and him were going to be co-captains, until Harden trade took place. Thus, he will do everything he can to make him the second option so he can be one of the captains.
I remember reading one of the articles while Patterson was in China and the reporter asked him about Lin being the captain, and to which he replied that anybody can be the captain, including himself. That part was very telling.
Lets face it, his teammates are jealous of his fame and new contract. I don't think his contract is huge at all for a starting PG. He is getting paid at market value.
I really want Lin traded to Dallas. The owner thinks Lin can be another Nash and Carlisle had mentioned that Lin is a very good player (this was mentioned during preseason while Lin was struggling). Also, they were the one team that gave him a chance to participate in the summer league when he went undrafted. During the press conference all Les mentioned was Jeremy will get us on national TV and gives us negotiating power to attract free agents. Jeremy looked very uncomfortable during that part. Go and watch that part of the video again. Unfortunately, Dallas doesn't have any assets to trade for Lin.
I think with the situation right now, if he could, I think Lin would rather stay in NY. At least, if the coaches misused him, the fans and media will be all over the incompetent coaches. Here he got no love, even the fans hate the thought of him playing in an All-Star game. That part to me spells racism. Kobe and Howard don't deserve the votes, you don't see anyone hating them.
DeleteSome of you mentioned that the coaches are giving Lin tough love and are good for his development, then please explain how he was benched (in the 4th) in the Dallas game. He was aggressive and was playing really good. Lin was unhappy and uncomfortable when the camera panned into him. Some of you need to buy some common sense. It's free!
DeletePG is often is the underappreciated position especially when he's playing with a big time scorer. If the PG defers to his big time scorer, he doesn't get good stats himself (like Lin's currently doing). If he aggressively looks for his own shot, he gets criticized for being selifsh and handicapping his big time scorer (like the poor Westbrook).
DeleteI have no problem for Lin training his weaknesses (e.g. 3 point shooting) on the Rockets for a year or 2 or even all 3 years. And then anything can happen in 3 years when he trains himself into an all-around PG. As long as he becomes good, he will have many more choices, not just the Houston Rockets anymore.
I hope Lin gives the Rockets the middle finger when his contract is over.
DeleteNobody (Rockets fans, Lin fans) think (and want) Lin will stay at Houston beyond his 3 years. I don't really care. I just know Lin will make any team he went to a better team while leave any team he left a worse team.
DeleteJoseph Lin @Joelinsta
DeleteThat is how my brother can play. When HE'S in control of the ball, and NOONE else.
8:53 PM - 10 Dec 12
The tweet is no longer found(deleted to avoid controversy?) on Jeremy's brother tweeter.
It's very telling : Jeremy doesn't defer to Harden/Parson or any other teammates of his own free will. It's the coaches' instructions. Sampson certainly lied to the Chinese reporter. I wouldn't be surprised that Sampson(has a record of or violating telephone restrictions and then lying to both the school and the NCAA) has the mettle to admit his mistakes.
We witnessed the results of not allowing Jeremy to be the floor general: the team lost. If the coaches allow the players to continue freestyling and try to be the co-captain, the Rockets definitely won't make the playoff this season.
"has NO mettle
DeleteI really hope this All-Star thing can end soon so the Rockets coaching staff can stop trying so damn hard to boost Harden's stats for the All-Star and Lin not to become an All-Star. Hopefully the coaches can really look for win 1st more than anything after the All-Star break. Because I just know that Lin will do whatever it takes to take his team to the playoffs. And I doubt the Rockets would be so stupid to limit Lin if it's between Lin doing well while the team winning or Lin doing bad while the team losing. Even Mike Woodson who plain didn't like Lin chose the former rather than the latter.
DeleteWoodson didn't have a choice, but the fans and NY media. Look I can understand Jeremy being benched for Jason Kidd or Derek Fisher, but not Toney.
DeleteI meant to say that the fans and NY media will kill Woodson if he was misused.
Deletealcsd wrote:
Delete"I think with the situation right now, if he could, I think Lin would rather stay in NY."
No way.... The Nits were planning to treat Lin the same way as the Rockets - except they've asked him to give them a MAJOR DISCOUNT and make it up with endorsements. And then, they planned to use him as a backup (because of the Car_elo issue and they preferred a veteran for a starter; they also saw his TO rate as a major problem - unfairly, but that's another paragraph); then planned to package him to trade for most likey CPaul who will be UFA next Summer (I believe that's why the Nits were so bitter at Lin - they got nothing for him because their strategy failed).
They can't package him to trade for CP3 because the Knicks are over the cap. They will need to include Tyson as part of the deal. CP3 will be making 20m and Lin 3-5m (as they were hoping).
DeleteAlso, if you are over the cap, you can't sign and trade. That is part of the new bargaining agreement.
DeleteWho says the Nits weren't going to create cap space by next Summer? They tried desperately to trade Amare (didn't mesh well with Carm - just like JLin).
DeleteAmare contract is un-tradeable because of his bad knees, but largely because contract is uninsured. Knicks were desperate for a star a few years ago and Amare was the only one willing to play for the Knicks (because they gave him a $100m contract). Rumors had it that Knicks were giving him to anybody for free (meaning no assets needed and/or take back bad contracts). So far no taker. Any GM who is willing to trade for Amare will be out of a job within a year.
DeleteA lot of conspiracy theorists here again. Sigh..
DeletePeople cannot seem to move on with the Knicks.
alcsd,
DeleteLol for pete's sake (;~)..... let's just say that the Nits wanted to pay him peanuts and they had ulterior motives .
They thought no team would offer Lin a contract because of the hatchet job they did on Lin's skills and the "we'll match" ploy. (Kevin Love recently said that only the Hornets offered him a contract because no other team wanted to take chance on him, thinking his team would match. When teams offer someone a verbal contract, even tho they are not guaranteed to sign that player, they cannot use that money to go after another player).
Also, about a month ago, I read that Wo_dson confirmed that he thinks Lin is either a backup or even a D-leaguer still. Not directly to the media this time - as opposed to last May and early June. Then in late June he publicly did the switch ("Absolutely Lin is our starter") when he and the captain Carm (What a prestige, change of heart and vote of confidence, oh my!) tried to lure Lin in late June with that West Coast dinner thing.
Ztrta,
DeleteI am not siding with the Knicks here. I was saying that if Lin were to stay in NY and played with Kidd, it will be better for his development. Even if he was benched for Kidd, I am okay because he will learned a lot from the legend himself. I know that they were scheming to sign him for peanuts and trade him later, but at least they will showcase him. If he were to play this year in NY, he will still be the starting point guard and will do well under Kidd's guidance. I honestly think Kidd did want to mentor Lin (despite his dirty play last year, I think out of frustration). All Lin need is to play well for one whole year and he will be taken seriously. And I think he would have done well in NY.
He will still be a Knicks had Les not change the offer.
Delete"He will still be a Knicks had Les not change the offer."
Deletealcsd - I disagree with that one, even though the Knicks said that. That was also the opinion of Lin's agents in their plug to the Rockets and a few other teams. But that's a whole anothrr topic that we've already covered a few months ago.
.................
But regarding your comment just above that:
Absolutely agreed! Lin would be doing unbelievable for himself and for the team especially. I truly believed that. Also, the Knicks have hired Hopla as an assistant coach and look at how much they all improved with uncontested catch-and-shoot 3-pinters!
Knicks, Dallas - would be all good if this was all about FANTASY.
DeleteHowever we are in reality.
Like most Asian American males, Lin can only play the limited opportunity (not even opportunitIES) he has been given.
All Lin can do is play his best. For Asian American males, often that is not enough due to nonperformance related social race factors.
I actually planned my Christmas vacation to go see JLin play in NY, but it didn't work out. So sad...
DeleteWhat I do remember from JLin's days as a Knick is that even the veteran all-star teammates gave the ball to JLin because the fans would boo them if they didn't. JLin had the absolute love and support from the fans, and I think that's something he really misses now.
I could not even finish watching some of the Rockets game highlights because it was so frustrating to see his teammates ignore him when he asked for the ball.
So by playing his best when he got an opportunity means that JLin dribble the ball up court and pass the ball to another player mainly JHarden and run to the corner? Do you honestly think that's what JLin wanted to do and the coaches have nothing to do with it? To be honest, even I can do that in my sleep. Imagine how JLin feel when his role has marginalized to that level. Let's say JLin's knee wasn't a 100% recovered, then for goodness sake, just sit him out so the knee can heal faster. His only opportunity was to dribble the ball up court and pass then run to the corner was also limited. A lot of time he didn't even get to dribble ball. Tell me that I'm wrong about JLin's position. Isn't him a PG? I know all of us including myself are just speculating and speaking our opinions but the obvious has shown in games they've been playing that the coaches have not used JLin correctly. Last 7 games or so we've seen some improvement but still lacking a lot of discipline in how the offense is run. This is as annoying as Jon Barry keep saying "JLin's going to his right again..." Why go to his left when he's so good at his right you moron "JB". Same scenario, why make JLin a spot up shooter when he's so good with his shot when he dribble and shoot. JLin's a dynamic PG. He's constantly on the move whether he has the ball or not. If you're a coach and you can't see that, then I'll just stop right here.
DeleteJon Barry: "He's [Asik] got really good hands."
DeleteI agree with the op's post. The strangest thing to the Minn. game was how they started. Jlin did not have the ball. He had it on the first 2 possessions, then they went Parsons ball and then Harden ball. I could not figure out why this was and I felt all the players (I really mean Parsons & Harden)were gunning for themselves in Q1.
ReplyDeleteIt was VERY strange to see after the past 4 games. Some of that was the defense, but I guess Parsons thought he could go for 40 that night to retain his position as 2nd leading scorer. And Harden just reverts to "I can do this myself" ala Kobe style when things aren't clicking instead of letting Lin set the table. At the same time if Harden played that passive, he'd be a poor mans' Daquan Cook so it's tough to say...
Thank god somebody else noticed that as well. 4th was Hardenball (legit - I dont complain about that) but Jeremy played only 27 minutes or so and most of that time it didnt look like the past games (in the first 3 quarters).
DeletePeople were gunning on their own (making 50% more 3pt shots compared to bulls game) which is why I said that the gameplan was set for Harden and the shooters and not so much for Lin. When the guys didnt shoot they tried to go to the basket - IMHO even more often than Lin.
Of course Wolves tough D was aiming for Lin but Rockets didnt support Lin much eihter. Where were the solid and smart screens? Rox D was quite bad too. There was a moment where Lin defended against two opponents. Coaches sub pattern turned out to be OK in the end but I really didnt like the gameplan.
Lin had 7 TOs but I only blame him for 4 of them tops. There was a flop (I think JJ was falling), there was a foul on Lin (I think it was JJ als) and one time Asik should have catched the ball.
I see it a little different. Lin started out aggressive. But then he got a few bad turnovers and a few bad calls and then he stopped playing aggressive. As a player in team sports, no one anoints you, you have to earn it. Lin needs to take that approach. That he is the freaking point guard and the players better get in line. As the PG he can demand any inbound ball come to him and then he dictates play. But he is not doing this regularly and he is deferring to much.
ReplyDeleteLook he is the second highest paid player on that team and he needs to act like it. If Lin demands the ball but still doesn't get it, then it is up to the coaches to fix. But he has to demand the ball first.
I have seen lin demand the ball, call for high screens and his teammates refused.
DeleteHm..maybe Lin already knows coach won't be on his side If Lin acts like you said and demand like you said so no bother? What if he acts like you said and demand like you said and it ruin the team chemistry more because other players upset and think jlin is still a young pg to get them llisten and they end up more apart from jlin? How to show that he is demanding it? If me and you in a team you gotta the ball, you want the ball too and I come along demand the ball from you, will you give it to me? I think it's easy said than done. It's not up to him to demand it, it's the coach to demand it and players respect coach's decision. The coach will be the one to figure out the role for the players. I think as a player you are only deferring to your coach but no one else and I think that's what jlin is doing most of the time.
DeleteOn a battlefield you know who your captains are, who your lieutenants are, etc. You can't go to battle with guys still jockeying for captainship. You fight each other instead of the common enemy. At some point Mchale has got to commit to that or the battle is lost
Delete@phil winston, I agree to a point but when players don't know their roles, they're less likely to listen to the PG. Why should they? They haven't listened before, so why would they start listening now? Parsons, Delfino and TD should NOT be handling the ball as often as they do. THEY DO NOT HAVE THE AWARENESS OR COURT VISION THAT LIN DOES BUT THEY KEEP DOING IT BC THE COACHING STAFF DOENS'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT. Interesting, that the coaching staff is more comfortable and has more faith in their average to below average playmaking skills than Lin. Interesting that Lin has to keep proving himself and gaining their trust. Mchale recently made a comment that it took some time for him to learn/get to know Lin's game..IE, they were misusing him until they started to understand who he was as a player. WTF??? Did his play NY make a f.ucking difference at all? He's been playing well because he's playing like he was in NY. Had Lin gotten the benefit of the doubt from Mcfail in the first place, it wouldn't have taken this long for them to realize that he wasn't a spot up shooter.
DeleteThis s.hit gets brought up all the time. Yes, Lin is and will continue to work on being aggressive. What's being done on the other side of the ball though? Are the coaches making any adjustments? I think it PATHETIC that fans are happy that Lin got to play the last 6 minutes against the wolves, like it's some awesome thing that happened. Newsflash!!!!...your starting PG should be finishing games/playing at the most crucial points in the game. My oh my, have our standards and expectations have changed.
I don't mind Parsons or TD handling the ball some so they can develop other skills besides shooting. But let Lin establish the flow of the game first.
DeleteAlthough I do remember in the several times in the finals where KD dribbles full court on a fast break with a bunch of Miami heat around him. He got it stripped several times.
Look all those guys are new to the team and to each other. A pecking order has to be established. Right now only Harden has established his role, the others are still jockeying like you said. It takes time. Guys need to work it out themselves sometimes and cannot rely on coach to tell them what to do. Lin is the PG, by definition he gets the ball and starts the offense. If guys don't listen, it is very easy for the PG to freeze them out, and then they get the idea, especially if that is reinforced by the coaching staff. But the initiative has to start with the PG and not the coaching staff which is only a fallback.
DeleteHow does Lin get the guys in line? He demands the ball, but guys that get open will get it back. That is what makes a good field general. Putting his teammates in position to do their best. Pretty soon guys gets that trust going. But some of it is also on Harden. As the undisputed leader, he has to reinforce the message that Lin is the PG.
The problem in this game was that the style of play that the Rox have been using was not working because guys were physically unable to muster the energy to effect it. And with your general turning it over and getting crap calls, it's time to go to plan B. Unfortunately in this case plan B became iso ball - guys were tired so the first thing they do is settle for jump shots because that is less taxing than running around screens and attacking the basket. Look at the assist rate and it is clear the team was not playing together. Luckily in this game the Rocket's superstar did a better job than the Wolves' superstar when it mattered.
@Phil Winston:
DeleteAll you say is that Lin is too soft which is basicly BS - you are bashing Lin.
When Lin calls for screens and doesnt get them... what to do? When guys stand around waiting for the ball to get some 3 pointers for the stats instead of screening for Lin - what to do? When Delfino and Parsons constantly bring the ball up - what to do? If Lin gets the ball but not the players cooperation all the blame for not scoring or losing the ball will be on who? Lin I guess.
I noticed on some occasions that TD (who I like) was trying to direct Lin on the court (what is bullshit since he doesnt have Lins skills and is a backup PG who is acutally a SG).
Basbketball is a teamsport. PG or not - you have to listen to the coaches during the games. You dont know whether Lin is trying to establish a pecking order or how hard he is working on it.
Lin started the season camping in corners - he had to suffer through games until he could show his true skills to get some trust from the coaches but even a blind man would see that the coaches treat Parsons and TD like sons while they treat Lin like a stepson. Basicly - he has to prove himself again and again despite Linsanity.
BTW - hardcore clutchfans - who have been very critical now show more love for Lin than people on this site.
After yesterdays game the regular posters immediately pointed out that Lins TOs were not bad since he was only responsible for 3 - max 4 of them. Even than the TOs didnt allow Wolves fastbreaks like when other people have TOs. They didnt care much for the back to back argument - no excuse needed cause most of them simply didnt blame Lin.
I disagree.
ReplyDeleteI've been the biggest "give J-Lin the damn ball" advocate on here, but I don't think that wasn't the problem last game. Oddly enough, Parsons was the only player who was selfish last night and should have passed the ball to Jeremy.
It was just an off game (even Harden was cold for most of it) where Jeremy and others were sluggish and clanking shots. Harden is the best at getting to the rim and they needed to ride him last night.
They still trusted Jeremy's defense and he hit a big shot to tie the game up. That takes real guts and McHale would have played Douglas instead as recent as two weeks ago. A "step back" would be the two games after the 38pt game against Spurs.
Let's see what happens in the next two games. I have a feeling Jeremy will "go off" in at least one of them to pull out a win.
The spurs and okc games are a yardstick to see if they are legit or not. Even if they dont win, it should be a competitive game. This is why I worry. It is because these games are against playoff teams, I am afraid someone on the team might be selfish . As much as it is a team sport, when you know many are watching, you want to prove something and i hope that in their minds, nothing is more important that the win .
DeleteRox - 10 straight road games loss against Southwest Division teams.
Delete---
SA shooting 78.6% from line, highest since 1979-80 team made 80.1%
I agree, Lin had opportunities in the last game. I don't know why the whiners are out in full force.
DeleteHarden and Lin were taken out early in the 3rd. So, they played less minutes. Harden was hot in the 4th so the ball was given to him, and he delivered.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMost people here are not talking about the MN game. I thought this time it would have been reasonable if they had benched him the entire 4th, but they didn't only because of 4 previous games - a good thing too, otherwise they would have lost.
DeleteMost folks are talking about the first 19 games - and the coaches' tendency to still "begrudgingly" let Lin play a part-time PG. They must be told by Mr Alexander to play Lin for real until and if Lin falters (and not before) and plays worse than the designated backup.
Those who say Lin had his chances should watch the game again and see - not how often Lin gets to touch the ball - but how the guys were running. Were they positioning themself for outside shots or to help Lin? Guys - get a little less one dimensional - please.
DeleteBTW - Harden played as usual -> 37 minutes
DeleteLin played 27 minutes.
Delfino on the other hand played 35 minutes - shot 4/13 and 3/11. Sometimes he is worth his money but not yesterday. I would rather see Delfino benched in yesterdays game.
People cheered for him cause they think he made a nice and important steal. If you watch the videos you will see that Lin forced (I think JJ) to lose the ball and it just fell into Delfinos hand who was just standing there. Even anouncers were lik "Oh nice steal from Delfino..."
It's recorded Lin's steal officially on NBA website.
DeleteLooks at the past few games when JLin did well, Parson did not do very well. So he took the ball the last game and put Lin aside
ReplyDeleteAlso All Star voting is now, he wants to boost his stats
i think parson will have more votes by looking more dreamy than by boosting his stats. Teenage girls will love to vote for him.
DeleteMorey: She’s [daughter] 12 and not only does she now want a Mac, but she’s also obsessed with one of our players.
DeleteJFriedman: Oh geez, let me guess which one that could possibly be.
Morey: No, no, no. We can’t say it. But needless to say, one of our players is now safe from ever being traded – I would take a lot of grief if he ever left the team.
Hate to say this: Parsons is very likeable as he has the looks but he's kinda hunched and a bit too skinny. Jeremy has a much nicer body and equally charming smiles... :)
DeleteI find JLin infinitely more attractive.
DeleteNot only is he cute, he seems genuine and kind and I also love his quirky sense of humor.
OK. Done with fangirling.
I did notice the Rockets management and coaching staff really want to make Parsons a star and want to showcase him. Maybe they want him to be their eventual franchise player or coach/GM? Who knows... Don't really care, unless they do it at the expense of minimizing Jeremy's role.
There can be 3 simple explanations on why Rockets are showing him:
Delete1. They are building him up for a major trade. He is a very attractive asset because he is getting paid peanuts.
2. His dad and uncle are developing him into a future star because they are very biased towards his abilities.
3. His dad and uncle just love him period. He can't do no wrong in their eyes. They are blind when it comes to their own blood.
EVERY player is being showcased, and EVERY player is tradeable.
DeleteThis is the NBA where Les Alexander would trade Lin for Lebron if the salaries worked out.
[For anyone interested]
ReplyDeleteRox shooting practice [JHarden]
CNN: SI ranks 2012's top moments in sports
ReplyDelete[2:36] #2 - Linsanity
FB 2012 Trends
ReplyDelete#10 - Linsanity
Scott Machado @_ScottMachado
ReplyDeleteJust got back to the hotel from working out & the fans start screaming for @JLin7 but I'm with @LongLiveTheLam haha #Priceless #comedy
4:46 PM - 27 Dec 12
Jeremy Lin @JLin7
meet a rockets trainer/my doppelganger @LongLiveTheLam...since ppl always confuse us u should follow us both on twitter
pic.twitter.com/xoxi6axW
9:15 PM - 27 Dec 12
Color Lines: The Year in Review 2012
ReplyDelete[1:10] JLin
theyre tired, theyre young. Give the team a break. I love lin but really stop blaming his team mates when he is having a bad game. Some of you here over analyzed everything. So there is no clear captain except for harden. Most like to over stepped their boundaries or playing reckless to prove something to the coach. Some people here say let lin be aggressive and shoot the ball more and be a little selfish but hate it when other teammates are trying the same strategy. they are all trying to prove themselves out there. All of them will make a bone headed move that could cost them the game. I won't dwell on it too much.
ReplyDeleteExcept that Harden is not a good leader. A leader will go out of his way to his teammates better, even if it means sacrificing his own stats. When your teammates see that your true and good intentions for them, they will follow you willing.
DeleteThe problem is not the players. Everyone in the nba is theoritically selfish and looks for his own interest. But it's up to the coaches who define roles and hold the players accountable when they overstep their defined roles. Now the problem on this Rockets team is that either the coaches simply don't define roles for everyone except Harden, or the coaches can't recognize Lin's ability and see Lin is lesser than or at best equal to the likes of Parsons and Delfino in playmaking, thus giving them the same green light. It's totally on the coaches.
DeleteDITTO-
DeleteI thought Jeremy did fine and did all the little things to help the team win including that long 2 and the clutch down the stretch D that sealed the game. Although I agree with everyone else that Jeremy is probably their best floor general, but I think it's a conscious thing with the Rockets to pass the ball up court as much and as quickly as possible to push the pace of the game.
For me, I don't have any problems with Rockets inbounding the ball to whoever is closer to half court. I do have a problem with TD, Parson, Delfino taking tough shots, or missed layups in traffic, bad misses, or just dribbling away the shot clock, and so on. I think the players will have to learn to reset the ball to Harden or Jeremy because they can create much better shots for the other players. I thought TD did a nice job of creating for Asik and Smith during 3rd quarter interspersed with bad dribble plays. Give MN defense credit where it was due, but they also had 4 full games of footage to learn how to stop the Rockets.... on tired legs no less.
Cara,
DeleteThat is why the coaches are incompetent!
its too early to tell if harden is not a good leader. He played behind durant, westbrook maybe Ibaka in OKC. I'm giving him time. And yes im really not sold on the coaching staff yet. This team is good they should make the play-off and if they don't its all on the coach and not on the players.
DeleteIt's very clear to me that Lin is a better leader than Harden and can make his teammates better than Harden. When Lin had it going, the Rockets just straight up blew out teams. When Harden had it going but Lin didn't, the Rockets barely beat other teams or lost. Except that game against the Spurs where Harden didn't play, I can't think of another game that Lin played well but the Rockets lost. Basically the Rockets go as Lin goes. I think it's telling enough.
DeleteI agree with romz - Lin had a bad game, glossing over it and blaming his teammates just makes you look like you have blinders on.
Deletealcsd - the coaches in this game were not incompetent. They sat Lin (and harden) to give him a breather and then brought them back for the final push. The coaches played a more important role here than in any of the blowouts since the game was so close.
Mchale only brought Lin back in because Toney was doing too good either in the 4th.
Deletemeant to say "wasn't"
DeleteDo you seriously believe that? To take your arguments further, the coaches identified an underperforming TD and replaced with Lin and game was won. How was that bad coaching? They shortened the bench in a close game despite playing the 2nd of a BTB, yet not one guy played more than 40 minutes.
DeleteThey didn't have a choice because Toney was playing poorly in the 4th. If he was hitting 3's, Lin wouldn't have seen the court in the 4th.
DeleteLin was gassed and tired from beating the heck out of Chicago the night before and then getting weather stalled.
DeleteThis game, Lin tried but could not perform like "Lin". That's what an NBA bench is for: to "relieve" the starters.
And when the game was on the line, a well rested and focused Lin stepped back in and played like "Lin". Excellent handling of a fatigued NBA starter by the coaches.
Kuang,
DeleteYou haven't explained why Lin was benched for Toney in the Dallas game. Toney was playing well so Mchale kept him in. If Toney was playing well, Lin won't see the court in the last 6 minutes. Seriously, you are acting like Mchale's son.
Sampson explained it better than I did.
DeleteWhen Toney Douglas gets hot, he gets left in the game.
Now there have been episodes where Lin has played well but the coaches put in Douglas anyway. This is basketball and coaches make mistakes like that all the time even with star players. The Rockets are new to each other and only recently have the coaches found out what guys can and cannot do.
On the whole, Jeremy Lin has played many more minutes than Douglas. Jeremy Lin is the starter and will continue to play starter's minutes.
And if you want to play the flame game, alscd, be my guest. I wouldn't recommend you antagonizing me, for your sake.
There you go, using the word flame. Maybe some of his true fans are just tired of your support for the incompetent coaches.
DeleteThat's totally fine, alscd.
DeleteAnd maybe some other true Lin fans see that the coaches are doing a good job and that it's up to Lin to seize control because that's how the NBA works.
JLin Effect~
ReplyDeleteVisiting Rox 2nd only to Lakers in bringing in fans to stadiums.
Yeah but what's going on in their own arena when they are home. How come it looks so empty ?
DeleteActually Houston's attendance is up this year vs last year according to the same website. Not sure why the Kings are 4th though.
DeleteLow home attendance in years.
DeleteRockets attendance at home are bottom 10 and they rank 2nd on road games. It clearly shows that Lin got more fans outside Houston, when Lin is in town, you know there will be a lot of Asians in the building. Where are all the Asians in Houston??
DeleteIf you read Clutchfans, you would know very clearly that Lin doesn't get any love from most fans in Houston.
DeleteClutch himself will have no trouble banning Lin only fans, but will not ban Lin only hatters. Hatters can talk shit about Lin and some of the stuff they wrote are clearly racism. As soon as a Lin only fan attack Lin only hatter poster, he will get banned.
DeleteHe will make videos of Harden great game, but not Lin. I was waiting for the Lin's Spurs game highlights from him, and still waiting.
Anybody wants to know why Clutch is so high on the organization? I get the feeling the Rockets put a huge amount of money in the kiddie "contribute" jar each year.
Delete@alcsd
DeleteLin does get love from Houston fans if he continues to produce. I don't know where you people get your wild ideas. Lin doesn't get praised when he has a bad performance (it is understandable). they have been [raising Lin during his 4 straight great games.
Haters disappeared in those 4 games. Mostly LOFs (Lin only Fans) can glow about him without being called LOFs and Asians.
DeleteIs the Rockets management team aware this Clutch guy is actively campaigning against a Rocket player getting a spot at the All-star team? He keeps posting (along with his pals or contributing members or whatever) that JLin doesn't deserve to be an All-star and people shouldn't vote for him. What is ClutchFans anyway? It's not an official fan site for the Rockets, is it? Even if it is just an unofficial fan gathering site, as an administrator for a site that supposedly supports the Rockets, I would think one would show some sense and remain neutral.
DeleteNewsflash! Cluth is a glaring LOH! The way he put down LOFs and letting trolls (LOHs) pretending to be LOFs write stuff above to make LOFs look bad. He is a fraud!
DeleteThe way coaches are allowed to treat Lin like a scrub and not the new 25m man, I am led to believe that they have the okay from Les and Morey. Who needs Lin when we got Harden.
OK, I've held back long enough but that is just irrational. You don't kill your cash cow, and believe me, Lin is the cash cow, just to prop up another player. Unlike the Knicks who sell out regardless of who's on the floor, Houston needs Lin to generate fans (see the attendance posts above). That has not changed since they added Harden. Without Lin, there aren't any Pacific banks wanting to sponsor the team or put up Chinese ads in the arena. The NBA is a business and the owner is not stupid. Check out the allstar voting and even the poll on Clutchfans, look who is leading who in popularity. Your position claiming the ownership has a conspiracy against Lin is delusional.
DeleteIf Lin is a cash cow, then why are the coaches are allowed to treat him like a scrub? You don't bench your starting point guard. You let him play through some of his mistakes. Even when he was playing good, he got bench.
Delete"Scrubs" don't average 30 minutes a night.
Delete@alscd - I agree with your position as earlier in the year, the benchings made no sense. They have not done so since Lin is doing what the team wants him to do, which is stay assertive and not so deferential. The coaches have come out and said as much. When Lin plays his assertive game, they put him in. Lin took that long 2-pter in the 4Q after his shooting troubles (2/8 up to then) - I am sure the coaches were reminding him to take the shot if open.
DeleteLin gets down on himself too much - comes out in all his interviews. As a shooter, he needs a short memory, that's what Doc has been trying to instill in him in the summer.
Phil,
DeleteLin should be the only want playing point guard when he is on the floor and no one else. Also, Mchale should have substituted him a few minutes sooner. That was why I can't help, but think that if Toney played well during that period, then Mchale will let Toney played through the entire 4th quarter.
If Toney Douglas or any player went on one of those dominating spurts like Lakers game and hits every shot, he SHOULD play.
DeleteBasketball is a team game, not Lin solitaire.
Douglas brought the Rockets back, Lin closed out the win. TEAMWORK.
Phil, Lin was playing plenty assertive when he got yanked. He had two very aggressive lay ups and almost a third before the ref called an offensive foul on him. Then, he got benched for almost 20 minutes.
DeleteI didn't see the game but it's so funny to read this forum versus the other forums (Clutchfans).
ReplyDeleteIn this forum, it's all about how Jeremy Lin is disrespected. At Clutchfans, they said Jeremy Lin just seemed slow. The Rockets fans on the other site said that it appears to THEM that Harden is willing to let Jeremy Lin play point if he's going good. If Jeremy isn't going good, Harden will then go to his ISO-Ball.
Personally, I would say we just need to chill out. When a player does not have it going, sometimes it is better to take a step back and be passive. Jeremy's style borders on being reckless and he can't keep it up for a full 82 game season full bore. That is one reason Jeremy needs to work out his jump shot. If Jeremy wants to take a play or two off, he can play off ball and knock down some jumpers.
I think Jeremy is smart enough to know when he has it going or if he doesn't. When he doesn't, best to play within yourself and let others take over. Jeremy managed to contribute at the end.
lol, sometimes I think Nemo creates his "insane anti Lin" personality just to make fun of the shall I say it, fanatical fans here.
DeleteI agree that when a player doesn't have it going he should defer a bit more. That is winning focused decision making.
DeleteI dont agree that harden and teammates were not letting Jlin play pg because Jlin was not playing well. You didn't watch the game so you may have missed the fact that since the first possession, the teammates were not swinging the ball back to Jeremy. Right from the start and before teammates and harden could tell whether JLin was "going good", they made up their mind that they were not going to let Jlin play point guard.
The team moving the ball away from Jlin in the first quarter seems intentional but I prefer to see it as not being malicious or self interested. It may be part of a game plan, in light of JLins success in the past few games and thus in anticipation of Minnesota shutting Jlin down. The decision by the staff consequently seems to be attack using other players. I don't think that decision is a good one but my point is their, coaches and teammates, poor decision (in using option other than Jlin early in the game) may not mecessary reflect shady intentions.
DeleteMy sole criticism of the Rockets coaching staff when Sampson was head coach was that the Rockets were all too willing to let opponents dictate the Rockets gameplan.
DeleteSince McHale's return, the Rockets have not been so willing to hot potato the ball out of Lin's hands when the trap comes.
Also, Lin recognized that the trap would show itself and then disappear. Lin tried to push through the false trap in the 1st half, and the Wolves bit him. But then Lin held the ball in the 2nd half and allowed the trap to disappear. Then Lin roasted his single defender in isolation.
Good coaching management and ESPECIALLY Lin's heady play are why the Rockets just beat a significant playoff bound team on ther home floor despite the Rockets not being at their best.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm so sick of the Rockets. I'm just waiting for the day when he can get on a team where the coach at the bare minimum actually believes in him. From the moment he was signed to this team the owner and the coach were very damning in the type of praise they gave Jeremy. Les was obsessed with the press Jeremy brought in while McHale limited himself to opaque general praise of Jeremy with special emphasis on how much of hard worker Jeremy Lin. Compare that to the praise of the other Rockets which focused more on their basketball skill. I want him to rack up some good stats, increase his value and ditch this stupid team who has some of the worst sports fans I've encountered.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right. Biased and bizarre.
DeleteMy guess is Lin will be traded (see my post right below), but it depends. I absolutely positively believe it's better for Lin to be traded. Either way, the Rockets did him a favor by signing him because the Nits were planning to re-sign Lin cheap, then use him as a backup (didn't mesh well with Car_elo; plus they preferred a veteran), AND THEN trade him - probably as a part of a package for CPaul. CP is a close friend of Carm and they have both mentioned playing together. Also, they are both repped by CAA. All big name players want to play for Knicks or Lakers.
Les Alexander is gonna trade Lin.
DeleteUh, you guys do not understand Les Alexander.
Les is one of the smartest owners in basketball. He knows the game, knows the players, and even knows how marquee players like Chris Paul work really hard to trade themselves off teams like the Rockets.
Les deliberately targeted Lin because he knew Lin was a great player with STAYING POWER. He publicly said that Lin would attract other free agents and play the style of ball that Les wanted. Lin is Les's handpicked player.
Les Alexander gets rid of any player that wants out of Houston. He'll take guys like Dwight Howard as one year rentals, but only as trade material to rid his roster of undesirables.
Les knows what he has with Lin - the best young point guard in the game!
I agree. I also thinks Les likes Lin. I think Les knows Lin's potential. It was interesting that Les was asked about Harden and he said that Harden was a good player, and he liked his game. He also said that Harden told him that he is trying to recruit players to Houston, which Les's response was,"that's what he says, we will see". That made me go ...hmmm
Delete@awarde - same feeling with Les about what Harden said. I'll ONLY be impressed if he can recruit Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka to the Rockets. no Westbrook please.
Delete"I guess there in lies the problem. As good as Harden is, Jeremy just doesn't get the type of touches he needs to get going some games. Imagine the type of numbers he'd be putting up in place of Lillard on the Trail Blazers. Everything runs through him, with Aldridge to run pick and roll and Batum to catch and shoot?" - Admin
ReplyDelete...............
My thoughts exactly. I'm sure the team and the coaches have blindsided Lin. It's probably the first time in the history of the NBA for a coach to disrespect his team's starter like that. Things are a little better for Lin but it took the Spurs "audition" game #19. Crazy. The Blazers supported their brand new rookie PG Lillard from the very beginning and him play through a ton of mistakes - how else can he get better right? As a result, Lillard's confidence is unshakeable.
Portland (population 600,000) also has a heck of lot more basketball fans and their seats are always sold out. It's just the opposite in Houston (population 2 million plus). Also, people from Portland are much more open minded.
I believe they brought in Harden as Lin's replacement, based on their unnecessary panic during the preseason exhibition games, the timing of the Harden acquisition, the way in which Harden was used (as a PG, which was supposed to be Lin's position, instead of SG), and the utterly disrespectful manner in which they treated Lin.
If true, I don't know if the Rockets still plan to trade Lin or not, since they saw that Lin could still fit in with the team. It will depend on a number of factors, including how long Lin and Harden will play well together (Ironically, if they continue to play well together, Lin is more likely to be traded because his trade value will go up). Even if they trade Lin, it may not be until next Summer because they might feel foolish trading him so soon for two consecutive years. Who knows, they may also be contractually obligated to keep Lin in their roster for at least one whole season because of some overseas corporate endorsements.
I wonder how Yao feels about all this. He was happy when Houston got Lin.
DeleteIf they keep him for 3 years, his value will go down and he won't get the contract he deserves.
Lillard was like the new puppy. Every thing he does is like "look how cute" because there was not that high expectations. When you've had Felton for a year, anyone is going to be better. With Lin, he came in with Linsanity and some fans were expecting that from the get go but didn't get it. They'll get it soon enough.
DeleteHouston being a large city, I expected better fan support. But I guess they're more into football. I hear high school football games play to like 15000 fans.
@alcsd
DeleteYao might have a diff perspective on things.
Like:
[I'm sure he meant well though.]
"Lin has struggled so far to reproduce the success he experienced last year and said in a recent interview with Yahoo Sports that he felt he was a target on the court because of his race. Yao, who was a target himself when he first got to the NBA, said he thought it was wrong to think about it in terms of skin color.
“He’s a target because he got so famous last year, not because of race,” he said. “That what the NBA is like. You have to beat your opponent to earn the credit, and that’s a process that will be with you through your entire career.”
Via,
DeleteI want to know how Yao feels about how this organization is treating Lin.
@alcsd,
DeleteI'm sure Yao privately sympathizes with Jeremy. After all, it turned out that McHale was livid they signed Lin and he treated Lin accordingly. Things are better now but the bridge was erected. Without the marketing aspect in mind I'm not sure that the owner would have told McHale to fit Lin in after the Spurs game.
I really hope Lin is traded by next Summer because Lin's value WILL go down (in relation to his true value) if they keep him for 2 or 3 years. More importantly, Lin's stats will suffer too much while he works hard for hockey assists than if he plays for a coach who really believes in him - at the very least, a coach who isn't so biased against him. Lin landed on a Caucasian coach who thinks Lin is a flash in the pan more so than probably 15% of black coaches out there!
@alcsd - Yeah. I'm thinking Yao might have a diff perspective -> Follow the coach [they know best], don't put the blame on others, work harder yourself, etc.
Delete[Of course we won't know exactly, until someone from the press ask him about it.]
I think Yao is was trying to be politically correct. Whereas, Lin was telling the truth about people go after him because of his race. Yao is a gentle giant (just like Asik). He doesn't talk shit about anybody. Also, he doesn't want any backlash on any future Asian descendent NBA players.
Delete@ztrta
DeleteRight, the key word is PRIVATELY.
I'm sure privately he knew people were racist towards him too. But he'd be looking to get past things/ not dwell. I think his mantra will be: Try harder. :(
^ I'm sure privately he knew people were racist towards him too -> he = Yao.
DeleteCreating another controversy ?
DeleteI TOTALLY Agree with YAO. He is accurate with his statements.
How would you know? Have you been an asian NBA player who was targeted? Or were you on the other side - a non asian who went after one?
DeleteI don't agree with Yao AT ALL.
DeleteRace has EVERYTHING to do with Lin being overlooked and Lin being targeted.
Yao is not from America. He, like most of my friends who grew up in Asia, has no clue of how American culture degrades Asian American men.
Jeremy Lin has a big bullseye on him for being Asian American. That's how America and thus the NBA works.
JLin + Team vs Minny - 12/26/12
ReplyDelete[Blaiyan]
Parsons are daddy's little boy and he's been acting too spoiled lately. I knew it from the first time, the guy is not genuine to JLin. What do u expect from a white dude who looks like Bieber? Lin's personality is rather timid and he's not outspoken, that's why it's nice to have a teammates like Fields and Jeffries who always got his back.
ReplyDeleteI know Tyson through Jeremy under the bus, but he was the key to Lin's acceptance by his teammates as the leader. The players listened to Tyson because he was the unspoken leader and he wanted Lin to lead the team (because they were winning). Plus, Dantoni got his back. Here the situation is reserved.
DeleteGuys come on..basing someone's character based on his looks? We are better than that :)
DeleteI dont get the same feeling I have for Fields and Lin when I see parsons and him for whatever reason . However, we are unsure what goes on behind close doors.
To be honest, if I am Parson's agent I would also be worried about him. In fact, some rocket fans were unhappy that Harden and Lin were the defacto leaders when they were signed. It might not be true but I will not rule out the possibility that when Lin was singed, Parsons probably thought he and Lin would be the captains and then came Harden... There is nothing wrong with that. You come to the nba..you may love the game but it doesnt hurt if you can become a star/ become recognised.
If Lin and Harden get their numbers and parsons doest, then MAYBE Parsons would feel like he is on the losing end ..so will his agent. Maybe even parsons talked to Lin about it .
I think one of you guys raised a good point and that is the coach must give his players clearly defined roles . I am willing to let it slide because there would be games like the Minny one where your gameplan would not always work and you have to figure things out. I agree with the lack of creativity in terms of offensive schemes .
Lin has to have a solid play each time so he can earn the respect of his teammates and it is true that it is predicated on team play and not isolations .
Parsons has been called the glue guy for the team and until there is real evidence, I am not going to say for sure what parsons intentions are.
How can Lin have a solid play each time when the coaches don't put him in to position to do it. For example, camping at the 3 point line. That is playing to his weakness. He has to practice facilitating now and he can practice shooting in the off season. Facilitating is not something you can practice in the off season, whereas shooting you can.
DeleteEvery nba player wants to be a star, not a role player. Every player and their agent want to make the biggest contract possible. Again it's the coach's job to recognize the talent and know what works or doesn't work and manage the egos among his players. I definitely think the Rockets management and coaches overrate Parsons' ability but I don't blame Parsons to look out for his best own interests, after all he's only making 900k per year only this year. I mean, Parsons also needs stats so he can make his big pay day when his current contract ends in 2 years later, he's not someone like Jeffries who is a veteran who has already made his big pay day and knows his best quality doesn't show up in stats but lies in helping the team win.
DeleteHis own brother, Joseph's twit gives you clues as to how Jeremy was misused.
DeleteChandler Parsons and Carlos Delfino are trying to do "great player things" by initiating things on their own.
DeleteThe problem is that it doesn't work because those guys have limited talent.
Delfino is playing better with the Rockets than he has for any other team, mostly because of Lin feeding him. At the same time, Delfino wants to grow his game and be more than what he is even though he CAN'T.
Parsons is a good role player and finisher, but he's nothing like his idol Larry Bird who ranked right up there with Jeremy Lin in making guys better. Parsons is trying to create for others the way Bird did, but he doesn't have Bird's sneaky athleticism or Lin level court sense.
Most hardass NBA coaches from the Larry Brown school would put clamps on Parsons and Delfino, telling them "Let Lin be the point guard and stick to your role". Then those guys would TURN ON LIN, just like what happened in NY with Brown's role driven protege Mike Woodson.
McHale's different. He's like "At some point, every guy on the court has to have the freedom to initiate plays. If that means Jeremy Lin or James Harden get a few less touches, that's OK if the team wins".
Given that the Rockets are WINNING, I'll go with McHale and support his "everybody gets a chance" approach.
Jeremy mentioned this site in the past. I know his people visit this site, but don't know how often. I hope they pass to him the message about Chandler.
ReplyDeleteThis site? You sure? I thought he was speaking about the other site.
DeleteI agree with you alcsd on everything you posted above. I know we dont have the hard evidence but I too have my suspicions on the 2 coaches and chandler is certainly not as true as fields & jeffries. Lin should really watch out for himself until we are proven wrong. At least he has the 25m contract and what he can control now is to focus continually on improving his game, keep healthy and in time a special player like him will find his niche on a team who knows how to maximise his strengths.
DeleteWillydilly,
DeleteHe mentioned in one of his article interviews. Don't remember which one it was.
@wil
Delete14:07 website mention.
People are complaining but they won in Min.
ReplyDeleteWho ended the 12 game winning streak of OKC? Twolves in Min
The Rockets winning at the 2nd night of a back-to-back in Min is quite an accomplishment.
At the end of the day, Winning is the only thing that matters and not the feelings of somebody else. If they won, who the F*** cares about everything else?
If they manage to win against the Spurs or OKC, that would be great regardless of individual statistics. They will take the WIN anyway they can.
BTW, Lin was out of rhythm all game long. That is the reason for his struggles and not because of some WACKY conspiracy theory (just read some of the stuff above).
Fans are truly Fickle. After the Bulls game, no one was complaining. One bad game from Lin, Fans began COMPLAINING again about McHale and Sampson and even Harden, Parsons, and Douglas.
Endless Complaining.
Just be happy with the F****** WIN!!!
Don't take things out of context - from us as a group!
DeleteI can see that majority of Jeremy Lin fans are discerning but a few are using vulgar language and acting like policemen here without reading carefully the topic of the thread, and what's even worse is that they didn't watch the game yet they speak with so much authority as if they have analyzed the game so well(but failed to see the obvious) and they have every right to ask the fans(including JLinfan#1) here to surpress their frustrations. smh
DeleteReal Lin's fans don't use wacky conspiracies, we only use common sense. Too many obvious clues to draw from.
Delete@neph:
DeleteI dont know who the f*** you think you are. In case you didnt notice - this is a f******* Lin fansite. If you dont respect other peoples opinion or dont really care about Lin -> don read.
We are talking about basketball here - not the lottery or nascar racing where winning is simply winning.
To me - winning or losing doesnt matter that much. Lins perfomance is more important. How he performs is unfortunately not always in his hands. If you are one of those one-dimensional guys... take a weekend of and give it some thought.
You say Lin was off - how about the other guys? Shooting like crap, no D, not setting screens well. JLin at least ran like speedy Gonzales. One time he defended against two players at once. No help. Another time he JJ to lose the ball - what did anouncers say? They said "NICE STEAL BY DELFINO!"
If you dont know how to read between the lines (JLins comments and his brothers comments) and if you dont care about JLin -> keep it to yourself but dont insult us.
Did Michael Terry mention that Neph is a sophisticated troll?
DeleteNeph is a LOF (Knicks fan??) pretending to be LOF to trolling us???
DeleteI meant to say that neph is a LOH (Lin only hater, knicks fan???) and is just trolling us.
DeleteI agree with neph and completely disagree with all of you.
DeleteAnd before anybody here brands me as a neph loving troll, neph will be the first guy to say that he and I have acted like bitter enemies for a LONG time. But when we agree, we AGREE.
To me, this is one of the BIGGEST wins of the season.
The tired and poorly slept Rockets came off a rough night after having utterly crushed a division champ on their home floor. The Rockets matched up against a Chicago team that was well rested and had just seen its star Kevin Love score 30 in like the last 4 games (which is why his bum knee isn't an excuse).
So what do the Rockets do? They come in, play like they hadn't slept all night (which WAS the case), shuffle the lineup so that the bench gets the game going, and then reinsert the starters who beat this very strong and well rested Wolves team on their home floor! HUGE win, even if it was ugly.
By the way neph, I change my mind on something. These Rockets ARE becoming a threat to your (our) beloved Spurs!
Being a Lin fan is great, but Lin fan that is one dimensional is very upsetting. Its give other Lin fans a bad rep. It always start something like this, "To me - winning or losing doesnt matter that much. Lins perfomance is more important." If that is the case, fan should become Kobe fan instead. They will feel good every night.
DeleteC'mon people, if you love Lin for who he is, than you should understand what he represent. He is a team player. Team wins is what he care about and personal stats is only secondary. He has been telling everybody about that on his interview. Any parent that only care about their child grade but don't care about the child feeling is just bad parent. Fans are the same. Just enjoy the Rocket playing like a team. Don't need to find excuses for player preformance. What's matter is your team win at the end of the day, and your idol continue to improve himself as a basketball player. Remember, basketball is still is a team sport.
Some of you guys should go play badminton or tennis or some other individual sports. You have no clue how team dynamics work. The Rox players (all of them except for Asik) did not play a good game and yet they still won. Lin stunk it up for 3 quarters but still made the plays in the 4th to help get the win. Lin scored 38 and they lost = unhappy Lin. Lin scores 8 and they win = happy Lin. But some of you guys @alcsd act like selfish stat stuffers, no better than Melo and the like.
DeletePhil,
DeleteIt not about the stats, it's about letting him learn to play his natural position and allowing him to make mistakes along the way. That has been the most frustrating part for me. I don't care if Lin's stats are bad, just long as he is used correctly and allowed to grow as a player.
But Lin HAS been used correctly.
DeleteSeriously alscd, what would you have done last game as Lin racked up those turnovers? Keep plowing the ball through him and letting the Wolves pounce all over him with those sophisticated traps?
You take him out, he was making uncharacteristic errors, his passes were not turning into points, and the refs were homers - it happens, things don't always go the player's way. So the coaches saved him and Harden for when it was really needed, at the end of the game. He was definitely used correctly, and I think he learned a lot, and the coaches learned a lot. C'mon Lin made three critical plays in a low scoring, close game - he drew a charge, stayed close to JJ for him to dribble off his face and made the 2 pter. I'd say he was used perfectly.
DeleteKuang,
DeleteHow is he used correctly when Parson and Carlos are playing point guard when he is in the game? It should be him and Harden only.
The worse thing you could do is what the Knicks did in the Miami game. Lin was gassed, second game of a BTB, the other team was well rested, playing at home and gunning to stop Linsanity. You don't leave your rookie out there to work through 1/11 shooting and take the hit for the team when Melo was standing around doing sh!tall.
DeleteI agree with everything Phil Winston said.
DeleteTo see what's going on in my mind, read HIS posts.
Jeremy played poorly in that Knicks vs Heat game. But, Jeremy was double and triple team at the top of the key. Yet, he still had no one to pass to. Why?
DeleteI am so glad Jeremy is deeply rooted in Christ. He himself said many times that he plays for God.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine if he plays to the fans or even haters, he'll probably have a mental breakdown by now.
We don't really know what's goin on behind the sence. Pointless to speculate about conspiracy theory. For me, as long as Jlin is happy, we as supporters should be happy for him.
For the past few games, he seem happy. Probably bcos the team won. That's good enough.
Btw, I notice that after the minny game, mchale went over to high five the team but hugged Jlin. That to me was pretty cool.
Yawn.
ReplyDeleteThe Rockets got held up in the Chicago airport until 4 am and got to Indiana late.
I don't know about you guys, but I don't perform well in my show business career under such conditions. I'll be going along and CRASH - down I go without warning on simple things!!!
Jeremy Lin started out pressing, and the Wolves blitzed him according to the game plan. He tried to beat that by pressing more, and he ran himself into turnovers (amazingly I'm not blaming the refs this time). McHale saw that, benched Lin and Harden (both of whom were TIRED AND STRUGGLING), let both of them study the game a bit, and them sent them back in to beat the Wolves on their home floor.
What was McHale to do? Keep plowing the ball through Lin and Harden as they stumbled around on the court willing but weary? Refuse to play the bench that got the team back into the game? Push Harden and Lin through their fatigue in the first half only to have nothing left for the stretch run?
This is why I have been an adamant and unwavering supporter of Kevin McHale's championship pedigree and excellent coaching. He knows when guys like Lin and Harden need to sit and when to put them back in to win the game.
Are you Mchale's son pretending to be Asian pretending to be Lin's fan?
DeleteStop TROLLING, alscd.
DeleteAll you've done is spew hatred on this forum.
This is one thing I don't like about you. When someone is putting you in your place, you automatically use the word "troll" and "flame".
DeleteIf you attack people personally, alscd, you get retaliated against.
DeleteLaw of the internet jungle 101.
You sure act like his son with the way you are building him up. For the record, I didn't attack you, I was stating what I saw from all your actions. Don't state something that ain't true.
DeleteYou just can't stop flaming, can you?
DeleteI won't judge you the way you think you have the right to judge me. But since you want to fight me, I'll FIGHT YOU.
I've been watching the NBA a LONG TIME, and I'm old enough to be Lin's father. I have seen a lot of players come and go. I also feel that Jeremy Lin is one of the greatest talents I've seen enter the NBA, and he himself would be EMBARRASSED if he knew that I mentally rank him alongside Magic and Bird and Duncan and Jordan in terms of how much impact he has on winning games.
If I felt Lin were being misused, I'd bash the coaches relentlessly. I've coached a bit of basketball myself, so I can relate a tiny bit to Lin's coaches. So far, I've been mostly pleased with Lin's usage because my gold standard is Lin's team WINNING, not necessarily his personal stats or glory.
In terms of winning, Lin's poorly paid and extremely young Rockets are 16-12. That's way better than I thought they would be, and the coaches are a big reason why.
And what about those coaches? Lin has averaged 30 minutes a night and played in EVERY game. He has had to be a hero only in spurts, which is very healthy for any NBA superstar. The coaches have carefully managed Lin so that he avoids injury but continues to play well.
I feel that Lin has the best possible learning situation: a fat contract, a supportive owner, and a toughminded coaching staff that's trying to elevate his game via tough love and careful deployment.
I understand fully that it seems like the coaches are trying to minimalize Lin. But sometimes less is more. The coaches are doing something right for that record to stand at 16-12 instead of 12-16 or worse!
Kuang,
DeleteSometimes I think you think people like me like fighting with you, but we don't. I am a busy person, but today I have sometime to spend on this site. It takes more energy to fight, but sometimes some of the stuff you wrote don't make sense. I've follow this site a long time before finally decided to post so I know your history. I wrote this to Phil's response:
It not about the stats, it's about letting him learn to play his natural position and allowing him to make mistakes along the way. That has been the most frustrating part for me. I don't care if Lin's stats are bad, just long as he is used correctly and allowed to grow as a player.
Seriously you need to drop the of your words, such as "flame" "troll" "fight".
Even the coaches are misusing Lin, ultimately it's up to Lin to control his own fate on the court. Yes it's pretty unfair that Lin has to prove himself more than anybody else, more than any white/black players, time and time again. But this is life and even Lin himself has realized this. Basketball is being played on the court, by players themselves, not 100% by coaches' design. If Lin is actively producing, no coaches could be justified to take him out or not give him the ball, 1 or 2 times maybe, but certainly not every single time. You think when Lin checked in in that game against the Nets, Mike D'Antoni immediately instructed everyone to give Lin the ball? No! I still remember Melo brought up the ball a lot of times and only changed when Lin scored again and again.
DeleteLin wasn't himself against Minny and yes the coaches might not help him a lot to get through this. But really it's up to Lin himself to be himself more often than not.
I'll drop the "flame" and "troll" words as soon as you stop criticizing me and trying to make me look like an idiot, alscd.
DeleteYou're learning the hard law of life: attack and then get retaliated against, alscd. GOOD.
By the way alscd, I KNOW that you don't respect me.
DeleteYou refuse to even spell my Asian name right because you do not regard me as a "real" Asian like yourself.
I've dealt with people like you all my life. Your behavior is predictably predictable.
Okay, it's just pure fantasy. But somehow I fancy Lin going to BKN in the future. Deron is not working out for them so far and he's such a big whinning baby I suspect he would force himself out to another team again, maybe the Lakers to be united with his best friend Dwight Howard? I actually think the Nets were making a big mistake this offseason re-signing Deron instead of going for Lin. How hilarious it would be and how angry would those Knicks fans be watching their former star playing on their biggest rivals lol. I actually think Lin would get the Nets a much better record than they are currently having with Deron. Lin's Nets vs Melo's Knicks for the power of NY would be like the most exciting matchup ever!
ReplyDeleteHard to say, Cara.
DeleteMikhail Prokhorov is no Les Alexander. Prokhorov is a new NBA owner who's trying to win by outpaying the opposition, unlike Alexander who's trying to OUTTHINK everyone else.
As long as Lin is under contract, he likely will remain a Rocket because he's already proving to be the NBA's biggest bargain. After Lin's 3rd year, we'll see if Lin stays with the Rockets. The highest bidder will get Lin, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if NY goes "Hi, remember US?"
BrookLIN!
DeleteA lot of [ex?]Nyk fans were actually hoping the Nets sign JLin. 1) He stays in NY. 2) They can stick it to Dolan every time they go over to Barclays Center for the games. [JLin would absolutely steal the light away from MSG...]
Even now, some BKN fans are calling to get rid of DWill for JLin.
I have a feeling Deron William's contract is going to be like Amare's. It's going to be very difficult to move. But then again, the owner is so wealthy, he doesn't care about paying luxury tax. Deron has lived on his reputation for last couple of years. I was shocked that he was valued that much. I would be happy if Lin goes to Nets.
DeleteNo way Brooklyn, NYK, Washington, Sacramento or any of those dysfunctional teams. Lin plays the right way and he will work best in structured environment - SAS, Boston, OKC are all well coached but they also have established point guards. Charlotte would be a good fit as their GM is really smart. GSW and Clippers have done well this year, but I still question those organisations' commitment Actually I think Houston is a very good fit for Lin.
DeleteBut I and I am sure a lot of posters here are not only Lin fans but nba fans as well. We all would love to watch basketball in its purest form. I for one am quite tired to watch "superstars" grouping together and forming "superteams". Instead I like diversity and like heated battle every single night when every team has its own star. And nothing would really top Lin running his own show and singlehandedly turning around a sinking franchise. I also agree that Charlotte as well as New Orleans would be quite good fits for Lin.
DeleteI personally think Houston is the best fit for Lin, BU FAR.
DeleteHouston agrees too!
darnit typo "By far"
Deletepersonally, I think Lin's good fit for Spurs. it's either he will lead the second team or Popovich might play Parker as starter one game, Jeremy as starter on next game.
DeleteI don't think Lin would ever force Tony Parker to the bench.
DeleteWhat I can see is Lin becoming the Spurs 6th man, thus allowing Manu Ginobili to slide to the starting lineup.
Lin would play point when Parker comes out and would play SG when Ginobili comes out. At the ends of games, all three All Star guards would be on the court together with Lin playing small forward due to his proven track record of being a lockdown defender and solid rebounder.
KHuang, can you please elaborate on your last sentence on Jeremy being a lockdown defender. The way I see Jeremy is an ok defender soli at times. Maybe I am not an expert so please enlighten me.
Delete@KHuang - I don't think the Pop will play Jeremy as SF. defensive match up is kind of way off for Jeremy vs a 6'6" or even a 6'9" Kevin Durant. it's more like Jeremy will play point alongside Green, Neal, and Splitter or Pop will play Jeremy as SG for starter unit.
DeleteWell, Lin has successfully guarded guys like Durant and Lebron in short stints before.
DeletePopovich doesn't use height as a requirement for his defensive stoppers. For example, DeJuan Blair at 6'5" will be played in the post to push guys off the block.
Lin is the best defensive guard in today's NBA and appears to me to be on par with great defenders of the past like Michael Cooper and Michael Jordan and Alvin Robertson and Joe Dumars. His athleticism and court sense make him more than a match defensively for any perimeter scorer, even the majority of small forwards.
I've seen Jeremy frustrate a going-for-the-shot LeBron, while I have to review again how he defended Durant. I might have been glued and enjoyed more seeing Jeremy frustrate a running Westbrook half-court.
Deletesome good read here
ReplyDeletehere
and
here
The first article I agree with, the second I do not.
DeleteGenerally Latinos Post is pro Lin, but they'll mix in an anti-Lin article every now and then. This was one of those Lin bashing articles.
Aside from Lin being fatigued, the Wolves also flash blitzed Lin on coverages to prevent Lin from establishing the Rockets offense before the defense could get set. It worked in the first half, but then the Rockets and Lin adjusted by having him hold the ball as the flash traps faded away to cover the passing lanes.
I've seen A LOT of NBA basketball, but Lin is the first player in the post illegal defense era I've seen teams defend this intensely. Typically a team will figure out one way to play an All Star PG and stick with it, but not with Lin. Teams are dramatically mixing up their coverages because Lin kills opponents whether he's scoring or passing and often even when he doesn't have the ball.
The constantly shifting defenses are going to be what Lin goes through for the rest of his career. Lin will constantly be adjusting and readjusting to the wicked schemes opponents work up to stop him.
Any of you folks know where can i find a livestream for NBATv and TNT? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge jlin fan (got a signed basketball for christmas!!) That being said I want jlin to stick it out in Houston for 2 years at least. I think these coaches totally miss use jlin, he could easly be top 2 or 3 PG in assist if the coaches where not so idiotic. Now that I've ranted that, I just feel this is a trial period for the Rockets as well. If they continue to miss use jlin he WILL leave that team and I promise you another team will use him as primary ball handler and well see then.
ReplyDeleteI would rather have him with a team that uses him as the primary ball handler, maybe the Roc's will screw up again and trade him, but until then he needs to play his game no matter what the coaches say. Last game was definitely a regression on HOW to use jlin. Really stupid coaching...anyway until then jlin play YOUR game...fill up the stat sheet with REB, AST and steals.
If Lin were playing with a loaded team like Sacramento or Washington where guys can actually catch and score and play solid individual defense, I'd agree with you.
DeleteBut because Lin plays on this WEAKASS team that doesn't have a single guy other than Harden that can score without being assisted, traps come hard at Lin and Lin can't always beat them by himself.
I think Lin's doing just fine and the coaches are using him well. No amount of coaching will improve Lin's assists if the traps keep loading up on Lin because Lin's teammates cannot initiate offense on their own.
personally, ALL of the Rockets played questionable games in the first 3 quarters vs Wolves - no screens, lackluster D, ball movement that made me go "huh?!?"... and it shouldn't land into the players' hands alone, point also to McHale and Sampson because they're the supposed "captains" of the ship.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't necessarily blame McHale and Sampson for physically and mentally fatigued players (the whole team) missing their assignments against a committed and well rested Wolves team playing their A game.
Deletein a way I would. they should at least sensed the mental fatigue the starters have and adjusted their game plans for both the starters and the bench. it kind of helps when they can get into their players' psyche.
Deletethere were reports in CF that their planes from Chicago were delayed until 4am so can't blame the HOU players to be sluggish in the MIN game.
Deletelet's not overanalyze the team dynamics in the MIN game. They pulled a tough one there. That's what's important.
But that's exactly what they did, IsabeliJane.
DeleteHarden and Lin struggled in the first half. McHale tried to leave them in the game to find a rhythm, but that only made things worse. So McHale benched them both and gambled that they'd be fine by the last quarter, and McHale was RIGHT.
McHale also subbed in the bench players that were not great but had more energy than Lin and Harden. The bench saved the day. Another RIGHT call.
In the NBA, a coach often has to work with an entire team that's so fatigued that even the bench and role players cannot carry out basic tasks. GOOD coaches like McHale manage that fatigue and play tricks with the roster to eke out wins with a limping team!!!
@KHuang - I'm not sold YET with McHale. I know you're pro McHale; I'm cool with that. I have to see what he will do tomorrow and the next day vs top 1 and 2 teams in the NBA, after the team's ugly struggle but win vs Wolves.
DeleteI've seen enough from McHale to be totally convinced, IsabeliJane.
DeleteRegardless of the opponent or situation, I ask myself "Is McHale getting the most out of this team?" I would answer "yes" to that.
I also ask myself "Is there anything more McHale can be doing with this roster to significantly improve Lin's play and that of the entire team?" From my LIMITED perspective, the answer is "no".
Lin's playing great (and improving), he's staying healthy, and his team is winning. I am HAPPY with the coaching that sets Lin up to do all that.
I'm still traumatized with regards to McHale benching Jeremy for absolutely no reason, and I may be seeing that happening again sooner or later. hopefully he steers the team well vs an actual powerhouse, Spurs. I'm more concerned with how McHale will play Jeremy vs the Spurs. I'm embarrassed to use the word "Linsanity", but the Spurs unwittingly lightened up "Linsanity - Rockets style".
DeleteCan Jeremy Lin, James Harden, Houston Rockets Get Past the Spurs?
ReplyDeleteNeal is gonna be out for this game, so one less shooter to worry about. Really looking forward to this game. I don't expect a repeat of JLin's hot shooting like in the previous meeting, but I expect to see a more balanced role between JLin and Harden as the playmaker. Depending on how well the Roxs starts the game, we may see McHale really stagger JLin and Harden's minute in this game. I really want to see JLin contain Parker more in this game. Both teams are 1 and 2 in points per game. Cant go for a shootout. Need to apply defensive pressure at all times, no lapses.
DeleteAs long as Tim Duncan is playing, NO the Rockets cannot beat the Spurs.
DeleteThe only way to beat the Spurs is to have a max contract halfcourt inside scorer like Camelo Anthony or Kevin Durant or Lebron James that not even Duncan can stop on help defense. When those max contract guys pass out of the traps, the 3 point line is undefended.
The Rockets don't have that max contract inside scorer, which is why they're shopping madly to get one and aren't lying about it either. So it'll be more Tim Duncan challenging shots at the rim and in the midrange with perimeter defenders jammed up on Lin and Harden.
Any team can be beaten on any given night. Even the Wizards and Bobcats have a shot. The key tonight is defense and execution. Can the Roxs keep the turnovers down and apply defensive pressure. I don't even think if the Roxs play their "style" as McHale likes to repeat will help. It starts from JLin containing Parker number one. Second is the pick and roll defense. Since the Knicks game, I think the Roxs PNR, and transition, defense has gotten better. We'll see.
DeleteI understand The Wolves game was after back to back against The Bulls and everybody were tired and all that but that is not the real problem.
ReplyDeleteThe real problem is the lack of good half court plays/sets. I know that running and fast paced uptempo offense is our bread and butter but you can't be seriously expect to keep doing that all the time especially when the schedule is not on your side.
If you guys were really watching The Wolves game, you'll see that The Wolves ran a lot of set plays and they all knew what to do. They had a ton of good looks from their sets, fortunately for us many did not go in. While on the other hand our offense was like simple/very limited even confused at times. When our shots went cold, Jeremy don't have plays that he can turn to/count on.
I'd like to talk more about our defense but I think it will be useless since everyone were tired after the back to back excuse
You are correct that all talk of tactics is largely useless with a team that fatigued.
DeleteAlso, tactics talk is limited by how good the players are on the team.
The Wolves have a better and more expensive roster than the Rockets. They can actually run plays, unlike the young Rockets that either are too untalented or too inexperienced to run those plays.
Liin and Harden and Asik won the day anyway.
Lets give credit to the Wolves defense. The Wolves ruffled the Rockets high pace game. I don't know how well the Rockets prepared for this game because it sure didn't seem like it. This is the Rockets/Wolves 1st meeting and coming after a back to back. I'm guessing there wasn't much preparation at all. I expect the Rockets to better handle the Wolves the next time around.
DeleteJlin was forcing things a bit because he may be caught off guard on how well the Wolves were playing and hence he couldn't get going--I think it's more of a mental thing than anything. He played some 1 on 1 which is fine but he turned it over once by losing his handling and another with a push off. Granted his shooting wasn't particularly good, but he was under the basket at one time and couldn't complete the reverse layup because the ball hit underneath the rim. You can see how things were going for him at that point. I think coach taking him out of the game was a good thing so he can calm down and reflect.
After reading everyone's post, I guess I have to post my opinion since I think there's a big divide between all the Jlin fans on this site.
ReplyDeleteOn one side some of you are saying that Lin was not used effectively and properly by the coaching staff & players against the Timberwolves game.
On the other side some of you are saying that due to the circumstances: fatigue, Minn. defense on Lin, and poor play by Jlin & even Harden that both players got benched all 3rd quarter.
I'm probably missing a few more points, but I don't have too much time and writing this comment as fast as I can. But I think that both sides have a point to a certain extent.
My take on this is that the Rockets coaches wanted to rest Jlin's legs and save it for the 4th quarter, therefore, giving some ballhandling duties to TD and Parsons.
Due to Jlin poor play which was affected by Minn. defensive game plan against him and his teammates, it forced Jlin & his coaches to re-evaluate the situation.
Possible re-evaluation scenarios:
1. Jlin was the main focus of the Minn. defense, therefore, to counter-attack the other teams plan, they went and tried iso-ball to see if that would open things up.
2. We all know that (and this goes for any player professional and amateurs) when you're game is not going for you it takes you out of rhythm. (I myself as a basketball player can attest to that. There were games where things seemed so easy for me, I could drive and penetrate, and was basically un-guardable. But there are those games when things just seem harder for some reason, like the PG guarding you is just a step faster, the opposing teams defense seems to collapse faster and trap you and you have no clue. Then as a PG you think about the situation and re-evaluate it and see what you can do to help your team out in another way because obviously things aren't going the way you want. YES, you can keep forcing the issue, but that is just playing to the opposing team's defensive strategy. So what I would do is give it to our #1 scorer in the team who I know can take it 1 on 1 or I would start shooting 3 pointers to keep the defense honest, which Jlin is lacking some consistent 3 point shooting.)
3. One possibility is that the coaches might have taken a step back as far as trying to figure out how to use Jlin effectively against a defense focused on Jlin. They had a mind relapse and forgot reinforce to the team on setting various types of pick n rolls for Jlin. There's plenty of ways a player can stay aggressive and it's not necessarily just keep forcing the issue, but coaches could have realized that they needed to setup some new set plays for Jlin to open up the floor more for him.
I could go on and on, but lets wait and see how Jlin is utilized against the OKC game this weekend. Then we can continue this discussion and have a better perspective on how coaches, the team, and Jlin are progressing.