It was tough to see JLin on the bench for most of this game but it should be a great learning experience for him. No stupid fouls and don't take chances on charges against an all time great. JLin is a virtual rookie in minutes played and he is being treated as such. I can't blame Coach Sampson one bit for sitting Jeremy for most of this game.
TD and Greg Smith really stepped up and had incredible games. The bench all of a sudden looks pretty strong with Smith, Delfino, and from time to time, Morris and TD. These young Rockets are learning fast and on the fly. It was amazing that they beat the Lakers with the way the starting five just stunk it up. They're all going to have to take it up a notch as their next game is against their worst matchup in the Spurs on the road.
I expect JLin to bounce back in his next several games. It's not gonna be easy though since they have the Spurs in two of the next 3. But hey, this is the NBA and if Jeremy is going to be a starter in this Man's league, he is going to have to step it up. I am confident he will.
Lin is a terrible point guard I have come to realize. If he doesnt step it up, I will not root for him ANY MORE! The Roccets will bench him and find new pg because they are good team an with that, deserve good pg! This is not hard to see people! Whats going on to Linsanity!!!! I want that Lin back!! NO MORE EXCUSES!! IM FED UP
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYes I agree with willy...dont bandwagon....cheer for him even in the bad times. Sad to see that someone who will only cheer during the good times.
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Delete@billy Chung:
DeleteLin is not a terrible PG but you are a terrible person/fan/fraud.
You wrote Lin was terrible -> no way back from that. Dont act like an asian JLin fan who is extremely disappointed. Dont come here and "threathen" JLin. Real fans dont do that weirdo!
In case you dont quite understand -> Lin is special -> you are not. Lin isnt there to make YOU happy. He is not YOUR fan. You dont own him. He owes you nothing. You dont have the right to bash or insult or threaten.
You can pull that with your mom like "if you dont give me coockie I dont love you anymore" but dont try that with JLin. If you believe that JLin is reading your post and will set everything in motion to make you the happiest boy in the whole wide world -> you got issues.
Since Rockets already has an owner (and thats not "Billy Chung") you cant really speak in the name of the Rockets. The majority of real Rockets fans - despite all the bla bla here about "evil" people on clutchfans - actually like JLin.
So - your are not speaking as JLin fan, you are not speaking as real Rockets fan (at least not for the majority of them) - makes me wonder -> whats your problem? But hey - there are like 2 billion other poeple who will root for Lin.
About the "NO MORE EXCUSES" thing... whats your excuse for acting up like a girl who was just dropped by her boyfriend?
It's ok if u stop root for him. If u are the type who will just able to step up for the good times n not the bad times. It is unrealistic of any of you who just want Lin to score many pts every game like linsanity time.
DeleteIf you don't have patience, just don't watch until he become an all-star player.
DeleteTRUE fans will root for him no matter what.
I don't understand these people, if you just wanted to see immediate success, why did you choose to be a Lin fan in the 1st place instead of someone like Lebron James or Kobe Bryant? Did they have no fan sites so you want to come here to whine about Lin's "lack of success"?
DeleteYes billy chung, you need to stop rooting for Jeremy Lin.
DeleteThis is a Lin fansite. Nobody is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to enjoy Lin's performances or even post here. You have every right to huff and puff and blow your house down.
I personally am ENJOYING Lin's performances. Every game, he shows me something great. Elbowing Kobe in the jaw was his first actual NBA RETALIATION!!!
Lin has now joined the ranks of the few players who will physically stand up to Kobe Bryant. Important lesson learned by Lin!!!
@ billy
DeleteYou're free to stop rooting for JLin, but it'll be your loss - > WHEN Linsanity 2.0 comes. [in its new form]
These Jeremy Lin fair-weather bandwagon fans need to stop posting and making themselves look foolish.
Deletebilly Chung, did you actually listen to yourselves? You are FED UP because Lin cannot produce Linsanity? Otherwise you will stop rooting for him. Does he owe you anything?
If you are a true fan, you will root for him when he is up or down. I actually applaud his effort to do his best to contribute to his team even when he is not 100%. I admire how he cheered for his teammates when they did well. These are great characters that we can all learn to emulate. Persevere when things get tough. Obviously you don't see this and don't persevere either as a fan.
It's your choice to sulk and pout if Lin does not deliver "Linsanity". But know that it makes you sound childish. With a "fan" like you, Lin does not need enemies.
billy chung is a fraud. just jump off the bandwagon already.
Deleteif you are serious, then you really should seek help.
Yesterday, December 05, 2012, 11:45:03 PM | noreply@blogger.com (billy Chung)
oK WE NEED TO GET A HOLD OF OURSELVES, i MEAN LIN HAS BEEN REALLY BAD LATELY BUT SO WHAT, RIGHT? tHEY WONT FIND NEW PG, 30million dollars lot of money. They wont take Lin away from us right? i mean, hes just rookie.. Hes still all-star right? Just going through rough patch. They cant BENCH LIN!! WEVE SPENT TOO MUCH MONEY ON HIS PRODUCTS AND STUFF, THEY NEED LIN!!!
Yesterday, December 05, 2012, 11:42:29 PM | noreply@blogger.com (billy Chung)
LINSANITY IS GONE!!!!!!!!!! What the fuq is this!!!! We were deceived!! I was deceived!!! The Knicks fans are LAUGHING AT US!!!!!!!!!! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING!!! OK LIN, I SWEAR I WILL STOP ROOTING FOR YOU IF YOU DOPNT START PLAYING LIKE LINSANITY AGAIN!!! IM DONE MAKING EXCUSES FOR A BELOW AVERAGE PG! Rockets are a good team and deserv a good pg, they WILL BENCH LIN!!!!
I am sorry to you guys but NOT TO HIM! I have been more faithful than most despite what I just said. But other basketball fans laugh at us and mock us! And so far Lin has not proved them wrong, he has p[roved us wrong! I spoke out of anger because I left a board last night with many fans, some even Knicks fans and the stuff they say is just so horrible. Makes you feel like dirt...I will love Lin whether he do good or bad! But... maybe he is not what we thought
DeleteThius is what we do: Lin plays 15 games, he does great in 3, ok in 3, and bad in 9. We think the real him is from the 3 great games out of 19... Its a shame.. I thought he was awesome underdogand I thought we would get last laugh at Knicks but they laugh at us and Fat Felton has been good!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteIf you guys have problem with that than Ignore me, nobody put a gun to your head Mr. Khuang and tell you to reply. I am letting off steam, thats all. If you guys dont feel just a little bit bitter about all of this than your most likely liars! Im sorry but I truly believe that.. No more excuses
Delete@billy, if this about JLin or is this about you? Why are you so worry how other see you? Does it make you feel like a winner when you stand next to successful person, and you avoid getting close to a less successful person. If that is tha case you have problem. If you are just a hater, it is better if you go to Deron Williams fansite instead. Not only did he started Linsanity, he got paid twice as much and actually performed worst as of date.
DeleteI dont know.. I dont know.. But I am not hater, I swear. I was full of spirit just a week ago.. Ugh, I dont know. If I knew it was his Knee, I would feel ok but he runs just fine. I thought Lin would prove something and yes, he already has when he was with Knicks. But, I wanted Knicks to do bad I guess. And Lin to be better off. Do I think that is the case anymore? I dont know. Look, i still be fan no matter what, even if we dont get last laugh.
Delete@billy, if it make you feel any better, Rocket has already beaten the Knick once and the Rocket is actually doing much better than what other has expected of them before the beginning of the season. Think what will happen if the Rocket make it to the playoff......That should be a good enough reason for you to continue to be a Lin/Rocket fan. Because result is alway more important than stats, and the future is alway more exciting then the history of the past. Anticipate coming of Linsantiy2.......isn't that exciting?
DeleteIts is. It is very exciting. Thankyou, you are so right. We have some tough games ahead but lets see what happens. Oh for the record, I am Nuggest fan, not Rockets. I was thinking about leaving my team when Linsanity started but just couldnt do it. I guess I do root for Rockets too though since im Lin fan. LETS GO LIN!!!
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ReplyDeleteThe result of this game would appear that Kelvin Sampson "out coached" Mike D'Antoni. But there is a reason Sampson is an assistant while D'Antoni keeps getting one high profile job after another. D'Antoni's decision of sticking with Dwight Howard and the trust placed on him will pay off in the long run and build up their coach-player relationship greatly. People could trash D'Antoni all they wanted now but I like him a lot as a coach.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Kelvin Sampson might have been lucky on this one but I still prefer MDA.
DeleteSampson actually lost this gamble one time already when he benched Lin in favor of Douglas in that OT loss against Portland. Again, no disrespect to Douglas, but with him, it's like a Russian roulette at best. The Knicks have already learnt that hard lesson last year. Good teams always put their defensive focus on the best players and let the lesser players take their chances and try to beat them (because more often than not, those lesser players are not able to do so), hence it was little surprise that Douglas' another career highlight was putting up 7 3 pointers against the great Miami Heat of all teams. Life logic told us that those who just like to take their "Russian roulette chance" wouldn't have sustainable long term success.
DeleteI agree that D'Antoni made the right move to let Howard play through Hack-A-Howard and he survived with 50%FT.
DeleteBut D'Antoni also made a strategic bad coaching move to keep playing his starters when they're tired on defense and let Houston come back.
D'Antoni has always been stubborn to only play 8-9 players even in the playoff so that's why Nash and the Suns never could get the championship. They've broken down physically by the time the playoff arrived. I don't see he's changing his way of not developing a strong bench so it will result in bad way with the Lakers veteran team who's not so young anymore and can't run "7 seconds or less" offense without getting tired in the 4thQ
Well since the knee excuses are dying down, whats the next wave of excuses going to be? The basketball is not official nba size? Too much wind blowing in toyota center? Carmelo anthony's spirit is ball hogging from lin? Keep it rollin.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to this site! Or I shouldn't say it because you won't last here long as you only appear when Lin struggles and disappear when he plays well.
DeleteWow, even after few consecutive good game, it took just 1 bad game for those haters to come back!
DeleteShame on you guys!
You got me all figured out Cara! Real talk though whats next? They accidentally did surgery on the wrong knee? He's tanking on purpose to spark linsanity 2.0? Harden's beard is obstructing his shots?(lol this one could be believable) keep it rollin.
DeleteWow...it must have been pure luck that he had during his run last year with Knicks... He will never play anymore right? Sorry Jeremy Lin... You can't have bad games and must always be perfect to prove to ppl like this guy.
DeleteHaters gonna hate.
Deletehuuzy is a hater, so he's gonna hate.
Even when Lin plays well, huuzy gonna hate.
There are no need for excuses in a WIN.
DeleteLin for the WIN!!!
@Danny Tran
DeleteAllegedly, Nyk run -> luck! Supernatural! Can't explain! Fool's gold!
Recent slump -> True Lin [who can never get better.]
seriously, people. why do you bother responding to this post? and no i'm not responding to him/her.. i'm responding to all of y'all.
Deletestop. feeding. the. troll. you really think you're gonna change his mind?
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteOk. Fine. My comment remove because I use the f word. Sorry! I get fed up too! Now I learn the rule no f word!!!
DeleteI wonder why Lin hater don't question Deron Williams performance? He is averaging about 6 points more per game than Lin....But does that justify DWill getting paid 2X more than Lin with all other stats being very similar if not worst? Maybe hater should go bash DWill instead?
DeleteThe truth is very simple, if you are a JLin fan, you don't really care about his score. You care about the team he plays on. His value is his work ethics and his character as a person. He make people believe and bring the best out of everyone. Do you think if TD is still at the Knick without JLin will still play like he did 2 night ago? How about the Houston Team in general? Didn't you see a difference with all the Houston players lately compare to preseason? Even Harden is moving the ball with a lot more assist lately. Wake up people, it is team effort win that define Linsantiy. Not individual nightly scores.
Huuzy shut up!! Some one shut him up!!! Huuzy I mean
Deletewhy are you guys jumping all over billy Chung? I see the face of an asian man with some fight. More fight than church boy lin. such a sweet boy he is, no competitive spirit, punked left and right but oh so thankful just to play some basketball. Well d league is basketball and he can root for toney douglas from there.
ReplyDeleteyeap, now we should all jump all over you.
DeleteGlenn they are jumping on him because he expressed his OPINION. Only problem is his opinion wasn't about praising what a basketball god Lin is but instead he gave his honest take on how he feels. That is a No No around these parts.
DeleteSome major troll accounts here... What's the point of a fan huh? Everyone has a team the root for even when things aren't perfect right? So are you saying you support ppl or rather give up on your favorite team/player when struggle? I don't mind harsh critics... But for haters like you, billy and huuuzy... It only proves you guys are fake bandwagoners or troll accts
DeleteWhy are you calling me a hater and troll? Is it because you are racist against black people?!?!?!? I can play that game too. Keep it rollin.
DeleteHere come the RACISTS like Glenn and huuzy.
DeleteThey can write anything they want here. Actually, they serve a necessary purpose in hating on Lin and Lin's fan.
Racists who hate Asians like Glenn and Huuzy are actually doing us all a favor by EXPOSING the underlying hatred that so many people feel for Asians and Lin because he's Asian.
So go on, you two. FEED THE LINFERNO.
Uh oh here comes the RACIST KHuang! He hates everyone on the rockets who isn't named lin or parsons because they are mostly black and he is extremely racists against black people!!!!!
DeleteHey Glenn,
Even though we didn't mention anything about lin's race in any of our posts we get called RACISTS against asians. I guess this is race card abuse the others were talking about that goes on in these boards. Its funny because i'm 100% viet, jokes on them. Keep it rollin.
Thanks huuzy for playing into my hands.
DeleteMost of us Lin fans are fans not just of Lin, but the entire NBA.
I have enjoyed watching the Rockets this year. I'm unabashedly a Lin fan, but I've enjoyed watching guys like Parsons and Harden and all the other players. That means that I criticize them when they go 3-19, even if they aren't Asian.
And as far as Glenn and huuzy crowing that Asian males don't fight, those guys sure complain a lot about Asian guys going after them. Well, no better place for them to learn than here I guess.
In life, we can take the negative and add more negatives. Or we can make the best of it, as Lin has.
So keep it coming, huuzy. You are entitled to your opinion, and we can take it in whatever way we want.
I wonder where huuzy gets the idea where I hate black people from?
DeleteIt would be interesting for him to point out the specific instance where that happened. And since I have tons of black friends and clients in real life, I would be curious to know where he gets his information.
If I hated black people so much, I guess I should have more trouble following the NBA with its predominantly black players!
I'm sorry all i got from that wall of text was:
DeleteMy name is KHuang and I hate black people.
lol just from a side view.........
Delete"I wonder where huuzy gets the idea where I hate black people from?
It would be interesting for him to point out the specific instance where that happened"
how ironic, since you were the first to call him out on being racist, i'd love for you to accept your own challenge. Point out a specific instance where he said anything racist about lin or asians in general? because I sure am curious to know where you get your info from also.
"I've enjoyed watching guys like Parsons and Harden and all the other players. That means that I criticize them when they go 3-19"
that's funny, so you are saying its A-Okay for you to criticize other players like parsons and harden, but if someone does the same and criticize Lin for playing bad, what do you do? i think we all know the answer here, you call them "racist". this is irony @ it's best.
You're another racist like huuzy and Glenn, 5bc.
DeleteAnybody who agrees with huuzy who OUTRIGHT LIES about me hating black people is a RACIST and that means YOU.
I love black people and have them as my friends and clients. Loving black people is not racism except to RACIST TROLLS LIKE YOU GUYS!!!
I try to keep an open mind about any person or any race and make up my mind after I get to know them. I neither love or hate any race, as I find it dumb and inaccurate to base anything on race factor.
DeleteTalk about Khuang hate black people how about u hating on Asians? Because u just want Asians to agree with u n Billy that Lin is a terrible player. And talk about how us just like to talk in light of jlin's basketball how about u just like and enjoy to talk in bad of jlin?
DeleteAnd huuuzy if u not a hater what are u? A Lin fan? No way.
And We dong want ur praising either. And u don't expect us to praise for ur comment in statement like " jlin sucks" " jlin terrible". And make fun of jlin not a fighting boy and yet got annoying when Asians like us fight back to people like u guys. Khuang you don't need to make a statement like u love black people to keep u ground. It's ok. People who read here enough will understand enough. I enjoy all the good analysis details criticism about jlin from all you guys but not from some one like these. And I am sure people who had make some good critics about jlin is not Asian too and they can definitely tell we respect people like that but not some one like this. You don't expect yourself to agree with others when they say you are ter
Deleterible ok! Will you? It's the same here. Why would you expect us die hard Lin fans to agree with you?
@glenn
Deletei see your point and know where you're coming from. same with billy. we're all trying to come up with a hypothesis of why his numbers aren't "linsanity" numbers. however, i think you're off (way off) in terms of why (passivity).
let's look at some of the more "popular" reasons and see if any of them has any merit. this is also where you show whether you really care or just here to rile people up.
1) injury - it took chris paul a good year before he was back to pre-surgery level, for a similar surgery. jlin is completely healthy, but the strength and explosiveness that he had before isn't there yet and it takes time for that to build up again. keep in mind also that morey said that lin is the fastest player on the team based on their numbers BUT still can't stop on a dime like he used to, which means that he's not all the way back, yet, athletically. not sure if you've ever played in organized sports but any discomfort (especially in the knee/ankle area for bball) WILL effect every part of your game especially your shooting.
2) different system - you can't expect same results with different system, different coach, and different player around you. you just can't. look at dwill after coming to jersey from utah. and bunch of players that switched teams. they either break out or their numbers go down. for players like holiday and mayo that's breaking out, you also have players that are adjusting and have decreased roles such as jlin. it always happens.
3) he just sucks and new york was flash in the pan. there has been a lot written, from a statical standpoint, that jlin's linsanity performance was MOST LIKELY NOT a flash in the pan performance but we really won't know until much later, until he has enough time to get comfortable with his role and the system, and has regained his leg strength.
4) he is mentally weak and has no competitive spirit. well not sure how long you've been following jlin but for someone that took his no-name team to the state D2 champ game and beat mater dei, dropped 30 on uconn while on a no-name harvard team, went back and forth from d-league for 2 years after getting cut again and again and worked on his game and got triple-double in d-league to even be able to start in the nba, i don't think passivity and lack of competitiveness is an issue for this guy. for someone that has had to fight for everything and nothing was ever given to him, i don't think it makes a whole lot of sense for him to all of sudden change into a completely different person. for someone that know what it's like to be on the bench, i highly doubt he like being on it again. if you've read his quote and what he said to his coaches in d-league, you'll know that this kid is super competitive and KNOWS and BELIEVES he is good enough to start in the big league.
now out of all of these "theories", which one do you think is LEAST likely to be the reason for his struggles?
and really, based on what i've seen, i wouldn't exactly say he is struggling IN THIS SYSTEM. he is struggling with his jumpers, but THAT'S IT! he's done well with defense, running the offense when asked to, great assists (volume and quality), low TO's. maybe that's what the coaches require him to do at this point, since they have so many other scores on the team that need the ball and it's his job to get it to them. keep in mind if he takes 20 shots, that means 5 less shots for chandler, few less of asik, etc... you have to consider what he is being asked to do, and whether or not he is living up to that.
and lastly, i wouldn't call the laker game "struggling". he was benched because he was in foul trouble and TD was having a great shooting night going into 4th quarter so you let him finish. that's it. he wasn't benched because he was turning the ball over, bad defense, etc..
by the way,
I will have to say none of the above. It is his attitude toward how he believe he should play the game. If Lin take more shots, conserve energy by playing less defense, don't try to take any charge, do not pass, and ballhog. I can almost guaranteed Lin scores will goes up and Houston will lose more games. Look what happen when you don't play team basketball like the Laker. And watch how the wizard beat Miami.
DeleteThankyou Glewnn, but they had a right to be mad at me.. And that isnt because I expressed my opinions lately. Its because I call myself a true Lin fan, then have nerve to say what I said..
DeleteKhuang called me a banana because I am yellow on outside and white on inside, and then deleted his comment!
Deletebilly chung isn't an asian...he's fake!
ReplyDeleteIm not Asian?
DeleteWhy you think that?
I dont even want my damn picture showing and have tryed taking it down.. I have even asked Khuang to help and he didnt.
DeleteDude, I can't help you with taking your picture down.
DeleteI don't even know how to put one up!!!
I dunno, maybe try going into your Google account and reset your settings.
Oh lol.. ok just saying I have tryed
DeleteI am expecting Lin to STRUGGLE against the Spurs.
ReplyDeleteThe Rockets have trouble against teams with big time shotblockers. Now they'll be facing arguably the greatest post defender of all time in Tim Duncan, a guy who racked up 5 blocks in like one quarter against these Rockets in preseason.
I cannot see the Rockets winning this one unless the guards catch fire from outside. Duncan is a one man wrecking crew down low, all by himself.
The Rockets will lose and Lin might struggle offensively against the Spurs. But I see Lin as one of the few PGs in the nba who can realistically slow down Tony Parker. I expect a game that will play out as the game against OKC. Parker will have a game similar to that game by Westbrook at best!
DeleteDon't compare Westbrook with Parker. Parker takes better shots than Westbrook.
Deletedon't sell on westbrook yet, he's actually evolving into a different player this season.
Deleteneph, I don't think Lin can stop Tony Parker from scoring in these upcoming games.
DeleteParker can score on anyone when Duncan and especially Ginobili are on the court with him.
That's not to say Lin is a bad defensive player. When Parker and Duncan get going, NOBODY can stop them.
Duncan's defense terrifies me more than anything the Spurs do offensively. As scary as Dwight Howard was to Lin and especially James Harden, Tim Duncan can stop Houston's offense all by himself!!!
Duncan has slowed down a lot this season. While I have no doubt that he can still manhandle the Houston big men one on one, he no longer attracts the same attention as year past. I don't believe that Lin could somewhat handle Westbrook either but he did. I just have a feeling that Lin is gonna learn from that preseason game against Parker and does well this time. We will see.
DeleteI was watching the Spurs-Bucks game and I have to say that Tiago Splitter does a damned mean pick-and-roll. Honestly... I think the Spurs bench itself is going to be a tough matchup for Rockets.
DeleteOn the other hand, this young Rockets team seems to have a penchant for beating the elderly (Knicks, Lakers) so maybe the Rockets run-and-gun offence will bamboozle some old heads again.
People have to be realistic. Due to the "Hack a Howard" strategy, this Lakers game was more of a fluke. Seriously, what other game could players get away without playing D, rebounding and running from one end to the other?
ReplyDeleteAlso, those Rockets fans need to stop overrating Parsons' D. I have seen too many players lighting him up. That's why they lost big in the 1st half because no one on the team could stop Kobe. And that's also why they closed the score by using "Hack a Howard" because they didn't need to guard Kobe during that period. Lin is probably the only one on the Rockets who has a chance of slowing down a player like Kobe but unfortunately the coaches are too stupid to realize that. Lin and Asik are the best defenders on the Rockets. In any other games, they couldn't really afford to sit. But in this particular game, they could.
Hey Cara, I just realized something.
DeleteIn the massive amounts of posts I've seen in the two Lakers games, I haven't seen anyone pointing out that it could've been "Hack a Rockets"!
Dwight Howard was coveted by Les Alexander and the Rockets. Lots of people here were insisting that Howard would have made the Rockets an instant contender. Yet he's actually turned out to be a major liability for the Lakers, not a savior!
I cringe at the thought of Dwight Howard as a Rockets bricking those free throws in the 4th quarter.
Similarly, I have a rule change proposal that would probably make it EASIER on guys like Howard.
I would like to see all free throws shot in a 1 and 1 or 1 and 1 and 1 format.
You miss the first free throw, play continues. You miss the second free throw, play continues even on a three point foul!
Yes, I agreed that some rule changes have to made to prevent teams from using this "Hack a somebody" strategy. This strategy was hilarious at first but it got old fast. I understand coaches do whatever they can within the rules to win and I don't feel pity for those bad FT shooters. Still as a fan of basketball, I like to watch a fluid game with players going up and down the floor much more instead of a free throw contest. Something has to be made about this.
DeleteIndeed, something has to change.
DeleteCan't blame the coaches though, someone like D12 -> too irresistible:
Most FT misses in 4Q this season: Dwight Howard, 42. Next-highest? Tyler Hansbrough, 10. [ESPNStatsInfo]
Shooting your free throws are basics if you donor have good accuracy then the only person's fault is the man who is at the line. This strategy isn't used a lot against other players and just because do not practice enough to know the fundamentals the NBA should not change the rules for that one man. If he was such a liability then they should have just sat him.
Delete@Solitary Confinement
DeleteInterestingly, the final 2 minutes free throws+ball rule was implemented because of one man (Wilt).
I find Hack-a-Shaq fascinating. I hate watching it, but love it from a game theory perspective. NBA players who can't shoot free throws just drive me batty.
See, I LOVE watching Hack a Shaq tactics.
DeleteI actually get a kick out of watching the gamesmanship that exposes guys at the line.
Similarly, I used to love watching Mike Fratello coach slowdown basketball with the Cavs. They didn't have the talent to compete, so they walked the ball upcourt and slowed the game pace to a crawl. I find that just as exciting as watching run and gun basketball.
The Linsanity is over, and the truth is Jeremy Lin just isn't that great
ReplyDeleteThis backpedaler was singing JLin's praises just months before.
DeleteNow he comes out with this crap after participating in Lamont-Hill's HuffPost anti-Lin round table, toeing the line.
See how he backpedal yet again WHEN JLin starts going off...
Lol i bet the writer was just WAITING for lin to have a bad game to publish that article. What a shame.
DeleteIf you read the article, he fully admits to backpedaling. Lin's putrid play has given him no choice but to backpedal if he wants to maintain any shred of credibility. Blame Lin, not the observer.
DeleteFrom the article:
Delete"The things Jeremy Lin was doing last season defied explanation at the time, and they defy explanation now. Because he's not that guy." [?!!]
"I'll remember it as something that defies explanation..."
- OMG, that stretch was an anomaly!
[scroll down - 01:12]
Doyel: What happened to him last year, what happened to Tim Tebow last year, was damn near SUPERNATURAL. THERE'S NO EXPLAINING THAT, AND THAT JEREMY LIN IS NEVER COMING BACK AGAIN. [?!!]
- Bcos he will never improve from this slump he's on now? 24 years old, but any deviation from Linsanity and whoa, he'll never be as good [God forbid, maybe better] than that stretch? Any player can have ups and down but not Lin, NO, with him it's permanent regression!
*...whoa, he'll never be as good as [God forbid, maybe better than] that stretch?
DeleteIf he means that 25 and 8 stretch then maybe not. If he means the 18 and 8 stretch (25 games), then it is still possible.
Delete[He will become a more mature, complete player. So many intangibles don't appear in the stats.]
DeleteDoyel's predictions: "Carlos Arroyo. He's not gonna be Mo Williams, put it that way. And I don't have a lot of respect for Mo Williams..."
* Doyel's predictions on JLin:
DeleteLin is never going to be "Mo Williams", not after the BEATING Lin administered on Williams two games ago!!!
Delete[While we believe JLin is on his way to becoming a more mature, more complete player] Doyel can only agree with that other clown [Lamont-Hill] who don't even believe JLin can play at the level of a starting level PG blahblahblah 3rd-tier blahblahblah.
Delete"Lin is never going to be "Mo Williams", not after the BEATING Lin administered on Williams two games ago!!!"
- Maybe Doyel can write an article to backpedal on that too.
Captain Hindsight will alway live in the past. Average person will live in the present. Only truly superhero live in the future.
DeleteImagine the ability to predicting next week lotto's numbers, compare to the Captain's response:
"I knew I should have play those numbers. Only if I have brought a ticket......."
What a LOSER!!!
I just wanted to say again that I enjoyed JLinfan#1's post. :)
ReplyDeleteI wish the comments here were as calm and rational as the blog post itself though. Lots of histrionics right now. As Lin himself says, people keep saying he is either a hundred or a zero while the truth is he is something in between. He's above average in some areas, below average in some areas, near All-Star in some areas, worse than many bench players in some areas. He is a young player coming off a long lay off. He is trying to alter his shot in the midst of a season, something that is traditionally extremely risky. The fact of the matter is this. He is currently not as good as Harden but neither is he in any danger of losing his place to Toney Douglas.
I don't understand why Lin is trying to alter his shot mechanics in the middle (!) of the season.
DeleteI know his shooting "coach" Doc Sheppler has been trying to get him to do this, but it seems very risky if not stupid to mess with the success Lin had last year.
Why doesn't Lin stick with his old shooting mechanics? The results certainly were better than what he is doing this season.
Changing your shot in the middle of a season makes no sense to me.
@wifflewiffle
Delete"I wish the comments here were as calm and rational as the blog post itself"
I agree. But you know what? It's out of my control. The best I can hope for is that there are enough "good" posts to make this place worth coming too (actually, it's worth it for the links alone, but good posts are a plus).
By now, I've learned to tune out the posters who deserve it. You're not one of them, though, so just keep on posting and know that, at least for me, you help make this place worth reading.
I did however give up on the last thread because it got so monstrous; did I miss out on anything?
Also, hasn't anybody noticed that Lin and Harden just faced off against a 3 time Defensive Player of the Year?
DeletePeople talk as if Dwight Howard is some sort of defensive scrub that Lin and Harden can just waltz into the lane against and score with impunity. Then they flame Lin when Lin can't go highlight on D12 - like anybody else in the NBA can.
Speaking of shooting, James Harden's 3-19 is UNACCEPTABLE. Maybe he should look to Lin and Scheppler for shooting advice!
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DeleteIt is plain that Harden is currently a better shooter than Lin - it is exhausting if we have to even justify these things that are clear to both the eye-test and the stats-test.
DeleteHowever! While Harden's shooting percentages are way better than Lin's on higher USG%, Lin is better than Harden in one area - knowing when to stop shooting. Although Lin has been shooting hideously, he has never shot under .200 in any game so far. Harden, however, has had three sub-.200 FG% games. That's J. R. Smith-esque levels of chucking.
@nom no, I wouldn't say you really missed out on anything by not reading the comments in the game thread. It was the usual cocktail of trolls and over-defensiveness that makes following Lin such a joy! Haha
DeleteI rather take with your guys detail analysis and criticism than fed up with simply put statement Lin terrible player stuff like that! I always appreciated how people like u guys with lots knowledge and not simply put up a troll like statement and expect people to agree with them. Common, that doesn't make sense and especially when this is jlin fan site created for jlin fans. What do they epect people to react? If jlin fans no longer defend for jlin who else will be? And if that's the case what do we here for? What's the purpose of coming here if not for search support and finding courage for Lin?
DeleteI re-watched the Lakers game several times and here's what I think JLin's problems are, shooting inconsistency aside.
ReplyDelete1) Mentality. Sometimes being a great player, or getting to that level, requires some level of selfishness. Playing as a team is good, but sometimes you need to take matter into your own hands. During the Lakers game, I really didn't see any issues with JLin in terms of running the offense and playing defense. He tried to set everyone up but the team wasn't making shots which altered the rhythm/flow. On defense, Kobe was scoring at will, other Laker players were making shots, and the Rockets defense was just porous. Rockets became discombobulated. JLin then tries to shift gears a bit, overplaying on defense and also missing wildly. So JLin did appear to take matter into his own hands but with HESITATION. This comes back to mentality. Sometimes JLin plays like he doesn't belong in the league. JLin is a good guy and doesn't like confrontation but when he got shoved by Howard like a flee it should have fired him up even more. I really don't know where JLin's current state of mind is as a player, but if he thinks he doesn't belong in the NBA or that somehow God has a plan for him and he's sitting back waiting for it he's in for some hurting. He needs to be tougher. This leads me to the second issue.
2) Composure. When things got rough on both ends of the floor like the Lakers game, I want to see JLin with better composure. JLin sometimes can get a little wild and I don't really blame him all that much. He's young and will have nights like this; however, I do want to see him with better composure in the future and settle the team down during rough stretches.
The Lakers had a great plan rattling/stopping the Rockets starters. As a result, Sampson kept a team (mostly backups) in the game that worked. It wasn't that TD or Greg Smith are suddenly sensational, it was just that the Lakers knew how to play against the Rockets starting five and were caught off guard and probably felt overconfident playing the backups. And this falls back on the coaches and the game plan. This also falls back on the players, especially JLin. JLin needs to expand his game which we talk about a lot here. He needs to be able to give defenders different looks and not be so predictable.
Although I was disappointed in JLin's performance, he's still young and has some much to improve on. JLin has a 3 year contract with the Rockets. At the end of his contract, if he's still playing poorly then there's really nothing else to say.
Do you think Lin should've been able to score with impunity against D12 and his 3 Defensive Player of the Year awards and $100 million contract?
DeleteI counted 2 of Jlin's layups that were shotblocked by Dwight Howard, and another 2 that were contested. So going 2 for 8 in that situation was understandable. If it hadn't been for foul trouble, Lin should've been in that 4th quarter.
Delete@KHuang I'm not implying JLin needs to score with impunity nor am I saying JLin should be the next MJ. I just hope he doesn't question his own ability to play and whether he belongs in this league or not. Cause at times I feel like he feels that he doesn't belong and plays timid.
DeleteLakers did a great job using Dwight to take away Lin's strength at the moment to penetrate and make easy layups.
DeleteHe either have to counter that with midrange jumpers or finds creative ways to make layup by changing direction in his first 2PT of the game. Dwight was ready to block the middle when Lin came from the left side but Lin continued streaking to the right side and made a difficult well-timed layup.
The 2 no-call charges against Kobe was the costly ones because it sent him to the bench. I'm sure by now he knows he can't do that against Kobe the superstar so he'll have to adjust next time.
@ABC Baller. I'm not complaining about JLin's layups. If I have complaints, it would be on his shooting but I'm not gonna talk about it cause I know it's gonna get better. I'm merely talking about his mentality and composure. Some people here complain about Douglas taking too many shots. I wish it was JLin that was taking those shots instead. Like Sampson said, Douglas forgets and moves on when he has a bad shooting game. I think JLin taking 8/9 shots per game is personal preference. He can do more and should own it, but he just doesn't have it in him for whatever reason right now. JLin seems to shoot only when he makes it and shuts down entirely when he misses. He needs to let loose that mentality.
Delete@racha - Good points. I was watching Gametime earlier and the hosts were discussing what makes Kobe and MJ so great. One of them made the same point you did, which is that they have such short shooting memories, in the sense that once they have missed a shot, they forget they missed a shot. They just go for it again the next time. Their mindset is - well I missed that one but I am going to hit it the next time. I mean, I agree to some extent, but it's a balance - go too far and you become a mindless chucker. To be a good NBA player you have to temper fearlessness with intelligence. Lin has the intelligence and the physical tools, but I don't see the fearlessness right now, as you implied.
Delete@Racha, I see your point about "shooting with confidence mentality" and I see the same need for Lin to have the "gunner" mentality to shoot 2-3 jumpers without hesitation first to shoot his way out of his slump. He's making his practice shots so it's just a matter of confidence that he can also learn from Toney.
DeleteWhat makes it worse if he tried it first with 3-PT shot which he missed badly so he hesitated to shoot again. He tried to hard to facilitate first. I'd say do it like Toney, if you're open, just shoot it with confidence for 2-3 times. If it misses, so be it and be a bit more careful to pull the trigger and facilitate more.
For the past few games, I noticed a trend where he only had 4-5 FG in the first 1-2 quarters so he tried to hard to facilitate. If he doesn't try to shoot his way out of his slump, he'll be one-pony trick to attack the basket that is easily figured out by opposing teams.
@wifflewiffle exactly, that's all i'm saying. I'm not criticizing JLin as I was in the beginning of the season because I've realized he's still evolving as a player. If he's playing great, I say so. If he's not playing so great, I tried to understand why. That's all.
DeleteSee Racha, in a certain sense I'm NOT as optimistic as you are!
DeleteLin and Harden are always going to have trouble scoring against the teams with max contract shotblockers who rotate quickly to snuff out not just layups, but midrange jump shots. I don't see Lin getting better than that 2-8 shooting (or in Harden's case, 3-19) in the foreseeable future because of the inside shotblocking taking away their inside game.
The only way to for Houston to defeat such shotblockers this season is to do what the Rockets did last game: put an athletic big man brute "against" Howard and have that brute crash the weak side when Howard comes over to help. That's what Greg Smith did and will do against future shotblocking opponents.
To me, the nemesis of Lin/Harden and the Rockets are two rangy combo jumping jack forwards with quick feet and good scoring touch. A team like Portland actually scares me more than LA and D12 does because Aldridge and Batum have the footspeed of guards but the skyscraping shotblocking of centers!
Of course, the only real way to combat a max contract shotblocker like Dwight Howard is to get a another max contract type of guy like Pau Gasol who can play Howard straight up on both ends. And on this forum, mentioning Pau Gasol is an open invitation to speculate on Lin getting traded to the Lakers!
@psalm234 sometimes I don't even think JLin needs to be completely open. He can fake a penetration, stop/fade, and pull up for a jumper. He did that quite often last year with the Knicks but it has completely disappeared.
DeleteThe picks and screens that freed Lin for those NY moments are gone too, as are max contract Anthony and Stoudemire and Chandler being decoys.
DeleteLin doesn't have a single Rockets big man teammate that can do anything off a screen other than roll to the basket and shoot a layup. Consequently opponents are doubling Lin and Harden on every possession and preventing even midrange jumpers from being taken.
You'll notice that every time Lin and Harden struggle (usually TOGETHER nowadays), the Rockets big men have big scoring numbers due to all the open gaps left on the court from the doubleteams. As the young Rockets big men actually learn how to play, they'll be defended more and that'll free up Lin and Harden to play more against single coverage in the midrange.
@KHuang you can't see JLin getting better than 2-8 squarely on opposing max contract shot blockers has left me response-less. I'll just leave at that.
DeleteThere was someone in clutchfans referring to SI information or Morey's information about Lin's acceleration is the best Houston ever measured but his deceleration is still shot and not back yet after the injury. This will help explain Lin's limitation of not being able to make some moves (stop-at-a-dime and shoot) or weaker lateral movement or any moves requiring change of direction. Perhaps someone can find the link? via?
Delete...
Referring to the new camera tracking equipment, Morey says "Lin is the highest accelerating player we've measured." He is referring to all players measured so far in the last few years, and includes Lin from last year. As for now, Morey said his acceleration is still there with the injury, but his deceleration is not. Referring to the stop-in-a-dime moves.
..
@psalm1234 ah, thanks for that. I mentioned above that JLin's stop on a dime shooting, not those exact words, disappeared altogether this year, @KHuang said it was because JLin was playing with max contract players last year. @Khuang I respect you bro but lets not use max contract players as decoys all the time; however, I do agree with you that max contract players have their worth.
DeleteRacha, now that you're speechless I'll remind you about how other star point guards are struggling against the max contract shot blockers.
DeleteThe biggest example this season is Deron Williams against the Heat.
Deron Williams just went 3-11 against the Heat, and Deron Williams has a max contract unlike Lin. Actually, Lin had arguably a better game against the Heat than Deron Williams did. And unlike Lin whose best big man passing target is Omer Asik who was a nonscorer all his career, DWill has Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries to pass the ball to.
Racha, you will learn that point guards in the NBA often struggle with shooting against elite defenses. The only guy that doesn't is Chris Paul who traded himself to a stacked Clippers team with two of the best young bigs in Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan....
wait. What am I saying???!
Chris Paul, the "best" point guard in the NBA, was COMPLETELY shut down by the Spurs in the playoffs last year.
Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan jumped all over Paul the way teams jump all over Lin, and Paul disappeared.
So if Chris Paul and Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook (in last year's Finals) are getting shut down by max contract shotblockers, why do you feel it is such a SIN for $5 million Lin to be shut down when those max contract All Star PGs can't get it done either?
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DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete@Psalm
Delete11/27/12 SportsTalk 790AM
[05:36] Measuring JLin's burst
---
[A mention in Chris Ballard's SI piece on Morey]
12/03/12
Money Ballsy
[Rockets M Daryl Morey takes a more analytic view that other NBA execs - and he'll risk everything to back it up]
"It is a recent Tuesday afternoon, and James Harden is running through drills, cutting and slicing past assistant coaches on his way to the rim. Aside from his beard, which juts outward from his chin as if trying to colonize other faces, he doesn't appear that different from most NBA shooting guards: 6'5", 220 pounds, long but not freakishly long arms, chiseled but not too chiseled physique. The No. 3 pick out of Arizona State, Harden can't leap especially high and isn't all that fast, at least compared with his peers. (The Rockets embed accelerometers in their players' jerseys during practice, and while Lin is far and away the quickest-accelerating, Harden isn't among the top three.)"
@Khuang. Seriously, lets just stop with this max contract players stuff. I'm talking about JLin's mentality towards the game. He needs to shoot regardless if he's not shooting well. He needs to push back when he's pushed. What I see is a mentally strong DWill and CP. If you gonna compare JLin with the elite PGs, it's more than just max contract players they play against and with. Where's self accountability. So are you gonna let max contract players make and break you? So in your realm, a player can only be as good a=or defined by max contract players who he play with and against.
DeleteRacha, you're demanding that Lin perform better against the max contract teams than Westbrook and Paul and Deron Williams have!
DeleteTrue "accountability" is expecting realistic results from Lin, not to expect performances superior to what the best players at Lin's position are doing. Why should Lin be singled out for blame when players with far more experience and far more salary than him are failing as badly or worse against the same opponents?
You're OK with "mentally strong" Dwill's 3-11 in a loss but not OK with Lin's 2-8 in a win? You should've heard DWill criticizing himself dejectedly after that defeat.
And as far as letting max contract players "make or break you", tell that to Cleveland who lost Lebron and went from 60 wins to 20. Tell that to Orlando that was utterly broken by Dwight Howard. Tell that to NY whose max contract star Anthony got Lin kicked off the team. Tell that to Mark Cuban who got mad because he couldn't sign both Howard and Williams. Or tell that to Houston that just acquired a max contract player in James Harden who had a far WORSE game than Lin did against the Lakers and receives NO BLAME for his 3-19 shooting other than what I'm posting here.
The NBA is a contract driven league. The better players get paid more because they are supposed to produce more. If max contract point guards like Dwill and CP and Westbrook can't get it done against max contract shotblockers, why should Lin and his puny little $5 million contract be blamed when the big boys can't produce any better!
Nobody's demanding that Lin perform better than max contract players. You also shouldn't always pull out figures from elite players shooting poorly in certain games, because elite players will often have poor shooting days. What is important is to look at averages and trends. In order to have a discussion, let us all discuss rationally, and not abuse numbers and anecdotes.
DeleteIf Rach was complaining about Lin shooting 2-8 as an isolated instance, I would agree with you. But that is not the case. Lin's problem is that over 17 games he has the worst or among the worst scoring % in every statistical measure among starting guards in the NBA. That is undoubtedly poor shooting. We are talking bottom 10 percentile among starting guards in the league. He was shooting poorly even against teams without an elite shotblocker.
It is not too much to expect Lin to improve from being a bottom 3-shooter among guards in the league, and he shouldn't need to have max contract players around him in order to do that. There is having unrealistic expectations, and there is expecting him to be shooting better than the likes of Darren Collison!
@wifflewiffle you read my mind. Again, @KHuang i respect your opinions, but I just disagree on using max contract players as the basis for the performance of another player, in this case JLin.
Deletevia, you're simply the best in finding links :) Thanks!
DeleteIt should be quite clear that Lin's not 100% from the scientific measurement of the best first step's acceleration but deceleration was subpar of what it was before although improving. So it takes away his offensive moves while recovering. And shooting is still a struggle (it may or may not be related). Other players (Chris Paul, PPat) also took 1 year or more to fully recover from the same surgery.
Haters and fake fans will cry foul for excuses but take it for what it's worth. For me, I'll readjust expectation for this year as he's adjusting to a new team, playing off another playmaker like Harden, overcoming shooting struggle, improving his skills on ball-handling, being spot-up shooter, etc. while recovering from knee injury. Facts don't lie but haters will overlook the truth.
I think making playoff will be the biggest achievement for Lin and the Rockets this season. Glad to hear how Morey fully supports him in his interview. It makes a difference if the owner and GM believe in you.
Chris Paul did not have the same surgery as Lin. Paul had his entire meniscus removed.
DeleteBlake Griffin did have similar surgery to Lin.
@via
Deletere:
12/03/12
Money Ballsy
Thanks so much, loved it. But you're slipping. You know it's the 6th, right? ;)
racha..
Deletewhat do you think jlin is asked to do first and foremost as a pg on offense? score, or run the offense?
this guy is super competitive and if asked to score and go the paint 30x a game, he will do that. just like he did in nyc.
but his role on the rockets isn't to do that. he is being asked to run the offense and get the ball to whoever has the best shot (most of the time). if he doesn't have the best shot (long 2 pointer) he won't take it, just to pad his numbers. he knows that the more he shoots the less his teammates (who may have a better shot) gets to shoot and thus team efficiency goes down. and along with it, less chance at winning games which is all he cares about. he will ONLY take a mid range jumper when he absolutely has to and there are no other options, because he believes (and with good reason) that a mid-long 2pt jumper is the worst shot in basketball. instead of shooting that shot he will look to pass! but if left open for 3 he'll take it even if he isn't shooting well (like now). and if he sees an open lane he will take that too even if there's a chance of getting blocked.
like it or not, that just how he's playing right now. it has nothing to do with not having a fighters mentality and that other stuff. for him it's all about the W at the end of the game and if it means that he takes charges from kobe to get the W he will do that. btw someone without a fighter's mentality will not stand there and take the charge.
yes, he isn't shooting well at all but i still don't doubt his competitiveness AT ALL. he's a fighter and if he can't get the W by scoring will try to do it some other way.
As far as wifflewaffle taking me for task for elite point guards allegedly having just a few isolated incidents of really rough play against too defensive shotblocking teams, he should review the stats against the Heat last year compiled by guys like Williams and Irving and Nash and others.
DeleteThere were some ROUGH performances of the 2-10 variety in that mix, which is EXPECTED.
Elite shotblockers like Dwight Howard have an elite defensive effect on stopping opposing perimeter All Star pgs from scoring. The notion that Lin is somehow immune to that and should be criticized harder than other players is a TOXIC DOUBLE STANDARD that has no basis in accountability.
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ReplyDeleteToney Douglas is a scrub and a healthy Toney Douglas is not better than a healthy Jeremy. Douglas knows this could be his last season as 2nd unit PG in the NBA.
ReplyDeleteYou fake ass Lin fans quick to bash and blame and question Jeremy when he has a bad game but turn around and jump on his balls when he performs well. fake azz lin fans
Sampson should still be giving majority of minutes to Lin and letting him play through. Name another starting PG that gets this bull shit treatment from an assistant coach?
Manny Pacquiao "The Mexecutioner" is going to destroy Marquez this Saturday!!!
Well, there aren't too many assistant coaches coaching right now, but I can name you one starting PG getting that treatment - Goran Dragic.
DeleteAnother example, except this time the guy just straight up lost his starting job - Darren Collison. And Darren Collison's averaging 12/6 on better FG% to Lin's 10/6 and on fewer TOs!
DeleteNot to bash on damon houston who's got some good insights, but I can think of quite a few examples where star point guards have clashed with coaches.
DeleteJason Kidd in Dallas under Avery Johnson got treated WORSE than Lin's being treated right now, and Kidd had played on several All Star teams before that!
Stephon Marbury "played" for Mike D'Antoni. D'Antoni benched max contract Marbury in favor of Chris Duhon, which I found totally reprehensible. Marbury washed out of the NBA but is now a superstar in China. I'll bet Marbury would be a FABULOUS backup guard on this Rockets team, though I don't think he could beat out Jeremy Lin for the starting slot.
Sampson IS giving the majority of minutes to Lin. Were it not for foul trouble, Lin would have played his customary 30+ (40+ nowadays) minutes. And Douglas was so red hot, he DESERVED to get the minutes to win the game for the Rockets!
In a way that's true, Goran Dragic has been giving up minutes to Sebastian Telfair off the bench. But I feel that its more because Phoenix is in tank mode and might be trying to lose games to get the #1 draft pick.
DeleteThe Suns lost to Detroit by 40 points!!!
DeleteThat's the same Detroit team that Lin's Rockets crushed TWICE.
The Suns have a far higher payroll than the Rockets and way more veterans, but they're not a better basketball team than the young Rockets and don't have a better record either.
Goran Dragic has some nice scoring numbers, but his team is not winning despite a much better roster than Houston's.
I watched Goran Dragic few games. I was not too impressed with him. I would say at this point Dragic is a better shooter (of course, almost everyone is better shooter than Lin at this point) and dribbler. But he's slower and not as good in driving to the rim. He's decent passer, although I would not say as good as Lin. However, he still gets decent stats, better than Lin. Although I am a critic of Lin, no, I would not trade Lin for Dragic.
DeleteI think it is fair to say Rockets fans overrate Dragic somewhat...
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteExcuse. I need explaination for why you remove my post here? If u remove my above post because I use the f word, I understand. I don't get how u remove my post here whereas I neither insult anybody nor do I offend anybody, and whereas I try to defend the scrub comment Damon put Douglas? Whereas I give my fair view? I must stop posting if this is what I am getting. If you remove this one why don't you remove the above one too? Does it not fair to me?
DeleteDid anybody see NBA countdown pregame on ESPN last night? Bill Simmons was giving his list of biggest disappointments so far this season. He mentioned Andrew Bynum, Eric Gordon, and Jeremy Lin. He let Lin have it. He said (paraphrasing off of memory) "Houston had two good point guards in Lowry and Dragic, but let them both go for Lin, who has been playing awful."
ReplyDeleteAnd you can't say Simmons is a hater, either. He was a huge Linsanity fan.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7579097/linsanity-bag
Neutral observers are calling it like they see it. Early reviews are poor.
So do you also want Dragic and Lowry back on the Rockets instead of Lin?
DeleteIf so, you can have them.
Lin really outplayed Lowry the last time they met, not long ago. Utterly shut the guy down, and Lin scored on him pretty much at will too.
Take Dragic. Take Lowry.
Bill Simmons is not a deep analyst. He doesn't look at advanced stats. He's there to make superficial judgments without context and entertain people with hyperbole. If you follow Bill Simmons, and I do, you know that he's wrong a lot more than he's right.
DeleteSo ach says that "early reviews are poor".
DeleteHouston is over 0.500 despite having the cheapest and youngest roster in the league. Normally the cheapest and youngest also LOSES the most, but Houston would be a PLAYOFF TEAM if the season ended right now!
Jeremy Lin is scoring 10 points a game and has been shooting increasingly high percentages. He's averaging well over 30 minutes a night and is improving as his knee gets better.
The Rockets are playing as a team, defending and passing and scoring. No wonder they're WINNING.
So if this is a "poor" season for Lin's Rockets, I'll gladly take it!!!
Lowry and Dragic are good players no doubt but I am not so sure, it appears to me that they are the type of PG who make themselves look good but really fail to elevate the performances of their teammates. Basketball is not a game that 1+1 = 2 in the sense you can't just put together a roster of ten 20 ppg scorers then you would be able to score 200 points every game. Someone or something have to give.
DeleteYes, Lin's numbers are not looking good now in Houston. But one would suspect if Lin was on the Suns, Gotart probably wouldn't be complaining in the papers and if he was on the Raptors they wouldn't go 4-15 lol.
I consider myself a Lin fan at the same time criticizing Lin for certain aspects of his game, but even I would not trade Lin for Dragic. Dragic is at this time a better shooter (who isn't at this point?) and perhaps a better dribbler, slightly. Lin probably is better than him in all other areas. That's the way I feel. I have to admit that I do see a possibility that Lin may never make it to All-star based on his basketball skills alone, but I do see a distinct possibility that he will become a plus average NBA starting PG who runs his team well and makes other teammates better. I will still be his fan as long as Lin starts, although I have to admit I won't watch too many of his games if he doesn't start. I think Lin is thinking too much; he just needs to think he's getting paid to play the game he loves and just play as if he's playing on a playground.
DeleteIf KHuang says Lin is already a plus average NBA PG, then I have to disagree with him. I am disagreeing in advance. :)
Delete@eb5attorney i'd say that Lin would be a plus average NBA PG if he fixes his shooting :) hitting those shots would open so much space for him!
DeleteDouble wiffle, I would agree with you IF he gets his shooting percentage up to even the average shooting percentage of NBA PGs. However, I think it might be harder to do than many think; it may just reflect some aspects of his deeply-ingrained game that is hard to change. But I think our perspectives on Lin's game is quite similar.
DeleteI don't know if Lin is a plus average PG or not. But let me ask you guys a hypothetical question, if you put your "plus average PG" in place of Lin for this Rockets team, do you think their record would be better? If you think it would, how much better then? To be honest, I really think a 9-8 record is already pretty incredible with this kind of talent and you can't really say the starting PG playing 35 mpg contributed nothing to the record. Another PG might put up better individual numbers on this team but I am not so sure the overall team performance would be so much better off.
DeleteWell said, Cara. Rockets so far has surpassed expectations by how quickly the youngest NBA team has improved in 17 games.
DeleteAnd we all see that Lin has had a major role in making his teammates better with wide-open shots. Even in the Lakers game, he made the correct passes to Asik time and time again. If we talk about a PG quality to set up teammates to score, Lin has done that. No questions about it. There is no backup PG in Houston (Toney is a SG). Harden is a better PG than Toney if we're talking about being playmakers.
But all the criticism will keep coming because everyone knows what Lin was capable of doing last season and he's not delivering it now. With time, Lin will regain his shooting touch and his physical form but all the analysts will still pound their chests to say their criticism "helped" him to be tough.
How come these analysts never mentioned any possibility of lingering effect from the knee injury? Not wanting to make excuses maybe?
If Harden played more smart (not forcing many shots, etc.), then Rockets might even have won more games, I would say at least 1, maybe 2 more. Lin didn't really have too much of direct positive or negative effect, mainly because he didn't take shots all that much. If he took more shots at his current shooting percentage, of course, that would be bad for Rockets, but if he shot more at a higher shooting percentage, yes, Rockets might have won more games. That's just the point I am trying to make: Lin really didn't have too much impact on the games this season, unless you want to argue that his character of unselfishness made other players less selfish and focus on playing as a team. But I don't think so; I think Lin is just sacrificing himself for the team. Do other teammates appreciate his style of play? I am sure they do, because they can shine more. But Lin has not given himself opportunities to shine in critical moments, and when he did, he blew it, i.e., risky alley-oop pass to Parsons, etc.
Deleteeb5, I agree he needs to shoot with confidence but there are 2 ways to look at Lin's approach to limit his FGA as a PG now:
Delete1. Lin intentionally tries to be a facilitator to feed his teammates and limit his shooting to 8-10 FGA if he's not hot while he has shooting slump or lacking some of his arsenal due to knee recovery
2. Lin can shoot 15-20FGA in a game in trying to shoot out of his slump but it may backfire if his teammates resent him prioritizing his game over the team's need.
It's obvious he chose Option 1 and it has been working well in the past few games as he put his team's need above his individual stats but he has been improving by scoring double digits in 3 games (13,16,19 in only 12, 9, 14 FGA) in the last 6 games (5 Wins, 1 Loss).
All I'm saying is it's a hard balancing act to shoot out of a slump without sacrificing his team's need first but it has been trending well so IMO he's doing the right thing with 10-15 FGA/game except for shooting with no-conscience.
psalm, there are other ways to score when your long shots are not falling, such as short jumpers, drive-ins. Lin is not exploring other ways to score; that's a sign that the player does not have the offensive game at this point. I disagree that his knees is the problem and that he is consciously trying to limit his shots -- his confident is shot -- that's not intentional, smart plan he came up with. Every time Lin interviewed, I heard Lin say "My knees are fine, etc."
DeleteLin has been playing inconsistent, not awful. Lin's main goal is to win games. The reason Lin was putting up big numbers during Linsanity was because their primary scoring options were out and he had to become the primary scorer. Once Melo and Stoudamire returned he deferred to them to score. If Harden and Parsons get injured you would see Lin trying to score more. It is dumb to compare Lin's current stats to Linsanity stats. He does what is required for the team to win. His job right now isn't that of a scorer. His job is to get his big men involved, get good looks for his teammates, play strong defense, and score when the option presents itself. He is like a player-coach, I always see him talking to his teammates. I can totally see Jeremy as a coach after his playing days are over.
Deleteeb5, of course Lin would never complain publicly or use his knee as excuses because it will look weak to other players and give them permission to test his knee.
DeleteBut listen to Morey's answer on Lin's disappearing burst question. It's clear that he can accelerate fine but not decelerate well yet so that's why we don't see stop-on-a-dime and shoot, change-of-direction lateral moves or 360-degree-spin because they require him to decelerate and stop without losing his balance.
This is the link that via posted above. I think all of Lin's fans should listen to this part (5:36) so we know his knee is not 100% yet no matter what he said publicly.
11/27/12 SportsTalk 790AM
[05:36] Measuring JLin's burst
I'd say Lin's knee at the moment is like an accelerating bullet train without working brake yet. He can accelerate to the basket but he can't stop himself or change direction to shoot. There must be reasons he has not done offensive moves that we saw him perform well last season. It's not like he suddenly lost the skill to do so.
I listened to Morey speak. It's good to know that Lin has a fast first step acceleration. Fair enough, but that does not change my view that he should find other ways to score against a more focused D on him.
DeleteSince individual box score (NOT advanced) stats are valued so much by some people here who think Lin is an utter bust, how about some trade proposals?
DeleteWhat players making the same amt of money as Lin could be plugged into the starting PG slot for the Rockets to dramatically improve on that 9-8 record?
Smoovies, I never expect or compared Lin to what he did during Linsanity time. If you looked at what is commonly referred as Linsanity period, it really comes down to around 6 games, not even 25, because he did not play insanely during 25 games. And I am the first one to admit that his high performance was partly due to the system and the star scorers being out that forced him or liberated him to try to score as much as he could and "will" other teammates to do their best. What you are saying is he does not force things, etc., but while that is good and I agree that he is not forcing himself, neither is he letting game come to him. Letting the game come to him means you take the opportunity to score or shoot without hesitation. Time and time again, I have seen him hesitate for 0.1 second and lose the opportunity to score. I agree with 50% of what you are saying.
DeleteI looked at advanced stats of Lin also, so let's not go there. Cite me any advanced stats you think Lin excels in this season. Also, let's not discuss any trade possibilities, because knowing Morey, he will make trade if he can get better PG than Lin. He wants an impact player, if you listen to Morey speak, and if that kind of player is available, he will trade Lin in a heart beat. He already considers Harden to be that kind of player, so they won't trade Harden, but everyone else is a trade possibility.
DeleteHey eb5attorney, Lin didn't play "insanely" in his first 25 games as a starter?
DeleteA twice waived guy from the D league comes in, outscores the entire NBA in his historic starts, leads a 0.333 team to the playoffs with a 15-10 record as a starter, earns less than a million bucks a year, leads the NBA in several advanced metric categories, and scores double figures while spearheading the Knicks to a 6-1 record in his second stint.
That's not INSANE? Ok then eb5attorney, SHOW US the other twice waived D league rejects that even came closr to Lin's output, let alone exceeded it.
KHuang, "insanely" in terms of now, as a starting NBA PG, not at the time. He is no longer a D leaguer; he is a staring NBA PG. I am looking at his Linsanity numbers from the perspective of a NBA starting PG. Aside from his 6 games, other games are not "insane" numbers for a starting NBA PG. Lin is now playing as a staring PG in NBA, so you have to look at what he is doing from this perspective.
Deleteeb5 - "there are other ways to score when your long shots are not falling, such as short jumpers, drive-ins" this would make sense if he is asked to be the primary or secondary scorer but i really don't believe that's what he is being asked to do at this point.
Deletealso, he will NOT take short jumpers unless there are no better shots from someone else and he has not other options. he believes and have said it himself that a jumper is the worst shot to take.
Ok then.
DeleteLin's statistic as a Houston starter: 9-8.
Looks pretty good to me.
Lin is with the youngest and cheapest lineup in the NBA. Even the Wizards, Kings, and Bobcats have more experience and more payroll. They're SUPPOSED to be better than Lin's Rockets, but they're not.
Swap Lin out for another PG, see if the Rockets would have done better.
That's why I am looking at DWS/WS advanced stat combo which seems to indicate that Lin has not contributed to the wins by his D or offense.
DeleteFine eb5attorney.
DeleteWhile you're bashing Lin as being utterly irrelevant to the Rockets winning, why don't you find us a player for Lin's money who's going to step in and save the Rockets season.
Jeremy is a team player. He cares more about his team winning than his individual stats. The Rockets have won 5 of their last 6 including victories over the Knicks, Jazz, and Lakers. Why is everyone so down?! The value of Jeremy is that he makes his teammates better and he is a winner. You saw that at Palo Alto, Harvard and NY. During the last game the announcers pulled out an interesting fact. The Rockets have 4 of the top 10 most improved players in the NBA based upon improved points per game over last year. Parsons +6.3, Asik +7.8, Harden +6.8, Patterson +6.4. Could that be in part to Jeremy's leadership and passing? Jeremy's passing has greatly improved this year. How many times have we seen Jeremy pass over the defense to a streaking Patterson or Morris and the defense has no choice but to foul them. It doesn't show up in the stats for Jeremy but it's 2 free throws for the Rockets. How many people would have predicted the Rockets would be 9-8 and third in division at this point in the season? If they could have closed the games where they had the lead late versus Miami and the 2 Portland games they would be 12-5. Although Jeremy has been up and down, he finds way for his team to win. What I like about the Lakers game is that even though the team struggled they still managed to win. That's what good teams do. I like this Rockets team, they are unselfish. That is a culture that Jeremy has helped instill. and is why Melo will never win a championship. Jeremy does what he needs to do for his team to win. Once his shot starts dropping, watch out!
ReplyDeleteWe can't attribute that all to Jeremy, to be very honest, because basketball is a very complex sport, but also because of the fact that Lin simply hasn't been the primary ball-handler, so it's not really like Linsanity where it was very clear that Jeremy was the key. What we can say is that when Jeremy has got the chance to handle the ball, he has handled it fairly well. We can also say that his unselfishness has contributed to the team gelling faster than people have expected. He has also been very good in transition, which is very important.
Delete@Smoovies
Delete"The Rockets have 4 of the top 10 most improved players in the NBA based upon improved points per game over last year. [snip] Could that be in part to Jeremy's leadership and passing?"
Of course it could. Or, maybe they're playing more minutes...
The offensive improvement of Asik and Patterson this year can be directly attributed to Jeremy. TD doesn't get the big men involved like Jeremy does which is why I am excited about the rise of Greg Smith. I would like to see Jeremy and Smith work on the pick and roll together with Smith finishing with an alley oop slam like Lin did with Chandler last year. If the Rockets are above .500 with Jeremy struggling, how good can they be once Jeremy's jumper starts dropping?
DeleteIt's hard to argue with a general statement like that when many factors are involved in Rockets; winning or losing games. For sure, against Lakers, Lin was a non-factor unless you count it as a contribution Lin was praying on the sidelines. Narrowing down factual situations to where we can observe, you have to count critical situations in 4th quarter where the game could have been won or lost. This season, I have not seen Lin being the factor who helped Rockets win. For Harden, he was both a positive factor in helping Rockets win some games and he was a negative factor in contributing to Rockets' loss in some games through his "hero" balling. Sure, Lin is a good teammate, but on the court, I cannot say Lin was a significant factor in critical moments of the games, unless you argue that every moment during the basketball is critical. If that's the argument you want to fall back on, yes, Lin's assists did help Rockets win some games. Do I think Lin is a super defender? No, I think Lin is slightly above average defender among PGs. I can see fast or experienced PGs take advantage of Lin leaving them on help D. Lin is not a super athlete who should try to help out on any D; he should try to focus on his own man. I think he does do a good job in "steering" opposing PGs to Rockets' big men though.
DeletePersonally I like the fact that Jeremy tried to take the charge on Kobe, twice. If you look at the replay, he was there on the first charge, even the announcers thought it was a charge. That is something I don't see often on this Rockets team, anybody willing to take a charge. Like I said Jeremy is willing to do anything to help his team, even take charges.
DeleteTake Jeremy Lin off the Rockets.
DeleteSee if everybody produces at the same rate.
When Lin didn't play in preseason, the Rockets fell apart.
I wonder what would happen...
anybody have the clip of JLin elbowing Kobe? I saw the foul to Kobe by Morris (was it Morris?), but I assume people are talking about something different?
ReplyDeleteLook, Lin's stats can be partly explained to his not being able to handle the ball primarily -- I think no one is saying Lin is 100% to blame for his lack of scoring (aside from his poor shooting percentage). But a good scoring PG should find other ways to score. Some fans say Lin WILL find other ways to score; some fans say his shooting WILL improve soon or later so that he will score more points. In fact, you can say anything and there will not be irrefutable proofs for or against your opinions. My opinion is that Lin's offensive game and shooting need improvement, and his shooting average reflects some fundamental problem with his shooting mechanic or slow release or a lack of offensive moves that prevent him from scoring in different ways.
ReplyDeleteWho knows? In some sense, it might be true that Lin plays better playing with non-star level players. If you remember the Lakers game, Melo was not playing, so Lin had to try to score, while Knicks played good D on Lakers. Even Melo got all excited seeing Lin score in a variety of ways. I really wish Lin would play as if he got nothing to lose (like the way he did), because when everything is said and done, Lin does have nothing to lose. The worst thing that can happen to him is that he walk away from NBA with at least $25 Million USD in his bank account -- that's not too shabby. The best that can happen to him is that he play really well and he will make more money than LeBron from all the endorsements.
Not just money wise, but Lin has a chance to be a huge influence in NBA if he elevates his play.
DeleteSome people should be ashamed of themselves. So many haters in a fan site...
ReplyDeleteThe more this rocket team play the more it'll be better. I think harden is a bit tired now and he only uses same way to shoot:he shoots a 3 without meaning, in or out, or he waits the screen and then goes one on one. I think if Lin steps up as a creator even harden will benefit. If i was the coach i'd rest harden much more time because his percentages are getting lower. I'd let jeremy lead the show and see what happens and test if he's good enough to carry on the team. The only thing jeremy is lacking is 3 pointers but he's never been a Novak so i don't mind. He'sgetting in shape see improvements day by day.
Some people is so surprised by his numbers that just point the fingers on the only bad stat. We don't care.
To the bandwagoners.... See you soon, jeremy is getting there but we, or at least i, don't want Linsanity cause jeremy won't... I'd take just the numbers though :D
I just don't think KS really trust Lin. In vs. Jazz game that was good to let Lin be a real PG and they all did good. Then KS changed again. so in vs. Lakers it back to Harden ISO again? Harden was not shooting well but KS didn't bench him or say anything at all. I don't think with focus on Harden ISO play,Lin will have the chance to have good stats.
DeleteCJCA, it's a different situation.
DeleteIn the Lakers game, Lin got into foul trouble with 4 fouls and Douglas played exceptionally well so KS made the correct coaching move to stay with the hot hand.
Harden's shooting was poor but he actually improved by making the correct passes to Greg Smith and Douglas rather than forcing himself to attack the basket.
I have no problem with KS coaching. He made a mistake at Portland to bench Jeremy in favor of Douglas in OT and paid with a loss. He learned and let Lin drive the offense in the past 4-5 games. And he made the right move in the Lakers game.
The main objective is to win as a team no matter what it takes. Lin was also supportive in his post-game interviews.
Question: Would you rather Jeremy average 11pts/7asts on a 47-35 Rockets team or Jeremy average 20pts/5asts on a 35-47 team?
ReplyDeleteThat question is loaded because there is no reason why you cannot average 7 assists while scoring 20 points if effectively earned.
DeleteI think Jeremy would much rather have more team wins rather than individual stats. While we would like to see Jeremy be more selfish and score more points, currently he is happy setting up his other teammates to be successful and the team is winning. Jeremy has always been a team player which is how his underdog Palo Alto team was able to defeat a more individually talented Mater Dei. We should be happy that Jeremy's team is winning! I see the Rockets losing at San Antonio but winning the next 5 (Dallas at home, San Antonio at home, Wizards at home, Boston at home, at Toronto).
DeleteSee below DWS/WS combo advanced stats. I do agree with you that Lin would much rather have more team wins; that's why I am citing the DWS/WS combo stats for Lin and others.
DeleteA telling advanced stat (shown to me by Nom) regarding Lin's play during this season is this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/linje01.html
Lin had this season, in 17 games, DWS/WS combo of 1.1, while last season in 31 games, Lin had a combo DWS/WS of 4.1.
Parsons has 2.0 combo, while Harden has 2.3 combo. PP has 1.5 combo, while Dougie has 0.4.
Greg Smith, in his limited playing time, has 1.2.
Deletehttp://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smithgr02.html
According to Nom, DWS/WS shows a player's contribution to team's winning, and supposedly, this is a good indicator on how a player contributed to his team's wins. LeBron in 16 games has 3.8 combo, which is amazing:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jamesle01.html
Lillard has a combo of 1.8.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01.html
Parker has 2.4:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parketo01.html
I am giving you some advanced stats, for whatever they are worth.
Kobe has 4.4 combo of DWS/WS, which correlates what our eyes see that Kobe, rightly or wrongly, plays a huge factor in Lakers' winning.
Deletehttp://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bryanko01.html
Dragic has 2.3 combo.
By the way, Nom explained this concept in his previous post, so if this doesn't make sense, don't blame me but Nom. :)
DeleteI actually think it would also help if they had negative DWS/WS stats, so we can see if any player contributed to losing games.
DeleteCP's DWS/WS combo is over 4 also, while Rondo's combo is 2.4.
DeleteSorry, I read the advanced stats wrong by combining WS and DWS. What I should have done is combine OWS and DWS to arrive at WS for each player. But my point still stands. Lin's OWS for this season is only 0.1, while his DWS is 0.5 higher than his OWS, for a combo WS of 0.6 -- meaning although Lin contributed through his D to Rockets' wins than his offense, his total Win Share is very low. Actually, this is even worse than I stated previously. His combo WS is 0.6. I have to say this correlates to what my eyes see.
DeleteThe SI Chris Ballard's interview with Morey reveals a few valuable gems about Houston Rockets' Moneyball advanced analytics concept.
ReplyDeleteAnd it explains why they valued Harden, Lin and Parsons so much.
Money Ballsy
ROCKETS G.M. DARYL MOREY TAKES A MORE ANALYTIC VIEW THAN OTHER NBA EXECS—AND HE'LL RISK EVERYTHING TO BACK IT UP
...
What makes Harden a freak is the extreme nature of his game. The three most efficient shots in basketball are a layup, a three-pointer and a free throw . The worst is a long two-point jumper, a shot only a few players—such as Dirk Nowitzki—can hit regularly enough to make worthwhile.
More than any team, the Rockets embrace the concept of avoiding midrange jumpers, acquiring players who naturally adhere to it. (Lin, who incessantly attacks the rim, is one example; Battier, who rarely shoots anything other than a corner three or open layup, was another.) It's one thing to find players with a natural tendency. It's another to land Harden, who is the living, breathing, Eurostepping embodiment of it. To look at his shot chart is to see a giant red splotch around the basket and then a half-moon outside the three-point arc; the midrange is virtually barren. Last season 87% of Harden's shots were either at the basket or from behind the line, and what's more, he is an elite finisher when at the rim. As a result, his .660 true shooting percentage, which measures shooting efficiency by weighing threes and free throws, was not only the best in 2011--12 but also, as Basketball Prospectus recently noted among high-usage players, only Charles Barkley has had a higher true shooting percentage. In history.
...
I read this some time ago. If Lin misses drive-ins and doesn't get to FT line, then their rationale would have turned out wrong.
DeleteHouston Rockets values Lin's asset to incessantly attacks the rim, Parsons' 3PT threat and in Harden's case the ability to do both.
DeleteThis is why Houston discourages long 2-PT jumpers and push the PFs (Patterson, Morris) to be 3PT shooters.
Morey and Alexander is all about risk-and-reward. Even Parsons know that he is a valuable trading asset. But will Lin be traded? Not in 2 years if the reward of him playing like an All-Star is realized and money from Chinese companies are truly profitable for Alexander.
So this is at least a 2-year long project for Alexander (based on his comment) to see if the risk of bringing Harden, Lin, Asik, Parsons and another superstar (DHoward/Jefferson/Millsap/etc.?) will pay off.
Let's enjoy the ride, people. I believe Lin has proven that he stepped up to the challenge over and over again. When and will that happen? Nobody knows but he's been in the business of proving people wrong.
Morey knows that if both Lin's acceleration and deceleration are back but he can't regain his strength to finish the attack to the rim, he will get traded. Simple as that. That's why it's called risk-and-reward.
DeleteBut for the meantime, he'll be patient because Lin is improving his offense and a great asset on defense (perhaps not expected).
I read this article thoroughly, so I do feel as if I know how Morey thinks. This goes to show you that Morey bet on Lin's attacking the rim and either making them or drawing fouls and going to FT line. But if Lin cannot do this, their rationale for getting Lin would turn out to be wrong, because Lin is not a good 3 point shooter.
Deletepsalm234, I get your way of thinking. How long do you think Morey will be patient? One year or two years? That article also pointed out to me that Morey would trade Lin or Parsons in a heartbeat if he thought he could get another more effective player.
DeleteThis article may explain though why Rockets are trying to get Lin to improve his 3 point shooting.
DeleteAccording to the article, Les said it would take at least 2 years to know if Morey's moneyball approach works or not
DeleteI have no doubt that Lin or Parsons would be traded if LeBron or superstars are available. I'd say Lin ($8M/year contract and Chinese companies money) is a bit harder to trade than Parsons ($900K/year contract) because Les likes winning and money. Also, Les got mad when Lin got away the first time so he wouldn't want to look foolish the second time if he let go of Lin too soon. I'd say Les waits at least 2 years for the Lin investment to produce ROI. Remember, he appeared next to Jeremy during the first media interview but I don't see him next to Harden (perhaps he was not available)
Here's the quote.
"..Earlier I'd asked Alexander, the owner, about Morey's approach, and he had been cagey. How much longer would Alexander stick with the plan? "As long as it works." How long until he knew if it worked? "Two years." As for how he would know if it worked, Alexander was clear: Like Morey, he only plays this game for one reason."
2 years it is. I learned from that article that Morey thinks he's a great table tennis player.
DeleteBENCH JEREMY NOW!
ReplyDeleteDWS/WS combo stats does support an argument that Dougie is not better. Dougie's DWS/WS combo, in his limited time, is 0.4. That shows that Greg Smith played a huge role in that Rockets' win against Lakers.
DeleteBench him for who? Douglas? Douglas may end up with more points than Lin, but the Rockets will end up with more losses. Lin still gives the Rockets the best chance of winning. And they have won their last 5 of 6!
DeleteSorry, I read the advanced stats wrong by combining WS and DWS. What I should have done is combine OWS and DWS to arrive at WS for each player. But my point still stands. Lin's OWS for this season is only 0.1, while his DWS is 0.5 higher than his OWS, for a combo WS of 0.6 -- meaning although Lin contributed through his D to Rockets' wins than his offense, his total Win Share is very low. Actually, this is even worse than I stated previously. His combo WS is 0.6. I have to say this correlates to what my eyes see.
DeleteSolution time:
DeleteWhat player, eb5attorney, do you recommend as Lin's replacement for the same money?
And how do you expect this superior player to step in and improve on the Rockets 9-8 record?
None, my solution is to give Lin more time, until end of this season. I am just pointing out advanced stats (which I do not trust until they correlate to what I "see") do not indicate that Lin has contributed so much to Rockets' winnings.
DeleteActually, another solution is to have Lin some serious NBA shooting coach during this season or off-season.
Delete