Another "positive" about the Spurs game, if you will: Pop demoralised Sampson so hard that Sampson decided to sit his starters out instead. So Lin et al shouldn't be too tired against the Mavs! :)
Harden still played 34 minutes ... in a blowout. You may see Harden and Douglas in the backcourt sometimes but You never see Lin on the floor without Harden.
i disagree, on paper maybe... but this is the nba where the worst team in the league can beat the defending champs on any given night(wizard vs heat), the rockets could've won. they might not have the best odds but its still possible, a 15/8 game from lin/better shooting from parsons/patterson, and just some better offense from asik they would have a chance. just didnt happen.
All I know is Lin ripped the Rockets off bigtime with that contract. And you guys got mad at the Knicks for knowing better and not matching? Shame on you for not understanding the game yet getting mad at teams for doing the right thing. LIN IS TERRIBLE. Prove me wrong Lin.. But I bet you cant!
billy Chung, I am fed up with your BS. You pretend to be an Asian JLin fan, but I saw through your lame charade from the very first time you posted here.(You stupidly used a picture of a celebrity that's all over the web and claimed it was your picture). I notified Google about this abuse and I will also let the person whose picture you're illegally using so that person can take appropriate actions against you. Just how sad and pathetic are you? Claiming to be Asian and using fake broken English just to come here and hate on a basketball player. You sad sad troll.
Look at you calling me a fake "asian" because I dont lie about Lin? I LOVE Lin's charactor but this is sports we're talking about here and because the truth hurts, your looking to destroy my credibility and attack me personally. You people do the same to any player that steals the limelight fromn Lin, you try to sabotaghe them, it's very low. I've seen what Lin fans do and the measures they go to make Lin look better and I think you people are trashy and low and wayyyy too obsessive. Donb't you dare personally attack me or threaten me again. I will forget this ever happened but seriously, keep it basketball related
Hey fake Asian fan, I already contacted the person whose picture you're illegally using. Whether or not he will do something about it is up to him. Simple Google image search will let you know who the picture really belongs to. Again, you sad sad troll.
Hahahaha you can stop now, nobodies here to see your lies. Rachell do you see how you're acting all because I brought up the fact that Lin has been terrible? You're acting like a child. What is wrong with you? I have tryed taking off my [picture because it is embarrasing and don't want strangers like you critiscizing it. But I have more pride than that so stick and stones misses Lee but your gonna hafto do better. I dont want to fight with you so stop AND talk about basketball, can you honestly say your happy with Lins play? Of course not, that's why your so pissed
Houston still 9-9, which is very good for the youngest cheapest team in the NBA.
It's a good sign that Houston seems to be able to win the games against equal opponents and occasionally steal a game from the good opponents. This game Houston got EXPOSED.
This reminds me of a game last season when Orlando with Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson played the Celtics. Orlando lost by 40 and just was awful. But Orlando still made the playoffs.
Lin and the Rockets are going to have BAD games against teams like San Antonio with their championship level play. I read into it that Lin and the Rockets are not capable of competing against the really good teams, but I also won't condemn Lin and the season when the Rockets lose like this.
I'm not trying to be optimistic about Lin or try to spin games like this into positives or even net zeros. I've just been watching the NBA so long, so I know that teams can look atrocious one day and then look like champions the next.
Dallas doesn't have an All Defensive shotblocking presence like OKC or LA or SA do. Lin and the Rockets should find it easier to get their offense going.
From what I read, Crowder struggled lately. I think he will excel more off the bench than as a starter so that he doesn't need to go against players so bigger than him nightly.
I've always considered him a perimeter player, not an inside guy.
Crowder would actually be a perfect fit for Lin's current role, as Crowder is strictly a 3 point shooter who makes great passes and plays lockdown defense at all 5 positions!
Hahahahha you sad little man! Awww, hows being a Lin fan holding up for you? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA THE WHOLE LEAGUE IS LAUGHING AT YOU IDIOTS! Ypou werent Lin fans before Linsanity, you know nothing about the guy. HE SUCKS!!! Face it you obsessive nutjobs!!!
This sounds ridiculous but Jeremy is doing everything well...except HITTING JUMPERS. He can't hit jumpers with any kind of consistency right now and it's having a domino effect on the rest of his game.
If he can't hit jumpers, teams sag off him, so he can't slash as well.
If he can't hit jumpers, he can't space the floor for his raw bigs, so they won't finish his passes.
If he can't hit jumpers, Sampson will yank him for someone who can (Douglas right now) since Harden is a solid playmaker.
Personally, I say to heck with the jumpers right now. Just attack the paint and get to the line. Refs aren't giving him whistles because he's not attacking like he used to (or like Harden does). He hesitates and fakes (looking to pass) and slows down as a result.
Harden gets whistles because he's always moving towards the basket. Jeremy has that great Euro-step too (watch last year's T-wolves game)...why isn't he using it???
In other words, his bigs can't finish and he's quick and strong enough to get FTs even if teams sag off him...so just stick to that for now.
My advice to Jeremy: only shoot long jumpers when it's the end of the shot clock. That is, only when it's absolutely necessary and your mind has no time to overthink -- I swear he made like half of his "emergency" 3s last year...but very few of his "no-pressure" 3s.
What about his midrange game? We haven't seen much of that. Another member (wllc?!) mentioned that he should try to take shots within 5-10 feet from the basket to get himself going...would that work? The only thing he's decent at is making layups and since he's been terrible at the 3pt line, why not try shots closer to the basket (starting at the free throw line)?
Deneders have adjusted to his game/. No more does he get open shots and when he does, he misses or... airballs. Last year was half luck and the other half, well, opponents defense didnt expect Lin to do what he did. He cannot play the way we thought, if you guys still want to love him and cuddle with his pictures then fine but lets just hope he doesnt get benched or moved down to the D-league. This is the Pro's, cant excuse Lin for this
I still say that Houston's coaching hurt Lin more than any other players on the roster. Especially their discouragement of a mid range jumper limits his game to a predictable drive or an inconsistent 3 pointer which he is worst at. The constant benching doesn't help the confidence of a young player either. I increasingly think perhaps Lin just doesn't fit in Houston's system around Harden and the sad thing is that Lin is not yet good enough to change up that scheme.
Lets all be HONEST here..he's playing likes he SCURRED!! He's being considered a bus by 60% of america..smh..even though i think he will be in the all star game..but this is not the LIN we fellin love with..this guy is the same dude that got sent to the dleauge and was a bench player. He is playing so below his potenial. He took a step back from how he was playing last year, his coach has to work on plays with him and Harden in practice..like a jennings&ellis or ellis/curry tandem. Lin NEEDS the ball in his hand..he is a SCORER..he NEEDS to SHOOT DA DAMN BALL!!
If you followed Lin long enough, you would remember Lin playing like this "scared kid" in GSW. Just like right now in Houston, he was also trying to fit in a similar role back then, as a defensive guard who needed to play off another ball dominant guard. The same things, poor shooting, bad handle, lack of confidence were also frequently used to describe Lin. He didn't just suddenly get better when he went to NY, in his your words, he was just "trying to play his own game" and no longer thought about fitting in. I think right now he is just facing the same problem as his days in GSW.
The offense is being oriented from Harden (lead guard) to the frontcourt, not score-first guard to score-first guard.
Unlike Lin who swings the ball crisply, Harden rarely passes in order to swing the ball. When Harden passes, he's usually looking for an assist, which means the roll man or a spot-up shooter.
I guess when he said in the practice interview was what he got, no more Linsanity, no more big scoring games ... less public attention and less spotlight.
OK so ur just saying that he basically took the money and have now decided to get less attention. Oooookay lets be serous here. JLin & Ty Lawson are looking like most nba pros after signing big contracts smdh!Theyre playing soooo unexpected. I am truly diappointed so far!
I bet Lin is wishing he were back with the Knicks right now, even if he were playing for a lot less money.
Houston is turning out to be a worse situation for him with Harden playing de facto point guard, and Lin reduced to being a catch-and-shot guard ... who can't shoot.
Well, Felton's role this season with the Knicks is tailor-made for Lin.
I wasn't able to watch the past 2 games and just caught a few minutes of Lin's play in this game. From the few possessions I saw, it looks like Lin is back to where his role is poorly defined and the things he's doing well this season, he's only getting intermittent touches to do them. On too many possessions, he was open, but the ball swung away from him or the ball took too long to reach him so that any gap he could have attacked had closed.
doesn't matter. he could have the ball in his hands, but he'll still need a basic jumpshot to be a threat in this system. time to get a new shooting coach.
Is forcing himself to fit the system draining his confidence..? [How is it his people/ his support network/ inner circle not see this and do something to help stem the spiral?]
here's the thing, obvious a system that fits the player will benefit him a lot, and it's ideal for a player to be in the right system. But lots of players play in different systems that dont benefit them and they still find ways to make it work, because at the end of the day....they are professionals and being paid millions to play and produce, excuses bout systems are unacceptable in this league.
I don't believe it's the system as much as it's the team balance. I bet you that Lin would look 10 times better on a balanced team say the Pacers, the Nuggets or the Grizzlies. I don't even necessarily think that Lin needs to be "the main guy", I think he just needs a team with ball movement rather than with ball dominant 1-on-1 players.
Hamilton's mid range jumper is sweet but there is a reason he sucks at 3 point shooting. 2 point jumpers and 3 pointers actually require different technique. In fact, very few players excel at both. What Lin did wrong in the summer IMO is to listen to the Rockets management/coaches' Moneyball theory and train the 3 point shooting while ignore and abandon the mid range training. Usually the best shooters, especially the ones who presumedly are changing shooting form, train from short jump shots 1st and expand the range as times go by.
I really believe that Lin is intentionally deferring to Harden because he bought into the management/coach belief that letting Harden excel is the best move for the franchise, be it on and off the court. Say what you want about that this is an excuse for his struggle. The mentality of being the "main guy" is very different to that of a "role player". It's not dissimilar how Wade is now struggling.
Also, why this "talk" is likely media bullshit. Everyone knew that Harden is the "main guy" on the Rockets. So unless Lin or "his people" wanted him to get off the Rockets, they would never say such a thing in public. And Lin isn't likely to want to just quit after 18 games. Things can change for the better very quickly. Who knows if McHale/Sampson would still be coaches at the end of year.
Lin can co-exist with Harden as a lead guard in a system that plays to Lin's strengths with multiple players who drive/pass/score in a spread floor that's opened up for quick-hitting drive-and-kicks, pick-and-rolls, and swing passes. Boost the number of possessions with quick ball movement so that Harden gets his allotted fill of possessions with enough touches left over to fill out everyone else's stat line.
The good news is the Rockets have played this way enough so that their offense is one of the best in the NBA. The team is developing well, better and faster than I expected. The bad news is the ball movement has often gone away from Lin. Where the pre-Harden Rockets were only going as far as Lin carried them, Lin is being left behind in the Harden era.
Interesting juxtaposition of Bucher's reports about Lin's discomfort playing with Harden and the Lakers' pressing need for a D'Antoni-equipped PG.
Cara wow, talk about someome without a clue yet full of excuses.. quit blaming others. There not putting a gun to Lins head and saying "purposelly miss when you shoot!!"
Khuang I'm just going to ignore your comment out of frustration. You have nothing to say worth anything good & you sound like a pure idiot. Lin didn;t light upo the Knicks but you believe what you wanna believe. I can careless about the Knicks Khuang but they are alot better than the Rockets and Felton is alot better than Lin.
And I'm not thjre least bit embarrased either lol, keep them coming moron. Your the ones who should be embarrased because any real NBA fan like me looks at half of your comments and laughs. Biased and denialistic. None of you will be Lin fans soon, your give up as fast as you gave in ;)
billy Chung I've read your posts and you are one of the most objective, unbiased observers here. It's no surprise these rabid Lin fans will hate you because the truth hurts.
Whether Lin is playing like hot trash or playing brilliantly, you tell it like it is, and some of us appreciate that. When I see a billy Chung post, I read it as I trust it will be objective. When I see a KHuang post, depending on my mood, I skip it. If I need a laugh, then maybe I decide to read a KHuang post once in a while. :)
I had thought Lin was in the mold of a Jordan or Kobe with that competitive fire and killer instinct.
His recent interviews have been disappointing to say the least.
I really dislike this "aww shucks, they don't need me to be as good as last year" weaksauce version of Jeremy that seems just fine with being a yes man that's satisfied with mediocrity.
Why can't he have D-Rose's attitude.. "why can't I be MVP"...have a little more confidence instead of bowing your head and admitting you're fine with being an average role player.
Make me a believer again, stop playing like a BETA WUSS and take the damn reigns.
To be fair, we can't always take his interviews at face value. He is notoriously overly diplomatic/ polite [not necessarily honest, w/c is wise actually.] Also, being a Christian -> humility. And, trying to temper linsane expectations.
[I admit it would be gratifying to see him flash some attitude haha]
I don't really think that Lin or the Rockets don't want Lin to reproduce his Linsanity performance. But it's not the 1st priority. The priority obviously is to make sure Harden score his 20 something points and make all star team so that Morey and company can use him as a selling point to attract another all star level player. Lin even reproducing Linsanity numbers wouldn't be able to do the same trick because of his race and respect factor. Hence you would see the system runs through Harden no matter how he does and how other players can't do.
And believe it or not, I think Lin himself has also bought into the same thinking as the coaching staff and management. That's why you see him defer to Harden so much and be so tentative because his 1st priority is not his own numbers but to get Harden going and he probably really believes that Harden scoring 30+ gives the team the best chance of winning.
I think you're pretty much hit the nail on the head Cara. Morey as GM has also part to be a salesmans. He envisions himself as a wheeler dealer. Always trying to make the big deal -- the big names Anthony, Howard, now Harden. To do that he's had to promise Harden that he was going to be the playmaker. You can see the active campaigning to tamp down Linsanity. Sampson is a nobody and just an extension of Morey on the bench. There are some good arguments to say that that was the right decision. But you can see some cracks in the Morey vision of the playmaker and the 4 3pt chuckers.
I don't see the game plan change any time soon since no way Houston would let their max salary player sit in the corner and let his backcourt partner run the offense and outshine him. The only possible scenario would be near the end of the season they let Lin pad some stats so they could trade him more easily. In fact I really believe Asik, Patterson, Parsons, Lin, basically everyone except Harden would be moved in the future. Houston and Morey's team building philosophy seems rather be 2-3 stars (definition of stars being 20+ ppg scorers) with a bunch of D leaguers than a well balanced team.
That's why I wouldn't be so high on the Rockets nor would I be so down on Lin. Since even he really couldn't fit in Houston and with Harden, it's very possible he will be moved in a year or 2 anyway. The most important thing for Lin to use this team and this situation as a training ground to hone his all around skills.
I don't think the coaches or Harden have a problem with letting Lin get involved at all. Tonight, Harden swung the ball to Lin for open threes, which he bricked or passed up. Lin had an open midrange jumper at the baseline, which he bricked. Lin tried to attack on transition, but he got the ball stolen from him in two consecutive possessions. (To Lin's credit, those were his only turnovers.)
You have said before, Cara, that it is up to Lin to show what he can do as a low-usage guy. KHuang has also pointed out that Lin should be able to excel as low-usage, high efficiency guy. Harden and the coaches had no problem at all giving Parsons a heck of a lot of touches when Parsons was hot (now not so much since his shoulder injury).
The problem with the Rockets right now is that they have Harden and a bunch of amorphous role-players who can't be trusted to perform night in and night out - which is to be expected, because they are so young. Heck, Harden himself is quite inconsistent.
Personally, I think Harden would want a solid partner. Many of the true NBA greats operate in tandem. Jordan-Pippen. Thomas-Dumars. Stockton-Malone. Payton-Kemp. Chamberlain-West. Tonight, we saw Duncan-Parker. McHale knows this - since him, Bird and Parish were far greater having played together. It is up to Lin to show that he is the man.
That's one of Lin's problems. He instinctly focuses too much on making the right basketball plays that unlike Harden, he often repeatedly force passes to players like Patterson, Parsons, especially Asik when they are, ugh not so hot. So when his teammates are bad, he looks worse. I would attribute this to his lack of experience and lack of confidence.
100 Bucks sais that Lin will not go to the All-Star game. He will get voted in, he just wont accept it. He knows he does not deserve it and will feel like a fool there over players who worked harder and played better all year
I'd bet you 100 Bucks if he gets Voted in...he's going to play. But the respect of his peers & west coast pg's will definitely be loss...unless lin drops 20 n 10, He played pretty bad in the Rookie/Sophmore all star game last year.
Well players dont play much defense in all-star games, unless they are there FOR there defense that is so Lin can do good im sure but if he keeps missing, it will make NBA look bad
Since Lin wouldn't be facing double and triple teams while also having big men tht can actually catch passes and make shots, he would likely play better in the All Star game than he does in the regular season.
My picture of Lin as a Rocket is a small guard riding his back, a big man in front, and a wing defender waiting on the side to intercept his bailout pass. Or it's Lin in the corner shooting an "open" jumpshot with a midrange big man defender waitimg to challenge his drives.
The team got wasted guys, not just Lin. Yes Lin did horrible, I know. What he really needs to do is to get Doc asap, and Doc needs to be assertive and turn on drill instructor mode and kick Lin's sorry ass for flip flopping his shots. Otherwise Lin is doing great.
Yes like many of you, I'm frustrated at Lin's mid range game all but disappearing. WTF is wrong with this picture?
Asik give me a break 0/6 shooting, 5 TOs and out rebounded by Lin...Pathetic. 37 to 50 boards, 39 to 55% shooting, that's a formula for disaster.
Let's see how they deal with Dallas...I'm more interested in see what Sampson would do.
Yes I'm still voting him for all stars, I don't care what people say, he'll be hated if he does well or bad anyway.
What's keeping Doc from going to Houston though? It's simply not possible he doesn't know what's happening to JLin's jumper. [And JLin has been staying behind at the gym to sort it out himself.] No communication??? It's not like JLin to be this non-proactive. [When he was at Harvard, he'd seize control of even his team mate's routines, their nutritional requirements even, just to get them in condition. It's not like him to let things just go on...he'd do something to stop the bleeding.] ---
At least the starters are somewhat not-tired out for Dallas...
Jeremy needs to call self-help motivator Tony Robbins. Robbins tells the story of how he spent the day with Byron Scott and how Scott increased his shooting accuracy overnight. Does anyone really believe that Lin is slacking off while someone like JR Smith works harder than everyone else? Not in my universe.
Lin's not slacking off and JR Smith is not working harder than Lin.
The difference is Smith is in a role that's tailored to his strengths and mitigates his weaknesses. Smith is the same player he's always been. Lin is in a role that highlights his weaknesses and takes him away from his strengths on offense.
It's a structural issue. The Rockets have a role that's tailored to Lin's game - the problem is Harden is occupying it.
Lin is not the competitive kind who would be happy to be the low usage guy and to suggest that it's okay as fans is an insult to Lin's character. His confidence is low and I'm concerned he's also depressed and very concerned about his psychological well-being. His post game interviews and facial expressions spoke volume of his heavy heart. It's sad. Why should he carry the torch for the Taiwanese or Taiwanese Americans for being the only Taiwanese American professional basketball player? There's nothing Taiwanese about him; he's an American period. Why should he carry the cross for the Christians when he's only playing basketball for a living and not preaching a sermon? And why are people against him having fun? Why Lin isn't smiling of late? In fact, he hardly smiles.
I think it's time to leave him alone and everything we said here likely Lin will read and leaves him feeling even more pressured because he has such high expectations of himself. I too think it's time that I too leave him alone and wish him luck that someday soon I'll see him playing like his old self.
Meanwhile enjoy living a larger life through Lin. Ciao.
I doubt he'll go back to the D-League. That is called being a True fan and not bandwagon fan.
Not sure why you continue to go to a JLin fansite if you perceive Lin to be a "terrible" player. That is your opinion and that is your right to have that opinion. Why waste your time on someone you do not perceive to be worthy of your time? You're wasting your time and not ours.
I think Lin should guard OJ Mayo and let Harden guard Fisher. If Lin's going to continue with his non-existent shooting, then might as well maximize his impact on the defensive end. It would impact the game more if he can disrupt Mayo rather than shutting down Fisher. Harden can handle Fisher :)
This way his offensive struggles will not be observed under a microscope. Until his offense returns, might as well play a Bruce Bowen role. Expend all of his energy on the defensive end. No one ever really criticized Bowen for his lack of offense (except for that corner 3) due to his Big impact on the defensive end. Also add his ankle breakers (literally speaking).
If he can somehow slow down the Mavs best player (who is not injured), then he wouldn't be a non-factor. I'm still confident that his defense hasn't suffered yet.
Although he has been good most of the time on the defensive end, I think he can still do much better. Or at least be more disruptive or more active. he needs to let his impact be felt by the opposing teams.
Not against these overmatched teams is Lin going to play well, no.
Send Lin to the D league if you want. Just make sure you send playoff teams like the Hawks and Knicks and Lakers and Jazz that Lin TORCHED along with him.
That would make an exciting D league, Lin against all the NBA teams he went off against this season!
How in the world did Lin torch the Knicks? His team torched the Knicks. Just like he supposedly torched Felton, a guy who played less mins yet had better stats LMAO
I agree Lin did not "TORCH" the Knicks @ all. smh. Lin has only had a few really good games this years. Hes been under performing. Thats what happens when mediocore athelets getting big@ss contracts. I hope Lin can prove me wrong...I'm not completely dismissing him yet..But he gotta show and prove. Almost every starting PG in the league has better stats then Lin. Turible!!
Khuang are you ok? Lin played the msot mins that night and only had 13 pts. That isn't excellent Khuang, jesus calm down. Your exact words were he "Torched" the Knicks. Your clearly a Moron and don't belong here until you learn basketball. Biased fool
Rockets' advanced stats at basketball-reference.com: http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2013.html#advanced::5
Lin's advanced stats relative to his teammates are poor. Surprisingly so. The numbers show Lin has been a good defender and decent assist man, but he's been bad on offense, and not an asset over-all to his team.
Let me repost what I learned about OWS and DWS from previous discussion with eb5attorney and wilc: ========================== Dec 7, 6:55pm
yes, wilc. We should see it as it is.
OWS is an imperfect attempt to distribute # of Wins based on 3 main factors in Points Produced (made shots, assists, and offensive rebounds) and adjust it with expected offensive points plus team/league pace.
It is a reflection of what we knew already that Lin struggled with his shooting in the offensive end so that's why it is low. But we know it is imperfect to measure a player's contribution because it ignores other contribution described above so it does not pass my "eye test" that Lin also contributed more in the offensive end.
DWS formula is actually more objective than OWS because it primarily uses # of points allowed/100 defensive possessions which captures all defensive contributions of a player (deflections, unrecorded steals, better team defense that Lin did well).
So all I'm saying is if OWS is not too biased to 3 offensive factors, Lin's OWS would be higher (not 7th but perhaps 4th or 5th). Lin's DWS rank is #2 so WS perhaps would also be 3rd-5th rather than 7th.
WS is slightly better than PER which does not account for defense (except for blocks and defensive rebounds). There are other stats (Adjusted Plus Minus or eZPM) that might be more objective, especially in a small sample size like the playoff.
My conclusion is: 1. OWS is less perfect than DWS because OWS uses only 3 offensive stats but ignoring other important stats 2. we need to be careful to combine OWS and DWS into WS because they use 2 different formula so the scale is not the same especially since the team pace is very high (they score a lot of points but also allow a lot of points) that it favors OWS more than DWS.
Think about it this way. The highest OWS was Harden at 1.5 but the highest DWS is Asik at 0.7 (Lin is 2nd at 0.6). So the scale is not the same because their pace is so high.
So if you bench Jeremy who has the 2nd highest DWS, would Houston allow more points so would they have 6-12 record instead of 9-9? Hard to speculate but it is a possibility.
I still want Jeremy to improve OWS by scoring more points but like I said, it's an imperfect stat to measure offensive contribution of a player. So we should take its number understanding its limitation.
All stats have their limitations; that's why I don't just look at the stats but combine them with the eye test. I am not so big on stats. I think Morey often misses things that cannot be measured by stats by depending on stats too much. Sure, the stats serve some purpose, but I would never let stats override the eye test.
Lin has the only negative OWS of -0.1, and his WS combo per 48 minutes is the lowest in Rockets. Combine that with his PER, they paint a telling picture. The only good thing about this is that Dougie's PER and combo WS/48 is not much better, which supports many posters' viewpoint that had Rockets a better PG, Lin might not be playing that many minutes.
If you watched the game closely enough, you would notice that Lin couldn't make a wide open jump shot in his breakout Nets game either last season in NY. In fact he didn't make a 3 pointer in that game at all.
But last year he was good, even if it was only a few games. This year he just sucks at everything. What will the Rockets do is whqat Im interested to see..
Here, the arc seems lower, although his shots are not impressive. I think he needs to practice shooting when he's tired and with people running towards him. It's no use practicing when he's fresh. His shots still not impressive during shooting. It will be a long and winding road before Lin ever becomes a good shooter.
OK Look at the flight of the ball. It looks great in that clip. Shooting with cardio fatigue and with a defender running at him are great suggestions!! He needs to let it happen and make his mind his best friend not his worst enemy.
Jumpah, they look great, but not making that many. He should definitely practice when he's tired (to simulate the game condition with people running towards him). I never am too impressed with these practice shooters.
Lin's gather has always looked weird and over exaggerated. Way too much herky-jerky motion in his gather, way too much knee bend, as if he needs extra oomph to compensate. He'll likely never have a consistent jumper with that weird motion.
There is a mystery of the disappearing offensive arsenal from Jeremy Lin.
In the past 18 games, we mostly see layups (who improved after JLin got his explosiveness back in Game 13-14 as wilc suggested a while back?) or occasional 3PT or floaters.
Where are the rest of his offensive arsenal (stop-at-a-dime and jump over his defender, fadeaway jumper, attacking the rim and getting fouled, 360 degree spin move against DFisher)? 1. Is he physically unable to perform these moves because he only gets his acceleration back but not his deceleration as we found out from Morey's interview? 2. Do the coaches or doctors forbid him to perform these moves with the fear of reinjuring the surgically repaired meniscus? Or 3. Do the coaches discourage midrange jumpers in favor of Houston's Moneyball of 3PT or layups?
IMO, it's the combination of 1 and 2 because Houston wants to protect their investment. This season's goal to go to the playoff will disappear to thin air if their only PG is out for the season. Harden is a playmaker but he is not a PG, Douglas is a SG disguised as a backup PG.
Also, there is no way Lin will not try these moves if he felt he can do it well to help his teammates win the game. He might not make them but at least we'll see him trying to make these moves.
I cannot imagine coaches forbidding Lin from performing such moves. If it's that serious, he should not be on the court. I feel Lin is just uncomfortable and not confident with these moves. Driving to the basket can only work in few situations such as when the land is open or in transition. In transition, I have to say Lin is very fast and can and does finish scoring most of the times. Sometimes, I feel Lin runs too fast in transition, instead of slowing and weaving to score.
I actually feel that it's a combination of 1 and 3.
For the point 3, almost all the Rockets players hardly have any resemblance of a mid range game, it's not just Lin. And everyone except Asik is encouraged to shoot 3s. Actually Houston is one of the teams who shot most 3s but with the worst %. But they still keep taking anyway. That's why I said it's clearly the coaching philosophy or the coaches would stop the players.
eb5, so you're leaning to Option 1 about his physical limitation making him uncomfortable to make those moves?
For his transition moves to the basket, I agree that's his best move now. Not sure he can weave around with Euro-step since that requires stability on the knees and great lateral movement and he doesn't have it back yet.
psalm, my honest opinion is that he is not confident partly because he's never tried these types of shots before. I saw from the beginning that as much as people said Lin was a great scorer, his ways of scoring were limited to driving in and getting fouled or making those shots. But once D by other teams adjusted, he really does not have even "shake and bake" type of short jumpers like Felton does. This is why to me even Felton has a better offensive game than Lin right now. This does not surprise me at all, and I think it's no use beating a dead fish over and over again, when it's obvious that Lin's offensive game is limited. Lin knows this also, in my opinion. I have no proof obviously. I am hoping he can improve his offensive game during off-season; this is why I felt that he missed a real opportunity to improve his shooting skills during this off-season.
Lin is good at following areas: 1) high-quality assists; 2) Rebounding and running fast in transition and scoring and passing
Lin is bad in: 1) 3 point shooting; 2) non 3 points shooting; 3) limited in offensive moves.
Other areas: so-so or decent. He's like a pro tennis player playing in Wimbledon grass court with a bad serve. When he plays on clay court, i.e., against not so good teams, he's passable.
0:44 stop-and-jump shot from 20 ft 5:45 stop-and-jump shot from 10 ft 6:04 stop-and-jump shot from 10 ft
Where are these bread-and-butter moves now? Why did they disappear? I think he's skilled in this but they all have something in common: great body control, and explosion to perform the jumpshot. He just physically can't do it now.
Eb Attorney, howcome you only named 3 things he is bad at? And howome your not looking at the big picture? He was getting a decent amount of assists when he was playing close to 40 mins a game. Playing 25 mins he gets less than 5. He gets less than 5 points when playing 25 mins and sometimes even when he played 35 mins which is just terrible. As a 6'2 pg, you cant say he's good at rebounding. He got lucky last night, right places right time. He is Linvisible on offense and his defense really aint nothing special so if Douglas is a better defender and shooter, why not start Douglas? Lin ripped the rockets off with that contrac t and yall hated on the Knicks for not wanted to pay that? You should be ashamed of yourselves
Ha, ha. You can post more things that Lin is bad in if you want to. psalm, I saw the video and the 3 short jump shots. These are not his bread and butter shots; he probably went in to the basket either to pass or score and got covered, so he took them and they went in. To be fair, he took a few shots like the ones you mention during Linsanity here and against Lakers, but I would not say they are his bread and butter shots. Like you mentioned, maybe he should try more of those shots. Forget 3 pointers and just shoot more of those shots, unless Rockets' coaches are telling him not to take those, which I cannot believe they are telling him. Those shots do not appear to require a great deal of physical effort to be honest.
Option 4: JLin has lost confidence in his shooting and offensive game in general due to a variety of factors including adjusting to a Harden-centric system that plays to his weaknesses not his strengths and pressure from the expectations of proving all his detractors wrong/living up his $25 million contract.
Option 5: JLin is in desperate need of some of this:
eb, therein lies the mystery. If they don't require a great deal of physical effort to stop-and-do-jumpshots, why isn't he doing it?
Option 6. Reduced FTs attempt due to rule change and lack of explosion Cara brought this up before. His average last season was 5.2 FTA/game but now it is a paltry 2.1 FTA/game. His explosion is back but I don't see him finishing strong after contact unlike last season. And how many 'And-1's have we seen this season? Perhaps 1 or 2. I would also attribute this to the impact of Option 1. Some of them could be the rule change not to award FTs so easily but he clearly does not finish as strong as before after contact.
psalm234, Lin doesn't have those short midrange shots available.
With the shotblockers cheating off Lin's nonscoring big men to stop Lin at the rim and additional big men cheating off Lin's teammates to pick off Lin's bailout pass, the midrange has been closed off.
If you watch a Boston game with Rondo, his highly paid big men can all catch the ball, take a few dribbles, and shoot shots all the way out to 3 point range. While Rondo has a VASTLY improved jump shot that prevents defenders from sagging on him like they used to, Rondo can get to the basket whenever he wants because opponents are TERRIFIED of his highly paid big men.
Jeremy Lin does not have a single big man that can do basic scoring maneuvers without an assist from Lin or a bailout pass from other players. Consequently teams are trapping Lin on all sides. They let Harden go because he's not aiming to involve others, which is why Harden shoots with impunity against soft defenses.
What I'm imploring people to do is to look at these type of shots objectively.
Last season, Lin proved he can do over and over again. Now all of a sudden he can't do it anymore? Even Kobe admitted that only someone with skills can perform his 38-point explosion against the Lakers last season.
People are quick to dismiss that his recovering knee is a weak excuse and want Lin to perform well to satisfy their own self-gratification to brag their Asian pride to others. But if you look at it logically, there must be reasons he is only able to show 40%-50% of his offensive skills 7 months after his knee surgery. Even Chris Paul needed 1 full season or more to recover from his knee surgery.
All I'm saying is be patient, people. We want him to have a long-term career, don't we? We don't him to end up like Brandon Roy with overused knees or Grant Hill who came back too early on his ankle injury and never fulfilled his full potential to be the next MJ.
None of us can make it to the NBA so just enjoy the ride. I know it is frustrating to watch but like KHuang said, he contributes to Houston wins with his defense and facilitate the offense and some layups.
"As for those who want Lin benched, GO AHEAD. There will be a steady decrease in the starting lineup's production, though."
I want to see this. Go ahead and put Dougie in as starting shooting guard. Harden can play playmaker. Lin will be fine off the bench. But we'll find out about Morey's vision of the future of basketball. If Dougie and crew does better, fantastic Dougie deserves to start.
However, I'm not so confident Morey and yes man Sampson really want to find out.
KHuang, that's a good point that the opposing big men closed off the midrange jumpshots because Houston's big men can't create their own shots but what is baffling to me is I don't remember him even trying to score with stop-and-jump or turnaround jumpers.
The lack of attempt leads me to think more of his physical limitations with the lateral movement to be a big factor in these disappearing shots. If he sees Asik struggling to finish, he could try to make this midrange shots give more space to Asik.
Well, we're all grasping for logical explanations but I'm confident these shots will come back. Only time will tell.
In my years of watching the NBA, I have only seen ONE player that could shoot over any midrange trap no matter how good the trapping big men were.
That, of course, was Michael Jordan.
Lin doesn't have Jordan's ability to go right at a guy like Tim Duncan and score anyway. NOBODY had that kind of Jordan talent.
With opposing guards riding Lin's back, he couldn't even clear space for those stop and pop jumpers or turnarounds.
The only way out is for Lin's big men to man up and start putting the ball on the floor to beat those traps. Not even Lin and McHale can make those untalented Rockets big men fo that. That's why McHale was so miserable in preseason and is in no rush to come back.
Khuang I can agree with you that Lin doesd decent in games that they win but those are usually blowqout games or games where the opponent played the night before. Howcome he cant play that way against good teams? He isn't a game changer at all, thats all i mean
He still cannot go left and dribbling well . But his defense got better , and turn over : he doesn't play aggressive like last season and just pass the ball to harden most the time .of course his TO rate is lower. So ! Overall ! He doesn't get much improve and better.
Time factor becomes relevant here. I hope Lin can hold onto his starting PG position at least until next year, so he can improve his shooting during off-season. Lin really is not a bad player. In tennis terms, he is a decent tennis player but with a very weak serve. But as any top athletes know, such motion as service and shooting are very, very hard to improve.
I know this is a sacrilege to say this, but I almost think it would be GOOD for JLin to lose his starting role to Toney Douglas.
Here's why:
1. JLin gets away from Harden. It's been documented that Lin and Harden are not compatible, at least at this point. Both are ball dominant guards. When they are on the court, Lin must defer to Harden and let him run the offense as both initiator and scorer.
If Lin were on the second team, he could run the offense with the ball in his hand, as needs to do to be successful.
2. Less pressure. If Lin were coming off the bench on the second team, there would be less pressure on him to perform and he could just relax and play his game--much like how he performed best in New York with all those bench players like Novak, Jeffries, etc.
JLin might have to become a sixth man in order to get his mojo and game back--at least until he can develop his off-the-ball and shooting skills.
Ironically, it might be best if JLin were to become the OKC version of James Harden for the Rockets!
All the issues fans have talked about here will be revealed once the Rox go on a ten game losing streak. It will be very telling. One of two things might happen. One, Lin will be benched. Two, the Rox decide to incorporate more Lin into the offense, essentially giving him his old PG position back. Things will stay status quo until the ten game losing streak happens. I am personally looking forward to the losing streak. Why? Lin or the Rox need a shakeup. Either way we'll see the true makeup of Lin and the team come out. Lin is on cruise mode now, but he needs to be on overdrive. Spare me the knee problem. Not looking for Linsanity. Just want more passion.
I don't understand why people on this site is blaming the Houston coaching staff and Harden for JLin's lack of performance. Harden is clearly a better player than JLin, and he gives the Rockets the best chance to win games. So thus Harden should be the one getting the ISO plays, and having the ball in his hands. Harden has done a pretty good job getting his teammates involved as well. All other players on the team is playing better than last year other than JLin.
I think most posters are over blaming Harden for Lin's woes, if they ever did. We just don't know what Rockets' coaches are telling him to do and not to do, if any, so we can only go by what Lin seems to imply during interviews. I, for one, cannot believe any coaches would tell players not to take good short jumpers.
The ultimate person to blame is Lin of course. But how did he become this way ( lack of confidence, passion, and generally not having fun on the court) ? Yes, a big part of that is his shooting woes. The other part of that is the coaches moving Lin to offguard and not giving him the ultimate power and trust to run the team. That has been passed on to Harden. Rightly so. But it has happened at the expense of Lin. And it doesn't have to be this way. Look back at games 1 and 2 for a better example of an offense that will work for both on the court.
Let's say the Rockets suddenly decided to give the ball back to Lin and took Harden off the ball. And let's say Lin could shoot with impunity.
The results would be THE SAME.
Lin's Rockets big men have no offensive game. None of them can create for themselves offensively. None of them has the foggiest idea how to run a basic pick and roll other than to go to the basket. None of them can catch the ball, make a post move, and score or kick out. They rely mainly on Lin and to a lesser extent Harden for all the offense.
So what happens? Lin catches the ball and is JAMMED up top by the small guard. Lin has no problem getting past that guard, but he runs into a big midrange defender and sees another big defender playing the passing lane. When Lin goes into the midrange, he literally has no options because he isn't Michael Jordan who can elevate over people in the midrange (and Michael was the ONLY player that could do that, not even Kobe).
So what does Lin do? He abandons the shot attempt since his options are CLOSED DOWN.
The best Lin can do is catch and release after Harden does the iso thing. Teams don't trap Harden as hard because he's not a threat like Lin to find cutting players for assists. So when Harden gets stuck, the ball zings around the perimeter to Lin who DOES have to get better at receiving and hitting those shots.
This is why stars like Kobe and Chris Paul and DWill try to get themselves max contract big men that can score on their own. Teams that don't have scoring big men get loaded on defensively on the perimeter and the point guards suffer.
I cannot emphasize enough that it DOES NOT MATTER what coaching changes are made. Until the young Rockets big men improve their game, the traps and thus low scoring of Lin will continue.
How is "confidence" going to pry the opposing big man defenders from cheating on Lin's big men to challenge Lin in the midrange and intercept his bailout passes off the doubleteam?
Lin played with a bunch of scrubs on the Knicks. He made the other players better. If I recall Khuang, you hammered that point across pretty well. Now, you're saying other players have to essentially make him better. We all know the team offense is more fluid with Lin running the point. When he penetrates, good things happen. I can't tell how many times guys have wide open shots because of the penetration.
Lin's easy assists to Tyson are decreased due to Asik's limited athleticism and offensive capabilities. Lin is able to penetrate more due to Tyson's great screens; thus, defense will collapse on Lin which will open shots for his teammates.
Tyson does set great screens. However, when the other teams learned to defend him and the PRN, Tyson was left ineffective. That's why we started to talk about Melo as a being one of the component of the PNR. Teams started to double team Lin before he could get to the lane or took away his first read on passes. Now, it has been shown that you can stop Lin on the PNR. However, Lin learned to adjust. He stopped passing crosscourtt and made the easier passes. So you just can't abandon the PNR ( i am generalizing when I say PNR. It includes screens, or the Pick and Pop). You know why you don't see the midrange game from him? It's because the PNR is gone. PNR allowed him to get into the lane and use his floaters, turnarounds, etc. The PNR is offense at it's simplest and finest. With the PNR, a bunch of scrubs can beat a bunch of all-stars. It levels the playing field.
Another "positive" about the Spurs game, if you will: Pop demoralised Sampson so hard that Sampson decided to sit his starters out instead. So Lin et al shouldn't be too tired against the Mavs! :)
ReplyDeleteHarden still played 34 minutes ... in a blowout. You may see Harden and Douglas in the backcourt sometimes but You never see Lin on the floor without Harden.
DeleteAgree, there was no chance at all that the Rockets win this game.
ReplyDeletei disagree, on paper maybe... but this is the nba where the worst team in the league can beat the defending champs on any given night(wizard vs heat), the rockets could've won. they might not have the best odds but its still possible, a 15/8 game from lin/better shooting from parsons/patterson, and just some better offense from asik they would have a chance. just didnt happen.
DeleteAll I know is Lin ripped the Rockets off bigtime with that contract. And you guys got mad at the Knicks for knowing better and not matching? Shame on you for not understanding the game yet getting mad at teams for doing the right thing. LIN IS TERRIBLE. Prove me wrong Lin..
DeleteBut I bet you cant!
You're no Lin fan, Billy Chung.
DeleteYou're a TROLL who hates people here.
You can hate on Lin all you want. Meanwhile, we can hate on you right back.
Lin will continue to have good games against teams that CAN'T STOP HIM, like your KNICKS.
billy Chung,
DeleteI am fed up with your BS.
You pretend to be an Asian JLin fan, but I saw through your lame charade from the very first time you posted here.(You stupidly used a picture of a celebrity that's all over the web and claimed it was your picture). I notified Google about this abuse and I will also let the person whose picture you're illegally using so that person can take appropriate actions against you.
Just how sad and pathetic are you? Claiming to be Asian and using fake broken English just to come here and hate on a basketball player. You sad sad troll.
Rachel,
DeleteThe hate runs deep. Just check out some Lin's twitter account blow up sometimes.
Hahahaha that is my picture you liar!!!! Hahaha your the fraud "Lee"
DeleteLook at you calling me a fake "asian" because I dont lie about Lin? I LOVE Lin's charactor but this is sports we're talking about here and because the truth hurts, your looking to destroy my credibility and attack me personally. You people do the same to any player that steals the limelight fromn Lin, you try to sabotaghe them, it's very low. I've seen what Lin fans do and the measures they go to make Lin look better and I think you people are trashy and low and wayyyy too obsessive. Donb't you dare personally attack me or threaten me again. I will forget this ever happened but seriously, keep it basketball related
DeleteHey fake Asian fan,
DeleteI already contacted the person whose picture you're illegally using. Whether or not he will do something about it is up to him. Simple Google image search will let you know who the picture really belongs to. Again, you sad sad troll.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHahahaha you can stop now, nobodies here to see your lies. Rachell do you see how you're acting all because I brought up the fact that Lin has been terrible? You're acting like a child. What is wrong with you? I have tryed taking off my [picture because it is embarrasing and don't want strangers like you critiscizing it. But I have more pride than that so stick and stones misses Lee but your gonna hafto do better. I dont want to fight with you so stop AND talk about basketball, can you honestly say your happy with Lins play? Of course not, that's why your so pissed
DeleteHouston still 9-9, which is very good for the youngest cheapest team in the NBA.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good sign that Houston seems to be able to win the games against equal opponents and occasionally steal a game from the good opponents. This game Houston got EXPOSED.
This reminds me of a game last season when Orlando with Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson played the Celtics. Orlando lost by 40 and just was awful. But Orlando still made the playoffs.
Lin and the Rockets are going to have BAD games against teams like San Antonio with their championship level play. I read into it that Lin and the Rockets are not capable of competing against the really good teams, but I also won't condemn Lin and the season when the Rockets lose like this.
I'm not trying to be optimistic about Lin or try to spin games like this into positives or even net zeros. I've just been watching the NBA so long, so I know that teams can look atrocious one day and then look like champions the next.
Dallas doesn't have an All Defensive shotblocking presence like OKC or LA or SA do. Lin and the Rockets should find it easier to get their offense going.
This is a very good point!
DeleteI have a feeling Lin will do pretty well against the Mavs since they aren't very good and their best players are kind of old.
You were pretty big on Jae Crowder, if I recall correctly? How do you think he'll do against the Rox?
From what I read, Crowder struggled lately. I think he will excel more off the bench than as a starter so that he doesn't need to go against players so bigger than him nightly.
DeleteThe Mavs are a poor defensive team and Lin outplayed Fisher and Collison in their head-to-heads last season. It's a good comeback game for Lin.
Deletewifflewiffle, I still love Jae Crowder.
DeleteI've always considered him a perimeter player, not an inside guy.
Crowder would actually be a perfect fit for Lin's current role, as Crowder is strictly a 3 point shooter who makes great passes and plays lockdown defense at all 5 positions!
Hey Billy Chung, didn't you promise to stop comming here if JLin had a bad game? Do us a favor and go bye-bye!
DeleteHahahahha you sad little man! Awww, hows being a Lin fan holding up for you? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA THE WHOLE LEAGUE IS LAUGHING AT YOU IDIOTS! Ypou werent Lin fans before Linsanity, you know nothing about the guy. HE SUCKS!!! Face it you obsessive nutjobs!!!
DeleteIf Lin seems fine with his performance and role playing then who are we to complain? I think he's more suited to be a pastor than a basketball player.
ReplyDeletereally? a pastor? no offense to Lin but his voice could put me to sleep.
DeleteThis sounds ridiculous but Jeremy is doing everything well...except HITTING JUMPERS. He can't hit jumpers with any kind of consistency right now and it's having a domino effect on the rest of his game.
ReplyDeleteIf he can't hit jumpers, teams sag off him, so he can't slash as well.
If he can't hit jumpers, he can't space the floor for his raw bigs, so they won't finish his passes.
If he can't hit jumpers, Sampson will yank him for someone who can (Douglas right now) since Harden is a solid playmaker.
Personally, I say to heck with the jumpers right now. Just attack the paint and get to the line. Refs aren't giving him whistles because he's not attacking like he used to (or like Harden does).
He hesitates and fakes (looking to pass) and slows down as a result.
Harden gets whistles because he's always moving towards the basket. Jeremy has that great Euro-step too (watch last year's T-wolves game)...why isn't he using it???
In other words, his bigs can't finish and he's quick and strong enough to get FTs even if teams sag off him...so just stick to that for now.
DeleteMy advice to Jeremy: only shoot long jumpers when it's the end of the shot clock. That is, only when it's absolutely necessary and your mind has no time to overthink -- I swear he made like half of his "emergency" 3s last year...but very few of his "no-pressure" 3s.
What about his midrange game? We haven't seen much of that. Another member (wllc?!) mentioned that he should try to take shots within 5-10 feet from the basket to get himself going...would that work? The only thing he's decent at is making layups and since he's been terrible at the 3pt line, why not try shots closer to the basket (starting at the free throw line)?
DeleteOk we are officially livving in DENIAL. He isnt doing anything good but lets keep saying he is...
DeleteDeneders have adjusted to his game/. No more does he get open shots and when he does, he misses or... airballs. Last year was half luck and the other half, well, opponents defense didnt expect Lin to do what he did. He cannot play the way we thought, if you guys still want to love him and cuddle with his pictures then fine but lets just hope he doesnt get benched or moved down to the D-league. This is the Pro's, cant excuse Lin for this
DeleteI still say that Houston's coaching hurt Lin more than any other players on the roster. Especially their discouragement of a mid range jumper limits his game to a predictable drive or an inconsistent 3 pointer which he is worst at. The constant benching doesn't help the confidence of a young player either. I increasingly think perhaps Lin just doesn't fit in Houston's system around Harden and the sad thing is that Lin is not yet good enough to change up that scheme.
ReplyDeleteNope, no way in hell. Lin was getting 35 and sometimes 40 mins of play, now hes getting less because Douglas has been outscoring him in less mins
DeleteLets all be HONEST here..he's playing likes he SCURRED!! He's being considered a bus by 60% of america..smh..even though i think he will be in the all star game..but this is not the LIN we fellin love with..this guy is the same dude that got sent to the dleauge and was a bench player. He is playing so below his potenial. He took a step back from how he was playing last year, his coach has to work on plays with him and Harden in practice..like a jennings&ellis or ellis/curry tandem. Lin NEEDS the ball in his hand..he is a SCORER..he NEEDS to SHOOT DA DAMN BALL!!
ReplyDeleteWhen your team and coach treats you like a bust... that's what you eventually become.
DeleteIf you followed Lin long enough, you would remember Lin playing like this "scared kid" in GSW. Just like right now in Houston, he was also trying to fit in a similar role back then, as a defensive guard who needed to play off another ball dominant guard. The same things, poor shooting, bad handle, lack of confidence were also frequently used to describe Lin. He didn't just suddenly get better when he went to NY, in his your words, he was just "trying to play his own game" and no longer thought about fitting in. I think right now he is just facing the same problem as his days in GSW.
DeleteThe offense is being oriented from Harden (lead guard) to the frontcourt, not score-first guard to score-first guard.
DeleteUnlike Lin who swings the ball crisply, Harden rarely passes in order to swing the ball. When Harden passes, he's usually looking for an assist, which means the roll man or a spot-up shooter.
That's why opponents LET Harden shoot, Eric.
DeleteHe's not going to involve others, though he really does try to involve Lin!!!
Douglas has been better than Lin though...
DeleteI guess when he said in the practice interview was what he got, no more Linsanity, no more big scoring games ... less public attention and less spotlight.
ReplyDeleteMaybe subconsciously, that's what he wants.
OK so ur just saying that he basically took the money and have now decided to get less attention. Oooookay lets be serous here. JLin & Ty Lawson are looking like most nba pros after signing big contracts smdh!Theyre playing soooo unexpected. I am truly diappointed so far!
ReplyDeleteI bet Lin is wishing he were back with the Knicks right now, even if he were playing for a lot less money.
ReplyDeleteHouston is turning out to be a worse situation for him with Harden playing de facto point guard, and Lin reduced to being a catch-and-shot guard ... who can't shoot.
Well, Felton's role this season with the Knicks is tailor-made for Lin.
DeleteI wasn't able to watch the past 2 games and just caught a few minutes of Lin's play in this game. From the few possessions I saw, it looks like Lin is back to where his role is poorly defined and the things he's doing well this season, he's only getting intermittent touches to do them. On too many possessions, he was open, but the ball swung away from him or the ball took too long to reach him so that any gap he could have attacked had closed.
his role is clearly defined, its just that JLin isnt playing that role very well.
Deleteanyone for some League of Legends?
ReplyDeleteRic Bucher talks about JLin needing to be the main guy]
ReplyDelete["I've talked to people that are close to Jeremy.."]
doesn't matter. he could have the ball in his hands, but he'll still need a basic jumpshot to be a threat in this system. time to get a new shooting coach.
Deleteone of the most essential part of his game just happens to be his weakest. Agree, he needs to fix that jumper asap.
DeleteLol since the Knicks are somewhat okay right now, the NY media have nothing to write and even want to start a controversy in Houston.
DeleteIs forcing himself to fit the system draining his confidence..? [How is it his people/ his support network/ inner circle not see this and do something to help stem the spiral?]
DeleteCSN is not NY media tho..
DeleteIf it's a new shooting coach -> fine, get one.
DeleteIf it's Scheppler he needs -> ship him/ one of his staff in.
here's the thing, obvious a system that fits the player will benefit him a lot, and it's ideal for a player to be in the right system. But lots of players play in different systems that dont benefit them and they still find ways to make it work, because at the end of the day....they are professionals and being paid millions to play and produce, excuses bout systems are unacceptable in this league.
Deletethats my 2 cents at least....
DeleteI don't believe it's the system as much as it's the team balance. I bet you that Lin would look 10 times better on a balanced team say the Pacers, the Nuggets or the Grizzlies. I don't even necessarily think that Lin needs to be "the main guy", I think he just needs a team with ball movement rather than with ball dominant 1-on-1 players.
DeleteIf only Lin had stuck with the shooting mechanics he used last season in New York, he'd be fine.
DeleteBut no.
Someone apparently got the brilliant idea to change his shooting form for this season.
If it was Doc Sheppler's idea, he isn't a shot doctor. He's a quack.
what exactly did lin change over the summer?
Deletei'm a big fan of hamilton's form. smooth yet forceful. makes it look so easy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qoGOibdE7M
Hamilton's mid range jumper is sweet but there is a reason he sucks at 3 point shooting. 2 point jumpers and 3 pointers actually require different technique. In fact, very few players excel at both. What Lin did wrong in the summer IMO is to listen to the Rockets management/coaches' Moneyball theory and train the 3 point shooting while ignore and abandon the mid range training. Usually the best shooters, especially the ones who presumedly are changing shooting form, train from short jump shots 1st and expand the range as times go by.
DeleteI really believe that Lin is intentionally deferring to Harden because he bought into the management/coach belief that letting Harden excel is the best move for the franchise, be it on and off the court. Say what you want about that this is an excuse for his struggle. The mentality of being the "main guy" is very different to that of a "role player". It's not dissimilar how Wade is now struggling.
DeleteAlso, why this "talk" is likely media bullshit. Everyone knew that Harden is the "main guy" on the Rockets. So unless Lin or "his people" wanted him to get off the Rockets, they would never say such a thing in public. And Lin isn't likely to want to just quit after 18 games. Things can change for the better very quickly. Who knows if McHale/Sampson would still be coaches at the end of year.
DeleteLin can co-exist with Harden as a lead guard in a system that plays to Lin's strengths with multiple players who drive/pass/score in a spread floor that's opened up for quick-hitting drive-and-kicks, pick-and-rolls, and swing passes. Boost the number of possessions with quick ball movement so that Harden gets his allotted fill of possessions with enough touches left over to fill out everyone else's stat line.
DeleteThe good news is the Rockets have played this way enough so that their offense is one of the best in the NBA. The team is developing well, better and faster than I expected. The bad news is the ball movement has often gone away from Lin. Where the pre-Harden Rockets were only going as far as Lin carried them, Lin is being left behind in the Harden era.
Interesting juxtaposition of Bucher's reports about Lin's discomfort playing with Harden and the Lakers' pressing need for a D'Antoni-equipped PG.
@Cara
DeleteI wouldn't rule out media BS AT ALL.
Although JLin's camp have expressed a little bit of...divergence regarding the plays the Rox have drawn for him.
As for coaches, Finch looks to be next in line...
Cara the Knicks are ALOT more than "somewhat okay" right now. And about Lin, well a good player will find ways to be good. Maybe he just isnt good.
DeleteCara wow, talk about someome without a clue yet full of excuses.. quit blaming others. There not putting a gun to Lins head and saying "purposelly miss when you shoot!!"
DeleteBilly Chung troll, Cara know WAY MORE about the game than you EVER will.
DeleteLin looked MIGHTY GOOD when the Rockets STOMPED your #1 Knicks.
You flame people here, you get retaliated against and embarrassed.
Khuang I'm just going to ignore your comment out of frustration. You have nothing to say worth anything good & you sound like a pure idiot. Lin didn;t light upo the Knicks but you believe what you wanna believe. I can careless about the Knicks Khuang but they are alot better than the Rockets and Felton is alot better than Lin.
DeleteAnd I'm not thjre least bit embarrased either lol, keep them coming moron. Your the ones who should be embarrased because any real NBA fan like me looks at half of your comments and laughs. Biased and denialistic. None of you will be Lin fans soon, your give up as fast as you gave in ;)
Deletebilly Chung I've read your posts and you are one of the most objective, unbiased observers here. It's no surprise these rabid Lin fans will hate you because the truth hurts.
DeleteWhether Lin is playing like hot trash or playing brilliantly, you tell it like it is, and some of us appreciate that. When I see a billy Chung post, I read it as I trust it will be objective. When I see a KHuang post, depending on my mood, I skip it. If I need a laugh, then maybe I decide to read a KHuang post once in a while. :)
Wow thankyou sir, I appreciate it. Keep it real and forget the haters
DeleteI had thought Lin was in the mold of a Jordan or Kobe with that competitive fire and killer instinct.
ReplyDeleteHis recent interviews have been disappointing to say the least.
I really dislike this "aww shucks, they don't need me to be as good as last year" weaksauce version of Jeremy that seems just fine with being a yes man that's satisfied with mediocrity.
Why can't he have D-Rose's attitude.. "why can't I be MVP"...have a little more confidence instead of bowing your head and admitting you're fine with being an average role player.
Make me a believer again, stop playing like a BETA WUSS and take the damn reigns.
To be fair, we can't always take his interviews at face value. He is notoriously overly diplomatic/ polite [not necessarily honest, w/c is wise actually.]
DeleteAlso, being a Christian -> humility.
And, trying to temper linsane expectations.
[I admit it would be gratifying to see him flash some attitude haha]
I don't really think that Lin or the Rockets don't want Lin to reproduce his Linsanity performance. But it's not the 1st priority. The priority obviously is to make sure Harden score his 20 something points and make all star team so that Morey and company can use him as a selling point to attract another all star level player. Lin even reproducing Linsanity numbers wouldn't be able to do the same trick because of his race and respect factor. Hence you would see the system runs through Harden no matter how he does and how other players can't do.
DeleteAnd believe it or not, I think Lin himself has also bought into the same thinking as the coaching staff and management. That's why you see him defer to Harden so much and be so tentative because his 1st priority is not his own numbers but to get Harden going and he probably really believes that Harden scoring 30+ gives the team the best chance of winning.
DeleteThat aspect of Harden for Morey, yeah.
DeleteBill Simmons 1.0 @SportsGuy33
Here's my ? - what are you getting David Stern as a retirement gift?
Daryl Morey @dmorey
Big performance by @JHarden13 in his last all-star game
12:41 PM - 6 Nov 12
James Harden Already Recruiting Other Stars to Join Him in Houston
I think you're pretty much hit the nail on the head Cara. Morey as GM has also part to be a salesmans. He envisions himself as a wheeler dealer. Always trying to make the big deal -- the big names Anthony, Howard, now Harden. To do that he's had to promise Harden that he was going to be the playmaker. You can see the active campaigning to tamp down Linsanity. Sampson is a nobody and just an extension of Morey on the bench. There are some good arguments to say that that was the right decision. But you can see some cracks in the Morey vision of the playmaker and the 4 3pt chuckers.
DeleteI don't see the game plan change any time soon since no way Houston would let their max salary player sit in the corner and let his backcourt partner run the offense and outshine him. The only possible scenario would be near the end of the season they let Lin pad some stats so they could trade him more easily. In fact I really believe Asik, Patterson, Parsons, Lin, basically everyone except Harden would be moved in the future. Houston and Morey's team building philosophy seems rather be 2-3 stars (definition of stars being 20+ ppg scorers) with a bunch of D leaguers than a well balanced team.
DeleteThat's why I wouldn't be so high on the Rockets nor would I be so down on Lin. Since even he really couldn't fit in Houston and with Harden, it's very possible he will be moved in a year or 2 anyway. The most important thing for Lin to use this team and this situation as a training ground to hone his all around skills.
DeleteI don't think the coaches or Harden have a problem with letting Lin get involved at all. Tonight, Harden swung the ball to Lin for open threes, which he bricked or passed up. Lin had an open midrange jumper at the baseline, which he bricked. Lin tried to attack on transition, but he got the ball stolen from him in two consecutive possessions. (To Lin's credit, those were his only turnovers.)
DeleteYou have said before, Cara, that it is up to Lin to show what he can do as a low-usage guy. KHuang has also pointed out that Lin should be able to excel as low-usage, high efficiency guy. Harden and the coaches had no problem at all giving Parsons a heck of a lot of touches when Parsons was hot (now not so much since his shoulder injury).
The problem with the Rockets right now is that they have Harden and a bunch of amorphous role-players who can't be trusted to perform night in and night out - which is to be expected, because they are so young. Heck, Harden himself is quite inconsistent.
Personally, I think Harden would want a solid partner. Many of the true NBA greats operate in tandem. Jordan-Pippen. Thomas-Dumars. Stockton-Malone. Payton-Kemp. Chamberlain-West. Tonight, we saw Duncan-Parker. McHale knows this - since him, Bird and Parish were far greater having played together. It is up to Lin to show that he is the man.
That's one of Lin's problems. He instinctly focuses too much on making the right basketball plays that unlike Harden, he often repeatedly force passes to players like Patterson, Parsons, especially Asik when they are, ugh not so hot. So when his teammates are bad, he looks worse. I would attribute this to his lack of experience and lack of confidence.
Delete100 Bucks sais that Lin will not go to the All-Star game. He will get voted in, he just wont accept it. He knows he does not deserve it and will feel like a fool there over players who worked harder and played better all year
DeleteI'd bet you 100 Bucks if he gets Voted in...he's going to play. But the respect of his peers & west coast pg's will definitely be loss...unless lin drops 20 n 10, He played pretty bad in the Rookie/Sophmore all star game last year.
DeleteWell players dont play much defense in all-star games, unless they are there FOR there defense that is so Lin can do good im sure but if he keeps missing, it will make NBA look bad
DeleteSince Lin wouldn't be facing double and triple teams while also having big men tht can actually catch passes and make shots, he would likely play better in the All Star game than he does in the regular season.
DeleteMy picture of Lin as a Rocket is a small guard riding his back, a big man in front, and a wing defender waiting on the side to intercept his bailout pass. Or it's Lin in the corner shooting an "open" jumpshot with a midrange big man defender waitimg to challenge his drives.
The team got wasted guys, not just Lin. Yes Lin did horrible, I know. What he really needs to do is to get Doc asap, and Doc needs to be assertive and turn on drill instructor mode and kick Lin's sorry ass for flip flopping his shots. Otherwise Lin is doing great.
ReplyDeleteYes like many of you, I'm frustrated at Lin's mid range game all but disappearing. WTF is wrong with this picture?
Asik give me a break 0/6 shooting, 5 TOs and out rebounded by Lin...Pathetic. 37 to 50 boards, 39 to 55% shooting, that's a formula for disaster.
Let's see how they deal with Dallas...I'm more interested in see what Sampson would do.
Yes I'm still voting him for all stars, I don't care what people say, he'll be hated if he does well or bad anyway.
What's keeping Doc from going to Houston though? It's simply not possible he doesn't know what's happening to JLin's jumper. [And JLin has been staying behind at the gym to sort it out himself.] No communication???
DeleteIt's not like JLin to be this non-proactive. [When he was at Harvard, he'd seize control of even his team mate's routines, their nutritional requirements even, just to get them in condition. It's not like him to let things just go on...he'd do something to stop the bleeding.]
---
At least the starters are somewhat not-tired out for Dallas...
Has anyone in the NBA successfully fixed a jumper in the middle of the season? I can't think of anyone off the top of my head.
DeleteYes, but they improved while playing for the Suns or Spurs ... where the best shooting coaches are.
DeleteJeremy needs to call self-help motivator Tony Robbins. Robbins tells the story of how he spent the day with Byron Scott and how Scott increased his shooting accuracy overnight. Does anyone really believe that Lin is slacking off while someone like JR Smith works harder than everyone else? Not in my universe.
DeleteLin's not slacking off and JR Smith is not working harder than Lin.
DeleteThe difference is Smith is in a role that's tailored to his strengths and mitigates his weaknesses. Smith is the same player he's always been. Lin is in a role that highlights his weaknesses and takes him away from his strengths on offense.
It's a structural issue. The Rockets have a role that's tailored to Lin's game - the problem is Harden is occupying it.
Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpc-t-Uwv1I
Aha maybe JLin can use NLP [submodalities, anchoring etc] to get that jumper going. :)
Delete[Gotta figure out the right coaching 1st, I suppose.]
Phil Hwang is a Movie producer
DeleteLin is not the competitive kind who would be happy to be the low usage guy and to suggest that it's okay as fans is an insult to Lin's character. His confidence is low and I'm concerned he's also depressed and very concerned about his psychological well-being. His post game interviews and facial expressions spoke volume of his heavy heart. It's sad. Why should he carry the torch for the Taiwanese or Taiwanese Americans for being the only Taiwanese American professional basketball player? There's nothing Taiwanese about him; he's an American period. Why should he carry the cross for the Christians when he's only playing basketball for a living and not preaching a sermon? And why are people against him having fun? Why Lin isn't smiling of late? In fact, he hardly smiles.
ReplyDeleteI think it's time to leave him alone and everything we said here likely Lin will read and leaves him feeling even more pressured because he has such high expectations of himself. I too think it's time that I too leave him alone and wish him luck that someday soon I'll see him playing like his old self.
Meanwhile enjoy living a larger life through Lin. Ciao.
I agree
DeleteLin doesn't need to answer to his fans or anyone else except the team that is paying him and himself.
Many fans act like they own Lin or something.
I mean some fans
DeleteThere was a poster here after the Lakers game that said he was fed up with Lin's inconsistency. Is Lin supposed to apologize to you?
He can stop following Lin if he is so FED up.
Oh and your not gonna stop following Lin after he goes to the D-league or Euro-league? Neph, be real
DeleteBilly Chung you hater troll, Lin was one of the ALL TIME GREATEST players in the D league.
DeleteEssentially, Lin WASTED HIS TIME dominating that league.
You explain why Lin should go back to a league that he dominated the way Michael Jordan dominated the NBA.
@billy
DeleteI doubt he'll go back to the D-League. That is called being a True fan and not bandwagon fan.
Not sure why you continue to go to a JLin fansite if you perceive Lin to be a "terrible" player. That is your opinion and that is your right to have that opinion. Why waste your time on someone you do not perceive to be worthy of your time? You're wasting your time and not ours.
Because I like you guys
DeleteI think Lin should guard OJ Mayo and let Harden guard Fisher. If Lin's going to continue with his non-existent shooting, then might as well maximize his impact on the defensive end. It would impact the game more if he can disrupt Mayo rather than shutting down Fisher. Harden can handle Fisher :)
ReplyDeleteThis way his offensive struggles will not be observed under a microscope. Until his offense returns, might as well play a Bruce Bowen role. Expend all of his energy on the defensive end. No one ever really criticized Bowen for his lack of offense (except for that corner 3) due to his Big impact on the defensive end. Also add his ankle breakers (literally speaking).
If he can somehow slow down the Mavs best player (who is not injured), then he wouldn't be a non-factor. I'm still confident that his defense hasn't suffered yet.
or a Tony Allen role
DeleteAt least until his shot comes back.
DeleteAlthough he has been good most of the time on the defensive end, I think he can still do much better. Or at least be more disruptive or more active. he needs to let his impact be felt by the opposing teams.
DeleteModerator. You still think Lin will be an all time great as you predicted this offseason? I am hoping he's still in the league in 5 yrs.
ReplyDeleteNot against these overmatched teams is Lin going to play well, no.
DeleteSend Lin to the D league if you want. Just make sure you send playoff teams like the Hawks and Knicks and Lakers and Jazz that Lin TORCHED along with him.
That would make an exciting D league, Lin against all the NBA teams he went off against this season!
OFFT. Nice timing for your question. I know I sound crazy but I'm not giving up hope yet. Steve Nash as 24 year old:
DeleteStarted 40 games:
31.7 min
7.9 pts
5.5 asts
.36 fg%
It you said at that time he would be an all time great, people would've said you're crazy.
How in the world did Lin torch the Knicks? His team torched the Knicks. Just like he supposedly torched Felton, a guy who played less mins yet had better stats LMAO
DeletePlayers like Nash are very rare. You WILL giveup as fast as you gave in
DeleteI agree Lin did not "TORCH" the Knicks @ all. smh. Lin has only had a few really good games this years. Hes been under performing. Thats what happens when mediocore athelets getting big@ss contracts. I hope Lin can prove me wrong...I'm not completely dismissing him yet..But he gotta show and prove. Almost every starting PG in the league has better stats then Lin. Turible!!
DeleteThankyou Ruck for being honest
DeleteKeep LYING, haters.
DeleteRox CRUSHED Knicks by 30. Embarrassed them right off the floor.
Lin had an excellent game. He probably will again, given that the Knicks don't rotate well defensively.
Khuang are you ok? Lin played the msot mins that night and only had 13 pts. That isn't excellent Khuang, jesus calm down. Your exact words were he "Torched" the Knicks. Your clearly a Moron and don't belong here until you learn basketball. Biased fool
Deletei'm actually re-watching the game. I love to torture myself.
ReplyDeletewhere can I re-watch? I have league pass, but it said "this game will be available shortly". Thx.
DeleteRockets' advanced stats at basketball-reference.com:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2013.html#advanced::5
Lin's advanced stats relative to his teammates are poor. Surprisingly so. The numbers show Lin has been a good defender and decent assist man, but he's been bad on offense, and not an asset over-all to his team.
Lin is definitely struggling, to put things diplomatically.
DeleteLin's win share (WS) total of 0.5 is even lower than Marcus Morris and the lowest among all Rocket starters.
Adjusting for playing time, Lin's WS/48 minutes is 0.4, which is the LOWEST on the entire Rockets' team!
Embarrassing.
Let me repost what I learned about OWS and DWS from previous discussion with eb5attorney and wilc:
Delete==========================
Dec 7, 6:55pm
yes, wilc. We should see it as it is.
OWS is an imperfect attempt to distribute # of Wins based on 3 main factors in Points Produced (made shots, assists, and offensive rebounds) and adjust it with expected offensive points plus team/league pace.
It is a reflection of what we knew already that Lin struggled with his shooting in the offensive end so that's why it is low. But we know it is imperfect to measure a player's contribution because it ignores other contribution described above so it does not pass my "eye test" that Lin also contributed more in the offensive end.
DWS formula is actually more objective than OWS because it primarily uses # of points allowed/100 defensive possessions which captures all defensive contributions of a player (deflections, unrecorded steals, better team defense that Lin did well).
So all I'm saying is if OWS is not too biased to 3 offensive factors, Lin's OWS would be higher (not 7th but perhaps 4th or 5th). Lin's DWS rank is #2 so WS perhaps would also be 3rd-5th rather than 7th.
WS is slightly better than PER which does not account for defense (except for blocks and defensive rebounds). There are other stats (Adjusted Plus Minus or eZPM) that might be more objective, especially in a small sample size like the playoff.
My conclusion is:
Delete1. OWS is less perfect than DWS because OWS uses only 3 offensive stats but ignoring other important stats
2. we need to be careful to combine OWS and DWS into WS because they use 2 different formula so the scale is not the same especially since the team pace is very high (they score a lot of points but also allow a lot of points) that it favors OWS more than DWS.
Think about it this way. The highest OWS was Harden at 1.5 but the highest DWS is Asik at 0.7 (Lin is 2nd at 0.6). So the scale is not the same because their pace is so high.
So if you bench Jeremy who has the 2nd highest DWS, would Houston allow more points so would they have 6-12 record instead of 9-9? Hard to speculate but it is a possibility.
I still want Jeremy to improve OWS by scoring more points but like I said, it's an imperfect stat to measure offensive contribution of a player. So we should take its number understanding its limitation.
It only confirm everyone's observation that Lin is indeed the last option on offense, even below Morris!
DeleteAll stats have their limitations; that's why I don't just look at the stats but combine them with the eye test. I am not so big on stats. I think Morey often misses things that cannot be measured by stats by depending on stats too much. Sure, the stats serve some purpose, but I would never let stats override the eye test.
DeleteLin has the only negative OWS of -0.1, and his WS combo per 48 minutes is the lowest in Rockets. Combine that with his PER, they paint a telling picture. The only good thing about this is that Dougie's PER and combo WS/48 is not much better, which supports many posters' viewpoint that had Rockets a better PG, Lin might not be playing that many minutes.
DeleteJLin + Team Highlights vs Spurs - 12/07/12
ReplyDeleteHe couldn't make wide open shots. How can his teammates and the coach trust him?
ReplyDeleteIf you watched the game closely enough, you would notice that Lin couldn't make a wide open jump shot in his breakout Nets game either last season in NY. In fact he didn't make a 3 pointer in that game at all.
DeleteBut last year he was good, even if it was only a few games. This year he just sucks at everything. What will the Rockets do is whqat Im interested to see..
Deletesucks at everything?
DeleteVery inaccurate. Improved defense, top rebounders in the pg position, passing the ball,
He does suck at scoring but not at everything.
JLin warming up for Spurs game 12/07/12
ReplyDeleteHere, the arc seems lower, although his shots are not impressive. I think he needs to practice shooting when he's tired and with people running towards him. It's no use practicing when he's fresh. His shots still not impressive during shooting. It will be a long and winding road before Lin ever becomes a good shooter.
DeleteOn the contrary I love the look of those shots!
DeleteOK Look at the flight of the ball. It looks great in that clip.
Shooting with cardio fatigue and with a defender running at him are great suggestions!!
He needs to let it happen and make his mind his best friend not his worst enemy.
Jumpah, they look great, but not making that many. He should definitely practice when he's tired (to simulate the game condition with people running towards him). I never am too impressed with these practice shooters.
DeleteHow about hypnosis therapy?
DeleteLin's gather has always looked weird and over exaggerated. Way too much herky-jerky motion in his gather, way too much knee bend, as if he needs extra oomph to compensate. He'll likely never have a consistent jumper with that weird motion.
DeleteCompare:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbcwRkIEofk
More comparison:
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZOASycFEQo
attorney.....how are your counting skills.....6-8....
DeleteThere is a mystery of the disappearing offensive arsenal from Jeremy Lin.
ReplyDeleteIn the past 18 games, we mostly see layups (who improved after JLin got his explosiveness back in Game 13-14 as wilc suggested a while back?) or occasional 3PT or floaters.
Where are the rest of his offensive arsenal (stop-at-a-dime and jump over his defender, fadeaway jumper, attacking the rim and getting fouled, 360 degree spin move against DFisher)?
1. Is he physically unable to perform these moves because he only gets his acceleration back but not his deceleration as we found out from Morey's interview?
2. Do the coaches or doctors forbid him to perform these moves with the fear of reinjuring the surgically repaired meniscus? Or
3. Do the coaches discourage midrange jumpers in favor of Houston's Moneyball of 3PT or layups?
IMO, it's the combination of 1 and 2 because Houston wants to protect their investment. This season's goal to go to the playoff will disappear to thin air if their only PG is out for the season. Harden is a playmaker but he is not a PG, Douglas is a SG disguised as a backup PG.
Also, there is no way Lin will not try these moves if he felt he can do it well to help his teammates win the game. He might not make them but at least we'll see him trying to make these moves.
What do y'all think?
I cannot imagine coaches forbidding Lin from performing such moves. If it's that serious, he should not be on the court. I feel Lin is just uncomfortable and not confident with these moves. Driving to the basket can only work in few situations such as when the land is open or in transition. In transition, I have to say Lin is very fast and can and does finish scoring most of the times. Sometimes, I feel Lin runs too fast in transition, instead of slowing and weaving to score.
DeleteI actually feel that it's a combination of 1 and 3.
DeleteFor the point 3, almost all the Rockets players hardly have any resemblance of a mid range game, it's not just Lin. And everyone except Asik is encouraged to shoot 3s. Actually Houston is one of the teams who shot most 3s but with the worst %. But they still keep taking anyway. That's why I said it's clearly the coaching philosophy or the coaches would stop the players.
eb5, so you're leaning to Option 1 about his physical limitation making him uncomfortable to make those moves?
DeleteFor his transition moves to the basket, I agree that's his best move now.
Not sure he can weave around with Euro-step since that requires stability on the knees and great lateral movement and he doesn't have it back yet.
psalm, my honest opinion is that he is not confident partly because he's never tried these types of shots before. I saw from the beginning that as much as people said Lin was a great scorer, his ways of scoring were limited to driving in and getting fouled or making those shots. But once D by other teams adjusted, he really does not have even "shake and bake" type of short jumpers like Felton does. This is why to me even Felton has a better offensive game than Lin right now. This does not surprise me at all, and I think it's no use beating a dead fish over and over again, when it's obvious that Lin's offensive game is limited. Lin knows this also, in my opinion. I have no proof obviously. I am hoping he can improve his offensive game during off-season; this is why I felt that he missed a real opportunity to improve his shooting skills during this off-season.
DeleteCorrection, not never tried but never had that much success before trying these shots, or he is not skilled in these moves.
DeleteLin is good at following areas: 1) high-quality assists; 2) Rebounding and running fast in transition and scoring and passing
DeleteLin is bad in: 1) 3 point shooting; 2) non 3 points shooting; 3) limited in offensive moves.
Other areas: so-so or decent. He's like a pro tennis player playing in Wimbledon grass court with a bad serve. When he plays on clay court, i.e., against not so good teams, he's passable.
eb5, I would beg to differ that Lin doesn't have these offensive moves.
DeleteMy point is we saw that Lin can regularly make these 2-PT shots from 5-10 feet last season. Why can't he do it now?
For illustration, check out his 19PT game with 6-10FG against Indiana:
The Jeremy Lin Show Vs. Indiana Pacers (3/17/12)
0:44 stop-and-jump shot from 20 ft
5:45 stop-and-jump shot from 10 ft
6:04 stop-and-jump shot from 10 ft
Where are these bread-and-butter moves now? Why did they disappear?
I think he's skilled in this but they all have something in common: great body control, and explosion to perform the jumpshot. He just physically can't do it now.
Let's hope he gets them back in 2-3 months
Eb Attorney, howcome you only named 3 things he is bad at? And howome your not looking at the big picture? He was getting a decent amount of assists when he was playing close to 40 mins a game. Playing 25 mins he gets less than 5. He gets less than 5 points when playing 25 mins and sometimes even when he played 35 mins which is just terrible. As a 6'2 pg, you cant say he's good at rebounding. He got lucky last night, right places right time. He is Linvisible on offense and his defense really aint nothing special so if Douglas is a better defender and shooter, why not start Douglas? Lin ripped the rockets off with that contrac t and yall hated on the Knicks for not wanted to pay that? You should be ashamed of yourselves
DeleteHa, ha. You can post more things that Lin is bad in if you want to. psalm, I saw the video and the 3 short jump shots. These are not his bread and butter shots; he probably went in to the basket either to pass or score and got covered, so he took them and they went in. To be fair, he took a few shots like the ones you mention during Linsanity here and against Lakers, but I would not say they are his bread and butter shots. Like you mentioned, maybe he should try more of those shots. Forget 3 pointers and just shoot more of those shots, unless Rockets' coaches are telling him not to take those, which I cannot believe they are telling him. Those shots do not appear to require a great deal of physical effort to be honest.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOption 4: JLin has lost confidence in his shooting and offensive game in general due to a variety of factors including adjusting to a Harden-centric system that plays to his weaknesses not his strengths and pressure from the expectations of proving all his detractors wrong/living up his $25 million contract.
DeleteOption 5: JLin is in desperate need of some of this:
http://larrybrownsports.com/basketball/jeremy-lin-fan-poster-i-want-you-linside-me-pictures/117701
Posting more anti Lin stuff would make haters like Billy Chung and eb5attorney VERY happy.
DeleteHowever, the reality is that Lin has been very good in winnable games.
Any hater can criticize Lin. But Lin also gets the kudos for DESTROYING teams like the Knicks.
Lin is doing more good than he is harm. The 9-9 record for a team that really should only have 2-4 wins is testimony of that.
As for those who want Lin benched, GO AHEAD. There will be a steady decrease in the starting lineup's production, though.
eb, therein lies the mystery. If they don't require a great deal of physical effort to stop-and-do-jumpshots, why isn't he doing it?
DeleteOption 6. Reduced FTs attempt due to rule change and lack of explosion
Cara brought this up before. His average last season was 5.2 FTA/game but now it is a paltry 2.1 FTA/game. His explosion is back but I don't see him finishing strong after contact unlike last season. And how many 'And-1's have we seen this season? Perhaps 1 or 2. I would also attribute this to the impact of Option 1. Some of them could be the rule change not to award FTs so easily but he clearly does not finish as strong as before after contact.
psalm234, Lin doesn't have those short midrange shots available.
DeleteWith the shotblockers cheating off Lin's nonscoring big men to stop Lin at the rim and additional big men cheating off Lin's teammates to pick off Lin's bailout pass, the midrange has been closed off.
If you watch a Boston game with Rondo, his highly paid big men can all catch the ball, take a few dribbles, and shoot shots all the way out to 3 point range. While Rondo has a VASTLY improved jump shot that prevents defenders from sagging on him like they used to, Rondo can get to the basket whenever he wants because opponents are TERRIFIED of his highly paid big men.
Jeremy Lin does not have a single big man that can do basic scoring maneuvers without an assist from Lin or a bailout pass from other players. Consequently teams are trapping Lin on all sides. They let Harden go because he's not aiming to involve others, which is why Harden shoots with impunity against soft defenses.
What I'm imploring people to do is to look at these type of shots objectively.
DeleteLast season, Lin proved he can do over and over again. Now all of a sudden he can't do it anymore? Even Kobe admitted that only someone with skills can perform his 38-point explosion against the Lakers last season.
People are quick to dismiss that his recovering knee is a weak excuse and want Lin to perform well to satisfy their own self-gratification to brag their Asian pride to others. But if you look at it logically, there must be reasons he is only able to show 40%-50% of his offensive skills 7 months after his knee surgery. Even Chris Paul needed 1 full season or more to recover from his knee surgery.
All I'm saying is be patient, people. We want him to have a long-term career, don't we? We don't him to end up like Brandon Roy with overused knees or Grant Hill who came back too early on his ankle injury and never fulfilled his full potential to be the next MJ.
None of us can make it to the NBA so just enjoy the ride. I know it is frustrating to watch but like KHuang said, he contributes to Houston wins with his defense and facilitate the offense and some layups.
"As for those who want Lin benched, GO AHEAD. There will be a steady decrease in the starting lineup's production, though."
DeleteI want to see this. Go ahead and put Dougie in as starting shooting guard. Harden can play playmaker. Lin will be fine off the bench. But we'll find out about Morey's vision of the future of basketball. If Dougie and crew does better, fantastic Dougie deserves to start.
However, I'm not so confident Morey and yes man Sampson really want to find out.
KHuang, that's a good point that the opposing big men closed off the midrange jumpshots because Houston's big men can't create their own shots but what is baffling to me is I don't remember him even trying to score with stop-and-jump or turnaround jumpers.
DeleteThe lack of attempt leads me to think more of his physical limitations with the lateral movement to be a big factor in these disappearing shots. If he sees Asik struggling to finish, he could try to make this midrange shots give more space to Asik.
Well, we're all grasping for logical explanations but I'm confident these shots will come back. Only time will tell.
In my years of watching the NBA, I have only seen ONE player that could shoot over any midrange trap no matter how good the trapping big men were.
DeleteThat, of course, was Michael Jordan.
Lin doesn't have Jordan's ability to go right at a guy like Tim Duncan and score anyway. NOBODY had that kind of Jordan talent.
With opposing guards riding Lin's back, he couldn't even clear space for those stop and pop jumpers or turnarounds.
The only way out is for Lin's big men to man up and start putting the ball on the floor to beat those traps. Not even Lin and McHale can make those untalented Rockets big men fo that. That's why McHale was so miserable in preseason and is in no rush to come back.
Do Parsons or TJ have a couple of dribbles in them?
DeleteKhuang I can agree with you that Lin doesd decent in games that they win but those are usually blowqout games or games where the opponent played the night before. Howcome he cant play that way against good teams? He isn't a game changer at all, thats all i mean
DeleteHe still cannot go left and dribbling well . But his defense got better , and turn over : he doesn't play aggressive like last season and just pass the ball to harden most the time .of course his TO rate is lower. So ! Overall ! He doesn't get much improve and better.
ReplyDeleteWith system like this he can not do anything. Coach wants Harden do most of ISO. Really hope something can change soon....
ReplyDeleteYeah, role players for the large part are inconsistent with touches and shots so far and between.
DeleteTime factor becomes relevant here. I hope Lin can hold onto his starting PG position at least until next year, so he can improve his shooting during off-season. Lin really is not a bad player. In tennis terms, he is a decent tennis player but with a very weak serve. But as any top athletes know, such motion as service and shooting are very, very hard to improve.
ReplyDeleteI know this is a sacrilege to say this, but I almost think it would be GOOD for JLin to lose his starting role to Toney Douglas.
DeleteHere's why:
1. JLin gets away from Harden. It's been documented that Lin and Harden are not compatible, at least at this point. Both are ball dominant guards. When they are on the court, Lin must defer to Harden and let him run the offense as both initiator and scorer.
If Lin were on the second team, he could run the offense with the ball in his hand, as needs to do to be successful.
2. Less pressure. If Lin were coming off the bench on the second team, there would be less pressure on him to perform and he could just relax and play his game--much like how he performed best in New York with all those bench players like Novak, Jeffries, etc.
JLin might have to become a sixth man in order to get his mojo and game back--at least until he can develop his off-the-ball and shooting skills.
Ironically, it might be best if JLin were to become the OKC version of James Harden for the Rockets!
Exactly Ixy. He's not playing point guard now.
DeleteWhere do people think James honed his skill, developed his rep and got the max contract?
Linie, Dougie, Delfie, Markie, Gregie, anyone?
DeleteI am all for lxy's way of thinking. I just think Rockets' coaches should give it a try in several games and see.
DeleteAll the issues fans have talked about here will be revealed once the Rox go on a ten game losing streak. It will be very telling. One of two things might happen. One, Lin will be benched. Two, the Rox decide to incorporate more Lin into the offense, essentially giving him his old PG position back. Things will stay status quo until the ten game losing streak happens. I am personally looking forward to the losing streak. Why? Lin or the Rox need a shakeup. Either way we'll see the true makeup of Lin and the team come out. Lin is on cruise mode now, but he needs to be on overdrive. Spare me the knee problem. Not looking for Linsanity. Just want more passion.
DeleteI don't understand why people on this site is blaming the Houston coaching staff and Harden for JLin's lack of performance. Harden is clearly a better player than JLin, and he gives the Rockets the best chance to win games. So thus Harden should be the one getting the ISO plays, and having the ball in his hands. Harden has done a pretty good job getting his teammates involved as well. All other players on the team is playing better than last year other than JLin.
ReplyDeleteI think most posters are over blaming Harden for Lin's woes, if they ever did. We just don't know what Rockets' coaches are telling him to do and not to do, if any, so we can only go by what Lin seems to imply during interviews. I, for one, cannot believe any coaches would tell players not to take good short jumpers.
DeleteThe ultimate person to blame is Lin of course. But how did he become this way ( lack of confidence, passion, and generally not having fun on the court) ? Yes, a big part of that is his shooting woes. The other part of that is the coaches moving Lin to offguard and not giving him the ultimate power and trust to run the team. That has been passed on to Harden. Rightly so. But it has happened at the expense of Lin. And it doesn't have to be this way. Look back at games 1 and 2 for a better example of an offense that will work for both on the court.
DeleteNew and IMPROVED Lin, but the Rockets big men with no offensive game can be cheated off of to stop Lin's penetration!
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ReplyDeleteLet's say the Rockets suddenly decided to give the ball back to Lin and took Harden off the ball. And let's say Lin could shoot with impunity.
ReplyDeleteThe results would be THE SAME.
Lin's Rockets big men have no offensive game. None of them can create for themselves offensively. None of them has the foggiest idea how to run a basic pick and roll other than to go to the basket. None of them can catch the ball, make a post move, and score or kick out. They rely mainly on Lin and to a lesser extent Harden for all the offense.
So what happens? Lin catches the ball and is JAMMED up top by the small guard. Lin has no problem getting past that guard, but he runs into a big midrange defender and sees another big defender playing the passing lane. When Lin goes into the midrange, he literally has no options because he isn't Michael Jordan who can elevate over people in the midrange (and Michael was the ONLY player that could do that, not even Kobe).
So what does Lin do? He abandons the shot attempt since his options are CLOSED DOWN.
The best Lin can do is catch and release after Harden does the iso thing. Teams don't trap Harden as hard because he's not a threat like Lin to find cutting players for assists. So when Harden gets stuck, the ball zings around the perimeter to Lin who DOES have to get better at receiving and hitting those shots.
This is why stars like Kobe and Chris Paul and DWill try to get themselves max contract big men that can score on their own. Teams that don't have scoring big men get loaded on defensively on the perimeter and the point guards suffer.
I cannot emphasize enough that it DOES NOT MATTER what coaching changes are made. Until the young Rockets big men improve their game, the traps and thus low scoring of Lin will continue.
The results will not be the same, Khuang. One word- confidence!
DeleteConfidence?
DeleteHow is "confidence" going to pry the opposing big man defenders from cheating on Lin's big men to challenge Lin in the midrange and intercept his bailout passes off the doubleteam?
Lin played with a bunch of scrubs on the Knicks. He made the other players better. If I recall Khuang, you hammered that point across pretty well. Now, you're saying other players have to essentially make him better. We all know the team offense is more fluid with Lin running the point. When he penetrates, good things happen. I can't tell how many times guys have wide open shots because of the penetration.
DeleteTyson Chandler can actually set GREAT SCREENS.
DeleteLin's easy assists to Tyson are decreased due to Asik's limited athleticism and offensive capabilities. Lin is able to penetrate more due to Tyson's great screens; thus, defense will collapse on Lin which will open shots for his teammates.
DeleteTyson does set great screens. However, when the other teams learned to defend him and the PRN, Tyson was left ineffective. That's why we started to talk about Melo as a being one of the component of the PNR. Teams started to double team Lin before he could get to the lane or took away his first read on passes. Now, it has been shown that you can stop Lin on the PNR. However, Lin learned to adjust. He stopped passing crosscourtt and made the easier passes. So you just can't abandon the PNR ( i am generalizing when I say PNR. It includes screens, or the Pick and Pop). You know why you don't see the midrange game from him? It's because the PNR is gone. PNR allowed him to get into the lane and use his floaters, turnarounds, etc. The PNR is offense at it's simplest and finest. With the PNR, a bunch of scrubs can beat a bunch of all-stars. It levels the playing field.
DeleteLin's big men have NO IDEA how to run a basic pick and roll.
DeleteFrom Johnathan Feigan:
ReplyDeleteAnd now official, Kevin McHale will coach tonight vs. Dallas.
Their defense might improve in this game.
DeleteActing coach can stop ACTING!!! Mchale is back just in time
ReplyDeleteSports radio show in new york said he confused why they play lin off the ball. Thats not his game...
ReplyDelete