He played 36 minutes (which I am quite ok with as an average going forward, I know a lot of you disagree and that's cool) and shot 8-11 inside the arc. These were the shots that weren't falling early in the season, so that he has that going to fuel his mojo makes me quite happy.
If I had one quibble, it wouldn't be his TO's. While I know he's never been a particularly good 3 baller, this is an area he can't just be competent in, he is going to have to excel at. I know he's working on this, so it's really more of a comment than anything else. On the positive side, I'm really happy he's taking them without hesitation, another vast improvement from the beginning of the season.
He did great. He needs better handles...Because he is going to continually get tough defenders/double/triple teamed, and for goodness sakes stop with the high dribbles up court, that TO in 1Q as he SLOWLY turned with the defender to his right/behind was like wtf.
And yes improve his jumpers...1/5 on treys again, can someone comment on his shot, I couldn't really see much with the garbage video feed on my phone.
Well, he's definitely improving as the season is going along, I just wished he improves on those three pointers, or until he improves them, stop taking them as much :). Other than that, he's doing quite well and know he'll do even better as the season goes along.
I don't think there's anything wrong with his handles. My hypothesis is he gets caught off guard too often. In other words, he's under estimating his defenders' speed.
He wants to draw the defense to him, but he gets into trouble if he can't unload the ball fast enough when they set traps.
The Spurs roster is loaded and complete, and they've been playing with each other for years. The Rockets need to spend the rest of their cap space money, along with dealing some assets.
Lin, Harden, Parsons... all had 5 TOs, but it was a fairly fast game. I couldn't believe those oldies were able to keep up with the help of all the time outs.
Still too many TOs as a team. Just a little less TOs, a little more ball sharing, and stop the nonchalant layups (one each from Lin and Harden), the Rockets would have won.
I wished he shoot more instead of over passing and over dribbling. Lin didn't really turn it on until the 4th qtr. but by then it was too late. Why did he kick the ball out when he can draw the foul? He done this several time in tonight game.
"I couldn't believe those oldies were able to keep up"
You know, this is what I was secretly hoping for during the 3rd quarter - that they would run out of gas. The Spurs are a high paced team, but they are as deep as it gets. I remember in the last game Clyde (or one of the other Rox announcers) just wanted to make Pop play Duncan in the 4th.
By the 4th, the game wasn't really as close as the final score suggests, but like you say, the Spurs have been together for years. I hope these Rox have the opportunity to do so too, we are primed better than any other team for it and it might not take but a couple of years... plus that one final piece.
>> You know, this is what I was secretly hoping for during the 3rd quarter - that they would run out of gas.
Hahaha.... we all must have hoped for the same thing. In fact, I assumed it would happen.
>> The Spurs are a high paced team, but they are as deep as it gets.
That's the reason right there. Even tho I have the league pass, I hadn't seen the Spurs enough to realize that they are a fast paced team. Those old rascals have apparently conditioned themselves to withstand a lot of running. Such a smart organization. Hopefully they get worn out later.
>> By the 4th, the game wasn't really as close as the final score suggests...
Yeah, I knew that.... Douglas was funny to pad his stat by 2 more points at the end. With the signing of another PG (Beverley) for whatever reason, I hope they keep Doulgas.
I'm a Lin fan, so my faith is there - win or lose. he played well vs the Spurs, though my vote is still with that 38pts/OT Rockets-Spurs game. I'm quite ok with him catching up with the Spurs on 2nd quarter. defense-wise, I don't have anything against Harden, but Jeremy is certainly a better defender than him during this game. he has a long way to go for improvement (midrange game, 3 point shooting, but he is learning every game. even Tim Duncan obviously respects Jeremy as a player.
Overall, I liked what Lin did tonight, unlike last game in Minny where he played poorly. Tonight, he came up big leading the charge in the 2nd quarter. I was yelling my ass off cheering in that quarter as he made play after play after play to bring the team back from the brink of being blown out early by a juggernaut Spurs offense. He had a very good game tonight, gave the Spurs a good fight. No shame in losing to the Spurs who were simply on fire tonight.
I don't really have an issue with his handle or TO's this season. His role is more as of now is more of a playmaker instead of a scorer on this team. I think part of the reason his dribble is higher is because he is keeping his head up looking to pass instead of scoring.
One thing that the defense is doing to him on a nightly basis is committing hard to borderline/flagrant fouls to the head, or he's being undercut or bumped when he's high up in his jump.
Jeremy needs to keep the ball high with elbows out front to protect himself when he knows he's going to get fouled. How many times have we seen Jeremy land awkwardly with the Rockets broadcasters groaning on-air?
The defenders need to know they are going to get an elbow to the chest at the very least if they go for the hard foul... makes a difference...
1) How to guard against the pick and roll. Too many times the Rocket's big men, Asik and Aldrich, end up guarding Parker while leaving Duncan wide open for a J or leaving the Jeremy to guard Duncan at the post.
And, after learning how to guard against the pick and roll, the Rocket centers need to learn how to set the pick and roll. Too many times they end up just clogging the lane and invite the trap defense on Lin.
2) When 3 defenders are guarding against Lin, Rockets need to learn how to move and spread the floor so there's at least two men open for Lin to make a quick pass. I mean, it's Jeremy's job to draw the defenders to him, so the shooters are open. I only see the Rockets standing around under the key picking their noses.
Before the game, I really wanted to see Greg Smith and Jeremy Lin pair up for the pick and roll. When Asik got his third foul, I knew it was Greg Smith's time. However, Smith was subbed out by Aldrich after only a few minutes. Terribly disappointing.
Despite these faults, Rockets played a good game. The Spurs were just on fire behind the arc.
I don't know why people say Asik set good picks, he is TERRIBLE and ends up in Lin's way more often than not.
Smith + Lin is great, he sets a good pick, and Smith can actually FINISH...Hell I'd be happy if Asik can actually catch the ball on the roll more than 50% of the time.
Do you guys feel that Mchale doesnt give his guys much of a chance? It seems he subs them out after one error. I think they are a young team let guys like Smith have a chance to get into the game.
My favorite Lin play tonight was when he drove right and hung in the air before shooting high off the glass from the right side of his head to protect the ball.... soft touch as the balls bounces in the rim for the score.... he is showing power, balance, and control.... Great to see him making high difficulty shots that he was making on a consistent basis last season AGAIN!
Infact I'm fine with his TOs, because it was a high pace game and coming in tired from the road game. JH/CP had 5, TDuncan had 4, Gino had 5 and Green/Parker had 3
But I still would like to see him on 3 things:- 1) more shots! 16 shots on a high paced game, nah...that aint enough, he need to take more shots. There were couple of times, he was just inside along the free throw line but deferred to Parsons or Asik. He could have taken the easy shot.
2)3 point shots, he need to work on it.
3) more drive and learn to get foul. I know he did it couple times, but fould was not given. But he need to hike it up more. The refs would acknowledge his drive and would start to look out for fouls on him, same as during linsanity.
he is not doing it often enough, and only 2-3 drives per quarter, that is not going to cut it. Refs need to see, that you are a go getter (going hard) to the basket, then the protection from them would eventually come.
Personally I'd rather he spend more effort working on his handles and mid range game.
I don't want him to take those punishing drives over and over...ONLY when necessary, I don't want to see him mess up his knees again, he tends to fall all kinds of awkward.
Yes, Jeremy can almost always beat his man if the defender is playing him one on one. But, his main goal is to invite the double team and then pass to the open man. So, although his drives and mid range jumpers are important, his real effectiveness is dishing to the open man when he's double or triple teamed. Rockets should review tapes of when Lin was playing with Tyson Chandler and Steve Novak.
So, yes, more shots for Jeremy but only if the defenders are guarding him one on one.
I was pleasantly shocked when Jeremy actually created space off the dribble near the top of the key against Parker, rose up and buried the j. He just doesn't create his own shot/create space for any effective mid range game. His dribbling is not strong. Don't confuse this with his more effective driving, pick and roll play
That was in the 2nd btw. And when he does try to shake his guy, anyone else nervous as hell watching? Like don't get it poked, watch behind you. We'll see tmrrw.
Well I pity Morris since he had to guard Tim Duncan somehow, doomed with blatant miss match (I wonder what the hell McHale was thinking). Our bigs are also switched off tonight so I can't really say much more.
What really killed us tonight was actually our perimeter defense. Parson really took too much gamble helping the paint while Harden was just being Harden. I wonder if you guys noticed that Harden was really like to be near Thiago Splitter during defense.
If both stick with their men, I believe the end result would not be so bad or we could have won the game. You can let Spurs (Which scored 20 3 points last week or two) get open looks. Don't gamble that.
Roxs had 24 TOs, SMH. Perimeter defense was horrible. I guess the defensive game plan was to clog the paint no matter what and see if the Spurs can beat them on the perimeter. Green wasn't the only one that had wide open shots at the arc. The Roxs have SERIOUS problems rotating on defense. The Spurs completely exposed them tonight, and I thought the Roxs defense has improved somewhat...really disappointing. The Rox had a chance to win tonight. Whatever.
I know @wifflewiffle is out on a date tonight, @via are you out too? League Pass was choppy again tonight, so I've been waiting around for a link to some Lin highlights.
"It changed the entire game," Harden said of the call. "It gave me five fouls. I had to come out, and then I had to play hesitant. It changed the entire game."
Yep the game was all about Harden. Without him Rox can't possibly win.
SMH!!!
He changed the entire game alright, staring in 1Q.
come on guys of course it changed the entire game. he could no longer attack and he's a walking and bigger liability there on defense. i think he's just trying to complain about the call. Those refs can be ridiculous with those calls.
Jeremy leads the team with total 53 steals and 1.83 steal per game while Harden comes in second with total 51 steals and 1.8 steal per game after the SAS game.
Well that video settles the question if that was a regular substitution or a BENCHING by McHale in the 1st quarter. Good thing TD was getting beat on D and Lin didn't sit for long.
Mchale is an IDIOT coach. Unfortunately jlin is stuck with that turd this season. Oh hey McHale.. you think jlin will stay with the ROckets on contract renewal?
As long as McHale plays him starter's MINUTES and let him play POINT GUARD, I don't really care how "harshly" he talks to him.
As KHuang pointed out, McHale is a HARDASS on all of his point guards -- that's why Lowry demanded a trade and Dragic took less money to go back to Phoenix (who traded him to Houston in the first place!).
The difference is that Jeremy can take tough coaching and become a better player because of it. That's what makes Jeremy "the real deal" -- the physical skills and mental toughness.
LOL, I just watched the video and I thought that was hilarious. And deserved. That really was an egregious TO by Jeremy (e.g. not a charge or a risky pass). And McHale was just like: "You! Get your ass over here."
Again, as long as McHale brings him back and lets him play his position, I'm cool. Not doing that for the first month of the season was the real "disrespect" showed to J-Lin.
@zxcvb YEAH, McHale's expression is just priceless... The turnover happened right in front of McHale too. Guys and gals, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The coaches have to hold their players accountable. Harsh language just comes when any sport. At least JLIN wasn't benched like earlier in the season.
This is now two games in a row where the coaches allowed Jeremy to play through early turnovers and just as importantly, Jeremy rewarded the coaches with scoring, play making, and defensive effort!
am i missing something in the video...He's telling him to bring the ball over midcourt for a timeout. He does coach Jeremy differently than the others... because Jeremy's coachable!!!! I wonder what the staff says when they watch tape of def. possessions. Harden has the worst def. principles of any player... He's a liability out there onD. It's like playing 4v5. Embarrassing to the game
Holding players accountable is not wrong. But holding only one player accountable is dead wrong - especially if we are talking about the PG.
The PG should be handling the ball and make plays most of the time. Therefor - his TO numbers can be higher than those of other players. Its a shame that Parsons has the same TO numbers like Lin (and Harden) and doesnt get the finger like our boy.
Also - it was not the first time that Lin got benched when he was in rythm. People in yesterdays gamethread were saying that HardLin and TD just got going when Lin got benched. What was the result of that?
Yes - it sounds weird when people say that Parsons gets treated like a son - but there is something to it.
JLin on the other hand gets treated more like a stepson.
Excellent assessment on JLin. Feel like he's one of JLin's fan who post on this fansite because all things that he wrote on that article about JLin are what we've been talking about all year long. Thumbs up!!!
Maybe Chris Rock said it best in a Tweet: “If linn were a 23 year old black kid who came straight from high school and had tat on his neck that said thug life and happened to score 38 points on the Lakers I don’t think anyone would question his contract.”
From the same article, a more important point for Lin:
The problem for Lin is his tenacity. And while he would probably tell you that his fearlessness is the reason that he got to the NBA and has been successful, he really needs to back off and take a page from Russell Westbrook’s book. Westbrook, with the best mid-range jumper in the NBA, avoids lots of collisions by simply pulling up for 10-foot jumpers. Lin, rather than getting hammered by Chandler, needs to get over the macho stuff and pull up for short jumpers.
If he does that, he will lengthen his career, help his team and have a less likely chance of getting injured. Conversely, if Westbrook can ever see the floor like Lin does, Westbrook will become one of the three greatest point guards ever, behind Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy.
and in other news someone, and it's not PJ's agent, says that Zen Master is interested to coach the Nets. if Prokhorov will allow PJ to slaughter the Nets to bring in pieces that would fit the triangle, I doubt that would happen.
Ta-Nehisi Coates @tanehisi Cheap foul call on James Harden... 7:17 PM - 28 Dec 12
Keith Chow @the_real_chow Every Spurs foul is a cheap foul. RT @tanehisi: Cheap foul call on James Harden... 7:29 PM - 28 Dec 12
Greg Pak @gregpak @the_real_chow @tanehisi I love that both of y’all are watching this game. 7:31 PM - 28 Dec 12
Ta-Nehisi Coates @tanehisi @gregpak @the_real_chow I just got my league-pass back in effect. Feeling really good right now. 7:32 PM - 28 Dec 12
Greg Pak @gregpak @tanehisi @the_real_chow Signed up for the first time ever this year. All for @JLin7. #stilllinsane 7:34 PM - 28 Dec 12
Keith Chow @the_real_chow @tanehisi @gregpak Beardsanity is the only reason I got League Pass this year. PS-these SAS announcers are obnoxious. 7:34 PM - 28 Dec 12
Ta-Nehisi Coates @tanehisi @gregpak @the_real_chow @JLin7 Yeah this is actually my first time seeing him with Harden. I'm late. 7:35 PM - 28 Dec 12
Greg Pak @gregpak @tanehisi @the_real_chow @JLin7 It’s a beautiful thing, ain’t it? 8:48 PM - 28 Dec 12
I would not watch the Rockets otherwise, even if Harden were an All-star. JLin is playing well as second fiddle, but a JLin led team is more fun to watch.
It's a pity we don't see an underdog team led by JLin. Its sure fun to see JLin driving and dishing out to pure shooters like Novak or Kmart for one three after another. At least there was a second more pleasant surprise that made my NBALP subscription more worthwhile, with Nash back to his old ways.
True. At least they now stagger PT sometimes so that JLin and Harden play seperate. Maybe we will see more of that in future. Of course - I personally think that HardLin as duo are more dangerous - provided that they figure out how to play together.
I know the Rockets with HardLin is a better team as well. My prediction during preseason was that Rockets with JLin and KMart would be a 7th or 8th seed. After Beard joined what looked to be JLin’s crew, I was quite excited because I thought the Rockets could be a middle of the playoff pack team. I still think the Rockets are better than most of the playoff teams simply because they have two superstar talents on the team (only one true superstar in terms of popularity). I just didn't expect the roles would end up like this.
Seriously, with all the entry passes that's gone into Olajuwon and Yao over the years, one would think the coaches can easily correct the TO's problems Lin is having when throwing that entry pass into Harden (when they get the smaller PG guarding Harden.) McHale and CD???
You can see Lin hesitates when he throws that pass and for good reason. It's alot harder than it looks since the defender knows the ball is coming... Yao and Hakeem both had alot of problems getting quality entry passes from PG throughout their careers due to all the various defensive schemes to prevent him from getting the ball...
Couple of thoughts on Lin's entry pass to Harden:
1. Lin can not telegraph the entry pass, quick pump fakes to freeze the defender 2. Quick dribble or two to establish better passing angle 3. Throw the entry pass overhead instead of shoulder height... 4. Depending on where Harden likes the entry pass, he must come out to meet the ball
Kinda reminds me of how Tyson Chandler said JLin could not get the ball to guys in the right spots on the floor. With some guidance, I think JLin can easily figure it out.
Yeah - except that JLins passes were always good enough for Tyson Chandler himself - and of course - for Novakaine. Otherwise there would have been no Novakaine and the man would not have a nice contract this season.
First game together with Chandler -> 2 alley oops. 1/3 of the season is now over - anybody seen a Rocket catch one of JLins brilliant alley oop passes?
Yeah - the guys still have to figur out how to play together. Right now - their game is very one dimensional. No depth. But - I dont blame Lin for all of it. Sometimes - its the recipient who has to work better too.
Yes, I felt Chandler's comment doesn't explain much. At the time he made the comment, my thought was that with JLin's abilities and BBall IQ, this could be easily learned with some guidance. He was just missing some elite basketball school nurturing.
Read between the lines guys. Tyson Chandler was protecting both Lin, former point guard he enjoyed playing with, and his current point guard (Felton) with an ambiguous comment. It's simply impossible over the course of a season for a point guard to pass the ball in the exact spot you want it 100% of the time.
Tyson's comment has been weighed in on by posters here at the time it was made, so I did not mean to rehash the topic. I generally agree with those who said that Tyson's comment was unnecessarily harsh and is disrespectful of JLin's PG and passing abilities. It certainly is not ambiguous, but simply misleading.
I don't think Mchale's realized what he's got in his hands. This team is pretty good and they still miss Patterson who is a solid player.
This rockets team would have been good even without harden and with K-mart.... But i think Mchale is struggling to find a very good game plan... Time will give us answers....
Kevin Martin is not the same player as Harden. There is no way he would have the same impact. Lin's stats might be better with KMart but the team would not do as well.
Its times like these games where I wish they had someone like Steve Novak shooting the open 3s. Unlike Morris who goes 1/7 WIDE OPEN shots, Novak could hit them like they were nothing. The game was basically a shooting match, the Spurs shoot better behind the line, from the base, everywhere, had less TO, more blocks, better FTs, it was an all out schooling but the Rockets held it to only 6 in the end. I think JLin still needs to work on his 3 pointer he's never been real good this season and cut on his turnovers. I was actually really impressed by Lin's defense today against Parker in the 2nd half, usually he gets blown out but this time TD got blown out.
Had the Rockets truly believed Lin was a marquee player, they would have done it or tried to get Ryan Anderson. Perhaps they just believe Morris is a more athletic cheaper version. Morris has shown me enough to get the benefit of the doubt this year. I like that he knows his role and plays within it and generally has hit his shots. You need players like that to win games.
Parsons really should be that type of player too, but he's been told he's the next Air Jordan. Quite honestly, with Lin and Harden on the floor, Parsons should NEVER be allowed to initiate offense yet he does it all too often unsuccessfully. He is a good finisher and solid slasher and shooter. But I don't blame Parsons one bit - if I were him, I'd be doing everything I could get away with until a coach didn't allow me to do it.
It's all on the coaching staff. I don't see what they see but I'm not a paid NBA pro so what do I know.
The minutes distribution on this team tell you the whole story of who the coaches believe in. It's Harden 1 Parsons 2. There you have it. That's what it is.
It is in the nature of pro athletes that they are ambitious. They all want to show what they are capable of. Some succesful moves and bamm - it could result in a better contract.
That again is the reason why there is too much competition on the court. Coaches havent yet sent out a clear message - stating that Lin and Harden are the ones who should control the ball - not Parsons or Delfino. They simply dont have the ball handling skills of either Lin or Harden.
There were games when Delfino and Parsons brought the ball up and lost it - so they brought it up again just to lose it once more - people here were so upset :) Same on clutchfans...
In yesterdays game someone wrote that Parsons should not be allowed to dribble more than three times on each ball contact :) I wish things were like that :)
They are hoping one of their young players will develope into an All-star and they are giving that opportunity particularly to Parsons. What I see is that Parsons can make jumpers from anywhere on the floor, gets to the basket well, finishes well at the rim, rebounds well, for a player of his height runs the floor well, has good reflexes and hands (averaging around 1.3 steals per game), can handle the ball well for his size, works hard on defense (though not necessary a good defender), and is quite springy.
He's a good player, but I am not convinced Parsons is the type of player who if given his own team can produce at an All-NBA level. He's 2.06 m, but he's not 2.06 m Durant!
Is Parsons good? Yes. But not consistently. Hes been shooting well - and then not. Then hes had some succes bringing the ball up - then he lost it a lot. I am primarily a Lin fan so I want some order :)
willy - Parsons pushes forward whenever he gets the ball. That is what the Coach wants so he lets him continue. On that one fast break last night when Chandler passed it to Lin who fumbled a gimme layup, I was pissed at the lost opportunity. Fortunately they still managed to score on a Chandler jumper.
I watched the game after the fact, and I did not see Harden ball hog or cause the deficit in the 1st Q on the offensive side. I actually felt Lin again had the ball to start off the game unlike in Minn.
Lin in fact started off a bit poor on offense with stupid TO's and a blocked layup, missed 3 etc. The team D also stunk.
My only gripe is when Lin got hot in the 2nd Q, it was obvious to us who have watched him for a while now. While Houston will call plays for Parsons and Harden when they show signs, the ball didn't find Lin very often after his "and 1" layup. He was starting to get in an offensive zone and Mchale failed to realize the obvious and hopefully one day he will see it for what it is. Lin should have had the ball on every possession at that point till he showed he didn't have it. I believe he would have exploded in Q2 scoring while racking up assists and fouls to create a lead for the Rox.
Lin is unique at the NBA level & very rare in that he can get hot yet still not become a crazy ball hog like Westbrook. If only the coaches understood how to maximize that talent.
In Q4, when Lin is at his best, on this team, Lin will never really have the ball in his hands or get to lead unless Harden is injured. Objectively, Harden didn't make many bad plays with the ball either and played sound. We here just prefer to see Lin with the ball, esp when Harden doesn't come through, all things being equal (he did prove afterall in Minn he can come through too). But we are again the only limited group who believes Lin should "spear"head the playmaking duties.
Lin also seems to play well against the Spurs since they are older and not that physically gifted on defense individually. The day Lin can conquer Miami and OKC in terms of being effective all around while still giving Spurs-type teams fits, is the day Lin will step to the next level.
The fact that I am griping that Lin doesn't get to be the CP3 of the team is a great day all things considered. Two years ago, I watched Lin stuck on the GSW bench wondering why Kirk heinrich, Steve Blake, Jarret Jacks, Acie Laws etc could all get time, but poor Lin who I knew was just as good if not better often showed signs but was glued to the bench.
25 min long but worth listening. For those who don't have time to listen, here are the key points that I agree: 1. McHale was right to bench Jeremy in the 1Q because he started the game sluggish and not aggressive plus the bad TO letting Kahwi picked his pocket. PG sets the tone to the whole team so that's why McHale expects more from his PGs including Dragic and Lowry last season. In the 2Q, he learned the lesson and started very aggresively to score quick points
2. Jeremy had more post moves and should leverage more because of his body type with strong legs and hips (similar to Melo who LeBron had trouble stopping) so he should develop more post-moves to back down people and score.
3. HOU needs Jeremy to be the main scorer or a 3rd guy (Beverley?) when Harden is on the bench. He wasn't able to do it in the 4Q after Harden sat with 5 fouls. Not totally his fault but he lacked chemistry with Aldrich. Also the difference b/w Harden and Lin at this point in their career is Harden believes he can score at will anytime. Jeremy is not there yet.
4 At the end of 4Q, Jeremy looked gassed so his conditioning can be better. Perhaps it's related to his knee recovery or other causes but he will need to get better to get to the next level.
I don't remember more good stuff in the spot-on analysis, not just ones that are pro-Lin but good for his development.
On no 2, the interesting point is the analyst pointed out that Lin has similar body types with Yao Ming and Melo where the upper body is light but the lower body is really strong. Melo had really strong post-up moves so Lin has the asset to develop more post-up moves like Melo.
Lin has only posted up twice this year. The first, against Jerryd Bayless in the first Memphis game, was a brick, but in his defense there was shot clock pressure. The second, against Nate Robinson on Christmas, was textbook.
I would be a fan of this when the matchup is in our favor. Ball is protected by body, good vision for outlet passes, and if he decides to pull the trigger, decent probability of getting sent to the line.
Problem is, Rox don't run much post up (4.3% of all plays). Most of them are by Asik/Patterson (they combine for 58% of our post up plays), and it's rarely the first option. Still, it's better than iso, which we run twice as much but is 85% as effective (.68 ppp vs .8 ppp).
Oh yeah, one last thing, considering the good stuff that we *have* seen, is the knee still a relevant excuse? (not directing this at you, just thinking out loud)
hi @nom, I don't remember key points that I disagreed :)
I can see the analyst's suggestion for Lin to deliberately use post-up moves against smaller/quicker PGs (Tony Parker, Westbrook, Kyrie Irving,Lawson, Lillard, etc.) because he might have the strong lower body part to do so.
About the knee, we can only do comparison to the moves he was able to do in the past season to establish whether he regains 100% explosiveness. Definitely we haven't seen the 360 degree spin against DFisher :) but I don't think we want to see him use it frequently. There were other 'fadeaway' jumpers that he previously used that he has not displayed this season. If the reports about his deceleration still not 100% is true, that might affect any lateral moves or jumping backward because he needs to use this muscle to stop and reverse momentum going into a certain direction.
Besides Chris Paul took the whole season to recover and even then he got smart and changed his style of play to be more as a facilitator. IMO when we see consistency in his jumpshots, that's when he is back to 99.99999%
But again the knee is not an excuse for the lack of aggressiveness or knowing how to play off Harden being the primary playmaker. Even with 90%-95% explosiveness, he should continue being aggressive to attack and knows he should be the 2nd best scorer after Harden.
At times, he seems to be back to his passive mode being a passive PG to only facilitate and defer to Parsons, Asik, Morris, Delfino. I think he should look to score 1 out of 3 times when attacking the basket to keep the defense honest and not lose his aggressiveness. What do you think of his current level of 'aggressiveness' to be the 2nd best scorer for the Rockets?
>What do you think of his current level of 'aggressiveness' to be the 2nd best scorer for the Rockets?
Here's the thing, though, I really don't care if he is the 2nd best (or best) scorer. And I hope he doesn't either. As a point guard, I'm not sure I consider it deference to pass to his teammates.
Earlier in the season, he *clearly* had the open shot, or an open lane to drive, and he passed that up. That kind of passivity is inexcusable, but as he has found more and more success with his shot I believe this has been resolved. Rather than look to score a set ratio (which will inevitably lead to forcing plays), I would prefer he just take what the defense gives him. Reading defenses takes experience, of course, but I'm a patient kind of guy, so I think his current level of aggressiveness is satisfactory.
The 2nd *highest* scorer (we won't use the word best;), Parsons, takes only 0.2 more FGA than Lin does per 36. If you are the type of fan who wants him to be a high scorer (and there's nothing wrong with this), realize that it's all on him. He has the opportunities, he just has to convert.
The CSN analyst was pretty spot on. His comments were fair and reasoned. I think Lin has a history of starting slow culmulating into a great 4Q. There is ample evidence of this (top 5 4Q PER last year). However, this year Coach wants him to start fast, so that is taking some effort as Lin has to adjust his instincts.
Question for the group:
ReplyDeleteWas anyone unhappy with Lin tonight?
He played 36 minutes (which I am quite ok with as an average going forward, I know a lot of you disagree and that's cool) and shot 8-11 inside the arc. These were the shots that weren't falling early in the season, so that he has that going to fuel his mojo makes me quite happy.
If I had one quibble, it wouldn't be his TO's. While I know he's never been a particularly good 3 baller, this is an area he can't just be competent in, he is going to have to excel at. I know he's working on this, so it's really more of a comment than anything else. On the positive side, I'm really happy he's taking them without hesitation, another vast improvement from the beginning of the season.
He did great. He needs better handles...Because he is going to continually get tough defenders/double/triple teamed, and for goodness sakes stop with the high dribbles up court, that TO in 1Q as he SLOWLY turned with the defender to his right/behind was like wtf.
DeleteAnd yes improve his jumpers...1/5 on treys again, can someone comment on his shot, I couldn't really see much with the garbage video feed on my phone.
Well, he's definitely improving as the season is going along, I just wished he improves on those three pointers, or until he improves them, stop taking them as much :). Other than that, he's doing quite well and know he'll do even better as the season goes along.
Delete@Kenoshi
Delete"that TO in 1Q"
Oh thanks, I had blocked that out of my head and you just had to remind me.
Ok, so that was *one* thing I was quite unhappy with. Utter lack of mindfullness; how can you let Leonard do that to you?
I don't think there's anything wrong with his handles. My hypothesis is he gets caught off guard too often. In other words, he's under estimating his defenders' speed.
DeleteHe wants to draw the defense to him, but he gets into trouble if he can't unload the ball fast enough when they set traps.
Jeremy played well tonight.
DeleteThe Spurs roster is loaded and complete, and they've been playing with each other for years. The Rockets need to spend the rest of their cap space money, along with dealing some assets.
Lin, Harden, Parsons... all had 5 TOs, but it was a fairly fast game. I couldn't believe those oldies were able to keep up with the help of all the time outs.
Still too many TOs as a team. Just a little less TOs, a little more ball sharing, and stop the nonchalant layups (one each from Lin and Harden), the Rockets would have won.
I wished he shoot more instead of over passing and over dribbling. Lin didn't really turn it on until the 4th qtr. but by then it was too late. Why did he kick the ball out when he can draw the foul? He done this several time in tonight game.
Delete@ztrta
Delete"I couldn't believe those oldies were able to keep up"
You know, this is what I was secretly hoping for during the 3rd quarter - that they would run out of gas. The Spurs are a high paced team, but they are as deep as it gets. I remember in the last game Clyde (or one of the other Rox announcers) just wanted to make Pop play Duncan in the 4th.
By the 4th, the game wasn't really as close as the final score suggests, but like you say, the Spurs have been together for years. I hope these Rox have the opportunity to do so too, we are primed better than any other team for it and it might not take but a couple of years... plus that one final piece.
@Nom,
Delete>> You know, this is what I was secretly hoping for during the 3rd quarter - that they would run out of gas.
Hahaha.... we all must have hoped for the same thing. In fact, I assumed it would happen.
>> The Spurs are a high paced team, but they are as deep as it gets.
That's the reason right there. Even tho I have the league pass, I hadn't seen the Spurs enough to realize that they are a fast paced team. Those old rascals have apparently conditioned themselves to withstand a lot of running. Such a smart organization. Hopefully they get worn out later.
>> By the 4th, the game wasn't really as close as the final score suggests...
Yeah, I knew that.... Douglas was funny to pad his stat by 2 more points at the end. With the signing of another PG (Beverley) for whatever reason, I hope they keep Doulgas.
Noarmally in such situation Parson will have to call out the double team when he sees his man leaving him. Nevertheless Jeremy should be more careful.
DeleteI'm a Lin fan, so my faith is there - win or lose. he played well vs the Spurs, though my vote is still with that 38pts/OT Rockets-Spurs game. I'm quite ok with him catching up with the Spurs on 2nd quarter. defense-wise, I don't have anything against Harden, but Jeremy is certainly a better defender than him during this game. he has a long way to go for improvement (midrange game, 3 point shooting, but he is learning every game. even Tim Duncan obviously respects Jeremy as a player.
DeleteOverall, I liked what Lin did tonight, unlike last game in Minny where he played poorly. Tonight, he came up big leading the charge in the 2nd quarter. I was yelling my ass off cheering in that quarter as he made play after play after play to bring the team back from the brink of being blown out early by a juggernaut Spurs offense. He had a very good game tonight, gave the Spurs a good fight. No shame in losing to the Spurs who were simply on fire tonight.
DeleteI don't really have an issue with his handle or TO's this season. His role is more as of now is more of a playmaker instead of a scorer on this team. I think part of the reason his dribble is higher is because he is keeping his head up looking to pass instead of scoring.
DeleteOne thing that the defense is doing to him on a nightly basis is committing hard to borderline/flagrant fouls to the head, or he's being undercut or bumped when he's high up in his jump.
Jeremy needs to keep the ball high with elbows out front to protect himself when he knows he's going to get fouled. How many times have we seen Jeremy land awkwardly with the Rockets broadcasters groaning on-air?
The defenders need to know they are going to get an elbow to the chest at the very least if they go for the hard foul... makes a difference...
Been waiting to rant on the post game thread!
ReplyDeleteHouston needs to work on two things:
1) How to guard against the pick and roll. Too many times the Rocket's big men, Asik and Aldrich, end up guarding Parker while leaving Duncan wide open for a J or leaving the Jeremy to guard Duncan at the post.
And, after learning how to guard against the pick and roll, the Rocket centers need to learn how to set the pick and roll. Too many times they end up just clogging the lane and invite the trap defense on Lin.
2) When 3 defenders are guarding against Lin, Rockets need to learn how to move and spread the floor so there's at least two men open for Lin to make a quick pass. I mean, it's Jeremy's job to draw the defenders to him, so the shooters are open. I only see the Rockets standing around under the key picking their noses.
Before the game, I really wanted to see Greg Smith and Jeremy Lin pair up for the pick and roll. When Asik got his third foul, I knew it was Greg Smith's time. However, Smith was subbed out by Aldrich after only a few minutes. Terribly disappointing.
Despite these faults, Rockets played a good game. The Spurs were just on fire behind the arc.
Agreed.
DeleteI don't know why people say Asik set good picks, he is TERRIBLE and ends up in Lin's way more often than not.
Smith + Lin is great, he sets a good pick, and Smith can actually FINISH...Hell I'd be happy if Asik can actually catch the ball on the roll more than 50% of the time.
many of the rocket players are clueless when it comes to P&R. They often don't react to it or get in the way.
DeleteDo you guys feel that Mchale doesnt give his guys much of a chance? It seems he subs them out after one error. I think they are a young team let guys like Smith have a chance to get into the game.
DeleteAnother spin on NOM's question:
ReplyDeleteWas anyone happy with Lin tonigh?
My favorite Lin play tonight was when he drove right and hung in the air before shooting high off the glass from the right side of his head to protect the ball.... soft touch as the balls bounces in the rim for the score.... he is showing power, balance, and control.... Great to see him making high difficulty shots that he was making on a consistent basis last season AGAIN!
Lin and the whole team played really well. The spurs shot 69% I believe in the first half.
DeleteInfact I'm fine with his TOs, because it was a high pace game and coming in tired from the road game. JH/CP had 5, TDuncan had 4, Gino had 5 and Green/Parker had 3
ReplyDeleteBut I still would like to see him on 3 things:-
1) more shots! 16 shots on a high paced game, nah...that aint enough, he need to take more shots. There were couple of times, he was just inside along the free throw line but deferred to Parsons or Asik. He could have taken the easy shot.
2)3 point shots, he need to work on it.
3) more drive and learn to get foul. I know he did it couple times, but fould was not given. But he need to hike it up more. The refs would acknowledge his drive and would start to look out for fouls on him, same as during linsanity.
he is not doing it often enough, and only 2-3 drives per quarter, that is not going to cut it. Refs need to see, that you are a go getter (going hard) to the basket, then the protection from them would eventually come.
Personally I'd rather he spend more effort working on his handles and mid range game.
DeleteI don't want him to take those punishing drives over and over...ONLY when necessary, I don't want to see him mess up his knees again, he tends to fall all kinds of awkward.
Yes, Jeremy can almost always beat his man if the defender is playing him one on one. But, his main goal is to invite the double team and then pass to the open man. So, although his drives and mid range jumpers are important, his real effectiveness is dishing to the open man when he's double or triple teamed. Rockets should review tapes of when Lin was playing with Tyson Chandler and Steve Novak.
DeleteSo, yes, more shots for Jeremy but only if the defenders are guarding him one on one.
If only Morris nailed those open jumpers assisted by JLin, Rox could have won too. JLin set him up 3-4 times and he missed them all.
DeleteI was pleasantly shocked when Jeremy actually created space off the dribble near the top of the key against Parker, rose up and buried the j. He just doesn't create his own shot/create space for any effective mid range game. His dribbling is not strong. Don't confuse this with his more effective driving, pick and roll play
ReplyDeleteThat was in the 2nd btw. And when he does try to shake his guy, anyone else nervous as hell watching? Like don't get it poked, watch behind you. We'll see tmrrw.
DeleteI gave props to Morris, Parson, and Harden. Their defense are "exceptionally special"
ReplyDeleteLol...Is that the PC term for garbage?
Deleteall-star caliber defense, in fact =)
DeleteWell I pity Morris since he had to guard Tim Duncan somehow, doomed with blatant miss match (I wonder what the hell McHale was thinking). Our bigs are also switched off tonight so I can't really say much more.
DeleteWhat really killed us tonight was actually our perimeter defense. Parson really took too much gamble helping the paint while Harden was just being Harden. I wonder if you guys noticed that Harden was really like to be near Thiago Splitter during defense.
If both stick with their men, I believe the end result would not be so bad or we could have won the game. You can let Spurs (Which scored 20 3 points last week or two) get open looks. Don't gamble that.
Roxs had 24 TOs, SMH. Perimeter defense was horrible. I guess the defensive game plan was to clog the paint no matter what and see if the Spurs can beat them on the perimeter. Green wasn't the only one that had wide open shots at the arc. The Roxs have SERIOUS problems rotating on defense. The Spurs completely exposed them tonight, and I thought the Roxs defense has improved somewhat...really disappointing. The Rox had a chance to win tonight. Whatever.
ReplyDelete2 bonehead TOs by JLin. Got his pocket picked once and another dumb pass to Harden when Parker was right there.
DeleteWhat is wrong with this Turkey boy Asik. What is wrong with his marshmallow hands, seriously.
DeleteParsons and Harden were dimwits too. McHale too with his dumb substitution pattern.
DeleteLike Nom said earlier (sorry Nom hehe) Lin's utter lack of mindfulness sometimes...Always in 1Q.
DeleteIts as if one of the Spurs cheerleaders flashed him or something, he like blanks out and goes duh...
@Kenoshi Those TOs are completely avoidable. JLin really needs to focus sometimes.
DeleteI know @wifflewiffle is out on a date tonight, @via are you out too? League Pass was choppy again tonight, so I've been waiting around for a link to some Lin highlights.
ReplyDeleteAnything out there?
[To tide you over while waiting]
DeleteJLin no-look pass to Asik for a slam
JLin bounce pass to Parsons
@via
DeleteThanks. You know you are the best.
Via posts links from YouTube. U could Search on YouTube and subscribe to people who upload Jeremy Lin highlight Videos like "gerald39lin".
DeleteYeah, we love gerald39lin. Expecting his highlights in a bit. :)
DeleteUSA Today: Gregg Popovich tirade inspires Spurs to beat Rockets
ReplyDelete"It changed the entire game," Harden said of the call. "It gave me five fouls. I had to come out, and then I had to play hesitant. It changed the entire game."
DeleteYep the game was all about Harden. Without him Rox can't possibly win.
SMH!!!
He changed the entire game alright, staring in 1Q.
We got through Melodrama...Now its Beardonna.
Not sure even Melo would say that.
DeleteEven Lebron wouldn't say that.
Kobe might say that, lol.
come on guys of course it changed the entire game. he could no longer attack and he's a walking and bigger liability there on defense. i think he's just trying to complain about the call. Those refs can be ridiculous with those calls.
DeleteHarden d fence is so bad despite the good things he does do on the court.
DeleteHarden does lead the team with steals. Jeremy is also right up there with Harden for steals.
DeleteJeremy leads the team with total 53 steals and 1.83 steal per game while Harden comes in second with total 51 steals and 1.8 steal per game after the SAS game.
DeleteThanks for the correction! Jeremy also plays less minutes than Harden. Per 36 min, Jeremy has more steals per game as well.
DeleteSigh... this is how McHale benches Jeremy Lin... watch the end of the video clip...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.csnhouston.com/basketball-houston-rockets/talk/rockets-take-good-some-ugly
Hehe. It's like Mchale is a dad and Telling Lin to Sit Down!
DeleteWell that video settles the question if that was a regular substitution or a BENCHING by McHale in the 1st quarter. Good thing TD was getting beat on D and Lin didn't sit for long.
DeleteThis is Bullshit. Is this how McHale treats his players? Or only the Chinese boy?
DeleteMchale is an IDIOT coach. Unfortunately jlin is stuck with that turd this season. Oh hey McHale.. you think jlin will stay with the ROckets on contract renewal?
DeleteOh...
DeleteJeremy Lin, TO: 5
James Harden, TO: 5
Chandler Parsons: TO: 5
Did any of you see McTurd tread Harden or Parson's like that? Okay I no longer even remotely like McTurd..not even a little.
@Bohdi, It's not thing new. jeremy lin will always get different treatment from fans or coach or the league among others.
Deleteis that really toward lin?oh.wow he really does treat jlin like a son!Maybe it's a good thing then? finlly he treat jlin like his son.
DeleteAs long as McHale plays him starter's MINUTES and let him play POINT GUARD, I don't really care how "harshly" he talks to him.
DeleteAs KHuang pointed out, McHale is a HARDASS on all of his point guards -- that's why Lowry demanded a trade and Dragic took less money to go back to Phoenix (who traded him to Houston in the first place!).
The difference is that Jeremy can take tough coaching and become a better player because of it. That's what makes Jeremy "the real deal" -- the physical skills and mental toughness.
LOL, I just watched the video and I thought that was hilarious. And deserved. That really was an egregious TO by Jeremy (e.g. not a charge or a risky pass). And McHale was just like: "You! Get your ass over here."
DeleteAgain, as long as McHale brings him back and lets him play his position, I'm cool. Not doing that for the first month of the season was the real "disrespect" showed to J-Lin.
@zxcvb YEAH, McHale's expression is just priceless... The turnover happened right in front of McHale too. Guys and gals, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The coaches have to hold their players accountable. Harsh language just comes when any sport. At least JLIN wasn't benched like earlier in the season.
DeleteThis is now two games in a row where the coaches allowed Jeremy to play through early turnovers and just as importantly, Jeremy rewarded the coaches with scoring, play making, and defensive effort!
I wonder how McHale sits the other players...
Delete[I remember reading about him physically dragging Lowry into a huddle at halftime. Screamed at him on 1st day of practice. A tough coach.]
Nothing wrong with that in my opinion.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAs long as he's treating his players equally.
Delete@via, he doesn't though. have you seen the number of s.hitty to's caused by parsons?
DeleteTrue, makes you think...
Deleteleash is short
DeleteI wouldn't mind much how McHale benched Jeremy...IF only McHale made good set plays and player rotation himself.
Deleteam i missing something in the video...He's telling him to bring the ball over midcourt for a timeout. He does coach Jeremy differently than the others... because Jeremy's coachable!!!! I wonder what the staff says when they watch tape of def. possessions. Harden has the worst def. principles of any player... He's a liability out there onD. It's like playing 4v5. Embarrassing to the game
Delete@ALL:
DeleteHolding players accountable is not wrong. But holding only one player accountable is dead wrong - especially if we are talking about the PG.
The PG should be handling the ball and make plays most of the time. Therefor - his TO numbers can be higher than those of other players. Its a shame that Parsons has the same TO numbers like Lin (and Harden) and doesnt get the finger like our boy.
Also - it was not the first time that Lin got benched when he was in rythm. People in yesterdays gamethread were saying that HardLin and TD just got going when Lin got benched. What was the result of that?
Yes - it sounds weird when people say that Parsons gets treated like a son - but there is something to it.
JLin on the other hand gets treated more like a stepson.
Rox could have won yesterdays game.
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DeleteKallas: Breaking Down The Knicks, The Return Of Amar’e And Jeremy Lin
ReplyDeleteExcellent assessment on JLin. Feel like he's one of JLin's fan who post on this fansite because all things that he wrote on that article about JLin are what we've been talking about all year long. Thumbs up!!!
DeleteThanks for the link. I like the quote:
DeleteMaybe Chris Rock said it best in a Tweet: “If linn were a 23 year old black kid who came straight from high school and had tat on his neck that said thug life and happened to score 38 points on the Lakers I don’t think anyone would question his contract.”
From the same article, a more important point for Lin:
DeleteThe problem for Lin is his tenacity. And while he would probably tell you that his fearlessness is the reason that he got to the NBA and has been successful, he really needs to back off and take a page from Russell Westbrook’s book. Westbrook, with the best mid-range jumper in the NBA, avoids lots of collisions by simply pulling up for 10-foot jumpers. Lin, rather than getting hammered by Chandler, needs to get over the macho stuff and pull up for short jumpers.
If he does that, he will lengthen his career, help his team and have a less likely chance of getting injured. Conversely, if Westbrook can ever see the floor like Lin does, Westbrook will become one of the three greatest point guards ever, behind Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy.
Rough, No Audio Highlights from justin bogart:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RCdRoePmIk
Not bad until a HQ video shows up by tomorrow morning.
no audio. i'm guessing maybe because the commentaries are in chinese. anyway , thanks for the link , zxcvb.
Deletefrom what i've seen Jeremy had a great game. i'm glad to see those drives to the basket again... :)
these are exciting times!!! Let's go JLin!
On The Nets~
ReplyDeleteWojnarowski: Kelvin Sampson 'significant' candidate for Nets' coaching job.
So we hope.
DeleteWould love to get Dave Blatt on the Rockets' staff...or as head coach in the offseason.
Please let this happen so this moron can be gone from the rockets.
DeleteProkhorov may be interested in him.
Delete^ him, meaning Blatt.
Deleteoh good! GOOD! I wanna see Sampson off the Rockets coaching staff. McHale too hahaha
Deletehmm.. I'd like to see Brian Shaw as assistant coach. where's that guy? maybe he can incorporate some elements of triangle in the offense.
DeleteIndiana.
DeleteBrooklyn?
Les, bring in Shaw once Sampson's done lol.
Deleteand in other news someone, and it's not PJ's agent, says that Zen Master is interested to coach the Nets. if Prokhorov will allow PJ to slaughter the Nets to bring in pieces that would fit the triangle, I doubt that would happen.
PLZ HAPPEN!!!! LOL
DeleteSuddenly, Rox games are a must-see~
ReplyDeleteTa-Nehisi Coates @tanehisi
Cheap foul call on James Harden...
7:17 PM - 28 Dec 12
Keith Chow @the_real_chow
Every Spurs foul is a cheap foul. RT @tanehisi: Cheap foul call on James Harden...
7:29 PM - 28 Dec 12
Greg Pak @gregpak
@the_real_chow @tanehisi I love that both of y’all are watching this game.
7:31 PM - 28 Dec 12
Ta-Nehisi Coates @tanehisi
@gregpak @the_real_chow I just got my league-pass back in effect. Feeling really good right now.
7:32 PM - 28 Dec 12
Greg Pak @gregpak
@tanehisi @the_real_chow Signed up for the first time ever this year. All for @JLin7. #stilllinsane
7:34 PM - 28 Dec 12
Keith Chow @the_real_chow
@tanehisi @gregpak Beardsanity is the only reason I got League Pass this year. PS-these SAS announcers are obnoxious.
7:34 PM - 28 Dec 12
Ta-Nehisi Coates @tanehisi
@gregpak @the_real_chow @JLin7 Yeah this is actually my first time seeing him with Harden. I'm late.
7:35 PM - 28 Dec 12
Greg Pak @gregpak
@tanehisi @the_real_chow @JLin7 It’s a beautiful thing, ain’t it?
8:48 PM - 28 Dec 12
Linsanity is the only reason I got League Pass.
DeleteI would not watch the Rockets otherwise, even if Harden were an All-star. JLin is playing well as second fiddle, but a JLin led team is more fun to watch.
It's a pity we don't see an underdog team led by JLin. Its sure fun to see JLin driving and dishing out to pure shooters like Novak or Kmart for one three after another. At least there was a second more pleasant surprise that made my NBALP subscription more worthwhile, with Nash back to his old ways.
True. At least they now stagger PT sometimes so that JLin and Harden play seperate. Maybe we will see more of that in future. Of course - I personally think that HardLin as duo are more dangerous - provided that they figure out how to play together.
DeleteI know the Rockets with HardLin is a better team as well. My prediction during preseason was that Rockets with JLin and KMart would be a 7th or 8th seed. After Beard joined what looked to be JLin’s crew, I was quite excited because I thought the Rockets could be a middle of the playoff pack team. I still think the Rockets are better than most of the playoff teams simply because they have two superstar talents on the team (only one true superstar in terms of popularity). I just didn't expect the roles would end up like this.
DeleteI thought the Spur announcers said some good things about Lin, no?
DeleteSeriously, with all the entry passes that's gone into Olajuwon and Yao over the years, one would think the coaches can easily correct the TO's problems Lin is having when throwing that entry pass into Harden (when they get the smaller PG guarding Harden.) McHale and CD???
ReplyDeleteYou can see Lin hesitates when he throws that pass and for good reason.
It's alot harder than it looks since the defender knows the ball is coming... Yao and Hakeem both had alot of problems getting quality entry passes from PG throughout their careers due to all the various defensive schemes to prevent him from getting the ball...
Couple of thoughts on Lin's entry pass to Harden:
1. Lin can not telegraph the entry pass, quick pump fakes to freeze the defender
2. Quick dribble or two to establish better passing angle
3. Throw the entry pass overhead instead of shoulder height...
4. Depending on where Harden likes the entry pass, he must come out to meet the ball
He'll figure it out... we hope.
Certainly , he will... :)
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DeleteKinda reminds me of how Tyson Chandler said JLin could not get the ball to guys in the right spots on the floor. With some guidance, I think JLin can easily figure it out.
DeleteYeah - except that JLins passes were always good enough for Tyson Chandler himself - and of course - for Novakaine. Otherwise there would have been no Novakaine and the man would not have a nice contract this season.
DeleteFirst game together with Chandler -> 2 alley oops. 1/3 of the season is now over - anybody seen a Rocket catch one of JLins brilliant alley oop passes?
Yeah - the guys still have to figur out how to play together. Right now - their game is very one dimensional. No depth. But - I dont blame Lin for all of it. Sometimes - its the recipient who has to work better too.
Yes, I felt Chandler's comment doesn't explain much. At the time he made the comment, my thought was that with JLin's abilities and BBall IQ, this could be easily learned with some guidance. He was just missing some elite basketball school nurturing.
DeleteRead between the lines guys. Tyson Chandler was protecting both Lin, former point guard he enjoyed playing with, and his current point guard (Felton) with an ambiguous comment. It's simply impossible over the course of a season for a point guard to pass the ball in the exact spot you want it 100% of the time.
Deletehttp://redking.typepad.com
@redking
DeleteTyson's comment has been weighed in on by posters here at the time it was made, so I did not mean to rehash the topic. I generally agree with those who said that Tyson's comment was unnecessarily harsh and is disrespectful of JLin's PG and passing abilities. It certainly is not ambiguous, but simply misleading.
I don't think Mchale's realized what he's got in his hands. This team is pretty good and they still miss Patterson who is a solid player.
ReplyDeleteThis rockets team would have been good even without harden and with K-mart.... But i think Mchale is struggling to find a very good game plan... Time will give us answers....
I hope so.
DeleteThe sooner the better.
Kevin Martin is not the same player as Harden. There is no way he would have the same impact. Lin's stats might be better with KMart but the team would not do as well.
DeleteJLin highlights vs Spurs - 12/28/12
ReplyDelete[geraldd39lin]
there you go , the ever reliable via... :) thanks! 'been waiting for this the whole day...
DeleteIts times like these games where I wish they had someone like Steve Novak shooting the open 3s. Unlike Morris who goes 1/7 WIDE OPEN shots, Novak could hit them like they were nothing.
ReplyDeleteThe game was basically a shooting match, the Spurs shoot better behind the line, from the base, everywhere, had less TO, more blocks, better FTs, it was an all out schooling but the Rockets held it to only 6 in the end. I think JLin still needs to work on his 3 pointer he's never been real good this season and cut on his turnovers. I was actually really impressed by Lin's defense today against Parker in the 2nd half, usually he gets blown out but this time TD got blown out.
Had the Rockets truly believed Lin was a marquee player, they would have done it or tried to get Ryan Anderson. Perhaps they just believe Morris is a more athletic cheaper version. Morris has shown me enough to get the benefit of the doubt this year. I like that he knows his role and plays within it and generally has hit his shots. You need players like that to win games.
DeleteParsons really should be that type of player too, but he's been told he's the next Air Jordan. Quite honestly, with Lin and Harden on the floor, Parsons should NEVER be allowed to initiate offense yet he does it all too often unsuccessfully. He is a good finisher and solid slasher and shooter. But I don't blame Parsons one bit - if I were him, I'd be doing everything I could get away with until a coach didn't allow me to do it.
It's all on the coaching staff. I don't see what they see but I'm not a paid NBA pro so what do I know.
The minutes distribution on this team tell you the whole story of who the coaches believe in. It's Harden 1 Parsons 2. There you have it. That's what it is.
Good point Swing.
DeleteIt is in the nature of pro athletes that they are ambitious. They all want to show what they are capable of. Some succesful moves and bamm - it could result in a better contract.
That again is the reason why there is too much competition on the court. Coaches havent yet sent out a clear message - stating that Lin and Harden are the ones who should control the ball - not Parsons or Delfino. They simply dont have the ball handling skills of either Lin or Harden.
There were games when Delfino and Parsons brought the ball up and lost it - so they brought it up again just to lose it once more - people here were so upset :) Same on clutchfans...
In yesterdays game someone wrote that Parsons should not be allowed to dribble more than three times on each ball contact :) I wish things were like that :)
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DeleteThey are hoping one of their young players will develope into an All-star and they are giving that opportunity particularly to Parsons. What I see is that Parsons can make jumpers from anywhere on the floor, gets to the basket well, finishes well at the rim, rebounds well, for a player of his height runs the floor well, has good reflexes and hands (averaging around 1.3 steals per game), can handle the ball well for his size, works hard on defense (though not necessary a good defender), and is quite springy.
DeleteHe's a good player, but I am not convinced Parsons is the type of player who if given his own team can produce at an All-NBA level. He's 2.06 m, but he's not 2.06 m Durant!
Is Parsons good? Yes. But not consistently. Hes been shooting well - and then not. Then hes had some succes bringing the ball up - then he lost it a lot. I am primarily a Lin fan so I want some order :)
Deletewilly - Parsons pushes forward whenever he gets the ball. That is what the Coach wants so he lets him continue. On that one fast break last night when Chandler passed it to Lin who fumbled a gimme layup, I was pissed at the lost opportunity. Fortunately they still managed to score on a Chandler jumper.
DeleteI came across this article. It is incredibly informative and with tangible examples. It shows the good and bad Jeremy.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedreamshake.com/2012/12/22/3793738/film-session-good-jeremy-bad-jeremy
No. Anything by NVP isn't worth reading.
DeleteWhy the blinders?
DeleteI watched the game after the fact, and I did not see Harden ball hog or cause the deficit in the 1st Q on the offensive side. I actually felt Lin again had the ball to start off the game unlike in Minn.
ReplyDeleteLin in fact started off a bit poor on offense with stupid TO's and a blocked layup, missed 3 etc. The team D also stunk.
My only gripe is when Lin got hot in the 2nd Q, it was obvious to us who have watched him for a while now. While Houston will call plays for Parsons and Harden when they show signs, the ball didn't find Lin very often after his "and 1" layup. He was starting to get in an offensive zone and Mchale failed to realize the obvious and hopefully one day he will see it for what it is. Lin should have had the ball on every possession at that point till he showed he didn't have it. I believe he would have exploded in Q2 scoring while racking up assists and fouls to create a lead for the Rox.
Lin is unique at the NBA level & very rare in that he can get hot yet still not become a crazy ball hog like Westbrook. If only the coaches understood how to maximize that talent.
In Q4, when Lin is at his best, on this team, Lin will never really have the ball in his hands or get to lead unless Harden is injured. Objectively, Harden didn't make many bad plays with the ball either and played sound. We here just prefer to see Lin with the ball, esp when Harden doesn't come through, all things being equal (he did prove afterall in Minn he can come through too). But we are again the only limited group who believes Lin should "spear"head the playmaking duties.
Lin also seems to play well against the Spurs since they are older and not that physically gifted on defense individually. The day Lin can conquer Miami and OKC in terms of being effective all around while still giving Spurs-type teams fits, is the day Lin will step to the next level.
The fact that I am griping that Lin doesn't get to be the CP3 of the team is a great day all things considered. Two years ago, I watched Lin stuck on the GSW bench wondering why Kirk heinrich, Steve Blake, Jarret Jacks, Acie Laws etc could all get time, but poor Lin who I knew was just as good if not better often showed signs but was glued to the bench.
I found this to be a fair analysis of Lin's performance in the Spurs game.
ReplyDeleteGame #29 2012-13: Jeremy Lin & Houston Rockets Lose To San Antonio Spurs 122-116 - Report & Analysis
25 min long but worth listening. For those who don't have time to listen, here are the key points that I agree:
1. McHale was right to bench Jeremy in the 1Q because he started the game sluggish and not aggressive plus the bad TO letting Kahwi picked his pocket. PG sets the tone to the whole team so that's why McHale expects more from his PGs including Dragic and Lowry last season. In the 2Q, he learned the lesson and started very aggresively to score quick points
2. Jeremy had more post moves and should leverage more because of his body type with strong legs and hips (similar to Melo who LeBron had trouble stopping) so he should develop more post-moves to back down people and score.
3. HOU needs Jeremy to be the main scorer or a 3rd guy (Beverley?) when Harden is on the bench. He wasn't able to do it in the 4Q after Harden sat with 5 fouls. Not totally his fault but he lacked chemistry with Aldrich. Also the difference b/w Harden and Lin at this point in their career is Harden believes he can score at will anytime. Jeremy is not there yet.
4 At the end of 4Q, Jeremy looked gassed so his conditioning can be better. Perhaps it's related to his knee recovery or other causes but he will need to get better to get to the next level.
I don't remember more good stuff in the spot-on analysis, not just ones that are pro-Lin but good for his development.
On no 2, the interesting point is the analyst pointed out that Lin has similar body types with Yao Ming and Melo where the upper body is light but the lower body is really strong. Melo had really strong post-up moves so Lin has the asset to develop more post-up moves like Melo.
Delete@psalm234
DeleteThanks for the write up.
>>here are the key points that I agree
Any key points on which you disagreed? ;)
Lin has only posted up twice this year. The first, against Jerryd Bayless in the first Memphis game, was a brick, but in his defense there was shot clock pressure. The second, against Nate Robinson on Christmas, was textbook.
I would be a fan of this when the matchup is in our favor. Ball is protected by body, good vision for outlet passes, and if he decides to pull the trigger, decent probability of getting sent to the line.
Problem is, Rox don't run much post up (4.3% of all plays). Most of them are by Asik/Patterson (they combine for 58% of our post up plays), and it's rarely the first option. Still, it's better than iso, which we run twice as much but is 85% as effective (.68 ppp vs .8 ppp).
Oh yeah, one last thing, considering the good stuff that we *have* seen, is the knee still a relevant excuse? (not directing this at you, just thinking out loud)
hi @nom, I don't remember key points that I disagreed :)
DeleteI can see the analyst's suggestion for Lin to deliberately use post-up moves against smaller/quicker PGs (Tony Parker, Westbrook, Kyrie Irving,Lawson, Lillard, etc.) because he might have the strong lower body part to do so.
About the knee, we can only do comparison to the moves he was able to do in the past season to establish whether he regains 100% explosiveness. Definitely we haven't seen the 360 degree spin against DFisher :) but I don't think we want to see him use it frequently. There were other 'fadeaway' jumpers that he previously used that he has not displayed this season. If the reports about his deceleration still not 100% is true, that might affect any lateral moves or jumping backward because he needs to use this muscle to stop and reverse momentum going into a certain direction.
Besides Chris Paul took the whole season to recover and even then he got smart and changed his style of play to be more as a facilitator.
IMO when we see consistency in his jumpshots, that's when he is back to 99.99999%
But again the knee is not an excuse for the lack of aggressiveness or knowing how to play off Harden being the primary playmaker. Even with 90%-95% explosiveness, he should continue being aggressive to attack and knows he should be the 2nd best scorer after Harden.
At times, he seems to be back to his passive mode being a passive PG to only facilitate and defer to Parsons, Asik, Morris, Delfino. I think he should look to score 1 out of 3 times when attacking the basket to keep the defense honest and not lose his aggressiveness. What do you think of his current level of 'aggressiveness' to be the 2nd best scorer for the Rockets?
@psalm234
Delete>What do you think of his current level of 'aggressiveness' to be the 2nd best scorer for the Rockets?
Here's the thing, though, I really don't care if he is the 2nd best (or best) scorer. And I hope he doesn't either. As a point guard, I'm not sure I consider it deference to pass to his teammates.
Earlier in the season, he *clearly* had the open shot, or an open lane to drive, and he passed that up. That kind of passivity is inexcusable, but as he has found more and more success with his shot I believe this has been resolved. Rather than look to score a set ratio (which will inevitably lead to forcing plays), I would prefer he just take what the defense gives him. Reading defenses takes experience, of course, but I'm a patient kind of guy, so I think his current level of aggressiveness is satisfactory.
The 2nd *highest* scorer (we won't use the word best;), Parsons, takes only 0.2 more FGA than Lin does per 36. If you are the type of fan who wants him to be a high scorer (and there's nothing wrong with this), realize that it's all on him. He has the opportunities, he just has to convert.
The CSN analyst was pretty spot on. His comments were fair and reasoned. I think Lin has a history of starting slow culmulating into a great 4Q. There is ample evidence of this (top 5 4Q PER last year). However, this year Coach wants him to start fast, so that is taking some effort as Lin has to adjust his instincts.
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