Jeremy was great in 6 out of the past 8 games and had two superb games against the Spurs this month. If only McHale didn't waste him for so long.
Oh well, the past is past. Jeremy will get his Big Stage when the Rockets make the playoffs this year...just hope they can avoid OKC. They are simply not built to beat that team.
Not to jinx the Rockets, but I can't wait till we get to see Jeremy in playoff mode. He's always been an unusually great clutch performer and now that's he's "back"...we could see some magic.
BTW, I'm calling it right now. Jeremy will slowly regain his shot and finish the year a decent 33% from 3pt range.
I got a feeling that he is REALLY close to finding that shot...I'm ok with him taking and bricking more open shots from 3pt land. Once he does, I agree he'll finish 33% or better.
I think he has gone from finding his role, to establishing his role. I think we'll start to see steady improvements in his stats across the board.
16pt 6/11 shooting 4 TOs 8 assists 5 steals 3 blocks (yes I'm counting the one they took away...bastards) would have easily been another 12+ assist night for another double double, another all star performance if you ask me. His TOs weren't bad, but still underestimating his opponents.
It would have been awesome to watch him finish that alley-oop with a dunk...
Yeah - that alley ooop. Ive been waiting for it till now. Its ironic that Morris passed an alley oop to Asik when everybody (including me) thougt Asik wasnt fast enough for that kind of play. I was pretty sure that Lin and Smith would make it happen. Whats even funnier -> Harden tried passing an alley oop to Lin 8)
Jeremy Lin @JLin7 Much-needed win tonight...loved the fan support! Happy New Year everybody! Love how happy my mom is in this picture lol pic.twitter.com/J8QeV0hY 7:08 PM - 31 Dec 12
I'll be honest here. She may be happy about how successful Jeremy has been in making it in the NBA, I can only imagine how scared she gets when Jeremy is on the court. Basketball is a contact sport and everyone in the league is bigger, stronger, faster than the average human. That's just how moms are. Moms get all nervous even when you go for a walk outside...
I think all of our mom's would even get nervous when she sees their children spend so much time on jeremylin.net so keep in mind to do other things that are more productive, please!
Looks like I'm stuck with you guys on New Year's Eve.
While I'm here, here is some life advice for everyone. Too much sex/masturbation is not good. It weakens one's qi and takes time and energy to recover what was lost. Qi is basically what makes us alive. That's why girls are all secretly looking for men's sperm.. because they want to steal the male's energy like predators looking for food. Spend it wisely. All in moderation.
It may be New Years Eve according to the Gregorian calendar, but the Year of the Dragon is still here until Feb 10, 2013... Which means to everyone, that if you haven't struck good luck in the year of the Dragon, it's still not too late! Having children in the Year of the Dragon truly brings great luck. Jeremy's zodiac sign is a Dragon and Linsanity happened in the year of the Dragon!
Anyone else strike good luck this year? Please share your story!
you don't want lin to become president. not after this country systematically excuted the entire kennedy family (JFK, RFK, JFK Jr.) for going against true power. lin better stay far far away from ruthless american politics.
Don't forget the MN democrat senator Wellstone less than 2 weeks before the senate race and the Missouri's democrat governor Carnahan 3 weeks before the senate race.
i also find it interesting black "leaders" have largely gone quiet over the jury verdict that found the us government guilty of assassinating the great martin luther king jr.
here's MLK's widow and family on the 1999 verdict.
When Tom Haberstroh used Per Diem to lobby for the Houston Rockets to bench Jeremy Lin two weeks ago, the Rockets were a game below .500, having lost four of their previous six outings. Since then, Houston has emerged as one of the league's hottest teams, winning five in a row before stumbling against last year's Western Conference finalists (San Antonio and Oklahoma City) during a difficult back-to-back over the weekend. That's not entirely a coincidence.
Although the Rockets never took an action so bold as benching Lin, they've been able to reap some of the same benefits by simply staggering his minutes with those of star teammate James Harden, a process that began earlier in December but only fully took root late in the month. During Friday's game against the Spurs, one of Houston's starting guards was on the court for all 48 minutes, the first time that has happened all month. Garbage time is partially to blame; in three of the last five Rockets games, either Harden or Lin played throughout the first three quarters, but the two guards watched the end of blowouts together from the bench.
Despite the influence of lopsided games, the numbers show how Kevin McHale has managed his backcourt differently during the last two weeks as compared to the rest of the season. The percentage of the team's minutes the two players have played together is down, but both have played more on their own. According to NBA.com/Stats, Lin has gone from playing about 40 percent of the minutes Harden rests through Dec. 16 to nearly 60 percent since then.
But that's not the real story. Ultimately, how McHale staggers his rotation makes only a small difference because Harden averages nearly 40 minutes per game. To succeed in Houston, Lin had to stop fearing the Beard's presence. That's the impressive thing about the last two weeks. Suddenly Lin's stat line no longer shows the same extreme splits depending on whether Harden is on the court or off it. Compare his performance playing with Harden through Dec. 16 -- the same figures that appeared in this column then -- and from Dec. 17 onward.
Lin Playing With Harden, Playing Without Through Dec. 16 | Since Dec. 17
To put the magnitude of Lin's improvement into context, consider that his 46.5 percent true shooting percentage (TS%) with Harden through Dec. 16 would rank 281st among regular players. His 62.5 percent TS% since then? That would put him in the league's top 20.
Not only is Lin shooting far more effectively, he's also getting more opportunities to score. In part, this surely reflects that Harden and Lin are becoming more comfortable with each other. After all, the Kim Kardashian-Kanye West pregnancy (12 weeks) is older than their partnership (nine). When they started the Rockets' season opener, it was the first game the two guards had played together -- Harden had been traded to Houston only days earlier. With limited practice time during the regular season, Harden and Lin have had to learn each other's tendencies on the fly.
Beyond that, McHale and the Houston coaching staff have tweaked the offense to put Lin in situations to maximize his talents as a creator. Because Harden is dangerous as an outside shooter and Lin is not, the Rockets may be better off as a team with Lin running pick-and-rolls and Harden spotting up. So over the last couple of weeks, Lin has often initiated possessions with a high pick-and-roll. If that doesn't translate into a shot, Harden is more likely to get the basketball with the shot clock running down.
The other adjustment should be familiar to anyone who has watched the Miami Heat deal with a similar issue involving stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Similar to what Miami does at times, Houston has made defenses account for both Lin and Harden by putting them into occasional pick-and-rolls together. The Lakers used a similar 1-2 pick-and-roll to set up Derek Fisher's winning score during Game 3 of the 2009 NBA Finals, and Orlando made extensive use of the same play when Vince Carter was on the roster.
Using Harden as a screener has a couple of advantages. It puts a guard in the unfamiliar position of defending the roll man. And since Harden is a threat from anywhere on the court, teams can't leave him to commit a second defender on Lin. So either Lin gets a relatively clear path to the basket or the defense has to switch, putting a smaller player on Harden and giving him the opportunity to post up.
Thanks to these changes and Lin's aggressiveness attacking hard closeouts on the perimeter, more than half of his shot attempts with Harden on the floor over the last two weeks have come in the restricted area -- higher than his rate last season in New York, or with Harden on the bench this year.
Other factors have worked in Lin's favor over the last two weeks. The Rockets have pushed the pace lately; ESPN Stats & Info noted that Saturday's loss to Oklahoma City featured more possessions than any regulation NBA game in the last five years. That has created opportunities for Lin to freelance in the open court, and his fast-break points have gone from 5.1 per 36 minutes to 7.5 over the last two weeks. The tempo is up partly because Houston replaced injured starting power forward Patrick Patterson with more small ball, moving Marcus Morris into the starting lineup and sliding small forward Chandler Parsons down to the 4 at times. Those players offer better outside shooting and more spacing from the position, clearing driving lanes for Lin.
Regardless of the reasons, the last seven games have shown that Harden and Lin can excel at the same time. The Rockets' offense has been the beneficiary: Lin's scoring has fueled the recent surge that has pushed the team to sixth in the Hollinger Power Rankings and 10th in the league in offensive rating as of Dec. 16; Houston ranks third since then.
Last weekend showed the Rockets still have too many holes to compete with the West's best teams on a regular basis, but their guard play is good enough to make a playoff trip likely in what figured to be a rebuilding season. Given that Houston has one of the NBA's three youngest rotations and that Lin and Harden are both locked up through 2015, the future is bright now that the two guards are shining together.
Tonight's game almost feels like McHale finally saw the light from God (I mean Les). "Thou shall play Lin and not bench him when he makes mistakes" It is great to see Lin play a lot of min. Let him have a chance to show what he can do. I like that he takes chances to try to create easy baskets even though those chances may easily turn into TO.
"Tonight's game almost feels like McHale finally saw the light from God (I mean Les). "Thou shall play Lin and not bench him when he makes mistakes" It is great to see Lin play a lot of min." -> Some fans think so.
How could we not :) We all have had that feeling that JLins is being treated like a stepson (by the coaches). Theres a "Free Lin" thread and a "Fire McFail" thread on clutchfans :)
We all know -> Les is the one who wanted Lin. The coaches -> not so much.
Lets hope that Les will like and support Lin for a long long time!
I don't think we need to worry about Les' position on Lin. He has to let the people he hired to do their job. But there will be a time if he realizes the people he hired is not performing, he will step in and change things around. No one is safe in this scenario. Lin is in a good position as his boss' boss' boss really think highly of him. He just need to have faith to tough it out.
I know. Remember, had it not been the Lin's "AUDITION" game against the Spurs (with Harden absent), Leslie Alexander may not have intervened (I'm assuming but it had to have happened).
I hope they get new coaches for next season regardless of what happens to the Rockets this season - unless they win the whole thing and nothing short of it.... Better yet, I hope Lin gets traded way before the Feb trade deadline to a team that will maximize his talents (the way Trail Blazers treat their PG). Right now I feel like if the Rockets didn't have Lin, they would be 4-7 in their last 11 games (instead of 8-3). The "basketball minds" - particularly the coaches - would never believe it in a million years, so I would like it to be proven in the real world *before* the Rockets acquire another superstar. Otherwise it can't be proven fairly; that is, I hope Lin is traded for a future draft pick(s) so that at least for the first 3 weeks after the trade, the Rockets team is AS IS exactly like now BUT MINUS Lin. Then they will be eating crow. Lin is so underrated on defense especially, while all other players are glossed over in that area.
I know some of us are really frustrated of how Lin is being misused by the coach. But Les will never let Lin traded away within his power. McHale may have turned the corner after watching this game. We all hope he will let Lin plays his game. I am keeping my fingers crossed. :-)
Lin is just that much better now than he was in NY.. I don't if it's because of his defense or just his overall game has improve tremendously since leaving NY.. GOOD JOB HOUSTON!!!
More experience does that to any player, which is why I couldn't understand why so many haters have said that Lin doesn't have an upside. Truly stupid people.
Great game by jlin tonight, very happy for him. I'm praying he keeps this up rest of the season. I'm selfishly looking towards the next team that makes him one of the cornerstones :)
Jan 2013 will be tough month for the Rocket. 12 road game vs 5 home game. with a lot of b2b games too. But I will predict at least 12 win on the month of Jan.
I saw Jeremy dribble into the paint drawing defenders in then kicking it out to shooters at the arc. He didn't do much of that all season. This Nash-like attack really worked last year and should be done more often and especially early on during games. It's plays like these that gets the offense's juices flowing.
Also love Jeremy's new faux mohawk.
One downer comment. Asik has zero offensive rebounds. He literally doesn't even try for a rebound unless the ball falls into his lap. Even TD has an offensive rebound.
The only time I ever saw Asik really really fight for a rebound is when he tried to take a defense rebound away from Lin.
If only Harden could play with as much as Lin's passion on defense, the team will be very hard to beat.
Lin did really well to make Lou Will and J-Teague cold during the first half but Harden sagging defense help them catch a little bit of fire again which led to Hawks scoring runs during the 2nd half.
Is Harden afraid his scoring will go down and missed the all star because he can't have enough energy on offense or what? Even though Hawks is weak compared to the Western Conference, we're lucky that our shots were falling while theirs weren't.
We need to improve our defense inefficiency especially our Opp3P% which is disastrous. I will talk more of this after hoop data updated.
P.S. boy KHuang sure have eye for talent, that Nikola Vucevic is G O O D
To be fair - I believe Harden has been playing better D over the last games. Its still not good but hes trying. Early in the season I didnt see him chase after people the way he did in the recent games. I could be wrong though...
They do what they have been hired for. Unless coaches say "stop doing that" they wont stop. In fact - it seems like the coaches like that kind of play.
Josh is like a more athletic version of Chandler Parsons and can actually block shots too unlike Parsons. He also doesn't need the ball to be effective and would be a nice addition to the Rockets. Not sure if he will leave the Hawks though when they play in the easy East and have a great chance of making the 2nd round there. Al Horford would be great next to Asik too. Horford can actually post up a bit when he wants to and can become that low post option for the Rockets.
Actually, combined the Hawks frontcourt with the Rockets backcourt, we would have a legit contender! :-D
One thing I noticed is he did a really nice job defending the pick and roll. On several defensive possessions, he fought hard and smartly over screens and just completely snuffed out the Hawks pick and roll, forcing them to go to another option which often ended up as a desperation heave. I was yelling at my screen cheering for his PnR defense LOL. At times, Jeremy was so elusive that the screener could never get a solid hit on him, it was beautiful.
Hawks coach Larry Drew confirmed it!
"Lin is a pretty good defender. He does a really good job at fighting over screens and through screens. We didn't do as good a job setting screens. Jeremy seems to be getting a lot more confidence in his game as the seasons gone on."
And also, regarding Jeremy's speed and quickness: I went back and watched the Denver game from early in the season. The way Jeremy is moving now compared to then is like night and day. In that Denver game, he looked pathetic and did not look like he belonged as an NBA starter. He looked like he was running in mud and made several poor plays as a result. he had no explosiveness in that part of the season.
Now? He seems to be moving as quickly as he moved last season during Linsanity. He looks like he has his burst back. It's awesome to see.
Lin usually did better with opposing guards who like to drive than those who like to shoot the outside jumpers. His footspeed is quick enough to recover even when others blow by him, but he's often caught ball watching to close out the spot up shooters, thus giving up a lot of open 3 pointers. Harden also had this problem and much more.
Lin was praised by Hawks coach, but coach M praised Carlos, Patrick, Asik, and Beard, BUT MENTIONED NOT A WORD ON JLIN, isn't that weird? (or maybe he did, but the writer failed to report it?)
Teague just couldn't do anything offensively or defensively against Lin today.
I think its that haircut, he is noticeably faster today than vs OKC, seeing a lot CP3 in him today, without the handles.
Jeremy needs to review the tape and compare his two misses vs his one made trey...The other two you see him visibly hesitate with a very slow release, whereas he one he made it was fluid. He probably IS over thinking it.
HYDecember 31, 2012 11:47 PM Lin was praised by Hawks coach, but coach M praised Carlos, Patrick, Asik, and Beard, BUT MENTIONED NOT A WORD ON JLIN, isn't that weird? (or maybe he did, but the writer failed to report it?)
Interviews like this by McHale really doesn't give us any faith that he is turning the corner about Lin. Let's give him a pass fort now and see what happens in 2013. It doesn't take much time to tell if he is real or just because Les was watching the game.
I could hear him saying, "what the f**ck just happened? you got pickpocketed dude! watch how you handle the ball,'k? watch it or you'll be benched." and Jeremy's like, "yeah dude.. whatever you say..."
Won't have a chance to watch the full game until later, but saw the Geralddlin highlights... the Rox uniforms look like the Chinese national team's colours haha
Dec30 ATL@HOU = W
ReplyDeleteNext Games:
Jan2 NOH@HOU = W
Jan4 HOU@MIL = W
Jan5 HOU@CLE = W
I see at least a 4 game winning streak :)
GO ROCKETS!
Dude - you overslept. It was Dec31
DeleteI hope so!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJeremy was great in 6 out of the past 8 games and had two superb games against the Spurs this month. If only McHale didn't waste him for so long.
ReplyDeleteOh well, the past is past. Jeremy will get his Big Stage when the Rockets make the playoffs this year...just hope they can avoid OKC. They are simply not built to beat that team.
Not to jinx the Rockets, but I can't wait till we get to see Jeremy in playoff mode. He's always been an unusually great clutch performer and now that's he's "back"...we could see some magic.
BTW, I'm calling it right now. Jeremy will slowly regain his shot and finish the year a decent 33% from 3pt range.
I got a feeling that he is REALLY close to finding that shot...I'm ok with him taking and bricking more open shots from 3pt land. Once he does, I agree he'll finish 33% or better.
DeleteI think he has gone from finding his role, to establishing his role. I think we'll start to see steady improvements in his stats across the board.
16pt 6/11 shooting 4 TOs 8 assists 5 steals 3 blocks (yes I'm counting the one they took away...bastards) would have easily been another 12+ assist night for another double double, another all star performance if you ask me. His TOs weren't bad, but still underestimating his opponents.
It would have been awesome to watch him finish that alley-oop with a dunk...
Yeah - that alley ooop. Ive been waiting for it till now. Its ironic that Morris passed an alley oop to Asik when everybody (including me) thougt Asik wasnt fast enough for that kind of play. I was pretty sure that Lin and Smith would make it happen. Whats even funnier -> Harden tried passing an alley oop to Lin 8)
DeleteMamaLin...
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin @JLin7
Much-needed win tonight...loved the fan support! Happy New Year everybody! Love how happy my mom is in this picture lol
pic.twitter.com/J8QeV0hY
7:08 PM - 31 Dec 12
She must be so proud of her son :)
DeleteI'll be honest here. She may be happy about how successful Jeremy has been in making it in the NBA, I can only imagine how scared she gets when Jeremy is on the court. Basketball is a contact sport and everyone in the league is bigger, stronger, faster than the average human. That's just how moms are. Moms get all nervous even when you go for a walk outside...
DeleteI think all of our mom's would even get nervous when she sees their children spend so much time on jeremylin.net so keep in mind to do other things that are more productive, please!
DeleteSays a guy who spends more time here than most people. BTW - its night time so chill...
DeleteBTW:
Cung Le fights in the UFC. When he goes in the octagon he risks loosing his life. What does his mother say about that? "Go kick ass Cung".
@Nemo, time spent here is not "wasted" time. At least for me. I learn a lot from all the great posters.
Delete[And you enjoy your time here too, yeah? Admit it. ^^ ]
Looks like I'm stuck with you guys on New Year's Eve.
DeleteWhile I'm here, here is some life advice for everyone. Too much sex/masturbation is not good. It weakens one's qi and takes time and energy to recover what was lost. Qi is basically what makes us alive. That's why girls are all secretly looking for men's sperm.. because they want to steal the male's energy like predators looking for food. Spend it wisely. All in moderation.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete@Nemo:
DeleteThat actually goes both ways...
It may be New Years Eve according to the Gregorian calendar, but the Year of the Dragon is still here until Feb 10, 2013... Which means to everyone, that if you haven't struck good luck in the year of the Dragon, it's still not too late! Having children in the Year of the Dragon truly brings great luck. Jeremy's zodiac sign is a Dragon and Linsanity happened in the year of the Dragon!
DeleteAnyone else strike good luck this year? Please share your story!
Superstition is the religion of fools...
DeleteLol...Nemo...
DeleteI can only laugh when I see Nemo post some thing like this.
I wish the red/mustard jersey was their real jersey, rather than that putrid white/red, cheap material looking jersey.
ReplyDeleteMcDonalds :)
Deletethe Christmas jerseys looked like something for breakfast:
DeleteLakers = eggs
Knicks = carrots
Bulls = hotdogs
ROCKETS = newspaper
now, the new Rockets jerseys look like hotdog with mustard.. when will this trend of food-colored jerseys stop?
Was the Hamburgler on the court replacing Jeremy tonight?
DeleteCome on... Knicks looked like prison inmates :) Rox looked like they were wrapped in tin foil - ready to bake.
DeleteLOL at the ready to bake comment
DeleteI think this jersey look more energetic. I do like this one. I prefer this one over white red.
Deletebe careful what you wish for, via.
ReplyDeleteyou don't want lin to become president. not after this country systematically excuted the entire kennedy family (JFK, RFK, JFK Jr.) for going against true power. lin better stay far far away from ruthless american politics.
rather, that should read "not after this country's own government systematically executed..."
DeleteYeah, politics is a dark world, ntt...
DeleteHe's born to make a difference. Already does, and more so in the future, whatever he decides to go into. :)
Vote Nemo 2016!
Delete"Change Towards Liberty"
Thank you everyone! God Bless America! Thank you!
Don't forget the MN democrat senator Wellstone less than 2 weeks before the senate race and the Missouri's democrat governor Carnahan 3 weeks before the senate race.
Deletei also find it interesting black "leaders" have largely gone quiet over the jury verdict that found the us government guilty of assassinating the great martin luther king jr.
Deletehere's MLK's widow and family on the 1999 verdict.
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1999-12-10/news/9912100191_1_coretta-scott-king-king-s-family-king-s-assassination
ESPN Insider: Harden, Lin starting to figure it out
ReplyDeleteThe Rockets' star backcourt is good enough to lead Houston to the playoffs
Updated: December 31, 2012, 3:42 PM ET
By Kevin Pelton | ESPN Insider
When Tom Haberstroh used Per Diem to lobby for the Houston Rockets to bench Jeremy Lin two weeks ago, the Rockets were a game below .500, having lost four of their previous six outings. Since then, Houston has emerged as one of the league's hottest teams, winning five in a row before stumbling against last year's Western Conference finalists (San Antonio and Oklahoma City) during a difficult back-to-back over the weekend. That's not entirely a coincidence.
Although the Rockets never took an action so bold as benching Lin, they've been able to reap some of the same benefits by simply staggering his minutes with those of star teammate James Harden, a process that began earlier in December but only fully took root late in the month. During Friday's game against the Spurs, one of Houston's starting guards was on the court for all 48 minutes, the first time that has happened all month. Garbage time is partially to blame; in three of the last five Rockets games, either Harden or Lin played throughout the first three quarters, but the two guards watched the end of blowouts together from the bench.
Despite the influence of lopsided games, the numbers show how Kevin McHale has managed his backcourt differently during the last two weeks as compared to the rest of the season. The percentage of the team's minutes the two players have played together is down, but both have played more on their own. According to NBA.com/Stats, Lin has gone from playing about 40 percent of the minutes Harden rests through Dec. 16 to nearly 60 percent since then.
But that's not the real story. Ultimately, how McHale staggers his rotation makes only a small difference because Harden averages nearly 40 minutes per game. To succeed in Houston, Lin had to stop fearing the Beard's presence. That's the impressive thing about the last two weeks. Suddenly Lin's stat line no longer shows the same extreme splits depending on whether Harden is on the court or off it. Compare his performance playing with Harden through Dec. 16 -- the same figures that appeared in this column then -- and from Dec. 17 onward.
Lin Playing With Harden, Playing Without
Through Dec. 16 | Since Dec. 17
PTS 10.7 | 18.2
AST 6.5 | 7.3
REB 4.3 | 3.6
TS% 46.5 | 62.5
USG%17.0 | 22.5
PER 12.1 | 19.0
Source: NBA.com's StatsCube
To put the magnitude of Lin's improvement into context, consider that his 46.5 percent true shooting percentage (TS%) with Harden through Dec. 16 would rank 281st among regular players. His 62.5 percent TS% since then? That would put him in the league's top 20.
Not only is Lin shooting far more effectively, he's also getting more opportunities to score. In part, this surely reflects that Harden and Lin are becoming more comfortable with each other. After all, the Kim Kardashian-Kanye West pregnancy (12 weeks) is older than their partnership (nine). When they started the Rockets' season opener, it was the first game the two guards had played together -- Harden had been traded to Houston only days earlier. With limited practice time during the regular season, Harden and Lin have had to learn each other's tendencies on the fly.
DeleteBeyond that, McHale and the Houston coaching staff have tweaked the offense to put Lin in situations to maximize his talents as a creator. Because Harden is dangerous as an outside shooter and Lin is not, the Rockets may be better off as a team with Lin running pick-and-rolls and Harden spotting up. So over the last couple of weeks, Lin has often initiated possessions with a high pick-and-roll. If that doesn't translate into a shot, Harden is more likely to get the basketball with the shot clock running down.
The other adjustment should be familiar to anyone who has watched the Miami Heat deal with a similar issue involving stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Similar to what Miami does at times, Houston has made defenses account for both Lin and Harden by putting them into occasional pick-and-rolls together. The Lakers used a similar 1-2 pick-and-roll to set up Derek Fisher's winning score during Game 3 of the 2009 NBA Finals, and Orlando made extensive use of the same play when Vince Carter was on the roster.
Using Harden as a screener has a couple of advantages. It puts a guard in the unfamiliar position of defending the roll man. And since Harden is a threat from anywhere on the court, teams can't leave him to commit a second defender on Lin. So either Lin gets a relatively clear path to the basket or the defense has to switch, putting a smaller player on Harden and giving him the opportunity to post up.
Thanks to these changes and Lin's aggressiveness attacking hard closeouts on the perimeter, more than half of his shot attempts with Harden on the floor over the last two weeks have come in the restricted area -- higher than his rate last season in New York, or with Harden on the bench this year.
Other factors have worked in Lin's favor over the last two weeks. The Rockets have pushed the pace lately; ESPN Stats & Info noted that Saturday's loss to Oklahoma City featured more possessions than any regulation NBA game in the last five years. That has created opportunities for Lin to freelance in the open court, and his fast-break points have gone from 5.1 per 36 minutes to 7.5 over the last two weeks. The tempo is up partly because Houston replaced injured starting power forward Patrick Patterson with more small ball, moving Marcus Morris into the starting lineup and sliding small forward Chandler Parsons down to the 4 at times. Those players offer better outside shooting and more spacing from the position, clearing driving lanes for Lin.
Regardless of the reasons, the last seven games have shown that Harden and Lin can excel at the same time. The Rockets' offense has been the beneficiary: Lin's scoring has fueled the recent surge that has pushed the team to sixth in the Hollinger Power Rankings and 10th in the league in offensive rating as of Dec. 16; Houston ranks third since then.
Last weekend showed the Rockets still have too many holes to compete with the West's best teams on a regular basis, but their guard play is good enough to make a playoff trip likely in what figured to be a rebuilding season. Given that Houston has one of the NBA's three youngest rotations and that Lin and Harden are both locked up through 2015, the future is bright now that the two guards are shining together.
thanks Via.
Delete:)
DeleteEpic post via
Deletethanks via!
DeleteTonight's game almost feels like McHale finally saw the light from God (I mean Les). "Thou shall play Lin and not bench him when he makes mistakes" It is great to see Lin play a lot of min. Let him have a chance to show what he can do. I like that he takes chances to try to create easy baskets even though those chances may easily turn into TO.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!!!
I hope the Rockets are given a chance to stop the Clippers' winning streak on 1/15/13.
Delete"Tonight's game almost feels like McHale finally saw the light from God (I mean Les). "Thou shall play Lin and not bench him when he makes mistakes" It is great to see Lin play a lot of min." -> Some fans think so.
Deletehilarious @via!
DeleteHaha, but seriously some fans really believe Les' presence was the reason JLin got to play so long [and more than Harden.]
Delete@via:
DeleteHow could we not :) We all have had that feeling that JLins is being treated like a stepson (by the coaches). Theres a "Free Lin" thread and a "Fire McFail" thread on clutchfans :)
We all know -> Les is the one who wanted Lin. The coaches -> not so much.
Lets hope that Les will like and support Lin for a long long time!
Lins position is basicly -> If my superior doesnt like me Ill make sure his superior does :)
DeleteLet's hope Les really puts his foot down this time. :)
DeleteI don't think we need to worry about Les' position on Lin. He has to let the people he hired to do their job. But there will be a time if he realizes the people he hired is not performing, he will step in and change things around. No one is safe in this scenario. Lin is in a good position as his boss' boss' boss really think highly of him. He just need to have faith to tough it out.
DeleteReally proud of Lin making the best of his situation in HOU. Even though he's sharing 50% of his job with Harden/Parsons, he's doing a good job.
ReplyDeleteI know. Remember, had it not been the Lin's "AUDITION" game against the Spurs (with Harden absent), Leslie Alexander may not have intervened (I'm assuming but it had to have happened).
DeleteI hope they get new coaches for next season regardless of what happens to the Rockets this season - unless they win the whole thing and nothing short of it.... Better yet, I hope Lin gets traded way before the Feb trade deadline to a team that will maximize his talents (the way Trail Blazers treat their PG). Right now I feel like if the Rockets didn't have Lin, they would be 4-7 in their last 11 games (instead of 8-3). The "basketball minds" - particularly the coaches - would never believe it in a million years, so I would like it to be proven in the real world *before* the Rockets acquire another superstar. Otherwise it can't be proven fairly; that is, I hope Lin is traded for a future draft pick(s) so that at least for the first 3 weeks after the trade, the Rockets team is AS IS exactly like now BUT MINUS Lin. Then they will be eating crow. Lin is so underrated on defense especially, while all other players are glossed over in that area.
I know some of us are really frustrated of how Lin is being misused by the coach. But Les will never let Lin traded away within his power. McHale may have turned the corner after watching this game. We all hope he will let Lin plays his game. I am keeping my fingers crossed. :-)
DeleteLin is just that much better now than he was in NY.. I don't if it's because of his defense or just his overall game has improve tremendously since leaving NY.. GOOD JOB HOUSTON!!!
ReplyDeleteMore experience does that to any player, which is why I couldn't understand why so many haters have said that Lin doesn't have an upside. Truly stupid people.
DeleteGreat game by jlin tonight, very happy for him. I'm praying he keeps this up rest of the season. I'm selfishly looking towards the next team that makes him one of the cornerstones :)
ReplyDeleteHappy new year everyone.
Happy new year to you too!
DeleteI agree with you about "the next team".... Read my reply post to k.smith's opening thread just above your post.
Jan 2013 will be tough month for the Rocket. 12 road game vs 5 home game. with a lot of b2b games too. But I will predict at least 12 win on the month of Jan.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to all and a very good January.
No JLin postgame inteview?
ReplyDeleteNo, he took off on a private jet back to Palo Alto right after the game without taking a shower.
Delete@nemo, are you sure? Per Josh Fan's tweet, Looks like he's with Parsons, Josh and two other HOU buddies (one plays for Texans).
Deleteand with Aldrich and a Houston production assistant who I suspect is Parsons' girlfriend.
DeleteI saw Jeremy dribble into the paint drawing defenders in then kicking it out to shooters at the arc. He didn't do much of that all season. This Nash-like attack really worked last year and should be done more often and especially early on during games. It's plays like these that gets the offense's juices flowing.
ReplyDeleteAlso love Jeremy's new faux mohawk.
One downer comment. Asik has zero offensive rebounds. He literally doesn't even try for a rebound unless the ball falls into his lap. Even TD has an offensive rebound.
The only time I ever saw Asik really really fight for a rebound is when he tried to take a defense rebound away from Lin.
If only Harden could play with as much as Lin's passion on defense, the team will be very hard to beat.
ReplyDeleteLin did really well to make Lou Will and J-Teague cold during the first half but Harden sagging defense help them catch a little bit of fire again which led to Hawks scoring runs during the 2nd half.
Is Harden afraid his scoring will go down and missed the all star because he can't have enough energy on offense or what? Even though Hawks is weak compared to the Western Conference, we're lucky that our shots were falling while theirs weren't.
We need to improve our defense inefficiency especially our Opp3P% which is disastrous. I will talk more of this after hoop data updated.
P.S. boy KHuang sure have eye for talent, that Nikola Vucevic is G O O D
To be fair - I believe Harden has been playing better D over the last games. Its still not good but hes trying. Early in the season I didnt see him chase after people the way he did in the recent games. I could be wrong though...
Delete@willydilly from what I see is that he is not really trying to defend but more of trying to get a steal (pass interception)
DeleteI'm not sure if it is part of coach game plan to start immediate fast break after turn over or Harden is just trying to pad his steal stats
Bottom line that is a bad gamble cause we got nailed from deep more often than he actually got the steal
i think harden is always looking at his numbers, so does chandler. i think the rest of the guys puts the team win above their stats.imo
ReplyDeleteThey do what they have been hired for. Unless coaches say "stop doing that" they wont stop. In fact - it seems like the coaches like that kind of play.
DeleteThe Rox~
ReplyDeleteNBA Top 10 plays on NYE
;P
ReplyDeleteKxxx Yxxxx @YxxxxIxxxxx
James Harden and Jeeremy Lin talked to Josh Smith after the game for like 5 minutes...RECRUITING
6:52 PM - 31 Dec 12
does smith play D? haven't watched much of him. hopefully, it's better than kevin love's mediocre D.
DeleteJosh is like a more athletic version of Chandler Parsons and can actually block shots too unlike Parsons. He also doesn't need the ball to be effective and would be a nice addition to the Rockets. Not sure if he will leave the Hawks though when they play in the easy East and have a great chance of making the 2nd round there. Al Horford would be great next to Asik too. Horford can actually post up a bit when he wants to and can become that low post option for the Rockets.
DeleteActually, combined the Hawks frontcourt with the Rockets backcourt, we would have a legit contender! :-D
go on, Jeremy and James.. bring in Josh! another Smith for PnR
DeleteBlock of the Night
DeleteHappy New Year everyone.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that on this McHale had tried slightly different tweak, and the whole team worked together to get the numbers.
Jeremy had the highest minutes (39:53; even JH had only 34:10
Hope the trend grow into more positive possession for JLin to be more of the leader of the team. and Let JH do his best at the basket.
JL had also attempted 11 shots, which is good.
[NBA] Top Stories of 2012: From the Heat to Brooklyn to Linsanity
ReplyDeleteI know I'm probably biased, but I thought Linsanity should at least be top 3 if not #1.
DeleteIt actually got me interested in basketball again.
Though I'll admit the Nash, Kobe, Dwight combo was an interesting development as well.
JLin highlights vs Hawks - 12/31/12
ReplyDelete[Geraldd Lin]
Here it is again:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sg_dJbSzso
Thx, wil. Don't know what happened there...
DeleteNice performance from Lin tonight.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I noticed is he did a really nice job defending the pick and roll. On several defensive possessions, he fought hard and smartly over screens and just completely snuffed out the Hawks pick and roll, forcing them to go to another option which often ended up as a desperation heave. I was yelling at my screen cheering for his PnR defense LOL. At times, Jeremy was so elusive that the screener could never get a solid hit on him, it was beautiful.
Hawks coach Larry Drew confirmed it!
"Lin is a pretty good defender. He does a really good job at fighting over screens and through screens. We didn't do as good a job setting screens. Jeremy seems to be getting a lot more confidence in his game as the seasons gone on."
http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/delfinos-return-helps-houston-soar-past-hawks
And also, regarding Jeremy's speed and quickness: I went back and watched the Denver game from early in the season. The way Jeremy is moving now compared to then is like night and day. In that Denver game, he looked pathetic and did not look like he belonged as an NBA starter. He looked like he was running in mud and made several poor plays as a result. he had no explosiveness in that part of the season.
Now? He seems to be moving as quickly as he moved last season during Linsanity. He looks like he has his burst back. It's awesome to see.
It's great to see other coaches respect his talent. In fact, you can tell that other players do as well by the way they guard him.
DeleteLin usually did better with opposing guards who like to drive than those who like to shoot the outside jumpers. His footspeed is quick enough to recover even when others blow by him, but he's often caught ball watching to close out the spot up shooters, thus giving up a lot of open 3 pointers. Harden also had this problem and much more.
DeleteLin was praised by Hawks coach, but coach M praised Carlos, Patrick, Asik, and Beard, BUT MENTIONED NOT A WORD ON JLIN, isn't that weird? (or maybe he did, but the writer failed to report it?)
DeleteTeague just couldn't do anything offensively or defensively against Lin today.
DeleteI think its that haircut, he is noticeably faster today than vs OKC, seeing a lot CP3 in him today, without the handles.
Jeremy needs to review the tape and compare his two misses vs his one made trey...The other two you see him visibly hesitate with a very slow release, whereas he one he made it was fluid. He probably IS over thinking it.
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Delete"I think its that haircut, he is noticeably faster today than vs OKC..."
DeleteThe secret of the haircut.
HYDecember 31, 2012 11:47 PM
DeleteLin was praised by Hawks coach, but coach M praised Carlos, Patrick, Asik, and Beard, BUT MENTIONED NOT A WORD ON JLIN, isn't that weird? (or maybe he did, but the writer failed to report it?)
Lol nothing new here
Interviews like this by McHale really doesn't give us any faith that he is turning the corner about Lin. Let's give him a pass fort now and see what happens in 2013. It doesn't take much time to tell if he is real or just because Les was watching the game.
DeleteHappy new year everybody.
ReplyDeleteCousins' trade: Boston or Dallas, Houston unlikely.
ReplyDeleteLakers' stance: Not looking at deals for Gasol.
ESPN: Top 10 Knicks' moments of 2012
ReplyDelete1. Linsanity
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ReplyDeleteJeremy's getting tough love, but not from McHale
ReplyDeletehttp://i-chelle.tumblr.com/image/39360681892
Haha nice.
DeleteI could hear him saying, "what the f**ck just happened? you got pickpocketed dude! watch how you handle the ball,'k? watch it or you'll be benched." and Jeremy's like, "yeah dude.. whatever you say..."
DeleteIs there any way for me to see the game in rewind?
ReplyDeleteRewind as in...backmasked?
Deletedownload?
Won't have a chance to watch the full game until later, but saw the Geralddlin highlights... the Rox uniforms look like the Chinese national team's colours haha
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIf you're referring to the red and gold color scheme, the Rockets had that color scheme long before Yao arrived:
Deletehttp://i.imgur.com/8MK0B.jpg
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DeleteThey tweaked the colors a bit, and started the Red Nation campaign.
Delete[bonus pic] :)
They call it red and mustard but lets be honest -> its red and gold :)
DeleteI like it a lot........!!! I think it's better than the white and read one!! that one kinda look sleepy on them!
DeleteThe Chinese National team's colors beat the Houston Rocket's lame red and white uniforms any day.
DeleteApparently, Houston couldn't think of a better color scheme despite having all the many "talents" of America's marketing gurus at their finger tips.
We often see and complain that fouls on Lin often get no call from refs.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny to see on Hawks blog (http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2012/12/31/game-thread-smith-back-in-lineup/?cp=all)
that they are saying similar thing.
Only this time, it's the other way around:
"Lin fouled the sh-t out of Jenkins on that layup, no call. Sucks to be a rookie."
What does it tell us? Refs are not nearly as good as anouncers and NBA want to make us believe :)
DeleteJLin got his New Year's hair cut today. and his swag back. The anti-Samson.
ReplyDelete