Will the tailspin end? Has McHale lost the team? It's been hard to watch lately but no one said it would be easy. No matter what, JLin will keep working and these tough times will only make him better in the long run.
Don't forget, early game time on MLK Day, 11:00am PT.
keeping the faith...
ReplyDeleteGo JLin! Go Rockets!
ReplyDeleteplease win so that this place and other HOU sites can be bearable.
ReplyDeleteexactly, i'm watching the game but i haven't read any comments to avoid feeling worse. Fans can be too brutal on a losing streak.
DeleteWhen JLin does get the chance to make plays, it is still a joy to watch. I guess some coaches just need more time than others to figure out what changes need to be made and have the confidence in his players to make those changes. Surely, a coach with talents like JLin and Harden, with Asik on the defensive end and Parsons to a lesser extent, should be able to figure something out (eventually).
ReplyDeleteI have seen some frustration from JLin in the past game. Frustration may not be such a bad thing when it comes to JLin.
A losing streak may make a subsequent win streak that much more spectacular. I can only hope that this stretch will set the stage for another amazing February.
Lost faith in coaches so don't see winning streaks coming particularly we play Denver twice in next couple weeks. Who just beat OKC! Fire coaches and start over is what I like to see
DeleteI have a question, if a new coach came and continued to use Lin the same way McHale used and the Rockets continued to struggle, how many more games would you give the new coach before you said "fire the coach" again?
DeleteI mean it's easy to shout "fire the coach" after every loss, but you really think a coaching change would fix all the problems? What did a coaching change do for the Lakers?
Any any coach in nba doesn't use jlin as a PG then jlin will have a short career! Dantoni was not the right coach for lakers, no defense and not making players a countable. I can't imagine other coaches run a team like Mac.but the REAL reason I like to see coach change is that's at player on team don't buy into Mac anymore, even harden
DeleteMay today's game mark the 1st win of another winning streak.
DeleteIt's certainly good to see JLin got mad because his teammates were not passing him the ball in the last game and he decided to be aggressive and take matters into his own hand to attack the rim.
In the past few games, HOU system of "may any 2nd best player after Harden arise and be ball distributors" offered too much freedom for Harden, Parsons and Delfinos when they're really struggling and resulted in lots of TOs and bad offensive flows.
And killed any momentum when Lin got hot in scoring because after 2-3 plays that he scored, the ball did not flow through him again.
I don't know if the coaches will realize that only Harden and Lin should be the main playmakers/PGs to set up plays and have any semblance of offensive rhythms. If they're struggling, fine. Involve Douglas, Delfino and Parsons to help to bring up the ball for some time.
Their latest decision to just throw in Beverley in the rotation to replace Douglas was just a desperate attempt to see which player can produce any spark.
The good thing is the players still fought in the last game so they haven't quit on their coaches and they fought hard. But if HOU coaches don't tweak their "almost-all-can-be-PGs" system and extend the losing streak to 9-12 games and the players give up, I won't be surprised if Les fired the coaches.
Go Jeremy! End the drought! #GGTG
ReplyDeleteGod bless you Jlin. May you bring some joy to all your fans today.
ReplyDeleteGod bless Jlin and his fans! #GGTG
DeleteI want to start by saying I love this site. I visit this site everyday! Today is my first time I'm being vocal because I'm tired of the Jlin bashing!! Out of boredom, I decided to do my own PG benchmark by comparing the 1st and 2nd offensive team in NBA. I figure that would be a simple way to judge a PG base on team playing style. As you already know its OKC and Houston. Critics been bashing Jlin because of alllll the turn overs. Looking at Russell Westbrook he has more turnovers however he plays approx 3 min more per game so that makes sense. This proves if you play an offensive style you're bound to have high % turnovers.
ReplyDeleteRemember, Russell Westbrook plays 3min more so his other stats should be higher than Jlin.
By comparing defense on rpg, bpg and spg you'll see jlin is pretty much at par or better and he plays less min.
so Jlin defense is a MASSIVE ++++++++.
Where Jlin is struggling obviously his 3pt and fg% needs to improve and that will over time. Shockingly Jlin fg% is actually higher than Westbrook!!! Could it be that high pace offense affects your fg% also? I think so cause if you're running back and forth, you're tiring yourself out and it should affect how you shoot! Anyhow he just needs to shooot more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For goodness sakes shooot more!!:)
Why EFF stats don't make a fair comparison because its bias more on offense and can be easily be inflated by taking more shots.
Sorry for the poor grammar!:))
Hi, davidk,welcome to post more. !
DeleteThanks Lydia! I'll try my best. :)
DeleteJames Harden and Chandler Parsons must not be lazy on defense this game.
ReplyDeleteAt SG, Gerald Henderson and Ben Gordon are big time NBA players. Opponents have been isolating against Harden and have routinely beaten him off the dribble with absolutely no resistance.
At SF, Michael Kidd Gilchrist is a player whose game I HATED this summer. I felt that he was a bust at #2 and would not contribute one iota to the Bobcats' winning. Indeed he doesn't help the Bobcats win, but he can jump around and drive the lane against teams that don't defend him. Chandler Parsons will be attacked by MKG, and I have a bad feeling that MKG is going to pogo stick Parsons the way Paul George and Nicholas Batum and most other NBA small forwards have.
Carlos Delfino isn't the world's greatest defender or offender, but he's at least willing and will battle. That's more of a plus at this point than Harden and Parsons who have completely refused to defend people.
Lin? He's matched up against Kemba Walker who I call "Elevator Man" because of his ability to jump sky high for layups. Though Walker isn't remotely comparable to Lin in speed, quickness, body balance, strength, or court vision, Walker is a pogo stick as a point guard. Lin had no problem outplaying Kemba Walker in college and last season. These two players were in the same "draft" year (quotations because Lin wasn't actually drafted at all).
As a casual NBA spectator, your insight will make the game that much more enjoyable to watch.
DeleteThat is if I do watch it. I actually turned the game off after 20 mins during the Min game.
Funny, I actually enjoying reading people's post here than actually watching the games.
Good luck! Go Jeremy! Let's get a win!
ReplyDeleteMcHale look old and tired with his beard at his post game interview. He really needs to shave. I guess he won't shave his beard until Rockets win a game. That's too bad. He may have a beard like Jame Harden by the end of season.
ReplyDeleteJust want to see JLin play the point position for the whole game. If so, this game will be very fun to watch. If not, then I could careless about the win or the loss.
ReplyDeleteFirst time posting here and I have been following this site for a while. I can’t resist the urge of coming in here at least once a day lol! I admit that I was not a bball fan prior to the story of J Lin, and in all honestly was not able to sit and watch an entire nba game before Linsanity. I am a big Lin fan and of course am going through the emotional rollercoaster many of you are experiencing. Just can’t imagine how J Lin is dealing with all that is going on but I am confident he will persevere and benefit from all this in the end.
ReplyDeleteAside from the obvious that it was a truly inspiring story that got my attention, it also led me to enjoy watching bball and learning there is quite a bit into it in terms of strategy, analytics, statistics, etc. JLin’s story also inspired me when I feel unsure about my career when I thought I would at some point reach the “ceiling” due to being female and Asian in america. I am now able to see things more positively and have the motivation to continue to work hard and not give up. I also enjoyed reading some of the posts and many links posted (shout out to via and others lol!), as via mentioned and i agreed, I learned a lot here, not just bball knowledge, but knowledge that I can apply in my personal life as well. On a lighter note, my hubby is probably the happiest dude since no one fights with him for tv anymore when bball games are on these days. My whole family is now bball fans because of JLin and we got the league pass to watch all his games (yes I am from NY and NOT happy how the off season turned out, and the fact that instead of watching 82 games of Lin on msg channel it was drastically reduced to 2 smh). But of course with the pass we get to watch many more games and it has become a family past time haha.
will continue to support J Lin!
My wife and kid tell me they have better things to do than watch Houston BB game, which is good and should be the case. They only watch several NBA Championship games when they are on TV. Look at video of Tan Le (her immigration story) instead if you want to get inspired as an Asian-American woman.
DeleteLin already achieved success in my opinion, so the only thing that tweaks my interest is whether he can take his BB game to the next level and ultimately make it to All-star based on his BB skills, while taking his team deep into playoffs before his career is done. I am also curious to see whether Lin's success will lead to more Asian-American NBA players in next 10 years.
DeleteOh, also whether Lin will get coaches fired. Maybe Lin will break record for having his coaches leave or get fired most times while he's playing for different teams in NBA.
Deletelol I admit it is getting difficult to watch Houston games and it is almost like self inflicted torture sometimes! I still watch to support JLin but work schedule is making it tough. It is getting boring as he is not playing his style of bball. The recent games also reminded the guys in my family of the NYK's almost unwatchable losing games before JLin's entrance.
DeleteBut yes, I agree he already achieved success and I also hope to see him take it to the next level. and @eb5attorney i will definitely look into your recommendation lol, although watching Lin last year gave me a lot of inspiration as well!
Bobcats vs Rockets Preview: 3-on-3 with Red94
ReplyDeleteOn paper, 3 analysts picked the Rockets to win against the Bobcats.
3- PICK IT: Bobcats or Rockets? Charlotte has had good and bad performances mixed from night-to-night lately while Houston stumbles into the Queen City on a 7-game losing streak.
DeleteBrett: I’ll take the Rockets, as their 7 game losing streak includes dropping contests on the road to Boston and Indiana (and the home loss was to the Clippers). The Bobcats struggle against potent offenses and Houston has a solid one, with the 9th highest offensive efficiency in the league. Oh, and a pretty good paint patroller in Omer Asik (I was going to say rim protector, but he doesn’t block many shots – but he’ll have a defensive impact), which will cause issues for the Bobcats’ offense, which relies on getting to and scoring in the paint.
Jeff: The high-powered offense of the Rockets will be too much for the Bobcats. The Cats defense has been less than satisfactory and with fewer minutes allotted to youngsters like MKG, the Cats have no one other than Kemba to really score in bunches. Houston wins 103-92.
Michael: I’d like to think the Rockets can snap their seven game losing streak against a 10 win team. And by tomorrow evening that’s exactly what should happen, with Harden shooting better than 28% from the floor; something he’s failed to do in Houston’s past three games.
I can't imagine any team can't beat the Rockets at this moment. They are physically tired and mentally anguished. They have no trust or camaraderie with one another. The coach has no faith in the players (cept Harden) and the players have no faith in the coach (including Harden).
DeleteSure, everything will be hunky dory if the shots fall. But, that's not likely to happen unless unless the whole team eats some Delfino sausages then go unconscious.
yes, that is why it's so frustrating to watch HOU-3ball and Harden/Lin penetration. Only when the 3PT shots fall or no big men pack the paint to prevent Lin/Harden penetration that the players can feel comfortable with the system.
DeleteThe coaches are due for a backup plan (besides Delfino/Manu sausages :)
I tend to agree with Etane and will actually be mildly surprised if Rockets beat Bobcats.
DeleteHope McFail has a plan B this game when the Cats' big men are taking away Harden's "launch pad".
DeleteThere are lots of ways to look at the issue. Lin could play better by playing outside the system. Many of us would like to see that. It could be that Lin is playing within the system because he knows that the system will fail and the sooner it's exposed the better.
ReplyDeleteSomeone on here quoted Lin after last game saying that the players were doing the right thing, but their "stuff" was being "read".
While some of us, including myself, have thought that Lin's role was being diminished out of a lack of respect, that's only part of the issue. Morey got himself a coach, Finch, who has some new ideas about how to run an offense. He doesn't think there should be a point guard. Anyone should bring the ball up. You should only take lay-ups and 3 pointers.
Unfortunately, this system is being exposed. You can't only throw fastballs. If you NEVER take mid range shots, you become predictable. Someone like D'Antoni institutes sets to get a higher proportion of good shots, but he doesn't punish you for taking a mid-range shot. He also puts the ball in the hands of his best decision makers, instead of relying on everyone to make decisions.
Despite the fact that this system has taken the ball out of the Lin's hands, presumably to diminish the danger of his "high turnovers", Houston turns the ball over tons. This is, of course, because Lin is only turnover prone for a guard. If non guards are making decisions, it's even worse. But, as we've discussed, Lin actually has extremely high production per turnover, so when you hand the decision making over to other players, the effect is doubly bad. Low production, higher turnovers.
Smart teams organize the offensive and defensive approach according to the talents of the players. Lin has shown, both this year and last, that he and the team excels and wins when he makes a lot of the team's on court decisions. This is reflected in higher statistical usage. Instead, Finch's system has him with the lowest usage in the league among starting point guards.
Lin would have better statistical performance as the starting point on literally any other team in the NBA. On many teams in the NBA, if he got normal usage, he'd have put up all-star caliber numbers.
He could do that here, too, but it would mean bucking the system, which he has so far rarely shown a desire to do. The one game when Harden was out, you saw the result. That is unquestionably Lin's upside, it's just a matter of when and if it's allowed to flourish.
Agree with the statement that Lin would perform better on just about any other team. It's amazing how the coaches at Houston are still employed above the high school level.
Delete100% agree. The system is exposed especially when players get tired after 4 games in 5 nights and can't make their 3PTs.
DeleteAnd as we know, Lin is not likely to buck the system unless he got mad and desperate in the 4Q.
Lin the COACH KILLAH, Michael Terry?
DeleteDo you think it'll happen?
Based on articles I read on Morey, I think Morey is too smart for his own good, and I mean this negatively. Like a good pitcher, you have to mix up things and cannot rely on just one pitch, which is what he is doing and has become very predictable. There is a position of President of a reason; otherwise, everyone should act like the President and go everywhere leading to chaos. Besides, as I have been saying, Rockets' players are not athletic or talented enough for everyone to be dribbling left and right. Yeah, if you have several LeBron type of players on your team, you can do whatever you want. For Rockets to change, you have to fire Morey. Anyone dumb enough to draft Royce White (I am suspending judgment on Harden) do not impress me.
DeleteHarden needs to get flue and Lin needs to play like Spurs again, so dumbos will catch on.
Deleteflu, not flue. Ha, ha. I have flu, so everyone be careful.
Delete@KHuang,
DeleteBased on my latest thinking, updated with insight about why the team is playing this system and which decision makers are responsible for it, I don't think McHale is going to lose his job. Certainly not this season. Even if at the end of the season, he's likely to be replaced with another stooge. Rick Adleman was a great coach, and Morey got rid of him. I don't think Morey wants someone with his own ideas about how the game should be played. I don't think McHale is responsible for this system. I think it's Morey and Finch and I think Morey has a lot of ego invested in it. Also, I don't have all the facts from the inside, so who knows? Maybe I'm missing something.
Either Morey would have to give up on this idea or Les would have to fire Morey. I think it may well be 3 years before we see Lin allowed to play point guard again. :(
Of course, Lin could simply play outside the system. Ultimately, in the long run, this would be best for almost everyone. Even McHale, who probably just wants to win. He can't afford to not play Lin and if Lin is aggressive the Rockets will win more.
@eb5attorney,
DeleteI think you're sort of right about Morey. He's very, very smart but he can be trapped into thinking he's the one with all the answers. I know, cos I'm sort of like that. ;)
The biggest trouble with smart people is that research shows they are even more prone to cognitive bias than average people, ironically. I don't know necessarily that a cognitive bias is in play with Morey. I'm 100% certain it afflicts McHale and Sampson, but Morey's different. I think he really, really wants his genius model to work. And, he proved a lot of doubters wrong by landing Harden, so it would be pretty hard to convince him to doubt himself at anything by this point.
But, what I've noticed with smart people like D'Antoni is that they can lack adaptability. They want their Platonic model to work so badly that they won't make adjustments. The best approach for this team is to only let Harden and Lin make plays. Make it a team goal to up Lin's usage rate. And focus on defense. The preseason Rockets were a top 5 offense in efficiency. Harden may be great at pick and roll, but he's also awesome off the ball, whereas Lin is not. The Rockets would be much more efficient if Lin were getting 10 assists per game as he is fully capable of doing. And Harden's numbers wouldn't suffer at all.
Morey says players have to learn to fit around a team's best player. That's BS. That's not how the Suns worked. That's not how San Antonio works. Talking like that is actually sort of poison.
Rockets should be playing like they did the first couple games of the season, before Lin was called on the carpet for taking too many shots and not making the "easy" play, for dribbling too much. That baseline, plus an emphasis on defense by a coach who actually freaking schemes defense, would have allowed Houston to win 50 games this year.
I do fear that, subconsciously, Morey doesn't want Lin to really flourish because Les made him get him.
Jeremy Lin - Identity
ReplyDeleteif you need inspiration for the day, watch this again
Watching Tan Le's "My Immigration Story" was enough inspiration for me to last one year.
Delete@3:30 the guy says you're a coward for pointing fingers at others because you're not where you want to be.
DeleteAny thoughts?
There's two solutions to this I suppose? First, pretend to be happy where you're at, so you learn to be thankful of what you have instead of blaming others for what you don't have. Or, just blame yourself for not being where you want to be.
But, what if your potential is cut short when it really is someone's else's fault? Do we make pretend that person isn't holding you back but, instead, is challenging you and make you work harder?
thanks, eb. I'm checking out Tan Le's "My Immigration Story" now.
Delete@etane, the lesson that I drew from that Rocky movie quote about not pointing fingers to others are what my attitude should be.
I can point fingers to myself or to others but no matter whose fault it is, I should either learn to be more diligent or avoid bad people and keep on fighting.
My analogy would be if someone or I stab myself on the arm, I can walk around with a knife on my arm for the next 40 years to tell people how painful it was and so and so is too blame. Or I can pull the knife, get medicated and learn to be careful with knives or not get to close to from someone trying to stab us.
Note: This is also applicable to forgiving others.
So it's more about not having the attitude to blame us or the situation but spending our time and energy to get up and learn from it. Just my 2cents.
anyone got link to game?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thefirstrow.eu/watch/164560/1/watch-charlotte-bobcats-vs-houston-rockets.html
Deletetest
Deletei thought that pass was from lin to delfino? it shows harden got the assist...at 7:31 2nd q
ReplyDelete