can you please maintain this site, like what you used to, by splitting it pre-game and post game thread? The game thread on bobcats grow so big that it is hard to read.
chan c, she went back to Hong Kong 2(?) weeks ago. She's back in "soccerland" and her work schedule means she don't get to watch Jeremy that much anymore.
http://www.latinospost.com/articles/10143/20130122/jeremy-lin-movie-attend-sundance-festival-linsanity.htm I bet you some of his teammates who will be attending with him on 1/27 are: Toney, Greg, Donatas, Carlos, charismatic and slick Chandler, and maybe Cole and Patrick.
I hope the director asked and has Lin's permission to continue to film Lin because the movie is not over yet. I feel the movie is still playing because he is still facing the same adversities, stereotyping, and racism.
Nice clip. Maybe JLin needs a reality show too. Track his everyday move. His up and downs. Maybe we can get a little insight into his recent struggles on the court. If KevJumba wasn't in college, maybe he has time to do an episode of the life of Jeremy Lin or something.
If Kevin McHale is satisfied squeaking by the (10-31) Charlotte Hornets with James Haren (that's right no D) at point guard -- traveling NEARLY EVERY TIME HE GOES TO THE HOOP and fortunately getting foul calls (shooting 5/20 btw) (STOP REACHING YOU IDIOTS! -- FIGURE OUT HIS GAME!) -- then that really says it all about the Rockets and Coach McHale. When Harden is out, Jeremy goes for 38 against the SPURS, a game they should have won. With Jeremy sitting on the bench for the 4th quarter, and playing off the ball when he's on the court, the Rockets luckily win a game they should have lost. Can ONE reporter, just ONE reporter have the BALLS to ask MCHALE why LIN isn't playing point guard? to ask him HOW he thinks HIS decision is AFFECTING Jeremy? ... what a CRIME this shit is. Yep, LIN ain't shooting well, yep, he ain't aggressive enough, yep he can have bad turnovers, but, YEP, they are destroying him -- and really their team -- by playing him out of position. Oh, and James Haren is not a point guard, plays no defense (can you say reach-monster), euro-travels and gets away with it, turns the ball over, and doesn't run the floor... I'm sure I've missed something negative. feel free to pile on.
I agree with all that you've said. And most despicably, it's a crime, a crime that aims to destroy a young player's career. People who committed the crime will be punished by the invincible, soon.
The worst part of this situation is the UNCERTAINTY.
Jeremy could drop 30 pts this game...and it might not change a thing. He could have 15 assists...and it might not change a thing. He could average 20/10 for the next ten games...and it might not change a thing.
Just when you think McHale has learned to let Jeremy handle the ball like a POINT GUARD, he changes his mind and returns him to Derek Fisher duties. I have no idea why as the Rockets were winning big against good teams when "Linsanity" was running the show.
I'm not even mentioning the defense because let's face it, the Rockets don't have any quality defensive players beyond Lin and Asik. Everyone else is mediocre (Douglas, Parsons) or downright terrible (Harden, Morris, Patterson).
Because of McHale's personal tragedy, there's little chance that he gets fired. So Jeremy MUST learn to be more vocal with his teammates and coaches...even if it results in an argument or two. Jeremy is too nice...but he wasn't always that way! Remember high school? He needs to bring back a LITTLE bit of attitude.
On the bright side, the Rockets has a PLAYERS-ONLY dinner last night where they supposedly had an honest "no-holds-barred" conversation. I hope Jeremy said something like, "Guys, I know I'm nowhere near the scorer James is...but I'm the POINT GUARD. I have to run the offense. Give me the ball, set me some picks, and I will find you when you're open. It's what I did in New York and it's what I did during our win streak!"
too bad about the personal tragedy. he's a fucking idiot who deserves to go. former player anthony carter called him out for being a shitty coach, saying he was drawing up plays like a kid using an "etch a sketch".
J-Lin doesn't have to run the offense ALL of the time. Or even 80% of the time. 50-60% of the time would be fine. That's what they did during their late December win-streak.
Also, the defense will "magically" improve once their offense does. Why? Because the other team will be tired from the Rockets attacking the paint and running the floor (instead of chucking 3s and playing ISO like they do now).
And if other teams are tired, their shots won't go in and the Rockets can run even more in transition...it's a chain reaction.
Yeah, I hate to even go there, but it's true. Les and Morey would get a lot of media hate if they fired McHale. The only way he leaves is if he resigns.
Jeremy hinted at his poor playing call recently as well. "Teams know what to expect" or something.
You know it's pretty scary that Morey is the only GM that doesn't have any basketball background. On top of that Morey has never played the game in his whole life. He and Les decided to fire a really good a Xs Os coach (because he is his own man) and hire McHale (because he is a "yes" man) who didn't a good track record as a GM (as a GM for Minnesota, he basically gift wrapped Kevin Garnett to Celtics) and as a head coach. Here is a peek into McHale low IQ. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Wolves-coach-Kevin-McHale-not-an-X-s-and-O-s-ty?urn=nba,128193
The hiring of the coaching staff tells me that Morey is a control freak. He didn't work in any capacity of the basketball operations prior to being the Rockets GM, decided that Finch's offensive philosophy is the way of the future. And Les bought into it. That is so scary.
Les might need his head examined or he needs to fire his advisers. If he is so smart, why the hell did he hire Morey? Morey even recommended Sampson to be hired as an assistant coach. Does Morey speak Basketball? I don't know about Les, but I do know he speaks dollar signs.
Rockets guard Toney Douglas escaped the bench for the first time since Wednesday’s first half, but his role had clearly changed.
With Patrick Beverley replacing him as the backup point guard, even starting the second half, Douglas said he had not heard why he lost his place in the Rockets’ rotation and has not asked. He said he probably will ask coach Kevin McHale about the change, but the guard will wait at least until after the road trip.
“They didn’t tell me anything,” Douglas said. “I don’t know what’s the reason. I will (ask). We’ve been traveling. I’ll give it time to develop, see how it is. I just want to know the reasoning, that’s all, and I’ll feel better.
McHale is simply clueless with utilizing PG. He hopes to find the winning formula by switching PG to pair with Harden. He tried Jeremy and Douglas, results ain't satisfying. With PB onboard, McHale is hoping to see some magical results by pairing him with Harden. The Bobcats game sort of shed some hope for McHale. Just wait for McHale to yank Jeremy at any possible opportunity in this Nuggests game.
Go, Toney, go. What McHale did to him encapsulates his poor coaching.
"You're the man, TD! You should take Jeremy's minutes! Wait no, you suck, so I'm playing this 3rd string guy instead even though he's never practiced with us."
Good point Jane, I agree. It's like zxcvb is saying, McHale is looking for a Derek Fisher(PB) to go with Kobe(Harden). Poor TD, he just wasn't Fisher enough. Can't really blame PB though, he's just happy to be in the NBA so he'll take any role he can get.
Mchale is clueless and stupid. If you rewatch the game, in the 3rd quarter it was Lin who called Asik to help with trapping Walker, it was effective because it slowed him down. What did Lin get for being so smart? He got benched? Maybe they are just intimated by his intelligence. In his post interview, Mchale took the credit by stating the trapping Walker and even Walker himself admit that trapping slow him down.
I did notice PB was very eager to pass the ball to Harden every chance he could during the Bobcats game. Keep an eye out for it this game. If he gets to play major minutes for passing to Harden every chance he gets, then it's pretty much a confirmation of what this coaching staff wants from it's PG.
This is the reason why I think Lin will be traded. If Harden is fine with being over used as long as he is the star, then there is no place for Lin on this team. What I am saying is if I were in Harden's shoes, I would ask the coaching staff to lessen my burdens and shift some of them to Lin. But he hasn't said anything because the same shit is happening over and over again. Honestly, I don't think Harden wants to share the spotlight with Lin.
I agree with you alcsd. Harden is young and wants to establish his reputation, it's more important to him than team and wins. His unwillingness to stay with OKC shows it. This is pretty typical for the NBA though, so I'm not really angry with Harden. Lin though, is team before self, and I really hope he never changes. If Lin ever becomes a me-first selfish player I'll be done watching the NBA.
But on the Rockets, he has to be a me-first in order to survive. Right now, he is suffering because he is selfless. If he stays on this team for the next 3 years, and playing selflessly in this stupid offense philosophy, he won't get another contract.
I think his camp will talk with Morey and Les in the off season.
You're right if nothing changes, but we never know what's around the corner. A trade, or some injuries, or a desperate coach who's about to get fired... anything could happen. :)
He doesn't get to where he is today without being smart and extremely competitive. It's killing him inside, he and his camp will do something about it in the off season. Lin is nice, but he is not passive.
A rotation usually sends out a clear message. If McHale doesnt care to or know how to explain why he even benches TD (his favorite son) it only proves how clueless he is. No system -> no clue -> useless.
I would not have believed Anthony Carters etch-sketch comment about McHale a few months back but I do now.
All that McHale and his buddies seem to be able to do is putting blame on players by messing with the rotation. They are bad for the team - they are bad for Lin. All they do is hold on to their jobs to collect checks. They dont seem to care that they are destroying confidence and talent in the process.
Remember - Beverly is new - hasnt practiced with the team yet and doesnt know anything about his teammates. And yet - he gets to play. Say what you will but his recent numbers dont suggest that hes a wunderkind.
BTW -> forget about the troll named Racha. Hes been bashing Lin all along. He has just recently started to say possitive things about Lin - like that would change anything...
Remember - he has been trolling, bashing Lin and calling for the admin to complain about Lin fans since his first posts. Couple of days ago he said that KHuang should have better self restraint when HE - RACHA himself - called me a motherfucker, clit-face and talked about the sensitivity of female genitalia on this site (he ran out of arguments). Dont feed that troll. Dont interact with it.
there's a clear reason why mchale messes with the rotation so much - and that reason is james harden.
first of all, it's not the rocket's goal this year to win. yeah they want to make the playoffs but it's not a goal to win, but to develop the team and see what fits around harden. if you make the playoffs, that means what you have is probably workable but if you don't then it's back to square one with the focus around harden. that's the primary goal.
harden is their franchise player that dictates all personnel and coaching decisions. you don't spend 80mil on a guy hoping he would fit in a system. you develop the best system for that guy. all other players either fit with james harden or they don't and should not be on the team.
however, there's obviously a conflict of interest with jeremy. you can't trade him. as of today, jeremy is not a good fit. but there's a simple solution - he needs to improve his jumper and 3pt shot. and luckily for jeremy, he is on a team that has the luxury of time to allow him to improve that part of his game. we all point to the spurs game as an example of what he could do but he shot something like 80% from the 3's that game, which opened up the whole floor for him. even if james harden were playing that day, jeremy still would've had pretty good numbers. it's all dependent on him taking and making the 3's.
beverley got playing time and douglas didn't because they wanted to see what beverley could do, and there simply isn't enough minutes to go around between 4 guards, ESPECIALLY if you're playing james harden 40 minutes a game.
this sounds harsh but toney douglas is a backup and is expendable. there are tons of toney douglases out there and the rockets doesn't really care to make him happy by giving him playing time. he has no leverage. i agree that mchale should've said something to toney (hey we just wanted to see what beverley could do since he hasn't been here that long) as common courtesy but as harsh as it sounds, it is what it is. toney most likely won't be back next year so why not give this beverley kid a chance to show what he could do - it's not like they're trying to win now anyway.
Denver is a much better team and they're going to win this game. They're front court is much better than ours and Mchale/Sampson will bench Lin in the 4th in favor of Beverly bc he passes the eye test.
I love this site but I am sorry it's almost unbearable to read after every poor Lin game. There was less whining and more real basketball talk when Lin was the 12th man. :-(
Personally, I think Lin gets a lot of love on here and posters still dissect and discuss his game. It's only been bad recently bc certain members keep calling each other trolls/lin haters.
Ugh, I had no problem with the calling out, instead I had more problem with folks around here who called for Lin to become more selfish, to demand trade or even to tank games. I just wonder why those folks became Lin fans at 1st place. I mean if you like those acts, shouldn't you be be a fan of Carmelo Anthony or Dwight Howard instead of Lin? Their acts and huge stats would satisfy you more instead Lin's, no? Shouldn't we, as fans, love Lin as who he is instead of who you think he should be?
A year ago -> January 2012. You joined March 2012 :) At least thats what the blog profile says... :)
Anyway - people want to see progress. People thought that Linsanity was Lins breakthrough. To see him getting treated the way he does is just awefull.
BTW - I dont think Lin would ever tank games. He would also not talk trash about his teammates. So - I would never compare him to Melo (though Im not hating on Melo).
Jeremy DOES consistently dominate...when he's allowed to play point guard.
Seriously, there have been maybe two games this season where he's handled the ball regularly and failed to put up All-Star caliber numbers.
That's what's so frustrating. He just needs to run the offense and get lots of high picks. Maybe even touch the ball twice on a possession! No, I'm too greedy...
I love this site. I stay here to celebrate Jeremy, win or lose. what I hate are the trolls who come here, but at least their number is tolerable. if I want to pound a Lin hater,I go to Yahoo since there are tons of Lin cockroaches there.
One thing i've noticed, Finch is always with Lin. Talking, practicing, communicating. You rarely see him having conversations with Sampson or the other assts.
If he's Mchale's successor, hope this is a good thing.
who made those Lin comics? Im talking -> avenge list. I would like to ask that person to make a comic about the coaches. Make it threee monkeys. One with his eyes covered, one with his ears covered, one with his mouth covered. Or monkey see and monkey do. That would be hilarious.
McHale on Lin: 'You have some ups and downs'- from csnhouston
Kevin McHale downplayed Jeremy Lin's fourth quarter benching in the Rockets' last game against the Bobcats.
"Jeremy's OK," McHale said. "Jeremy's a young guy who's been up and down before. He's a young fellow. You have some ups and downs and that'll be the case with a lot of young guys. No big deal. Things are fine."
James Harden was also asked about Monday's game, when it was Patrick Beverley, not Lin, running the point the entire fourth quarter of the Rockets win.
"It's not just Jeremy," Harden said. "But it's a lot of our guys. Myself as well. We've got to bring each other in. We went through a tough stretch, so everybody kind of put their heads down a little bit. And being that this is a new role for me, I've got to do a better job of leading these guys and telling them that this is a game. Everybody goes through stretches. We've got to figure out a way to get out of it."
Does mchale really believe what he's saying? is he really not seeing what everyone else is seeing? that the system has changed a little since the winning streak and he's gotta tweak things a bit to get jeremy more involved? he always says the same thing "jeremy is okay. jeremy is fine" but i wonder if he's ever said to himself - how can i help him to be more consistent so he doesn't have so many ups and downs...
It's been an ugly new year so far for the Houston Rockets.
They snapped a seven-game losing streak with an ugly win in Charlotte on Monday and were finally back on their own practice floor Tuesday after playing nine of their first 12 games of 2013 on the road.
Where to begin?
The Rockets (22-21) averaged 115.8 points during a five-game winning streak Dec. 31-Jan. 8. They've averaged only 94.1 points in the eight games since, and lead the league in turnovers (16.5 per game) heading into Wednesday's game against Denver.
Coach Kevin McHale doesn't see the offense as the Rockets' most glaring issue at the moment. Houston also ranks last in points allowed (103.2 points per game), and fixing the defense is McHale's most immediate priority.
"That's been a concern," McHale said. "The offense is going to come and go, we've missed a lot of shots during this stretch and we've had a lot of turnovers. But we've got to tighten up defensively."
That won't be easy against the Nuggets (25-18), who have averaged 104.0 points in winning four straight against the Rockets - three in Houston. Denver is one of the league's highest-scoring teams at 103.1 points per game, and is coming off a 121-118 overtime win Sunday against Oklahoma City.
"We did fight through a lot of adversity," forward Kenneth Faried told the team's official website. "It helped being at home because we really had our confidence going. Guys kept fighting. What can I say? The team played really well. This is a confidence-booster right now."
There's been little confidence surrounding the Rockets lately. Following a 117-109 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last week, forward Chandler Parsons bluntly evaluated the Rockets' defense.
"There's no excuse for guys just getting blown by or getting just dominated," Parsons said. "Man up, play better."
Houston then dropped games at Dallas, Indiana and Minnesota, a skid that culminated in a players-only meeting over the weekend. The Rockets won 100-94 in Charlotte by outscoring the Bobcats 26-13 in the final quarter - a glimpse of the kind of defense they need to play.
"When we don't get stops, it doesn't allow us to get out on transition, where we're best," Parsons said. "It should start on the defensive end, all of us, individually and collectively. Focus in on that."
McHale said Houston's defensive improvement has to start down low. Center Omer Asik is having a solid first season in Houston, averaging 10.3 points and 11.0 rebounds. But he's averaging only 1.1 blocks, and the Rockets lack any shot-blocking presence to scare off opponents.
"You've got to start off by protecting the paint," McHale said. "The best way to protect the paint is having two 7-foot-2 guys who can block shots all over the place. That's hard to find, so the next best way is to find bodies. We've got to put bodies in the paint and we've got to keep people out, we've got to take away layups and we've got to get defensive rebounds."
That's a difficult proposition against Denver, which leads the league in second-chance points (17.0 per game), offensive rebounds (14.0) and points in the paint (56.4) largely thanks to Faried. He had 16 points and 16 rebounds - nine offensive - in the Nuggets' 93-87 win in Houston on Nov. 7.
James Harden struggled in that loss, shooting 5 of 15 and committing six turnovers. He was the last Rocket on the floor Tuesday, pouring in one 3-pointer after another after shooting 25.0 percent - 14.8 from long distance - during Houston's trip.
The Rockets have 12 games remaining before the NBA's All-Star Weekend comes to town. They seemed upbeat after Tuesday's practice, but Harden acknowledged that the young team's confidence was damaged by the recent slide.
Different from his days in Oklahoma City, Harden feels like everyone is looking to him for leadership.
"We've got to bring each other in," Harden said. "We went through a tough stretch, so everybody kind of put their heads down a little bit. Being that this is a new role for me, I've got to do a better job of leading these guys and telling them that this is a game, everybody goes through these stretches. We've got to figure a way to get out of it."
If they want to start that upward climb Wednesday, they'd do well to devise a plan to contain Ty Lawson. Denver's point guard has scored at least 20 points in all four contests during the Nuggets' series winning streak.
"There's no excuse for guys just getting blown by or getting just dominated," Parsons said. "Man up, play better." i wonder who he's thinking about when he said this... harden? or just the whole team in general?
by the way, i think their individual defensive play is okay, but their team defense sucks, particularly at defending the pick and roll. and that's on coaching. hope they practices some of that yesterday.
well I hope they have dinner before they play against Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala, and Kenneth Faried
Did a dinner snap Rockets’ losing streak? - from csnhouston
The Rockets’ losing streak stopped at Seven.
Sure, that just happens to be the number of games the Rockets lost in a row before they beat the Bobcats in Charlotte on Monday afternoon. Before that, they hadn’t won since Jan. 8 against the Lakers.
But more important than the number seven, was the restaurant Seven. That was the rather appropriately named spot in downtown Minneapolis, the host city to the Rockets’ seventh straight loss, where the team full of young players talked openly about their problems and how to correct them.
“We were just trying to wash down that loss,” said newcomer Patrick Beverley, who joined the Rockets during the losing streak. “It was a real relaxed atmosphere. We just talked about what we needed to do to get better.”
At that dinner, the Rockets talked about what had been going wrong during the win streak that lasted well over a week. They also talked how to correct their mistakes.
It wasn’t some formal team meeting, not quite. It was just a dinner between teammates, friends, all trying to right the ship.
“It was open,” second-year forward Chandler Parsons said on Tuesday after practice. “If you have something to say, say something to your teammate. If you don’t think this guy is doing something right. We left it all out there and I think it’s good. Nobody’s hiding anything and the film doesn’t lie. We see who needs to do what and where we need to get better at. I think it’s good to get it all out there and speak your mind.”
Before the losing streak, the Rockets had won 10 of 12 to boost their record to 21-14. The seven-game slide has them hanging at .500 before they beat the Bobcats on Monday.
But after that hot stretch, the seven-game losing streak was hard to swallow. The Rockets' seven-game losing streak was their longest since 2006. They haven't lost more than seven in a row since 2001, when they lost 15 in a row. That was the longest streak since the team moved to Houston in 1971.
“When you lose games, it’s really a magnifying glass to what you’re doing wrong,” Parsons said. “Sometimes when you’re winning games, you overlook those things. So I feel like on the streak we had an opportunity to look ourselves in the mirror and say, ‘man, I’m not doing this. I’m not doing that.’ And I got 14 guys calling you out about it. That puts your back against the wall and it gets you in the right mindset, like, ‘man, these guys need me. I need to do my job.’”
So how important was the dinner meeting between teammates? Well, Patrick Patterson said he didn’t even remember the dinner specifically when asked about it on Tuesday but he said he was sure he was there. He joked there wasn’t anything else to do in Minnesota.
But Parsons said the dinner was important for the team. After all, the Rockets are a team full of young players. Even James Harden, who is the squad’s leader, is just 23. And he’s still getting used to his new role.
“We went through a tough stretch so everybody put their heads down a bit,” Harden said. “Being that this is a new role for me, I have to do a better job of leading them and telling them that this is a game, everybody goes through tough stretches. We have to figure out a way to get out of it.”
Whether through leadership, coaching, sheer luck or a team meal, the Rockets finally snapped their losing streak on Monday. Patterson called the win “ugly” and Harden said it wasn’t a good win. But it counted. And it might have started around a dinner table in Minneapolis.
“It’s big,” Parsons said about the dinner. “We’re going to go through tough times together, we’re going to go through great times together. Being such a young team. Being inconsistent sometimes is gonna hurt and sometimes that can pull a team together and it’s almost like teams get numb to losing and it doesn’t bother them as much and I think with us, it’s going to hurt us more to lose than it does us good to win.”
Harden is not ripe to be a leader yet. Though he is there best player and have to shoulder the burden, he's still a young buck himself. The Rockets need veterans. There's no way around it.
Seems like the dinner was just a hate fest for Lin since the end result still the same or even worst. Jeremy keep having less and lesser role in Rokcets
This is a young team nevertheless. Whether or not JLin is playing in the right system or his coach(s), teammate(s) hates on him or not, one thing we all need is some adjustments but the scheme and philosophy will remain unchanged. Since the Rockets lack practice time on the road to make the adjustments and practice them, lets just see if there any improvements. Lets pay particular attention on whether the Rockets can fortify the interior. How easy will the Nuggets get rebounds and score in the paint, even little Ty Lawson if he's getting penetration easily. Lets see if Paterson can hold off or block out Fareed for rebounds, it's gonna be tough task. Lets see how active everyone else are in the passing lanes. Lets see if their hands are active and attempt to deflect balls and create turnovers that lead to fastbreak points. George Carl will have his team do all the little things, and you can bet on that.
1) I like James Harden as a player. It's not his fault for doing what the coaching staff is asking him to do. I do NOT think that he's selfish, just that he's taking on more than he's capable of chewing, and it may or may not be by choice. He, like our homeboy Lin, can be destined for greatness if given the right tutelage, say, under someone like Sloan or Popovich.
2) I like Patrick Beverley. Despite him having yet to prove anything, he's an inspirational story not too dissimilar to Lin, and brings energy and positivity to a team plagued by the coaching staff's toxicity. Let's hope he turns the atmosphere, instead of the other way around.
3) I like TD. He was never jealous or apprehensive of Lin's success. In fact, he showed a lot of class by openly praising Lin's performance, despite having lost almost all of his PT to Lin. Despite his limitation on defense due to size, he has my respect both as a player as well as a person.
4) I dislike McHale as a coach, for he is an incompetent coach in terms of adjusting play to the opposing teams tactics (pretty evident in the 7 losses), and what's more, a stubborn fool who cares more about not eating crows (trying to prove he was in the right to get rid of Lin in 2011) than the benefits of the team.
4) I HATE Sampson, I think he's a fool, a double-faced snake and a racist just like SAS. Benching Lin for Q4 AND OT shows his distrust, and not to mention disrespect, for Lin. That is not the mark of a good leader in any profession. Jp's insights from the Bobcat's game certainly reaffirm this.
1) Sloan will be a great choice and great for JLin. Unfortunately, he doesn't play the style the owner would want. Damn, I love Stockton and Malone. They're my best players after Magic/Kareem/Worthy/Cooper/B.Scott.
2) I like Bev too, but he still needs to be proven. I think what Bev did against the Cats isn't the reason JLin got benched. It's soley JLin's mediocre play that got him benched. Bev was playing mediocre as well, but the dynamics of the team was different when he was in it instead of JLin. So when McHale said he kept Bev in the game because it was what worked, I got what he was saying.
3) TD is human nevertheless. He was probably jealous that Jlin was doing well in NY, but it's just how you approach it. You can admit that you're not as good and take it like a man, or beat on a dead horse and be a little punk about it. Apparently, TD has the right approach and I laud him for that. TDs benching has nothing to do with his lack of size on defense.
4) McHale's adjustment was obviously bouncing off his players because they're a young bunch. They need practice time to fully adjust as it seems, such as the proper rotations on defense. Nevertheless, the Rockets players still has glaring deficiencies and McHale lack an eloquent playbook so he rather rely heavily on players to write his playbook.
Bev's mediocre play should be called just that because he's the third string. I don't want to call JLin's play mediocre, but as a starter he's gotta show me more. So if JLin and Bev are indifferent during the course of the game, but Bev is winning out there with the team for absolutely no reason, you just let him play. It's not exactly the spark McHale was looking for, but it just worked out enough for what a desperate coach needs.
1) I also like Harden as a player. And you can't beat that beard. He can certainly score, but he takes too many shots. So when he's off, as he has been during the losing streak, the team suffers. There's too much isolation and 1-on-1 play from him. When he gets the ball, guys just clear space to let him operate and give him passing angles as needed. Not a great half-court scheme in my opinion. I'd like to see more team ball in general from this Houston team.
2) I like Beverley, too. I disagree with many on this blog who thinks he's just okay. I think he's actually played quite well since being called up. He can shoot it. And he plays hard. He may come down to earth once other teams scout his strengths and weaknesses, but so far, I'd say he is an above-average PG off the bench. He reminds me of John Lucas who provided energy off the bench for D.Rose the last 2 years before signing a nice contract with Toronto.
3) TD has had a good year, especially considering the coaches in New York gave up on him last year during JLin's meteoric rise. Too bad about him getting benched though. His play didn't warrant it. But Beverley has played well. Maybe TD will get playing time again if he or Bev is traded for a 4 as the press keeps saying the Rockets need to do.
4) Yeah, I don't think McHale is a very good coach. I've only begun watching the Rockets during this season because of the JLin signing. I've harped on this before on this blog. This team's defense totally sucks and that's on the coaches more than the players. Mind you, I live in Chicago so I get to watch the NBA's best defensive team play quite often. And it's like night and day on the defensive end. Coaches who value defense instill a defensive mindset in the players AND train the players on defensive principles like rotations, when to help, body positioning, dealing with screens etc. I see none of that with this Houston team. Again, that's on the coaches.
5) I have said this before. Kelvin Sampson is a slime ball. He became an NBA coach after basically running two major NCAA programs into the ground because of a ton of recruiting violations. Indiana has finally fully recovered, but it took something like 8 years. Does it mean he can't coach? Of course not. He can coach. Does it mean he is a low-character guy? Yes.
If the starter and third string are playing mediocre, then the starter should still be in the game to play through his mistakes and build end of game chemistry with his teammates. I'm with most, rational fans when they say that the back up or third string shouldn't be playing crucial/end of game minutes or more minutes than the starter unless they're significantly outperforming the starter.
Lin stepped it up in the second half, contained Walker in the 3rd and the team was gelling; then he gets taken out for Beverly. Who's to say that he wasn't going to improve in the 4th as well? He did it in the 3rd, why wouldn't he carry over that intensity into the 4th? When a player is given the opportunity to play though his mistakes, he usually plays better as the game progresses. Lin has said this more than once.
I hope Jeremy go back to having fun. Do his best and leave the rest to God, including coaching decision. Every little thing he does is getting scrutinized with hundreds of comments on multiple sites, so this young man is under tremendous pressure. I just pray that Jeremy will go out every game and have fun. Play his game to the best of his ability and let God handle the minutes and the outcome.
Howard Chen @ho_chenCSN Lin: McHale says defensive aggressiveness something for him to improve. Obv tuff to sit out 4th, but important thing is team won. #RedNation
----------------------
While JLin can stay step-by-step with quick guards, he needs to apply defensive pressure. That's what I've been saying all along, so I agree.
Such as when JLin gets picked, he's needs to turn on the turbo and get back to his guy. JLin can't stop everyone, noone can, but he does lack in this regard somewhat.
Such as JLin needs to get in the grill of opposing PGs more often. Take away any breathing room, especially when your team is down. JLin can't constantly give his opposition too much space/room to operate.
Jlin has the quickness to put pressure but he doesn't do it much. JLin is a nice guy and perhaps the reason he's too respectful on the court. You gotta bring out the nastiness, Isiah Thomas needs to give JLin some pointers.
Aggressive D can easily get guys into foul trouble though. You don't need to care about fouls if you are a backup, but not as okay for a starter who presumedly play big minutes.
I've seen Lin got up close to Westbrook and forced him to go left or right earlier in the season. Lin gave more room to Kemba in the last game making it easier for Kemba to go to his screener. I didn't see if Beverley did a better job with Kemba?
Hopefully Harden gets the same message on defense, especially being the leader to lead by example. No excuses of preserving energy on offense by playing lax on defense.
Racha, i disagree with jlin being a nice guy as a reason for not playing pressure D. i just think that's his style of playing D and the coaching is wants him to change that. i see a conflict of defensive philosophy here..
maybe lin is stubborn and doesn't believe that showing defensive aggressiveness like toney D (waving his arms around and putting pressure on ball handler) is effective. i mean, after all, if you look at his defense stats, they're actually quite good. maybe he doesn't feel a need to do that but rather play the passing lanes and help defense to get steals that lead to fast breaks?
Racha,This is where JLin needs support from his coaches and team. First, if he is aggressive with pressure D and picks up 2 quick fouls he is out. Next, if he gets beat off the dribble, not much help comes. It's even worse on the PnR, no hedge or help. Also, it's hard to play 33-35min. going 100% on D. If you are a backup, you're expected to come in and play aggressive D for 15-20min. I hardly ever see Harden doing what they expect JLin to do all the time. Lastly, what happened to playing JLin when Harden isn't in? He should play 10 min. without Harden and have Bev or TD guard the PG position, especially if its a quick pg who is getting multiple picks set for him. This would help JLin conserve some energy for offense, ala Harden.
JLinfan#1, I agree with your assessment. About the aggressive D and getting fouled, I mainly point out that when the team is down JLin should pick up the intensity a bit more. I understand it's not practical to push it 100% on defense the whole game, but JLin should pick his spots to crank it up--I mean the in your face kind of defense. As for Harden, I don't even really want to talk about him cause I don't care, but he's a problem on defense too. I focus on JLin because I want to see him get better.
As for staggering the playing time, JLin and Harden were playing like that before the losing streak. So I believe it was McHale trying to make adjustments in terms of shuffling up the substitution pattern and lineup simply to try and find a spark and something that worked.
You careless to talk about harden then why you care about how people talk about harden? In one thread u mention how u fed up with people blaming harden and that post is what get u and willy into oral fight. Don't ask me to quote which game thread, cause I can't remember which game, but you can go back and find it urself。I am sure I did not randomly point at you for that. It's there. As a matter of fact, can't just talk about lin without talking his teammates. They are a team. Their play affect each other's play and role.
I rarely read your comments because I've found that you have little to contribute here. But I saw one of your comments on the last thread and it reminded me why I don't read your comments.
You claimed that Lin has glaring holes in his his game such as being a poor shooter, not having freakish athleticism, and not being good 1-on-1.
One of these is half wrong and two of them are foolishly wrong, as I've come to expect from your posts.
1. The half wrong one: Lin is not a good spot up shooter, it's true. On the other hand, he is an elite shooter off the dribble when he is playing true point guard. Last year, the only year for which we have numbers for him playing true point guard, he was 3rd in the NBA in shooting percentage off the dribble.
2. Lin doesn't have "freakish athleticism". Um, not only did he test out with approximately equal over all athleticism as Derrick Rose, John Wall, and Kyrie Irving at the NBA combine tests, he had a faster first step than each of them. The first step is used to gain an advantage on almost every play in basketball, unlike, for example, the rare running two-footed vertical. So, Lin's relevant athleticism is certainly freakish.
Moreover, I've seen folks on here try to claim that the combine tests don't match what they're seeing with their eyes, so the tests must be wrong. Luckily, we have verification: Morey has accelerometers attached to the players' practice jerseys and said in an interview that Lin has the highest acceleration they've ever measured.
It's frankly bizarre that you could have watched Lin slice and dice defenses all last year, get to the rim with ease despite being a relative poor ball handler, and not understand that athleticism is the root of his talent.
3. Not being good 1-on-1: What a sand-poundingly stupid claim. Last year, again the only year for which we have data for Lin as a true point guard, he was 3rd in the entire NBA in points per play in isolation. He was elite as a one-on-one player, statistically. The reason he was and is elite as a one on player is because of his freakish first step.
So, anyway, you're an idiot. Why do you post here?
I read similar posts in CL from Torocan who posts some interesting stats citing some of the above, especially number 1 and number 3. Someone asked him if number 3 is indeed true, why is it that Lin's ISO (1 on 1) stat is terrible this year, and I think some others said perhaps it was due to the fact that other Rockets players are not as good as Rockets' players in terms of being suitable for Lin and not supportive, but then, don't you think any decent NBA PG would do really well with supportive and good players fitting his style of play? I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
As to number 2, I assume it was dribbling to his right, not left, correct? I like to get accurate facts, because sometimes even so called facts can be misleading. Also, I thought Morey said Lin had the highest deceleration and acceleration among the team players, not ever measured? It's hard to get accurate facts without some links to what Morey said exactly. Does anyone have the links? I always wanted to verify these things actually, and what kinds of tests were used also. I know Lin is quick because when he dribbles on break-aways, no one can catch him even when they are running without the ball. But the funny thing is I don't see the same quickness when Lin is defending someone -- must be different types of quickness. Lin would have made a good tennis player; he got the right height also.
1. All I mentioned was his spot up shooting was problematic, when did I say anything else about shooting off the dribble? LOL, relax. Also, you don't need to be the PG to be able to shoot off the dribble. You can achieve that whether you're a PG or not. Also, lets not forget when he shoots off the dribble, they are close range shots such as floaters, short fade aways, and generally short shots.
2. Freakish athleticism, um, emboddies more than just quickness. JLin DOES NOT have the 1-on-1 skills as a Rose, Wall, Irving. Your digging too hard. I do agree JLin's comparable, if not better in terms of quickness.
3. If 1-on-1 is a standout of JLin's talent, he wouldn't have been overlooked as much as he did. You must have forgotten at the combine, JLin also played 1-on-1 and other exercises to test out his talent. He admitted he wasn't a 1-on-1 guy but a guy that plays 5-on-5. You can sensationalize all you want, but it's simply not true. JLin's 1-on-1 mostly occurs when he has a mismatch in which he uses his first quick step and cross over move to get free and blow by against opposing "bigs" and occasionally on certain backcourt. JLin's biggest asset in terms of 1-on-1 play is his quick first step and that's true and we all know that, but that's not all you need to play 1-on-1.
Gets your facts straight before you step up. Next.
I agree that Lin is not a one on one player. Anyone can see that if Lin played even Smith of Knicks, Smith would win probably 11 to 5 or similar scores. However, I think Lin would beat Parsons maybe in one on one. He would lose to Harden definitely, and he would hold his own against TD or Bev. He would get destroyed on one on one against Kyrie, Jrue, just as Nash would. For example, in soccer, being fast on dribble does not translate into "freakish athleticism". Everything needs to combine, speed, quickness, body control, mental fortitude, jumping ability, court vision, strength, etc. Not saying Lin is not athletic; obviously he is probably more athletic than Calderon. But to me, Calderon is also a fine PG even though he does not look all that quick. Now, Rubio, he may not test super quick in combine tests, but to me, when he dribbles, he is darn quick. One thing I have to give to Rubio is that he's got good ball control and passing ability, but his overall shooting is really bad. How can Rubio's shooting be so bad, just don't understand.
This season he seems a lot more hesitant on attacking, I think a lot of us attributed to him just looking for his teammates instead of attacking first, but he gives up easy points sometimes just so he can hand it off...Why is that?
He does have problems with spot up shots, but there are times where he just sinks 3-4 in a row. Do you think it may be better for him to score a few off the dribble first to get into rhythm?
I won't get into the personal issues, but I do completely agree with Michael Terry's basketball analysis.
ALL of Lin's on court problems are attributable to TANKING TEAMMATES.
In the NBA, there is no such thing as true "isolation" basketball. An iso play still needs 4 other guys to at least move out of the way. Jeremy Lin does not have that, yet he roasts opponents anyway.
Lin's teammates often refuse to come to the ball and refuse to catch his passes. They'll do that for Douglas and Beverley, but not Lin. MORE TANKING.
What shocks me this year is how easily Lin can beat opponents off the dribble and score. But not even Lin can score when his teammates are playing defense on Lin by standing in Lin's driving lanes and refusing to catch Lin's bailout passes.
I don't know what to think anymore. Sometimes its just blatantly obvious: Asik clogging lanes, Morris not making the effort to catch a pass, Asik dropping the ball even though it was basically put in his hands.
Only person that was somewhat helpful was 2PAT...He'd actually clear lanes on occasion for Lin to drive, and he does it for Parsons as well. But he doesn't do it often enough.
Only person that works well with him is Parsons, but then again Parsons isn't that good to begin with.
What gets me the most is the not setting picks for him when he asks for one. I wonder what changed, they were more receptive before.
Harden isn't tanking on Lin. They've actually played very well together, and nowadays they're both struggling together. Ironically, Harden is the only player who will set a pick for Lin!
Toney Douglas is definitely on Lin's side. Chandler Parsons too. That seems to be it among the rotation regulars.
I've seen Harden set pick for Lin only once. Albeit, it was a fantastic pick. He looked like he's protecting his quarterback. He completely stopped the defensive player in his tracks. Hope Harden can do that more often.
Please don't turn this thread into a, who hates who more. Reloading this website it hard enough, please don't make the reloading longer with your back and forth.
Definitely a must read to see what Lin wants to focus on being consistently aggressive on defense. Good for him!
Being a scorer, the tendency is to get discouraged and inconsistent on offense and defense when his first few shots did not work due to blocks, fatigue, or intimidating shotblockers. Also, not handling the ball so much.
"(It starts with) being more of a pest on defense,” he said following this morning’s shootaround. “For me, it’s just finding a way to be effective every game and to be consistent. One of our weaknesses, one of my weaknesses, is just the inconsistency of everything.”
Lin continued by saying he can actually take several things from having watched Beverley’s performance on the defensive end. He labeled his new teammate a “spark” while adding that Beverley’s hyper aggression on defense has been huge for a team that can too often be passive and tentative on that end of the floor."
Lin just needs to continue to develop by playing aggressively on offense and defense even when he does not hold the ball most of the time. I'm confident it will pay off in the future. I'm sure he's frustrated because he knows he can do so much more but he can't get too discouraged and make the most of his opportunity.
“As a point guard, the last person that needs to get going is the point guard,” he said. “But you know it’s different, too, because I’m also a scorer. I think, for me, what I just want to do is be aggressive, period, and just play-make and just let the game and their defense dictate what plays are going to be made; it could be an assist, or a hockey assist or it could be a shot."
THIS is why i believe he doesn't usually get going until 2nd half, and why he looks to pass and get others involved rather early on in the game. he believe, and rightly so, that for the TEAM to win, everyone on the teams needs to get into a flow and be involved and find their rhythm, and it's on HIM to make sure that happens. james harden can't do it because it's HIS job to look to score first as a SG. and because harden is the best scorer on the team, he should be the one that gets going first, with others following behind, the last being jeremy. and that's why we see a lot of bringing up the ball and dumping to harden to get him going and get him warmed up.
this all makes sense now... the question is - do you agree with this approach? jeremy's numbers will suffer, most definitely. and we won't see him mentioned as top PG in the league, etc.. even though he has the talent to be that.
At least, Lin knows he's being inconsistent. I hope Lin continues to be a pest for Mac and decides to take 15 shots per game. My way of thinking is if Lin can score points, why play D hard? Just be like Harden.
fighton1999, I understand what Lin is saying, but he can only get others going when he has the ball in his hands. The current system doesn't even allow Lin to get others going. So no, if he continues to think like this, we are going to be seeing a lot of what happened in Bobcats game. But as everyone here pointed out, Lin is not being played like a PG, so how the heck is he supposed to what he says he should do?
Besides, I don't think he's being all that honest talking to Rocket's writer. He probably says what we are saying in private to his brothers. This is more like propaganda.
wilc, let me read it and see if I have any thoughts. By the way, I think we have to cool it with name calling. At least, I think I never called anyone an idiot.
timing timing. rockets simply want to shoot down some fans' concerns using Lin's words. Bev probably is the most consistent player now in this team. lol.
I second that. I may or may not agree with Racha, or anyone else, on the points made, but everyone is entitled to a perspective and an opinion, even if it is critical. As long as the critism is not made in a derogatory or insulting way, I'm OK with any and all of them, as a differing opinion opens up blind spots and new possibilities in a discussion. Name-calling is always counterproductive, and not to mention juvenile, in any forum consisting of civilized adults.
I think Jeremy has the right attitude to focus the comments on himself and focus on fixing the things that he can control. However, what is out of his control is when he get aggressive on offense, miss some shots, get block, or not get a foul call, the coaches take him out of the game. Or when his teammates can't catch a perfectly good pass. Or when there is not help on defense. (Kyle Irvine scored 40 on Rondo yesterday.) Or when the spacing, movement, and structure are horrible on the offense.
Like my last comment, Jeremy should just have fun and play his game the best he can. Leave the results to God.
I think this a damage control mission for the rockets. They know the spotlight is on the coaches and how they are running the team.also I think les has warned McHale again abt his antics with lin.the poster who went the game and gave their observation has gone viral. I am waiting for the headline, is Jeremy being treated fairly by the Rockets coaches.LOL
I'm pretty sure we have had this discussion about defense when Jlin was benched in the fourth earlier in the season. Some posters justified the benching by pointing out TD was playing more aggressive D. I saw TD was playing good D and looked more energetic but I did not think it was more effective. Even if more effective it was marginally so.
I think the same observations apply here with PB. I observed after last game that JLin can be more aggressive by closing the space between him and Kemba when the pick is coming. JLin did make this adjustment in the third. PB was pressuring the ball whenever he was on the floor and this seems like his natural D style. More importantly however for slowing down Kemba in the second half was Asik hedging and trapping, and not so much the PG play. PB on at least two plays in the fourth was blown by on pnr plays in a even worse fashion than JLin. JLin at least didn't get tripped up like PB.
I think JLin can put more on ball pressure. I want to see him try it, but at the same time I think it should only be in appropriate junctures of the game and not the whole game. It is too prone to defensive fouls, as PB demonstrated when he picked up three quick fouls in the third against the Wolves and almost got fouled out with five fouls despite playing only seventeen minutes. This is bad, unless the coach doesnt really mind the PGs getting into foul trouble, which might be true then since the PGs role seems easily replaceable in the system anyways.
Although Jlin can out more on ball pressure on the ball handler, there is uncertainty as to whether it will produce better defensive results. His current defensive approach is already producing good defensive results when he is on the floor, ranking second in defensive RAPM on the Rockets. (http://stats-for-the-nba.appspot.com/teams/HOU.html) On top of the uncertainty concern, there are others. There is the foul concern. There is also the fatigue concern.
I still like to see JlLin try it out, but perhaps not for all plays like TD or PB. Maybe do it at the beginning of the games and when teammates seem to get lazy.
wilc yep totally agree, Beverley seem to put more pressure on ball, but gawd he is awful at PnRs mainly cause he gets tripped up, his defense is comparable to TD imo, except he seems to be a lot more foul prone.
They can start him all they want, he'll probably get in foul trouble every game.
I mean, its not as if Rockets doesn't have an issue with foul trouble :)
Darn, it must have something to do with me almost hitting the big four. Either that, or posting at work with constant interruptions. :) After making that list, I totally forgot to mention the point I meant to make.
James Harden, even at age 23, simply cannot keep up the same lightening pace for ~39 minutes night in and night out. D'Antoni did that to Lin and resulted in torn meniscus. Granted that the African American physique is more robust than that of the average Asian, but that kind of wear and tear may very likely result in: 1) weakened immunity from exhaustion, leading to vulnerability to illnesses, and 2) reduction in precision control over muscles due to fatigue, which leads to 3) increased likelihood of injury. As much as I dredd Lin's predicament and Harden's unintentional involvement in it, I DO NOT want to see Harden injured, but that's what McHale is pushing for.
BTW, @Etane and I previously had a discussion about "not pointing fingers to blame others" (the Rocky line in one JLin youtube vid) for us and Lin when things don't go well at our workplace.
Clearly JLin has less than ideal situation in HOU to perform well when his strength from last season (dominant PG ball-handler, great PnR partner w/ Tyson Chandler and more reliable 3PT shooter in Novak, etc.) are completely stripped with having to share the ball with Harden and no PnR partner. His coaches also want him to play in a system where he does not excel (spot-up 3PT shooter, no midrange jumpers). About the only thing that he got going is his ability to penetrate to the basket (when there are no shotblockers).
What should Lin do? If he's a regular NBA player, he would pout about his role and demand a trade to team where he would shine. But we all know he is no regular player. I expect him to seek what God's plan for him in HOU to make him fight to be an even better and stronger player and improve on his weakness. If it's no coincidence that he landed in NY last season, it is no coincidence he landed in HOU now.
HOU is just a training ground for Lin to be a tougher, stronger player mentally and physically. There will be tough times ahead in his young career. He still has not played a full NBA season yet (82 games).
We all have some tough times at work and life too. But if we're anything like what we admire in Lin, we won't complain and fight by blaming the system. Life is not fair and it doesn't mean we should blame others and stop fighting to learn our lesson.
I would liken Lin's story and our stories to the story of Joseph in the Bible. Joseph had a great beginning with a dream he would rule over his brothers and many people but then he got sold as slave, rose as a reliable assistant for an Egypt high-ranking officer (Potiphar), then jailed for refusing to be seduced and have an affair with the officer's wife, and finally rose to the 2nd in command in Egypt. Never once he wavered that God still has a plan for him during his ups and downs, even the bad things God used to strengthen him.
Lin has a choice to complain that life is unfair and blame God and others but so far he hasn't just like Joseph didn't. I hope and pray that he'll stay strong in his faith.
I hope we as Lin fans also keep the faith, not spend too much time and energy on our posts blaming others that we miss discussing what lessons Lin needs to learn. Life is not fair, what else is new? The real danger is to be too busy blaming others or Lin instead of focusing on what Lin needs to learn and do. I can complain all the time about how my boss or wife doesn't appreciate me at work or home but what good would it do? I need to spend time getting better (maybe boss, not wife)
So far he's doing the right thing to get better and not blame others. Are we?
I hope Lin would fulfill his potential as an All-Star in 3-4 years in HOU or other team but for now, I hope he thrives in a difficult situation which will make him a better player and even better person.
Disclaimer: I don't recommend Lin to be a doormat taking unfair criticism w/o fight but he can learn diplomatic ways around it (i.e. lobby coaches/teammates). Also, by no means I imply from Joseph's story that one of the assistant coaches' wife will seduce Lin. :)
"We all have some tough times at work and life too. But if we're anything like what we admire in Lin, we won't complain and fight by blaming the system. Life is not fair and it doesn't mean we should blame others and stop fighting to learn our lesson."
I meant to challenge psalm to come up with a positive note in one of my previous posts, but refrained. Sure enough, he found something convincing. Perhaps Lin should give Novak a call to find out who his shooting coach was before Steve became Novakane. If Lin start raining those three's, haters will turn around and even McHale and Sampson will find it hard to justify benching Lin.
Which reminds me, there was a sig banner from RealGM Knicks member with D'Antoni's face on it that said "Become One with the Three, Grasshoppa!", how I'd love to see that same banner with McHale's face. LOL
If someone is clearly sabotaging me, I'd make it known to my execs. If they don't do something about it I go straight to HR and let the lawyers deal with it.
In fact what Lin is going through right now would be considered as harassment where I come from. Heads would roll.
Here's my honest take: the coaches are doing an extremely bad job at fostering a team environment. Singling out someone like they are doing without letting it known that EVERYONE is subjected to the same standards is bad for morale.
As a director any non team players in my team gets let go for not performing to expectations. I will not allow cancers in my team and if they don't improve from my improvement program they get let go.
But of course I guess none of this applies in bball...
Kenoshi, you must work for a good company because this kind of racial sabotaging is NORMAL.
I can't tell you how many times I've gone to superiors about this and they've come down on me. That's when I get MEAN.
These fool teammates want to sabotage Lin? Fine, then. Lin's leaving 'em out to flop away on their own. Just look at the poor power forward production that comes from biting Lin's hand that feeds them.
Lin is reaponding exactly the way I have when racist coworkers try to make me look bad.
Khuang, nothing personal but hopefully what I type here can be beneficial to you, but if you play the racial card as often as you do here in this forum, it's unlikely you will be taken seriously in fact will be construed as the cancer at your work place.
I remember after my very post in this forum, you called me a racist. (All I said was the posters here were complaining so much about Lin's game are sounding like typical Asian parents who are never satisfied with their kids).
I am sure you are more diplomatic in person than you are on this forum. So, don't want to call you out. But, I really hope you can successfully solve your situation with your employer if an HR issue ever arise again.
In real life, I've been challenged to physically fight by so many people. Reporting it did nothing and only encouraged my foes to attack. So I BEAT THEM INTO THE GROUND, and that worked.
No Etane, I am far less diplomatic in real life than I am on this forum. When people come after me especially to do physical violence, I meet them and their co conspirators head on. Plus I make a public spectacle of it too.
And you know what? IT WORKS.
I have excellent relations in my work, in my life, in everything. I repel the bad people out and the good ones stay. When people mess with me, I send a clear message that I'm no easy target. And when I have to, I'll administer whatever Whoopass my raciat foes are asking me to inflict on them.
By the way, Etane, I'm not going to reprise that bit of histoey between us. My advice for you is that even though I now know where you are coming from, there are a lot of Asians here who wouldn't. So lets let that incident drop because even I wouldn't be able to come to your defense on that one.
However, I happen to be someone who has a very negative bias against most religions particularly Christianity. Nothing against spirituality, but the mentality resulting from religious institution trying to shape people's way of thinking is akin to sheep to the slaughter.
Take climate change deniers to benefits of stem cell research, the church has taken the position to deny human progress. Why? Power grab. They don't want to kow tow to science and risk looking weak to their followers.
Similarly, Lin can find solace in his faith that his "father" has plans for him. However, it would be to his benefit to have a plan B that when "cancer" is identified, it has to be treated as this is conducive to personal well being and the organization's achievement as addressed by Kenoshi.
Do we, if we found out we got cancer, simply pray or do we go get help? Cancer is real and so are people within organization that are caners. I don't see anything wrong with point fingers if you intend to do something about it.
However, if you don't intend to do something about it, then it may be best to be sheep. I hope Lin appears to be sheep as not to rock the boat but has plan B up his sleeves.
It would be interesting to see if Lin's teammates are intentionally tanking on him (i.e. setting screens) or they simply are bad (i.e. Asik with moving screens)
If there are strong evidence that his teammates gladly set strong screen for TD/Beverley after Lin sits on the bench, then we have strong facts to back up the assertion.
KHuang, Melo did admit to tanking in NY mainly to get rid of D'Antoni's system which made Lin to be a savior in NY (The funny thing is he blossomed under D'Antoni system in the Olympics with CP3 as the PG so definitely jealousy played a part).
But I haven't made up my mind on his HOU teammates tanking on him. They could be simply incompetent in setting screens.
Are there plays in the Bobcats game or recent games to support this intentional Tanking?
Psalm, I was trying to figure out when is appropriate or inappropriate to point fingers. I guess I somehow figured that out in my reply to you. Thanks!
KHuang yeah I've worked for some seedy companies in the past where discrimination was obvious, I got up and left them for greener pastures, helps to be in demand as well. I'm from Callie and companies here are better about those type of things since labor laws are pretty much pro victim. Heck I got in trouble once for joking about Windows (since most of us are pro linux) and someone turned me in to HR for fostering a "hostile environment to Windows users".
With my case I think it also helps since I don't really look your stereotypical Chinese, most people mistake me for Hispanic when I have a tan, I rock a full goat and short hair, I mean hispanics would come up to me and speak Spanish, and most Chinese are shocked when I speak fluent mandarin. Not that I try to look like another race, I just do and dress and act how I want, people don't like it I can care less :D
But I know what you mean had got into a lot of fights like you growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood. Gawd I hate it when some dumb white trash would call me "chung" or "ching-chong"...Wasn't long when people started calling me "Rocko" tho...Cause I hit like a rock lol :D
Most of the physical threats I received were within academia, and reporting them did no good back in the day. Decades later today, things are very different even though I've been long out of academia.
It's just like how neighborhood kids would throw rocks through our family house's windows, burn dog poop on our front porch, and even assault my grandmother who is one very tough cookie and fought back. Today these would be prosecuted as "hate crimes", but the cops did nothing. Ironicaly, I unwittingly solved the problem as a child by respectfully saying hi to those kids. Once they realized that I was no different, they respected us and even played with us. Problem SOLVED.
Combatting racism takes many forms. It can range from physical violence to befriending people to bringing in outside sorurces, whatever works. In my adult life, I never let people target me without some sort of response coming back at them.
Lin is young and learning how to handle himself as a STRONG Asian American man. He'll figure it out, just as I and other Asian American men have.
Most people won't do business with me, but the few that do are of the highest quality. Plus, I've learned to ally myself with one of the greatest resources available to an Asian American man: Asian American WOMEN, particularly older ones who look out for their own kind!
In street dynamics, I have no trouble because I live in Phoenix and I'm racially invisible here. Back when I lived in NY, strangers would constantly curse me and pick fights and try to sabotage my work. At stop lights in my car, people would scream curses at me constantly. I always screamed right back, which actually shocked them into big happy grins most of the time!
In my life there have been two kinds of racists. One is the really bad kind who's usually more sociopathic or psychopathic than he is racist, though race is the weapon of his choice. Most of my bad wars have been fought against these types, and many are Asian racists too. But then there's the on the fence racist who will stick me to see what I'm made of, and a few good natured whoopings of those folks often turns them into my allies and friends!
Jeremy Lin is battling against teammates who don't think he is tough enough to survive in the NBA. Once he gets MEAN and starts banging those teammates around, things will get better. He just can't back down from people.
Morris and Asik mainly...Smith runs to him everytime, Delfino not so much, heck he ignores Lin most times except when Lin passes to him on transition then its all smiles. I've seen it with 2pat but he is usually cooperative, haven't seen Parsons turn him down but then again Parsons don't set picks all that much and well they got the bromance going, which may explain Harden, he's jealous of Parsons so he apparently is Lin's best pick setter...When he isn't asking for the ball lol :D
Etane, I don't fault you for having negative view on organized religion because many wolves in sheep clothing would misuse God's name for their personal gain. I'm a Christian but I'm not gullible to trust all people at church are sincere and can be trusted. I watch their actions on small things to see if they're for real. Watch out for those wolves.
Yes, I agree that Lin needs to watch out for "cancers" to sabotage him in HOU. Is it tough love or discrimination? He needs a lot of wisdom to differentiate them. What I meant for fighting to learn is whether he stays aggressive, or talk to his teammates to set screens, lobby coaches for plays that will help him get going , etc. These are the things that he can do and should learn to do being a PG/floor general. If he's done all he can and receives discrimination then he should have Plan B to get out.
Besides, famous scientists (Galileo, Kepler, Pascal, Newton) are Christians who happened to had to fight the wrong establishment (the Roman Church at that time). My lesson is to watch out for those in power, religious or not.
Wow, Asik and Morris...Jeremy'd better watch out. Remember how well Tyson and Jeremy running pnr together in nyk and we thought they were buddies until Tyson turned on Jeremy and threw him under the bus after he left nyk. Asik and Morris are not even at the same level as Tyson. This shows how little respect they have for Jeremy and how bad the team teamwork is. No wonder the team's losing.
Regarding Lin, he grew up about 15 minutes from where I grew up though about 15 years apart. I doubt he experienced much discrimination growing up until he didn't get any looks when applying for college.
Frankly, I had it good compared to what you went through. Most "discrimination" I get is around the office is people stereotyping me as the "numbers" guy since I am Asian. Works in my favor sometimes but not in others as my other aptitudes are downplayed also due to me being Asian.
At this moment, I doubt what Jeremy is going through is race related. McFail's circle is very small, and Jeremy just happen to not belong in it. True, Jeremy would probably get less negative attention had he been a tattooed up black kid from the ghetto like Chris Rock said. But, Sampson and McFail are in job protection mode not in keep Asian down mode.
I think this distinction/prognosis is a healthy one to make.
If the Rockets can set picks and play defense for Patrick Beverley, they can do the same for Lin.
Lin has been fighting his tanking teammates all season. He's often playing 1 on 9!
I don't agree with anybody who feels Lin needs to play "better". Any player in the NBA is going to look bad when his teammates are actively working against him.
I'll bet that Lin understands that his teammates are trying to knock him out. Lin will retaliate in the ways that Lin knows how to.
I think you are reading too much into the situation.
These players just do what the coaches tell them to do, and they do what they should do, consistently or inconsistently, to stay on the court. When each play is going so fast on the court and with 24sec time limit, it is really difficult to make one of your teammate look bad. However, It is easier to pass the ball to someone and potentially make him look good.
Players don't miss shots intentionally so another person can't get the assist. They miss because they are not that good. Players don't miss defensive help intentionally. They do it because they are lazy, lack of skill, or not aware of their roles.
I am sure that there are some players who are really unprofessional, but they will eventually sit on the bench or not playing in the league. So I can't really see Jeremy's teammates are all working against him.
Because it describes what's happening as Lin's teammates on the Rockets refuse to play team ball, just like Lin's NY teammates also refuaed to play team ball with Lin.
No, I don't have a problem with that. I disagree with you though.
I don't think Lin's teammates are refusing to play team ball specifically with Lin. Harden tends to suck up the ball and go 1-on-1 a lot--too much, I would say. But he does that no matter who he's playing with on this Houston team.
In New York, Lin handled the ball more than anyone else on that team during that 25 game stretch because he was the point guard in D'Antoni's offensive system that requires the PG to control the rock a ton. Yeah, you can call Carmelo Anthony a ball-hog or a selfish player, but he's like that with EVERYONE, not just Lin. But no one else on that NY team was really like that (except maybe J.R. Smith who never saw a shot he didn't like).
On the other hand, it's publicly known that Carmelo Anthony deliberately tanked games in otder to stop Linsanity. Everybody knows that because it's been amply reported in the press.
Different teammates, same circumstances, same refusal to play team ball with Lin but eagerness to play team ball with Beverley.
Any time teammates will play team ball with one point guard but not another, it's TANKING.
For this one, I am with KHuang. Then, what is the explanation that Beverly and Douglas get some significant portion of PNR but Lin seldom got one even if Lin requested one.
I read Anthony quotes about Lin's decision to sign with Houston that weren't very nice. But I didn't read anything that suggested he deliberately "tanked" games in order to stop Linsanity. Where did you read that?
His teammates are playing just as well or just as poorly with Beverley as they are with Jeremy. I saw nothing to suggest there is any favoritism or exile among teammates during games.
In Charlotte, Jeremy was struggling on both ends of the floor. He had a bad game. It happens. Beverley guarded Walker marginally well, but he was hitting shots and that's why McHale kept him in the game. Even superstars like Tim Duncan and Derrick Rose get benched for a guy with a hot hand from time to time.
I think tanking is too strong of a word to describe the current predicament. I've seen obvious instances where teammates are freezing Lin out. I think this part is intentional. But, when this leads to losses, I think this part is not intentional.
I'll look for that more closely tonight. Maybe there's something to that.
From what I have seen though, particularly during the losing streak, Houston doesn't run much PNR. Asik will occasionally come out to set a pick for a guard, but other than that, it doesn't seem like PNR is a major part of McHale's system. He wants his team to run and gun and they seem to do well when that can happen. But the fast break won't always be available. In the half court, I see a lot of isolation and 1-and-1 play from this team in general which I think is highly flawed. I do not see much PNR, cutting off the ball, or even simple passes into the post.
Regarding Melo, I think what he did can be considered half a tank. He didn't purposely want to lose but he also didn't want to put in the effort nor did he want to see his teammates succeed. But, since there's no such thing as being half pregnant, there's no such thing as half a tank. So, Melo did tank.
ESPN and everything under the sun reported that Carmelo tanked but not because of Lin directly. Carmelo didn't want to it to become Lin and the Linettes so he half assed it while playing in D'Antoni's system. Carmelo wanted to be the man, which is what he signed up for. Lin was becoming the man.
So as a means to an end, Carmelo tanked and trade rumors popped up too, because Carmelo saw the writing on the wall for himself if he allowed Lin to continue and shine.
It's all about self preservation. We Lin supporters are no different. It just depends on perspective.
If Lin was Carmelo and all of a sudden, a new young kid took over the team, I doubt any of you would be posting that Lin should suck it up and play in a role player scrub capacity at 50% of his capabilities just because the team was winning.
Most non-Lin fans see Harden as a much better player than Lin and can't understand why Lin won't just fall in line and be an Avery Johnson for the team. To those people, it's so obvious that the team would be better if Lin just played his role or could help Harden look better by hitting the kick out 3's and guarding the other teams top guards so Harden couls save energy for more offense. Maybe they are right, maybe not. Who knows...
At least Lin has fight in him and he won't just end up some forgotten scrub. He'll make the coaches bench him before that happens. I just hope they bench him while he's playing well so it becomes a big time issue the Rox have to deal with. That may be the only way heads roll or Lin gets traded.
I don't have access to my computer, so I will rely on somebody else to point out the articles that wrote about how Carmelo Anthony deliberately sabotaged Mike D'Antoni and Jeremy Lin.
Lin would try to run the offense, and Anthony refused. So Lin refused to pass Anthony the ball until Anthony ran the offense. They tried to work out a compromise, but Anthony was more interested in tanking Lin than winning games.
This topic has been discussed to death in our archives here. But try googling Dantoni, Lin, and Anthony to read about how Anthony deliberately tanked the Knicks into that losing streak that stopped Linsanity and forced DAntoni to resign.
People still think he's a D league player. Doesn't matter how well he plays.
Lin just has to keep playing hard, hitting his shots, and playing past his tanking teammates.
Every time Lin's tanking teammates pull a new stunt on Lin, Lin raises his game. At some point, Lin will become so good that not even their tanking will stop him from doing what he's gotta do.
I found two articles. Both interesting reads about the politics of NBA basketball. They don't directly say that Carmelo "tanked" games. They did say, however, that Carmelo wasn't happy with how D'Antoni's offense was being run through Jeremy and he outright refused to run plays that weren't isolation plays for himself. So he was being a big ol' baby. One article does purport that D'Antoni resigned because of Carmelo and that Carmelo "overtly or not" ran Lin out of town.
Seriously, if Lin WASN'T ASIAN, the media and the whole NBA won't be mistreating him. He'd be another Danny Green, BUT ONLY 10 TIMES BETTER.
I'm really sick and tired of this. I've never seen a player getting payed 25million with all the hype of LINSANITY get mistreated by coaches, the media, and fans. Let the kid play and let him LINTERTAIN everyone.
chiball, it was widely reported once woodson was head coach that anthony wasn't giving full effort under dantoni. lin had called out anthony in practice as well, and is one of many reasons anthony refused to stand at the 3 point line for lin kickouts under dantoni.
hence all the jokes of anthony willingly standing at the 3 point for the dream team over the summer while dantoni was on the sidelines.
Lin just has to be patient. He has to learn to change his game and knock down shots. It sucks now but he'll be better in yr3 of this contract for it, assuming he still gets 25+ minutes on the court going forward. No NBA team wants to give him the reigns to be the man or at least "the guard" of the team. They want him to be a role player. Lin isn't that type of player though. Lin knows it and we know it. NBA execs/scouts would say Lin isn't good enough to be a lead guard and that at best he is a role player. We disagree. Unfortunately we don't own NBA teams or GM them....So it is what it is.
Basically Lin can use these 3 years to hone his major weakness of efficiency/spot up shooting when never getting to touch the ball (the Derek Fisher/Shane Battier/Bruce Bowen skillset), up his scoring as a low usage PG/SG sidekick to Harden, pretend he enjoys it for the next 2 years without complaint, then bail on Houston when it comes time to resign, and hopefully by then, his shot will be good enough, and at least 1 team will finally want to properly utilize his services.
Funny thing is the idiotic Rox will act shocked and surprised, and probably will really be blindsided that Lin was not completely satisified with his role player duties, especially since he finally learned to hit shots consistently. And Lin will smile and tell them to screw off without saying a word.
If used properly right now, Lin could produce max contract player stats and results, while being paid an average of 8 million. But no GM or owner is bright enough/gutsy enough to do it. It's too much of a risk and the downside is too embarrassing, I guess.
Unfortunately, Lin had no other play. He did the right thing taking this Rox contract. Nobody really wanted the guy. It was tough. I had hoped the Rox would hire D'Antoni in the summer, or that PJax would take the Lakers over and that Les might part with Mchale and let D'Antoni take over. But oh well, didn't happen...
We all wish a trade will happen, but truth is, few to no teams want Lin. Sure they'll take him in exchange for a scrub perhaps, but the Rox would want more than that no matter how little they value him.
Lin can start scoring the ball on this team, which is his only play. It will kill his assist totals, but the Rox want Harden to lead in assists anyways, not Lin. But the NBA values scorers more than assists anyways. Best to have both, but better to score than get assists if you can only get 1 stat. Sure some SAS's will say "See Lin is a SG, not a PG, he can't assists and that's why NYK dropped him and made the right decision" - but it's better to get 20PPG and 4 reboudns than it is to get 5pt, 6asst, 5rbs.
McHale wasn't a good GM other than drafting Garnett (who is a punk of a basketball player) and that is the one good thing McHale has done for the Timberwolves.
As far as a coach, his one or two seasons with the Timberwolves speaks for itself. I don't know how he crawled his way to the Rockets but here he is and he is definitely not a head coach material.
...This is such a bunch of BS. Does James Haren get pulled for not applying defensive pressure? Lets not confuse activity for achievement here. Much of what Tony and Patrick do is absolutely meaningless. Jeremy does a GREAT job of containing his man, particularly when unscreened. Containment being far more important than pressure if McHale believes in his own system (that is, keeping guys out of the paint.) NO ONE in this league can guard pick and roll without proper hedge help (the kind LIN sees ALL THE TIME from opposing teams because they know he WILL KILL THEM IF ALLOWED TO GET TO BUCKET)... but does LIN get similar help NO. Also, LIN is probably one of, if not the best help defenders in the league. There isn't a guy on the team in his league where this is concerned. NO D Haren being the worst on the team at this. LAST, Sampson sees basketball through a BLACK prism pure and simple. He's gonna put his money on BLACK before all else. I'm certain he is the guy influencing these 4th quarter calls.
10/10 good post. Exactly what I wanted to say when Racha said Lin has to turn on his turbo and apply more defensive pressure. He's completely ignoring the team dynamic regarding why there is currently a defensive breakdown.
I will say this... Racha is right that he needs to turn on his turbo... but not because the Rockets need it for some defensive purpose... BUT He needs to turn it on so it can't be held against him by Sampson and McHale. In the same vein, he also needs to sprint the ball to half court like TD or Beverly do after a made shot simply because Sampson has already said TD pushes pace better than LIN (hahahahahahahaha!). And, of course, we all know what a criminal joke that is ... because, we know, as JLIN well knows, that the upcourt pass is far faster than sprint dribbling a ball. Sampson's convenient eye test doesn't pass muster with people that know the game ... it's just an AAU/Black Prism excuse that serves as pablum for the masses. We need a good reporter! A reporter that could call them on their BS. If they want to marginalize JLIN, go ahead. But have the balls to tell it like it is.
Nope, not ignoring it at all. I always talk about breakdowns in defensive rotations. I'm just pointing out, individually, what JLin should try to do more. I never gave Harden a pass on defense and called it horrid. If I give Harden a pass it's because he is needed for his scoring more than his defense. Again, not giving him a pass and I'm sure McHale had a word or two with him on that.
I'll be brief Racha. The only player that deserves a defensive pass is a player that can score and has LITTLE TO NO ATHLETIC ABILITY ... Dirk comes to mind here. James Haren is an athlete. He gets NO PASS.
Haren on plays hard with the ball in his hands. He doesn't run the floor hard for teammates. And, He doesn't defend. And, he rarely rebounds ... almost never on the offensive glass (and astonishingly he doesn't get back in transition.)
the +- on James Haren would be close to ZERO or MINUS if Haren were truly graded. Talk all you will, MOREY, about sabrematrics but there are no SABREMATRICS for Harens poor play. Reach MINUS. Doesnt get back in transition MINUS. Doesn't run floor MINUS.
10/10 well Racha said Jeremy needed to turn on the turbo specfically for PnR defense.
Both Harden and Lin dribble the ball up court very slowly. But, I get more impatient when Harden is dribbling the ball up because I know all he's going to do is waste the shot clock then force up an iso fga.
And, it's not like you have to be a "hard nose" reporter to work the sports beat... It's all entertainment after all including the "journalism".
It probably takes more citizen reporting to expose the truth rather than through traditional media.
Exactly. Harden bringing it up the floor slowly is just all about him. LIN is reading the floor, looking for the pass up, particularly the big running the middle, and allowing people to space themselves. There's nothing worse than watching someone sprint dribble the ball up the floor into three people and to no advantage (LIN does this at times too but I think at the coaches insistence and it rarely has good results). Space is the 6th man in transition. What the coaches don't get is Jeremy IS running the offense ... an offense that starts from the moment he touches it in the back court.
Can some of the Roxs problems be attributed to a Wet Albert type of situation. Remember the story of the little boy where rain clouds would always follow?
Lin is marked man right now. He is going to get the opposing players' most motivated effort. He is accounted throughout the game. When he goes out of the game the other team relaxes a bit giving the Rox players more bleathing room to play. The Rox coaches and players pick up on this.
Of course - and it's not just Lin getting that treatment.
Opponents are targeting Harden TOO.
Lin will battle people in isolation, as guys like Russell Westbrook and Lebron James have found out. But because Lin's teammates refuse to help him defend the pick and roll, opponents target Lin. I'd do the same thing against any NBA pg who was left high and dry by his teammates, no matter how good that PG was.
But Harden? He's getting targeted in isolation. Opponents have figured out that he's not getting any more defensive help than Lin is, plus Harden doesn't contest isolations like Lin does.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Rockets big men are tanking on both Lin AND Harden, since the offense really does run through those guys alone. For all of my ranting about teammates being unwilling to play team ball with Lin, Harden has it almost as bad.
The only difference is that the coaches will keep plowing the ball through Harden because NBA refs respect Harden enough to put him at the line. If the refs put Lin at the line at the same rate that they put even unrespected 10 day D league players, Lin would shoot 8-10 free throws a game and call himself "Asian Dantley".
Did anyone catch Parsons' interview with nbatv? TD and Beverly have publicly said that jeremy and james are the leaders of this team. No one's mentioned Parsons. Glue guy? Yes. Leader? No. Parsons has mentioned that he, himself is a team leader though...I guess that means something.
He's really making sure everyone knows that he called that players' meeting. What a great guy.
Not a big deal but it's further confirmation that players' don't know their roles on this team. They're not the Heat, they're not good enough to play position-less.
can you please maintain this site, like what you used to, by splitting it pre-game and post game thread?
ReplyDeleteThe game thread on bobcats grow so big that it is hard to read.
Thanks.
we really need via around here(we miss you!). He would tell us when to switch over to the new thread.
DeleteVia is a she.
DeleteHow did you know he is a she? Just curious.
DeleteShe mentioned it here , that she's a "she". She even mentioned it to me in one of our exchanges...
Delete@k.smith , why? where's via? what happened to her? sorry , I also have not been around lately. 'Just came back from vaction...
chan c, she went back to Hong Kong 2(?) weeks ago. She's back in "soccerland" and her work schedule means she don't get to watch Jeremy that much anymore.
Deletethanks for the info lam. 'appreciate it...
Deletewe'll surely miss via.
Linsanity the movie has gotten very good reviews.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/linsanitymovie/linsanity-the-movie/posts/389824
http://www.linsanitythemovie.com/
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogssundanceblog/55667601-50/lin-documentary-linsanity-basketball.html.csp
http://www.latinospost.com/articles/10143/20130122/jeremy-lin-movie-attend-sundance-festival-linsanity.htm
I bet you some of his teammates who will be attending with him on 1/27 are: Toney, Greg, Donatas, Carlos, charismatic and slick Chandler, and maybe Cole and Patrick.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-sundance-2013-linsanity-jeremy-lin-movie-rockets-knicks-nba-stats-20130120,0,1626846.story
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/linsanity/review/414155
I hope the director asked and has Lin's permission to continue to film Lin because the movie is not over yet. I feel the movie is still playing because he is still facing the same adversities, stereotyping, and racism.
here's some CLIP from the movie c/o Taiwan media. I love Jeremy more.. we both love Lion King!
DeleteNice clip. Maybe JLin needs a reality show too. Track his everyday move. His up and downs. Maybe we can get a little insight into his recent struggles on the court. If KevJumba wasn't in college, maybe he has time to do an episode of the life of Jeremy Lin or something.
DeleteIf Kevin McHale is satisfied squeaking by the (10-31) Charlotte Hornets with James Haren (that's right no D) at point guard -- traveling NEARLY EVERY TIME HE GOES TO THE HOOP and fortunately getting foul calls (shooting 5/20 btw) (STOP REACHING YOU IDIOTS! -- FIGURE OUT HIS GAME!) -- then that really says it all about the Rockets and Coach McHale. When Harden is out, Jeremy goes for 38 against the SPURS, a game they should have won. With Jeremy sitting on the bench for the 4th quarter, and playing off the ball when he's on the court, the Rockets luckily win a game they should have lost. Can ONE reporter, just ONE reporter have the BALLS to ask MCHALE why LIN isn't playing point guard? to ask him HOW he thinks HIS decision is AFFECTING Jeremy? ...
ReplyDeletewhat a CRIME this shit is. Yep, LIN ain't shooting well, yep, he ain't aggressive enough, yep he can have bad turnovers, but, YEP, they are destroying him -- and really their team -- by playing him out of position. Oh, and James Haren is not a point guard, plays no defense (can you say reach-monster), euro-travels and gets away with it, turns the ball over, and doesn't run the floor... I'm sure I've missed something negative. feel free to pile on.
I agree with all that you've said. And most despicably, it's a crime, a crime that aims to destroy a young player's career. People who committed the crime will be punished by the invincible, soon.
Deleteand amidst all the so called - injustice and crime , JLin says --- "Be still, and know that I am God."Psalm 46:10 (in his FB status)
Deleteprepare for the worst, that's all i'm gonna say.
DeleteMchale/Sampson/Finch aren't changing anything. Just scratch this season off and look forward to next season, it'll make life a little less maddening.
LOL - James Haren! Awesome!
DeleteBut how about James Harem? No D - lots of money, minutes and maids (strip clubs)?
The worst part of this situation is the UNCERTAINTY.
ReplyDeleteJeremy could drop 30 pts this game...and it might not change a thing. He could have 15 assists...and it might not change a thing. He could average 20/10 for the next ten games...and it might not change a thing.
Just when you think McHale has learned to let Jeremy handle the ball like a POINT GUARD, he changes his mind and returns him to Derek Fisher duties. I have no idea why as the Rockets were winning big against good teams when "Linsanity" was running the show.
I'm not even mentioning the defense because let's face it, the Rockets don't have any quality defensive players beyond Lin and Asik. Everyone else is mediocre (Douglas, Parsons) or downright terrible (Harden, Morris, Patterson).
Because of McHale's personal tragedy, there's little chance that he gets fired. So Jeremy MUST learn to be more vocal with his teammates and coaches...even if it results in an argument or two. Jeremy is too nice...but he wasn't always that way! Remember high school? He needs to bring back a LITTLE bit of attitude.
On the bright side, the Rockets has a PLAYERS-ONLY dinner last night where they supposedly had an honest "no-holds-barred" conversation. I hope Jeremy said something like, "Guys, I know I'm nowhere near the scorer James is...but I'm the POINT GUARD. I have to run the offense. Give me the ball, set me some picks, and I will find you when you're open. It's what I did in New York and it's what I did during our win streak!"
too bad about the personal tragedy. he's a fucking idiot who deserves to go. former player anthony carter called him out for being a shitty coach, saying he was drawing up plays like a kid using an "etch a sketch".
DeleteJ-Lin doesn't have to run the offense ALL of the time. Or even 80% of the time. 50-60% of the time would be fine. That's what they did during their late December win-streak.
DeleteAlso, the defense will "magically" improve once their offense does. Why? Because the other team will be tired from the Rockets attacking the paint and running the floor (instead of chucking 3s and playing ISO like they do now).
And if other teams are tired, their shots won't go in and the Rockets can run even more in transition...it's a chain reaction.
Yeah, I hate to even go there, but it's true. Les and Morey would get a lot of media hate if they fired McHale. The only way he leaves is if he resigns.
DeleteJeremy hinted at his poor playing call recently as well. "Teams know what to expect" or something.
how much do Rockets pay McHale? if Rockets pay peanut then they get monkey - prolly explains for McHale's low caliber.
DeleteYou know it's pretty scary that Morey is the only GM that doesn't have any basketball background. On top of that Morey has never played the game in his whole life. He and Les decided to fire a really good a Xs Os coach (because he is his own man) and hire McHale (because he is a "yes" man) who didn't a good track record as a GM (as a GM for Minnesota, he basically gift wrapped Kevin Garnett to Celtics) and as a head coach. Here is a peek into McHale low IQ.
Deletehttp://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Wolves-coach-Kevin-McHale-not-an-X-s-and-O-s-ty?urn=nba,128193
The hiring of the coaching staff tells me that Morey is a control freak. He didn't work in any capacity of the basketball operations prior to being the Rockets GM, decided that Finch's offensive philosophy is the way of the future. And Les bought into it. That is so scary.
Les might need his head examined or he needs to fire his advisers. If he is so smart, why the hell did he hire Morey? Morey even recommended Sampson to be hired as an assistant coach. Does Morey speak Basketball? I don't know about Les, but I do know he speaks dollar signs.
Wasnt McHale said to be just a motivator?
Deletetoney douglas on being benched by mcfail: an explanation would make him "feel better" LOL. poor guy. poor lin.
ReplyDeletemchale the moron pissed off both lowry and dragic, and is doing he same to douglas and lin.
http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2013/01/rockets-report-douglas-has-no-explanation-for-decline-in-minutes/
Rockets guard Toney Douglas escaped the bench for the first time since Wednesday’s first half, but his role had clearly changed.
DeleteWith Patrick Beverley replacing him as the backup point guard, even starting the second half, Douglas said he had not heard why he lost his place in the Rockets’ rotation and has not asked. He said he probably will ask coach Kevin McHale about the change, but the guard will wait at least until after the road trip.
“They didn’t tell me anything,” Douglas said. “I don’t know what’s the reason. I will (ask). We’ve been traveling. I’ll give it time to develop, see how it is. I just want to know the reasoning, that’s all, and I’ll feel better.
according to racha logic, douglas just needs to be "more agressive".
DeleteLoL.
according to ass kissing / nuthugging rocket twitter employees, douglas just needs to be "more agressive".
DeleteMcHale is simply clueless with utilizing PG. He hopes to find the winning formula by switching PG to pair with Harden. He tried Jeremy and Douglas, results ain't satisfying. With PB onboard, McHale is hoping to see some magical results by pairing him with Harden. The Bobcats game sort of shed some hope for McHale. Just wait for McHale to yank Jeremy at any possible opportunity in this Nuggests game.
DeleteGo, Toney, go. What McHale did to him encapsulates his poor coaching.
Delete"You're the man, TD! You should take Jeremy's minutes! Wait no, you suck, so I'm playing this 3rd string guy instead even though he's never practiced with us."
Good point Jane, I agree. It's like zxcvb is saying, McHale is looking for a Derek Fisher(PB) to go with Kobe(Harden). Poor TD, he just wasn't Fisher enough. Can't really blame PB though, he's just happy to be in the NBA so he'll take any role he can get.
DeleteMchale is clueless and stupid. If you rewatch the game, in the 3rd quarter it was Lin who called Asik to help with trapping Walker, it was effective because it slowed him down. What did Lin get for being so smart? He got benched? Maybe they are just intimated by his intelligence. In his post interview, Mchale took the credit by stating the trapping Walker and even Walker himself admit that trapping slow him down.
DeleteI did notice PB was very eager to pass the ball to Harden every chance he could during the Bobcats game. Keep an eye out for it this game. If he gets to play major minutes for passing to Harden every chance he gets, then it's pretty much a confirmation of what this coaching staff wants from it's PG.
DeleteThis is the reason why I think Lin will be traded. If Harden is fine with being over used as long as he is the star, then there is no place for Lin on this team. What I am saying is if I were in Harden's shoes, I would ask the coaching staff to lessen my burdens and shift some of them to Lin. But he hasn't said anything because the same shit is happening over and over again. Honestly, I don't think Harden wants to share the spotlight with Lin.
DeleteI agree with you alcsd. Harden is young and wants to establish his reputation, it's more important to him than team and wins. His unwillingness to stay with OKC shows it. This is pretty typical for the NBA though, so I'm not really angry with Harden. Lin though, is team before self, and I really hope he never changes. If Lin ever becomes a me-first selfish player I'll be done watching the NBA.
DeleteBut on the Rockets, he has to be a me-first in order to survive. Right now, he is suffering because he is selfless. If he stays on this team for the next 3 years, and playing selflessly in this stupid offense philosophy, he won't get another contract.
DeleteI think his camp will talk with Morey and Les in the off season.
You're right if nothing changes, but we never know what's around the corner. A trade, or some injuries, or a desperate coach who's about to get fired... anything could happen. :)
Deletewhat everyone's wishing for probably won't ever happen. He's with this team and its ignorant, hick fan base until further notice.
DeleteHe doesn't get to where he is today without being smart and extremely competitive. It's killing him inside, he and his camp will do something about it in the off season. Lin is nice, but he is not passive.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI agree with you guys.
DeleteA rotation usually sends out a clear message. If McHale doesnt care to or know how to explain why he even benches TD (his favorite son) it only proves how clueless he is. No system -> no clue -> useless.
I would not have believed Anthony Carters etch-sketch comment about McHale a few months back but I do now.
All that McHale and his buddies seem to be able to do is putting blame on players by messing with the rotation. They are bad for the team - they are bad for Lin. All they do is hold on to their jobs to collect checks. They dont seem to care that they are destroying confidence and talent in the process.
Remember - Beverly is new - hasnt practiced with the team yet and doesnt know anything about his teammates. And yet - he gets to play. Say what you will but his recent numbers dont suggest that hes a wunderkind.
BTW -> forget about the troll named Racha. Hes been bashing Lin all along. He has just recently started to say possitive things about Lin - like that would change anything...
Remember - he has been trolling, bashing Lin and calling for the admin to complain about Lin fans since his first posts. Couple of days ago he said that KHuang should have better self restraint when HE - RACHA himself - called me a motherfucker, clit-face and talked about the sensitivity of female genitalia on this site (he ran out of arguments). Dont feed that troll. Dont interact with it.
there's a clear reason why mchale messes with the rotation so much - and that reason is james harden.
Deletefirst of all, it's not the rocket's goal this year to win. yeah they want to make the playoffs but it's not a goal to win, but to develop the team and see what fits around harden. if you make the playoffs, that means what you have is probably workable but if you don't then it's back to square one with the focus around harden. that's the primary goal.
harden is their franchise player that dictates all personnel and coaching decisions. you don't spend 80mil on a guy hoping he would fit in a system. you develop the best system for that guy. all other players either fit with james harden or they don't and should not be on the team.
however, there's obviously a conflict of interest with jeremy. you can't trade him. as of today, jeremy is not a good fit. but there's a simple solution - he needs to improve his jumper and 3pt shot. and luckily for jeremy, he is on a team that has the luxury of time to allow him to improve that part of his game. we all point to the spurs game as an example of what he could do but he shot something like 80% from the 3's that game, which opened up the whole floor for him. even if james harden were playing that day, jeremy still would've had pretty good numbers. it's all dependent on him taking and making the 3's.
beverley got playing time and douglas didn't because they wanted to see what beverley could do, and there simply isn't enough minutes to go around between 4 guards, ESPECIALLY if you're playing james harden 40 minutes a game.
Deletethis sounds harsh but toney douglas is a backup and is expendable. there are tons of toney douglases out there and the rockets doesn't really care to make him happy by giving him playing time. he has no leverage. i agree that mchale should've said something to toney (hey we just wanted to see what beverley could do since he hasn't been here that long) as common courtesy but as harsh as it sounds, it is what it is. toney most likely won't be back next year so why not give this beverley kid a chance to show what he could do - it's not like they're trying to win now anyway.
Denver is a much better team and they're going to win this game. They're front court is much better than ours and Mchale/Sampson will bench Lin in the 4th in favor of Beverly bc he passes the eye test.
ReplyDeleteThat is all. Nothing new here, carry on.
I love this site but I am sorry it's almost unbearable to read after every poor Lin game. There was less whining and more real basketball talk when Lin was the 12th man. :-(
ReplyDeleteit's easier to be hopeful when he's the 12th man and any minute on the court is a celebrations VS how he's used as a scapegoat now.
DeleteSo shouldn't we, as fans, get more perspective that barely a year ago we would celebrate when Lin just got to get on the court in garbage time?
DeleteI mean if you want to look at and support a player who consistently dominates, maybe lebronjames.net or kevindurant.com would be more situable, no?
Personally, I think Lin gets a lot of love on here and posters still dissect and discuss his game. It's only been bad recently bc certain members keep calling each other trolls/lin haters.
DeleteI do miss eric, wifflewiffle and via's videos and thread guidance though.
DeleteUgh, I had no problem with the calling out, instead I had more problem with folks around here who called for Lin to become more selfish, to demand trade or even to tank games. I just wonder why those folks became Lin fans at 1st place. I mean if you like those acts, shouldn't you be be a fan of Carmelo Anthony or Dwight Howard instead of Lin? Their acts and huge stats would satisfy you more instead Lin's, no? Shouldn't we, as fans, love Lin as who he is instead of who you think he should be?
DeleteI love Lin but everyone thinks differently...you can't control what they say online. It is what it is.
Delete@Cara:
DeleteA year ago -> January 2012. You joined March 2012 :) At least thats what the blog profile says... :)
Anyway - people want to see progress. People thought that Linsanity was Lins breakthrough. To see him getting treated the way he does is just awefull.
BTW - I dont think Lin would ever tank games. He would also not talk trash about his teammates. So - I would never compare him to Melo (though Im not hating on Melo).
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteJeremy DOES consistently dominate...when he's allowed to play point guard.
DeleteSeriously, there have been maybe two games this season where he's handled the ball regularly and failed to put up All-Star caliber numbers.
That's what's so frustrating. He just needs to run the offense and get lots of high picks. Maybe even touch the ball twice on a possession! No, I'm too greedy...
I love this site. I stay here to celebrate Jeremy, win or lose. what I hate are the trolls who come here, but at least their number is tolerable. if I want to pound a Lin hater,I go to Yahoo since there are tons of Lin cockroaches there.
DeleteDitto to that IsabeliJane.
DeleteOne thing i've noticed, Finch is always with Lin. Talking, practicing, communicating. You rarely see him having conversations with Sampson or the other assts.
ReplyDeleteIf he's Mchale's successor, hope this is a good thing.
Who knows. Maybe they are just playing clueless cop, mean cop and good cop.
DeleteYou know... the good cop is usually just there to make people believe hes on your side. Agenda? Unknown...
BTW
Deletewho made those Lin comics? Im talking -> avenge list. I would like to ask that person to make a comic about the coaches. Make it threee monkeys. One with his eyes covered, one with his ears covered, one with his mouth covered. Or monkey see and monkey do. That would be hilarious.
McHale on Lin: 'You have some ups and downs'- from csnhouston
ReplyDeleteKevin McHale downplayed Jeremy Lin's fourth quarter benching in the Rockets' last game against the Bobcats.
"Jeremy's OK," McHale said. "Jeremy's a young guy who's been up and down before. He's a young fellow. You have some ups and downs and that'll be the case with a lot of young guys. No big deal. Things are fine."
James Harden was also asked about Monday's game, when it was Patrick Beverley, not Lin, running the point the entire fourth quarter of the Rockets win.
"It's not just Jeremy," Harden said. "But it's a lot of our guys. Myself as well. We've got to bring each other in. We went through a tough stretch, so everybody kind of put their heads down a little bit. And being that this is a new role for me, I've got to do a better job of leading these guys and telling them that this is a game. Everybody goes through stretches. We've got to figure out a way to get out of it."
Lin did not speak with reporters on Tuesday.
Actually it was not Beverley running the point, it was Harden running the point with Beverley being the SG.
DeleteDoes mchale really believe what he's saying? is he really not seeing what everyone else is seeing? that the system has changed a little since the winning streak and he's gotta tweak things a bit to get jeremy more involved? he always says the same thing "jeremy is okay. jeremy is fine" but i wonder if he's ever said to himself - how can i help him to be more consistent so he doesn't have so many ups and downs...
DeleteNuggets-Rockets Preview - from csnhouston
ReplyDeleteIt's been an ugly new year so far for the Houston Rockets.
They snapped a seven-game losing streak with an ugly win in Charlotte on Monday and were finally back on their own practice floor Tuesday after playing nine of their first 12 games of 2013 on the road.
Where to begin?
The Rockets (22-21) averaged 115.8 points during a five-game winning streak Dec. 31-Jan. 8. They've averaged only 94.1 points in the eight games since, and lead the league in turnovers (16.5 per game) heading into Wednesday's game against Denver.
Coach Kevin McHale doesn't see the offense as the Rockets' most glaring issue at the moment. Houston also ranks last in points allowed (103.2 points per game), and fixing the defense is McHale's most immediate priority.
"That's been a concern," McHale said. "The offense is going to come and go, we've missed a lot of shots during this stretch and we've had a lot of turnovers. But we've got to tighten up defensively."
That won't be easy against the Nuggets (25-18), who have averaged 104.0 points in winning four straight against the Rockets - three in Houston. Denver is one of the league's highest-scoring teams at 103.1 points per game, and is coming off a 121-118 overtime win Sunday against Oklahoma City.
"We did fight through a lot of adversity," forward Kenneth Faried told the team's official website. "It helped being at home because we really had our confidence going. Guys kept fighting. What can I say? The team played really well. This is a confidence-booster right now."
There's been little confidence surrounding the Rockets lately. Following a 117-109 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last week, forward Chandler Parsons bluntly evaluated the Rockets' defense.
"There's no excuse for guys just getting blown by or getting just dominated," Parsons said. "Man up, play better."
Houston then dropped games at Dallas, Indiana and Minnesota, a skid that culminated in a players-only meeting over the weekend. The Rockets won 100-94 in Charlotte by outscoring the Bobcats 26-13 in the final quarter - a glimpse of the kind of defense they need to play.
"When we don't get stops, it doesn't allow us to get out on transition, where we're best," Parsons said. "It should start on the defensive end, all of us, individually and collectively. Focus in on that."
McHale said Houston's defensive improvement has to start down low. Center Omer Asik is having a solid first season in Houston, averaging 10.3 points and 11.0 rebounds. But he's averaging only 1.1 blocks, and the Rockets lack any shot-blocking presence to scare off opponents.
"You've got to start off by protecting the paint," McHale said. "The best way to protect the paint is having two 7-foot-2 guys who can block shots all over the place. That's hard to find, so the next best way is to find bodies. We've got to put bodies in the paint and we've got to keep people out, we've got to take away layups and we've got to get defensive rebounds."
That's a difficult proposition against Denver, which leads the league in second-chance points (17.0 per game), offensive rebounds (14.0) and points in the paint (56.4) largely thanks to Faried. He had 16 points and 16 rebounds - nine offensive - in the Nuggets' 93-87 win in Houston on Nov. 7.
James Harden struggled in that loss, shooting 5 of 15 and committing six turnovers. He was the last Rocket on the floor Tuesday, pouring in one 3-pointer after another after shooting 25.0 percent - 14.8 from long distance - during Houston's trip.
The Rockets have 12 games remaining before the NBA's All-Star Weekend comes to town. They seemed upbeat after Tuesday's practice, but Harden acknowledged that the young team's confidence was damaged by the recent slide.
DeleteDifferent from his days in Oklahoma City, Harden feels like everyone is looking to him for leadership.
"We've got to bring each other in," Harden said. "We went through a tough stretch, so everybody kind of put their heads down a little bit. Being that this is a new role for me, I've got to do a better job of leading these guys and telling them that this is a game, everybody goes through these stretches. We've got to figure a way to get out of it."
If they want to start that upward climb Wednesday, they'd do well to devise a plan to contain Ty Lawson. Denver's point guard has scored at least 20 points in all four contests during the Nuggets' series winning streak.
"There's no excuse for guys just getting blown by or getting just dominated," Parsons said. "Man up, play better." i wonder who he's thinking about when he said this... harden? or just the whole team in general?
Deleteby the way, i think their individual defensive play is okay, but their team defense sucks, particularly at defending the pick and roll. and that's on coaching. hope they practices some of that yesterday.
well I hope they have dinner before they play against Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala, and Kenneth Faried
ReplyDeleteDid a dinner snap Rockets’ losing streak? - from csnhouston
The Rockets’ losing streak stopped at Seven.
Sure, that just happens to be the number of games the Rockets lost in a row before they beat the Bobcats in Charlotte on Monday afternoon. Before that, they hadn’t won since Jan. 8 against the Lakers.
But more important than the number seven, was the restaurant Seven. That was the rather appropriately named spot in downtown Minneapolis, the host city to the Rockets’ seventh straight loss, where the team full of young players talked openly about their problems and how to correct them.
“We were just trying to wash down that loss,” said newcomer Patrick Beverley, who joined the Rockets during the losing streak. “It was a real relaxed atmosphere. We just talked about what we needed to do to get better.”
At that dinner, the Rockets talked about what had been going wrong during the win streak that lasted well over a week. They also talked how to correct their mistakes.
It wasn’t some formal team meeting, not quite. It was just a dinner between teammates, friends, all trying to right the ship.
“It was open,” second-year forward Chandler Parsons said on Tuesday after practice. “If you have something to say, say something to your teammate. If you don’t think this guy is doing something right. We left it all out there and I think it’s good. Nobody’s hiding anything and the film doesn’t lie. We see who needs to do what and where we need to get better at. I think it’s good to get it all out there and speak your mind.”
Before the losing streak, the Rockets had won 10 of 12 to boost their record to 21-14. The seven-game slide has them hanging at .500 before they beat the Bobcats on Monday.
But after that hot stretch, the seven-game losing streak was hard to swallow. The Rockets' seven-game losing streak was their longest since 2006. They haven't lost more than seven in a row since 2001, when they lost 15 in a row. That was the longest streak since the team moved to Houston in 1971.
“When you lose games, it’s really a magnifying glass to what you’re doing wrong,” Parsons said. “Sometimes when you’re winning games, you overlook those things. So I feel like on the streak we had an opportunity to look ourselves in the mirror and say, ‘man, I’m not doing this. I’m not doing that.’ And I got 14 guys calling you out about it. That puts your back against the wall and it gets you in the right mindset, like, ‘man, these guys need me. I need to do my job.’”
So how important was the dinner meeting between teammates? Well, Patrick Patterson said he didn’t even remember the dinner specifically when asked about it on Tuesday but he said he was sure he was there. He joked there wasn’t anything else to do in Minnesota.
But Parsons said the dinner was important for the team. After all, the Rockets are a team full of young players. Even James Harden, who is the squad’s leader, is just 23. And he’s still getting used to his new role.
“We went through a tough stretch so everybody put their heads down a bit,” Harden said. “Being that this is a new role for me, I have to do a better job of leading them and telling them that this is a game, everybody goes through tough stretches. We have to figure out a way to get out of it.”
Whether through leadership, coaching, sheer luck or a team meal, the Rockets finally snapped their losing streak on Monday. Patterson called the win “ugly” and Harden said it wasn’t a good win. But it counted. And it might have started around a dinner table in Minneapolis.
“It’s big,” Parsons said about the dinner. “We’re going to go through tough times together, we’re going to go through great times together. Being such a young team. Being inconsistent sometimes is gonna hurt and sometimes that can pull a team together and it’s almost like teams get numb to losing and it doesn’t bother them as much and I think with us, it’s going to hurt us more to lose than it does us good to win.”
Harden is not ripe to be a leader yet. Though he is there best player and have to shoulder the burden, he's still a young buck himself. The Rockets need veterans. There's no way around it.
DeleteSeems like the dinner was just a hate fest for Lin since the end result still the same or even worst. Jeremy keep having less and lesser role in Rokcets
DeleteThis is a young team nevertheless. Whether or not JLin is playing in the right system or his coach(s), teammate(s) hates on him or not, one thing we all need is some adjustments but the scheme and philosophy will remain unchanged. Since the Rockets lack practice time on the road to make the adjustments and practice them, lets just see if there any improvements. Lets pay particular attention on whether the Rockets can fortify the interior. How easy will the Nuggets get rebounds and score in the paint, even little Ty Lawson if he's getting penetration easily. Lets see if Paterson can hold off or block out Fareed for rebounds, it's gonna be tough task. Lets see how active everyone else are in the passing lanes. Lets see if their hands are active and attempt to deflect balls and create turnovers that lead to fastbreak points. George Carl will have his team do all the little things, and you can bet on that.
Delete1) I like James Harden as a player. It's not his fault for doing what the coaching staff is asking him to do. I do NOT think that he's selfish, just that he's taking on more than he's capable of chewing, and it may or may not be by choice. He, like our homeboy Lin, can be destined for greatness if given the right tutelage, say, under someone like Sloan or Popovich.
ReplyDelete2) I like Patrick Beverley. Despite him having yet to prove anything, he's an inspirational story not too dissimilar to Lin, and brings energy and positivity to a team plagued by the coaching staff's toxicity. Let's hope he turns the atmosphere, instead of the other way around.
3) I like TD. He was never jealous or apprehensive of Lin's success. In fact, he showed a lot of class by openly praising Lin's performance, despite having lost almost all of his PT to Lin. Despite his limitation on defense due to size, he has my respect both as a player as well as a person.
4) I dislike McHale as a coach, for he is an incompetent coach in terms of adjusting play to the opposing teams tactics (pretty evident in the 7 losses), and what's more, a stubborn fool who cares more about not eating crows (trying to prove he was in the right to get rid of Lin in 2011) than the benefits of the team.
4) I HATE Sampson, I think he's a fool, a double-faced snake and a racist just like SAS. Benching Lin for Q4 AND OT shows his distrust, and not to mention disrespect, for Lin. That is not the mark of a good leader in any profession. Jp's insights from the Bobcat's game certainly reaffirm this.
1) Sloan will be a great choice and great for JLin. Unfortunately, he doesn't play the style the owner would want. Damn, I love Stockton and Malone. They're my best players after Magic/Kareem/Worthy/Cooper/B.Scott.
Delete2) I like Bev too, but he still needs to be proven. I think what Bev did against the Cats isn't the reason JLin got benched. It's soley JLin's mediocre play that got him benched. Bev was playing mediocre as well, but the dynamics of the team was different when he was in it instead of JLin. So when McHale said he kept Bev in the game because it was what worked, I got what he was saying.
3) TD is human nevertheless. He was probably jealous that Jlin was doing well in NY, but it's just how you approach it. You can admit that you're not as good and take it like a man, or beat on a dead horse and be a little punk about it. Apparently, TD has the right approach and I laud him for that. TDs benching has nothing to do with his lack of size on defense.
4) McHale's adjustment was obviously bouncing off his players because they're a young bunch. They need practice time to fully adjust as it seems, such as the proper rotations on defense. Nevertheless, the Rockets players still has glaring deficiencies and McHale lack an eloquent playbook so he rather rely heavily on players to write his playbook.
Bev's mediocre play should be called just that because he's the third string. I don't want to call JLin's play mediocre, but as a starter he's gotta show me more. So if JLin and Bev are indifferent during the course of the game, but Bev is winning out there with the team for absolutely no reason, you just let him play. It's not exactly the spark McHale was looking for, but it just worked out enough for what a desperate coach needs.
Delete1) I also like Harden as a player. And you can't beat that beard. He can certainly score, but he takes too many shots. So when he's off, as he has been during the losing streak, the team suffers. There's too much isolation and 1-on-1 play from him. When he gets the ball, guys just clear space to let him operate and give him passing angles as needed. Not a great half-court scheme in my opinion. I'd like to see more team ball in general from this Houston team.
Delete2) I like Beverley, too. I disagree with many on this blog who thinks he's just okay. I think he's actually played quite well since being called up. He can shoot it. And he plays hard. He may come down to earth once other teams scout his strengths and weaknesses, but so far, I'd say he is an above-average PG off the bench. He reminds me of John Lucas who provided energy off the bench for D.Rose the last 2 years before signing a nice contract with Toronto.
3) TD has had a good year, especially considering the coaches in New York gave up on him last year during JLin's meteoric rise. Too bad about him getting benched though. His play didn't warrant it. But Beverley has played well. Maybe TD will get playing time again if he or Bev is traded for a 4 as the press keeps saying the Rockets need to do.
4) Yeah, I don't think McHale is a very good coach. I've only begun watching the Rockets during this season because of the JLin signing. I've harped on this before on this blog. This team's defense totally sucks and that's on the coaches more than the players. Mind you, I live in Chicago so I get to watch the NBA's best defensive team play quite often. And it's like night and day on the defensive end. Coaches who value defense instill a defensive mindset in the players AND train the players on defensive principles like rotations, when to help, body positioning, dealing with screens etc. I see none of that with this Houston team. Again, that's on the coaches.
5) I have said this before. Kelvin Sampson is a slime ball. He became an NBA coach after basically running two major NCAA programs into the ground because of a ton of recruiting violations. Indiana has finally fully recovered, but it took something like 8 years. Does it mean he can't coach? Of course not. He can coach. Does it mean he is a low-character guy? Yes.
John Lee: Agree with all the points you made. Thank you.
DeleteI just want to add that this team has a lot of raw talent, diamonds in the rough.
Potentially, a lot of careers could meet their demise in Houston because of the coaches' incompetence.
If the starter and third string are playing mediocre, then the starter should still be in the game to play through his mistakes and build end of game chemistry with his teammates. I'm with most, rational fans when they say that the back up or third string shouldn't be playing crucial/end of game minutes or more minutes than the starter unless they're significantly outperforming the starter.
DeleteLin stepped it up in the second half, contained Walker in the 3rd and the team was gelling; then he gets taken out for Beverly. Who's to say that he wasn't going to improve in the 4th as well? He did it in the 3rd, why wouldn't he carry over that intensity into the 4th? When a player is given the opportunity to play though his mistakes, he usually plays better as the game progresses. Lin has said this more than once.
Oh well, Goooo Rockets!
I hope Jeremy go back to having fun. Do his best and leave the rest to God, including coaching decision. Every little thing he does is getting scrutinized with hundreds of comments on multiple sites, so this young man is under tremendous pressure. I just pray that Jeremy will go out every game and have fun. Play his game to the best of his ability and let God handle the minutes and the outcome.
ReplyDeleteGodspeed Jeremy!
Well said!
DeleteIt's comforting to know that that JLin's taking everything in stride.
DeleteLook at his FB status - "Be still and know that I am God!" Psalm 46:10
What a character!
Howard Chen @ho_chenCSN
ReplyDeleteLin: McHale says defensive aggressiveness something for him to improve. Obv tuff to sit out 4th, but important thing is team won. #RedNation
----------------------
While JLin can stay step-by-step with quick guards, he needs to apply defensive pressure. That's what I've been saying all along, so I agree.
Such as when JLin gets picked, he's needs to turn on the turbo and get back to his guy. JLin can't stop everyone, noone can, but he does lack in this regard somewhat.
DeleteSuch as JLin needs to get in the grill of opposing PGs more often. Take away any breathing room, especially when your team is down. JLin can't constantly give his opposition too much space/room to operate.
DeleteJlin has the quickness to put pressure but he doesn't do it much. JLin is a nice guy and perhaps the reason he's too respectful on the court. You gotta bring out the nastiness, Isiah Thomas needs to give JLin some pointers.
DeleteAggressive D can easily get guys into foul trouble though. You don't need to care about fouls if you are a backup, but not as okay for a starter who presumedly play big minutes.
DeleteNo problem with this feedback.
DeleteI've seen Lin got up close to Westbrook and forced him to go left or right earlier in the season. Lin gave more room to Kemba in the last game making it easier for Kemba to go to his screener. I didn't see if Beverley did a better job with Kemba?
Hopefully Harden gets the same message on defense, especially being the leader to lead by example. No excuses of preserving energy on offense by playing lax on defense.
Racha, i disagree with jlin being a nice guy as a reason for not playing pressure D. i just think that's his style of playing D and the coaching is wants him to change that. i see a conflict of defensive philosophy here..
Deletemaybe lin is stubborn and doesn't believe that showing defensive aggressiveness like toney D (waving his arms around and putting pressure on ball handler) is effective. i mean, after all, if you look at his defense stats, they're actually quite good. maybe he doesn't feel a need to do that but rather play the passing lanes and help defense to get steals that lead to fast breaks?
Racha,This is where JLin needs support from his coaches and team. First, if he is aggressive with pressure D and picks up 2 quick fouls he is out. Next, if he gets beat off the dribble, not much help comes. It's even worse on the PnR, no hedge or help. Also, it's hard to play 33-35min. going 100% on D. If you are a backup, you're expected to come in and play aggressive D for 15-20min. I hardly ever see Harden doing what they expect JLin to do all the time. Lastly, what happened to playing JLin when Harden isn't in? He should play 10 min. without Harden and have Bev or TD guard the PG position, especially if its a quick pg who is getting multiple picks set for him. This would help JLin conserve some energy for offense, ala Harden.
DeleteJLinfan#1, I agree with your assessment. About the aggressive D and getting fouled, I mainly point out that when the team is down JLin should pick up the intensity a bit more. I understand it's not practical to push it 100% on defense the whole game, but JLin should pick his spots to crank it up--I mean the in your face kind of defense. As for Harden, I don't even really want to talk about him cause I don't care, but he's a problem on defense too. I focus on JLin because I want to see him get better.
DeleteAs for staggering the playing time, JLin and Harden were playing like that before the losing streak. So I believe it was McHale trying to make adjustments in terms of shuffling up the substitution pattern and lineup simply to try and find a spark and something that worked.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYou careless to talk about harden then why you care about how people talk about harden? In one thread u mention how u fed up with people blaming harden and that post is what get u and willy into oral fight. Don't ask me to quote which game thread, cause I can't remember which game, but you can go back and find it urself。I am sure I did not randomly point at you for that. It's there. As a matter of fact, can't just talk about lin without talking his teammates. They are a team. Their play affect each other's play and role.
DeleteWow, do people on here understand defense or how to defend ball screens? It's not all on Lin.
DeleteI'm with JLinfan#1's assessment. Out of all the things Lin needs to work on, his D is not the biggest issue or concern that needs to be addressed.
This is so sad, it's amusing.
Racha, have you ever played b-ball in a competitive environment?
Delete@Racha,
ReplyDeleteI rarely read your comments because I've found that you have little to contribute here. But I saw one of your comments on the last thread and it reminded me why I don't read your comments.
You claimed that Lin has glaring holes in his his game such as being a poor shooter, not having freakish athleticism, and not being good 1-on-1.
One of these is half wrong and two of them are foolishly wrong, as I've come to expect from your posts.
1. The half wrong one: Lin is not a good spot up shooter, it's true. On the other hand, he is an elite shooter off the dribble when he is playing true point guard. Last year, the only year for which we have numbers for him playing true point guard, he was 3rd in the NBA in shooting percentage off the dribble.
2. Lin doesn't have "freakish athleticism". Um, not only did he test out with approximately equal over all athleticism as Derrick Rose, John Wall, and Kyrie Irving at the NBA combine tests, he had a faster first step than each of them. The first step is used to gain an advantage on almost every play in basketball, unlike, for example, the rare running two-footed vertical. So, Lin's relevant athleticism is certainly freakish.
Moreover, I've seen folks on here try to claim that the combine tests don't match what they're seeing with their eyes, so the tests must be wrong. Luckily, we have verification: Morey has accelerometers attached to the players' practice jerseys and said in an interview that Lin has the highest acceleration they've ever measured.
It's frankly bizarre that you could have watched Lin slice and dice defenses all last year, get to the rim with ease despite being a relative poor ball handler, and not understand that athleticism is the root of his talent.
3. Not being good 1-on-1: What a sand-poundingly stupid claim. Last year, again the only year for which we have data for Lin as a true point guard, he was 3rd in the entire NBA in points per play in isolation. He was elite as a one-on-one player, statistically. The reason he was and is elite as a one on player is because of his freakish first step.
So, anyway, you're an idiot. Why do you post here?
I read similar posts in CL from Torocan who posts some interesting stats citing some of the above, especially number 1 and number 3. Someone asked him if number 3 is indeed true, why is it that Lin's ISO (1 on 1) stat is terrible this year, and I think some others said perhaps it was due to the fact that other Rockets players are not as good as Rockets' players in terms of being suitable for Lin and not supportive, but then, don't you think any decent NBA PG would do really well with supportive and good players fitting his style of play? I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAs to number 2, I assume it was dribbling to his right, not left, correct? I like to get accurate facts, because sometimes even so called facts can be misleading. Also, I thought Morey said Lin had the highest deceleration and acceleration among the team players, not ever measured? It's hard to get accurate facts without some links to what Morey said exactly. Does anyone have the links? I always wanted to verify these things actually, and what kinds of tests were used also. I know Lin is quick because when he dribbles on break-aways, no one can catch him even when they are running without the ball. But the funny thing is I don't see the same quickness when Lin is defending someone -- must be different types of quickness. Lin would have made a good tennis player; he got the right height also.
Delete
Delete1. All I mentioned was his spot up shooting was problematic, when did I say anything else about shooting off the dribble? LOL, relax. Also, you don't need to be the PG to be able to shoot off the dribble. You can achieve that whether you're a PG or not. Also, lets not forget when he shoots off the dribble, they are close range shots such as floaters, short fade aways, and generally short shots.
2. Freakish athleticism, um, emboddies more than just quickness. JLin DOES NOT have the 1-on-1 skills as a Rose, Wall, Irving. Your digging too hard. I do agree JLin's comparable, if not better in terms of quickness.
3. If 1-on-1 is a standout of JLin's talent, he wouldn't have been overlooked as much as he did. You must have forgotten at the combine, JLin also played 1-on-1 and other exercises to test out his talent. He admitted he wasn't a 1-on-1 guy but a guy that plays 5-on-5. You can sensationalize all you want, but it's simply not true. JLin's 1-on-1 mostly occurs when he has a mismatch in which he uses his first quick step and cross over move to get free and blow by against opposing "bigs" and occasionally on certain backcourt. JLin's biggest asset in terms of 1-on-1 play is his quick first step and that's true and we all know that, but that's not all you need to play 1-on-1.
Gets your facts straight before you step up. Next.
I agree that Lin is not a one on one player. Anyone can see that if Lin played even Smith of Knicks, Smith would win probably 11 to 5 or similar scores. However, I think Lin would beat Parsons maybe in one on one. He would lose to Harden definitely, and he would hold his own against TD or Bev. He would get destroyed on one on one against Kyrie, Jrue, just as Nash would. For example, in soccer, being fast on dribble does not translate into "freakish athleticism". Everything needs to combine, speed, quickness, body control, mental fortitude, jumping ability, court vision, strength, etc. Not saying Lin is not athletic; obviously he is probably more athletic than Calderon. But to me, Calderon is also a fine PG even though he does not look all that quick. Now, Rubio, he may not test super quick in combine tests, but to me, when he dribbles, he is darn quick. One thing I have to give to Rubio is that he's got good ball control and passing ability, but his overall shooting is really bad. How can Rubio's shooting be so bad, just don't understand.
DeleteBy the way, for All-Star game, it would be really fun to have one on one contests among NBA players, one from own team -- I would watch that.
DeleteWow, great information, thanks Michael Terry.
DeleteThis season he seems a lot more hesitant on attacking, I think a lot of us attributed to him just looking for his teammates instead of attacking first, but he gives up easy points sometimes just so he can hand it off...Why is that?
He does have problems with spot up shots, but there are times where he just sinks 3-4 in a row. Do you think it may be better for him to score a few off the dribble first to get into rhythm?
I won't get into the personal issues, but I do completely agree with Michael Terry's basketball analysis.
DeleteALL of Lin's on court problems are attributable to TANKING TEAMMATES.
In the NBA, there is no such thing as true "isolation" basketball. An iso play still needs 4 other guys to at least move out of the way. Jeremy Lin does not have that, yet he roasts opponents anyway.
Lin's teammates often refuse to come to the ball and refuse to catch his passes. They'll do that for Douglas and Beverley, but not Lin. MORE TANKING.
What shocks me this year is how easily Lin can beat opponents off the dribble and score. But not even Lin can score when his teammates are playing defense on Lin by standing in Lin's driving lanes and refusing to catch Lin's bailout passes.
I don't know what to think anymore. Sometimes its just blatantly obvious: Asik clogging lanes, Morris not making the effort to catch a pass, Asik dropping the ball even though it was basically put in his hands.
DeleteOnly person that was somewhat helpful was 2PAT...He'd actually clear lanes on occasion for Lin to drive, and he does it for Parsons as well. But he doesn't do it often enough.
Only person that works well with him is Parsons, but then again Parsons isn't that good to begin with.
What gets me the most is the not setting picks for him when he asks for one. I wonder what changed, they were more receptive before.
Patterson tanks like the rest of 'em.
DeleteHarden isn't tanking on Lin. They've actually played very well together, and nowadays they're both struggling together. Ironically, Harden is the only player who will set a pick for Lin!
Toney Douglas is definitely on Lin's side. Chandler Parsons too. That seems to be it among the rotation regulars.
I've seen Harden set pick for Lin only once. Albeit, it was a fantastic pick. He looked like he's protecting his quarterback. He completely stopped the defensive player in his tracks. Hope Harden can do that more often.
DeletePlease don't turn this thread into a, who hates who more. Reloading this website it hard enough, please don't make the reloading longer with your back and forth.
DeleteInteresting read from Jeremy:
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin's take on the current downturn
Definitely a must read to see what Lin wants to focus on being consistently aggressive on defense. Good for him!
DeleteBeing a scorer, the tendency is to get discouraged and inconsistent on offense and defense when his first few shots did not work due to blocks, fatigue, or intimidating shotblockers. Also, not handling the ball so much.
"(It starts with) being more of a pest on defense,” he said following this morning’s shootaround. “For me, it’s just finding a way to be effective every game and to be consistent. One of our weaknesses, one of my weaknesses, is just the inconsistency of everything.”
Lin continued by saying he can actually take several things from having watched Beverley’s performance on the defensive end. He labeled his new teammate a “spark” while adding that Beverley’s hyper aggression on defense has been huge for a team that can too often be passive and tentative on that end of the floor."
Lin just needs to continue to develop by playing aggressively on offense and defense even when he does not hold the ball most of the time. I'm confident it will pay off in the future. I'm sure he's frustrated because he knows he can do so much more but he can't get too discouraged and make the most of his opportunity.
“As a point guard, the last person that needs to get going is the point guard,” he said. “But you know it’s different, too, because I’m also a scorer. I think, for me, what I just want to do is be aggressive, period, and just play-make and just let the game and their defense dictate what plays are going to be made; it could be an assist, or a hockey assist or it could be a shot."
DeleteTHIS is why i believe he doesn't usually get going until 2nd half, and why he looks to pass and get others involved rather early on in the game. he believe, and rightly so, that for the TEAM to win, everyone on the teams needs to get into a flow and be involved and find their rhythm, and it's on HIM to make sure that happens. james harden can't do it because it's HIS job to look to score first as a SG. and because harden is the best scorer on the team, he should be the one that gets going first, with others following behind, the last being jeremy. and that's why we see a lot of bringing up the ball and dumping to harden to get him going and get him warmed up.
this all makes sense now... the question is - do you agree with this approach? jeremy's numbers will suffer, most definitely. and we won't see him mentioned as top PG in the league, etc.. even though he has the talent to be that.
At least, Lin knows he's being inconsistent. I hope Lin continues to be a pest for Mac and decides to take 15 shots per game. My way of thinking is if Lin can score points, why play D hard? Just be like Harden.
Deletefighton1999, I understand what Lin is saying, but he can only get others going when he has the ball in his hands. The current system doesn't even allow Lin to get others going. So no, if he continues to think like this, we are going to be seeing a lot of what happened in Bobcats game. But as everyone here pointed out, Lin is not being played like a PG, so how the heck is he supposed to what he says he should do?
DeleteBesides, I don't think he's being all that honest talking to Rocket's writer. He probably says what we are saying in private to his brothers. This is more like propaganda.
DeleteNice read, he's echoing what many critical posters here have been saying.
Delete@eb5 a blog post about jlins speed with sources: http://wordzhavemeaning.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/jeremy-lin-is-one-of-the-fastest-in-the-league/
Deletewilc, let me read it and see if I have any thoughts. By the way, I think we have to cool it with name calling. At least, I think I never called anyone an idiot.
Deletetiming timing. rockets simply want to shoot down some fans' concerns using Lin's words. Bev probably is the most consistent player now in this team. lol.
Deletehttp://thebamboxscore.com/2012/02/29/more-linsights/
DeleteDoes anyone know the sprints they conducted are with ball or without ball?
I agree with snowywbl, this is the propaganda at its best.
DeleteI second that. I may or may not agree with Racha, or anyone else, on the points made, but everyone is entitled to a perspective and an opinion, even if it is critical. As long as the critism is not made in a derogatory or insulting way, I'm OK with any and all of them, as a differing opinion opens up blind spots and new possibilities in a discussion. Name-calling is always counterproductive, and not to mention juvenile, in any forum consisting of civilized adults.
DeleteI think Jeremy has the right attitude to focus the comments on himself and focus on fixing the things that he can control. However, what is out of his control is when he get aggressive on offense, miss some shots, get block, or not get a foul call, the coaches take him out of the game. Or when his teammates can't catch a perfectly good pass. Or when there is not help on defense. (Kyle Irvine scored 40 on Rondo yesterday.) Or when the spacing, movement, and structure are horrible on the offense.
DeleteLike my last comment, Jeremy should just have fun and play his game the best he can. Leave the results to God.
I think this a damage control mission for the rockets. They know the spotlight is on the coaches and how they are running the team.also I think les has warned McHale again abt his antics with lin.the poster who went the game and gave their observation has gone viral. I am waiting for the headline, is Jeremy being treated fairly by the Rockets coaches.LOL
DeleteI'm pretty sure we have had this discussion about defense when Jlin was benched in the fourth earlier in the season. Some posters justified the benching by pointing out TD was playing more aggressive D. I saw TD was playing good D and looked more energetic but I did not think it was more effective. Even if more effective it was marginally so.
DeleteI think the same observations apply here with PB. I observed after last game that JLin can be more aggressive by closing the space between him and Kemba when the pick is coming. JLin did make this adjustment in the third. PB was pressuring the ball whenever he was on the floor and this seems like his natural D style. More importantly however for slowing down Kemba in the second half was Asik hedging and trapping, and not so much the PG play. PB on at least two plays in the fourth was blown by on pnr plays in a even worse fashion than JLin. JLin at least didn't get tripped up like PB.
I think JLin can put more on ball pressure. I want to see him try it, but at the same time I think it should only be in appropriate junctures of the game and not the whole game. It is too prone to defensive fouls, as PB demonstrated when he picked up three quick fouls in the third against the Wolves and almost got fouled out with five fouls despite playing only seventeen minutes. This is bad, unless the coach doesnt really mind the PGs getting into foul trouble, which might be true then since the PGs role seems easily replaceable in the system anyways.
Although Jlin can out more on ball pressure on the ball handler, there is uncertainty as to whether it will produce better defensive results. His current defensive approach is already producing good defensive results when he is on the floor, ranking second in defensive RAPM on the Rockets. (http://stats-for-the-nba.appspot.com/teams/HOU.html) On top of the uncertainty concern, there are others. There is the foul concern. There is also the fatigue concern.
I still like to see JlLin try it out, but perhaps not for all plays like TD or PB. Maybe do it at the beginning of the games and when teammates seem to get lazy.
"And once everyone’s touching it and feeling good, we’ve shown what we can do in terms of lighting up the scoreboard."
DeleteThis is democratic ball movement. Isn't it contradictory to Sampson's statement? Ho Ho.
wilc yep totally agree, Beverley seem to put more pressure on ball, but gawd he is awful at PnRs mainly cause he gets tripped up, his defense is comparable to TD imo, except he seems to be a lot more foul prone.
DeleteThey can start him all they want, he'll probably get in foul trouble every game.
I mean, its not as if Rockets doesn't have an issue with foul trouble :)
Darn, it must have something to do with me almost hitting the big four. Either that, or posting at work with constant interruptions. :) After making that list, I totally forgot to mention the point I meant to make.
ReplyDeleteJames Harden, even at age 23, simply cannot keep up the same lightening pace for ~39 minutes night in and night out. D'Antoni did that to Lin and resulted in torn meniscus. Granted that the African American physique is more robust than that of the average Asian, but that kind of wear and tear may very likely result in: 1) weakened immunity from exhaustion, leading to vulnerability to illnesses, and 2) reduction in precision control over muscles due to fatigue, which leads to 3) increased likelihood of injury. As much as I dredd Lin's predicament and Harden's unintentional involvement in it, I DO NOT want to see Harden injured, but that's what McHale is pushing for.
Something's got to give, unless Harden isn't human, he is going to break down at some point playing like this.
DeleteDefies logic that this is a team in development phase, eh? More like McFail tossing a hail mary pass and screw the players.
DeleteBTW, @Etane and I previously had a discussion about "not pointing fingers to blame others" (the Rocky line in one JLin youtube vid) for us and Lin when things don't go well at our workplace.
ReplyDeleteClearly JLin has less than ideal situation in HOU to perform well when his strength from last season (dominant PG ball-handler, great PnR partner w/ Tyson Chandler and more reliable 3PT shooter in Novak, etc.) are completely stripped with having to share the ball with Harden and no PnR partner. His coaches also want him to play in a system where he does not excel (spot-up 3PT shooter, no midrange jumpers). About the only thing that he got going is his ability to penetrate to the basket (when there are no shotblockers).
What should Lin do? If he's a regular NBA player, he would pout about his role and demand a trade to team where he would shine. But we all know he is no regular player. I expect him to seek what God's plan for him in HOU to make him fight to be an even better and stronger player and improve on his weakness. If it's no coincidence that he landed in NY last season, it is no coincidence he landed in HOU now.
HOU is just a training ground for Lin to be a tougher, stronger player mentally and physically. There will be tough times ahead in his young career. He still has not played a full NBA season yet (82 games).
We all have some tough times at work and life too. But if we're anything like what we admire in Lin, we won't complain and fight by blaming the system. Life is not fair and it doesn't mean we should blame others and stop fighting to learn our lesson.
I would liken Lin's story and our stories to the story of Joseph in the Bible. Joseph had a great beginning with a dream he would rule over his brothers and many people but then he got sold as slave, rose as a reliable assistant for an Egypt high-ranking officer (Potiphar), then jailed for refusing to be seduced and have an affair with the officer's wife, and finally rose to the 2nd in command in Egypt. Never once he wavered that God still has a plan for him during his ups and downs, even the bad things God used to strengthen him.
Lin has a choice to complain that life is unfair and blame God and others but so far he hasn't just like Joseph didn't. I hope and pray that he'll stay strong in his faith.
I hope we as Lin fans also keep the faith, not spend too much time and energy on our posts blaming others that we miss discussing what lessons Lin needs to learn. Life is not fair, what else is new? The real danger is to be too busy blaming others or Lin instead of focusing on what Lin needs to learn and do. I can complain all the time about how my boss or wife doesn't appreciate me at work or home but what good would it do? I need to spend time getting better (maybe boss, not wife)
So far he's doing the right thing to get better and not blame others. Are we?
I hope Lin would fulfill his potential as an All-Star in 3-4 years in HOU or other team but for now, I hope he thrives in a difficult situation which will make him a better player and even better person.
Disclaimer: I don't recommend Lin to be a doormat taking unfair criticism w/o fight but he can learn diplomatic ways around it (i.e. lobby coaches/teammates). Also, by no means I imply from Joseph's story that one of the assistant coaches' wife will seduce Lin. :)
Good post.
DeleteNice post psalm234, especially this line:
Delete"We all have some tough times at work and life too. But if we're anything like what we admire in Lin, we won't complain and fight by blaming the system. Life is not fair and it doesn't mean we should blame others and stop fighting to learn our lesson."
I meant to challenge psalm to come up with a positive note in one of my previous posts, but refrained. Sure enough, he found something convincing. Perhaps Lin should give Novak a call to find out who his shooting coach was before Steve became Novakane. If Lin start raining those three's, haters will turn around and even McHale and Sampson will find it hard to justify benching Lin.
DeleteWhich reminds me, there was a sig banner from RealGM Knicks member with D'Antoni's face on it that said "Become One with the Three, Grasshoppa!", how I'd love to see that same banner with McHale's face. LOL
I'm not going to blame Lin for his teammates' tanking.
DeleteIf there's one thing I've learned from being sabotaged by racist coworkers, it's that I refuse to be the scapegoat for their failings.
Y'all can blame Lin for his teammates' refusal to play with him if y'all want. I'm not gonna do that.
While I'm going to blame everybody else but Lin because he won't
DeleteIf someone is clearly sabotaging me, I'd make it known to my execs. If they don't do something about it I go straight to HR and let the lawyers deal with it.
DeleteIn fact what Lin is going through right now would be considered as harassment where I come from. Heads would roll.
Here's my honest take: the coaches are doing an extremely bad job at fostering a team environment. Singling out someone like they are doing without letting it known that EVERYONE is subjected to the same standards is bad for morale.
As a director any non team players in my team gets let go for not performing to expectations. I will not allow cancers in my team and if they don't improve from my improvement program they get let go.
But of course I guess none of this applies in bball...
Kenoshi, you must work for a good company because this kind of racial sabotaging is NORMAL.
DeleteI can't tell you how many times I've gone to superiors about this and they've come down on me. That's when I get MEAN.
These fool teammates want to sabotage Lin? Fine, then. Lin's leaving 'em out to flop away on their own. Just look at the poor power forward production that comes from biting Lin's hand that feeds them.
Lin is reaponding exactly the way I have when racist coworkers try to make me look bad.
Word. McHale should attend Popovich's School of Accountability. Sampson is beyond salvaging and should just be fired.
DeletePopovich DOES NOT hold guys accountable.
DeleteHe plays favorites and screams at his designated whipping boys.
Tim Duncan then goes over and soothes his teammates, holding them together. But don't cross Timmy.
Even Popovich cowers when Duncan puts his foot down.
Khuang, nothing personal but hopefully what I type here can be beneficial to you, but if you play the racial card as often as you do here in this forum, it's unlikely you will be taken seriously in fact will be construed as the cancer at your work place.
DeleteI remember after my very post in this forum, you called me a racist. (All I said was the posters here were complaining so much about Lin's game are sounding like typical Asian parents who are never satisfied with their kids).
I am sure you are more diplomatic in person than you are on this forum. So, don't want to call you out. But, I really hope you can successfully solve your situation with your employer if an HR issue ever arise again.
Thanks for the advice Etane, but NO.
DeleteIn real life, I've been challenged to physically fight by so many people. Reporting it did nothing and only encouraged my foes to attack. So I BEAT THEM INTO THE GROUND, and that worked.
No Etane, I am far less diplomatic in real life than I am on this forum. When people come after me especially to do physical violence, I meet them and their co conspirators head on. Plus I make a public spectacle of it too.
And you know what? IT WORKS.
I have excellent relations in my work, in my life, in everything. I repel the bad people out and the good ones stay. When people mess with me, I send a clear message that I'm no easy target. And when I have to, I'll administer whatever Whoopass my raciat foes are asking me to inflict on them.
By the way, Etane, I'm not going to reprise that bit of histoey between us. My advice for you is that even though I now know where you are coming from, there are a lot of Asians here who wouldn't. So lets let that incident drop because even I wouldn't be able to come to your defense on that one.
Psalm, thank you for your very considerate post.
DeleteHowever, I happen to be someone who has a very negative bias against most religions particularly Christianity. Nothing against spirituality, but the mentality resulting from religious institution trying to shape people's way of thinking is akin to sheep to the slaughter.
Take climate change deniers to benefits of stem cell research, the church has taken the position to deny human progress. Why? Power grab. They don't want to kow tow to science and risk looking weak to their followers.
Similarly, Lin can find solace in his faith that his "father" has plans for him. However, it would be to his benefit to have a plan B that when "cancer" is identified, it has to be treated as this is conducive to personal well being and the organization's achievement as addressed by Kenoshi.
Do we, if we found out we got cancer, simply pray or do we go get help? Cancer is real and so are people within organization that are caners. I don't see anything wrong with point fingers if you intend to do something about it.
However, if you don't intend to do something about it, then it may be best to be sheep. I hope Lin appears to be sheep as not to rock the boat but has plan B up his sleeves.
It would be interesting to see if Lin's teammates are intentionally tanking on him (i.e. setting screens) or they simply are bad (i.e. Asik with moving screens)
DeleteIf there are strong evidence that his teammates gladly set strong screen for TD/Beverley after Lin sits on the bench, then we have strong facts to back up the assertion.
KHuang, Melo did admit to tanking in NY mainly to get rid of D'Antoni's system which made Lin to be a savior in NY (The funny thing is he blossomed under D'Antoni system in the Olympics with CP3 as the PG so definitely jealousy played a part).
But I haven't made up my mind on his HOU teammates tanking on him. They could be simply incompetent in setting screens.
Are there plays in the Bobcats game or recent games to support this intentional Tanking?
Just curious, Khuang, when you were threatened physically, who did you report this to?
DeletePsalm, I was trying to figure out when is appropriate or inappropriate to point fingers. I guess I somehow figured that out in my reply to you. Thanks!
DeleteKHuang yeah I've worked for some seedy companies in the past where discrimination was obvious, I got up and left them for greener pastures, helps to be in demand as well. I'm from Callie and companies here are better about those type of things since labor laws are pretty much pro victim. Heck I got in trouble once for joking about Windows (since most of us are pro linux) and someone turned me in to HR for fostering a "hostile environment to Windows users".
DeleteWith my case I think it also helps since I don't really look your stereotypical Chinese, most people mistake me for Hispanic when I have a tan, I rock a full goat and short hair, I mean hispanics would come up to me and speak Spanish, and most Chinese are shocked when I speak fluent mandarin. Not that I try to look like another race, I just do and dress and act how I want, people don't like it I can care less :D
But I know what you mean had got into a lot of fights like you growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood. Gawd I hate it when some dumb white trash would call me "chung" or "ching-chong"...Wasn't long when people started calling me "Rocko" tho...Cause I hit like a rock lol :D
Most of the physical threats I received were within academia, and reporting them did no good back in the day. Decades later today, things are very different even though I've been long out of academia.
DeleteIt's just like how neighborhood kids would throw rocks through our family house's windows, burn dog poop on our front porch, and even assault my grandmother who is one very tough cookie and fought back. Today these would be prosecuted as "hate crimes", but the cops did nothing. Ironicaly, I unwittingly solved the problem as a child by respectfully saying hi to those kids. Once they realized that I was no different, they respected us and even played with us. Problem SOLVED.
Combatting racism takes many forms. It can range from physical violence to befriending people to bringing in outside sorurces, whatever works. In my adult life, I never let people target me without some sort of response coming back at them.
Lin is young and learning how to handle himself as a STRONG Asian American man. He'll figure it out, just as I and other Asian American men have.
I've seen quite a few times where Lin asks for a screen and they either ignore him or point to someone else.
DeleteBut Harden and TD asks for a screen they just get it.
Sucks right? But whatever.
How about people here blaming lin for not doing this, not doing that?
DeleteHow about people here blaming lin for not doing this, not doing that?
Delete@Kenoshi,
DeleteWho are these players refusing to set screen for Jeremy please?
Kenoshi, I am a solo entrepreneur.
DeleteMost people won't do business with me, but the few that do are of the highest quality. Plus, I've learned to ally myself with one of the greatest resources available to an Asian American man: Asian American WOMEN, particularly older ones who look out for their own kind!
In street dynamics, I have no trouble because I live in Phoenix and I'm racially invisible here. Back when I lived in NY, strangers would constantly curse me and pick fights and try to sabotage my work. At stop lights in my car, people would scream curses at me constantly. I always screamed right back, which actually shocked them into big happy grins most of the time!
In my life there have been two kinds of racists. One is the really bad kind who's usually more sociopathic or psychopathic than he is racist, though race is the weapon of his choice. Most of my bad wars have been fought against these types, and many are Asian racists too. But then there's the on the fence racist who will stick me to see what I'm made of, and a few good natured whoopings of those folks often turns them into my allies and friends!
Jeremy Lin is battling against teammates who don't think he is tough enough to survive in the NBA. Once he gets MEAN and starts banging those teammates around, things will get better. He just can't back down from people.
Morris and Asik mainly...Smith runs to him everytime, Delfino not so much, heck he ignores Lin most times except when Lin passes to him on transition then its all smiles. I've seen it with 2pat but he is usually cooperative, haven't seen Parsons turn him down but then again Parsons don't set picks all that much and well they got the bromance going, which may explain Harden, he's jealous of Parsons so he apparently is Lin's best pick setter...When he isn't asking for the ball lol :D
DeleteEtane, I don't fault you for having negative view on organized religion because many wolves in sheep clothing would misuse God's name for their personal gain. I'm a Christian but I'm not gullible to trust all people at church are sincere and can be trusted. I watch their actions on small things to see if they're for real. Watch out for those wolves.
DeleteYes, I agree that Lin needs to watch out for "cancers" to sabotage him in HOU. Is it tough love or discrimination? He needs a lot of wisdom to differentiate them. What I meant for fighting to learn is whether he stays aggressive, or talk to his teammates to set screens, lobby coaches for plays that will help him get going , etc. These are the things that he can do and should learn to do being a PG/floor general. If he's done all he can and receives discrimination then he should have Plan B to get out.
Note: As for stem-cell research, I support adult stem cell research (using own marrows) which generates more positive results than embryonic stem-cell research, which is mostly propaganda by cash-making abortion industry (i.e. $25 commision/abortion in 1983). Watch out for the money trail.
Besides, famous scientists (Galileo, Kepler, Pascal, Newton) are Christians who happened to had to fight the wrong establishment (the Roman Church at that time). My lesson is to watch out for those in power, religious or not.
Wow, Asik and Morris...Jeremy'd better watch out. Remember how well Tyson and Jeremy running pnr together in nyk and we thought they were buddies until Tyson turned on Jeremy and threw him under the bus after he left nyk. Asik and Morris are not even at the same level as Tyson. This shows how little respect they have for Jeremy and how bad the team teamwork is. No wonder the team's losing.
DeleteThanks Psalms 234 for all your postings. Great insights and wisdoms. Blessings to you.
Deletethanks, SC. I also learn so much from other posters here. God bless.
DeleteKhuang, thanks for sharing your back story.
DeleteRegarding Lin, he grew up about 15 minutes from where I grew up though about 15 years apart. I doubt he experienced much discrimination growing up until he didn't get any looks when applying for college.
Frankly, I had it good compared to what you went through. Most "discrimination" I get is around the office is people stereotyping me as the "numbers" guy since I am Asian. Works in my favor sometimes but not in others as my other aptitudes are downplayed also due to me being Asian.
At this moment, I doubt what Jeremy is going through is race related. McFail's circle is very small, and Jeremy just happen to not belong in it. True, Jeremy would probably get less negative attention had he been a tattooed up black kid from the ghetto like Chris Rock said. But, Sampson and McFail are in job protection mode not in keep Asian down mode.
I think this distinction/prognosis is a healthy one to make.
Psalm, a quick thank you for your reply and see you in the game thread!
DeleteThe solution for the Rockets is simple:
ReplyDeleteSTOP TANKING.
If the Rockets can set picks and play defense for Patrick Beverley, they can do the same for Lin.
Lin has been fighting his tanking teammates all season. He's often playing 1 on 9!
I don't agree with anybody who feels Lin needs to play "better". Any player in the NBA is going to look bad when his teammates are actively working against him.
I'll bet that Lin understands that his teammates are trying to knock him out. Lin will retaliate in the ways that Lin knows how to.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI think you are reading too much into the situation.
ReplyDeleteThese players just do what the coaches tell them to do, and they do what they should do, consistently or inconsistently, to stay on the court. When each play is going so fast on the court and with 24sec time limit, it is really difficult to make one of your teammate look bad. However, It is easier to pass the ball to someone and potentially make him look good.
Players don't miss shots intentionally so another person can't get the assist. They miss because they are not that good. Players don't miss defensive help intentionally. They do it because they are lazy, lack of skill, or not aware of their roles.
I am sure that there are some players who are really unprofessional, but they will eventually sit on the bench or not playing in the league. So I can't really see Jeremy's teammates are all working against him.
No I'm not "reading too much into the situation".
DeleteWe've been through this before with Lin.
Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks tanked on Lin. it looked exactly like it does now.
Beverley and Douglas get team play but Lin does not. TANKING.
Why is "TANKING" KHuang's favorite word?
ReplyDeleteBecause it describes what's happening as Lin's teammates on the Rockets refuse to play team ball, just like Lin's NY teammates also refuaed to play team ball with Lin.
DeleteYou gotta problem with that?
No, I don't have a problem with that. I disagree with you though.
DeleteI don't think Lin's teammates are refusing to play team ball specifically with Lin. Harden tends to suck up the ball and go 1-on-1 a lot--too much, I would say. But he does that no matter who he's playing with on this Houston team.
In New York, Lin handled the ball more than anyone else on that team during that 25 game stretch because he was the point guard in D'Antoni's offensive system that requires the PG to control the rock a ton. Yeah, you can call Carmelo Anthony a ball-hog or a selfish player, but he's like that with EVERYONE, not just Lin. But no one else on that NY team was really like that (except maybe J.R. Smith who never saw a shot he didn't like).
Fair enough.
DeleteOn the other hand, it's publicly known that Carmelo Anthony deliberately tanked games in otder to stop Linsanity. Everybody knows that because it's been amply reported in the press.
Different teammates, same circumstances, same refusal to play team ball with Lin but eagerness to play team ball with Beverley.
Any time teammates will play team ball with one point guard but not another, it's TANKING.
For this one, I am with KHuang. Then, what is the explanation that Beverly and Douglas get some significant portion of PNR but Lin seldom got one even if Lin requested one.
DeleteI read Anthony quotes about Lin's decision to sign with Houston that weren't very nice. But I didn't read anything that suggested he deliberately "tanked" games in order to stop Linsanity. Where did you read that?
DeleteHis teammates are playing just as well or just as poorly with Beverley as they are with Jeremy. I saw nothing to suggest there is any favoritism or exile among teammates during games.
In Charlotte, Jeremy was struggling on both ends of the floor. He had a bad game. It happens. Beverley guarded Walker marginally well, but he was hitting shots and that's why McHale kept him in the game. Even superstars like Tim Duncan and Derrick Rose get benched for a guy with a hot hand from time to time.
I think tanking is too strong of a word to describe the current predicament. I've seen obvious instances where teammates are freezing Lin out. I think this part is intentional. But, when this leads to losses, I think this part is not intentional.
Delete@2fc
DeleteI'll look for that more closely tonight. Maybe there's something to that.
From what I have seen though, particularly during the losing streak, Houston doesn't run much PNR. Asik will occasionally come out to set a pick for a guard, but other than that, it doesn't seem like PNR is a major part of McHale's system. He wants his team to run and gun and they seem to do well when that can happen. But the fast break won't always be available. In the half court, I see a lot of isolation and 1-and-1 play from this team in general which I think is highly flawed. I do not see much PNR, cutting off the ball, or even simple passes into the post.
Regarding Melo, I think what he did can be considered half a tank. He didn't purposely want to lose but he also didn't want to put in the effort nor did he want to see his teammates succeed. But, since there's no such thing as being half pregnant, there's no such thing as half a tank. So, Melo did tank.
DeleteESPN and everything under the sun reported that Carmelo tanked but not because of Lin directly. Carmelo didn't want to it to become Lin and the Linettes so he half assed it while playing in D'Antoni's system. Carmelo wanted to be the man, which is what he signed up for. Lin was becoming the man.
DeleteSo as a means to an end, Carmelo tanked and trade rumors popped up too, because Carmelo saw the writing on the wall for himself if he allowed Lin to continue and shine.
It's all about self preservation. We Lin supporters are no different. It just depends on perspective.
If Lin was Carmelo and all of a sudden, a new young kid took over the team, I doubt any of you would be posting that Lin should suck it up and play in a role player scrub capacity at 50% of his capabilities just because the team was winning.
Most non-Lin fans see Harden as a much better player than Lin and can't understand why Lin won't just fall in line and be an Avery Johnson for the team. To those people, it's so obvious that the team would be better if Lin just played his role or could help Harden look better by hitting the kick out 3's and guarding the other teams top guards so Harden couls save energy for more offense. Maybe they are right, maybe not. Who knows...
At least Lin has fight in him and he won't just end up some forgotten scrub. He'll make the coaches bench him before that happens. I just hope they bench him while he's playing well so it becomes a big time issue the Rox have to deal with. That may be the only way heads roll or Lin gets traded.
I don't have access to my computer, so I will rely on somebody else to point out the articles that wrote about how Carmelo Anthony deliberately sabotaged Mike D'Antoni and Jeremy Lin.
DeleteLin would try to run the offense, and Anthony refused. So Lin refused to pass Anthony the ball until Anthony ran the offense. They tried to work out a compromise, but Anthony was more interested in tanking Lin than winning games.
This topic has been discussed to death in our archives here. But try googling Dantoni, Lin, and Anthony to read about how Anthony deliberately tanked the Knicks into that losing streak that stopped Linsanity and forced DAntoni to resign.
Lin won't get traded.
DeleteNOBODY in the NBA wants him.
People still think he's a D league player. Doesn't matter how well he plays.
Lin just has to keep playing hard, hitting his shots, and playing past his tanking teammates.
Every time Lin's tanking teammates pull a new stunt on Lin, Lin raises his game. At some point, Lin will become so good that not even their tanking will stop him from doing what he's gotta do.
But, I hope he does get traded to a team that will use him as a point guard even if it means he's coming off the bench.
DeleteGetting 10 minutes of Linsanity is better than getting 40 minutes of iso Harden.
I found two articles. Both interesting reads about the politics of NBA basketball. They don't directly say that Carmelo "tanked" games. They did say, however, that Carmelo wasn't happy with how D'Antoni's offense was being run through Jeremy and he outright refused to run plays that weren't isolation plays for himself. So he was being a big ol' baby. One article does purport that D'Antoni resigned because of Carmelo and that Carmelo "overtly or not" ran Lin out of town.
Deletehttp://bleacherreport.com/articles/1375878-carmelo-anthony-reportedly-jealous-of-linsanity-ran-jeremy-lin-out-of-new-york
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8509424/new-york-knicks-star-carmelo-anthony-master-getting-way-espn-magazine
Seriously, if Lin WASN'T ASIAN, the media and the whole NBA won't be mistreating him. He'd be another Danny Green, BUT ONLY 10 TIMES BETTER.
DeleteI'm really sick and tired of this. I've never seen a player getting payed 25million with all the hype of LINSANITY get mistreated by coaches, the media, and fans. Let the kid play and let him LINTERTAIN everyone.
chiball, it was widely reported once woodson was head coach that anthony wasn't giving full effort under dantoni. lin had called out anthony in practice as well, and is one of many reasons anthony refused to stand at the 3 point line for lin kickouts under dantoni.
Deletehence all the jokes of anthony willingly standing at the 3 point for the dream team over the summer while dantoni was on the sidelines.
tanking.
"Anthony...sabotage his coach’s plan...":
Deletehttp://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/Mike-D'Antoni-resigns-Carmelo-Anthony-New-York-Knicks-031412
Lin just has to be patient. He has to learn to change his game and knock down shots. It sucks now but he'll be better in yr3 of this contract for it, assuming he still gets 25+ minutes on the court going forward. No NBA team wants to give him the reigns to be the man or at least "the guard" of the team. They want him to be a role player. Lin isn't that type of player though. Lin knows it and we know it. NBA execs/scouts would say Lin isn't good enough to be a lead guard and that at best he is a role player. We disagree. Unfortunately we don't own NBA teams or GM them....So it is what it is.
ReplyDeleteBasically Lin can use these 3 years to hone his major weakness of efficiency/spot up shooting when never getting to touch the ball (the Derek Fisher/Shane Battier/Bruce Bowen skillset), up his scoring as a low usage PG/SG sidekick to Harden, pretend he enjoys it for the next 2 years without complaint, then bail on Houston when it comes time to resign, and hopefully by then, his shot will be good enough, and at least 1 team will finally want to properly utilize his services.
Funny thing is the idiotic Rox will act shocked and surprised, and probably will really be blindsided that Lin was not completely satisified with his role player duties, especially since he finally learned to hit shots consistently. And Lin will smile and tell them to screw off without saying a word.
If used properly right now, Lin could produce max contract player stats and results, while being paid an average of 8 million. But no GM or owner is bright enough/gutsy enough to do it. It's too much of a risk and the downside is too embarrassing, I guess.
Unfortunately, Lin had no other play. He did the right thing taking this Rox contract. Nobody really wanted the guy. It was tough. I had hoped the Rox would hire D'Antoni in the summer, or that PJax would take the Lakers over and that Les might part with Mchale and let D'Antoni take over. But oh well, didn't happen...
We all wish a trade will happen, but truth is, few to no teams want Lin. Sure they'll take him in exchange for a scrub perhaps, but the Rox would want more than that no matter how little they value him.
Lin can start scoring the ball on this team, which is his only play. It will kill his assist totals, but the Rox want Harden to lead in assists anyways, not Lin. But the NBA values scorers more than assists anyways. Best to have both, but better to score than get assists if you can only get 1 stat.
Sure some SAS's will say "See Lin is a SG, not a PG, he can't assists and that's why NYK dropped him and made the right decision" - but it's better to get 20PPG and 4 reboudns than it is to get 5pt, 6asst, 5rbs.
McHale wasn't a good GM other than drafting Garnett (who is a punk of a basketball player) and that is the one good thing McHale has done for the Timberwolves.
ReplyDeleteAs far as a coach, his one or two seasons with the Timberwolves speaks for itself. I don't know how he crawled his way to the Rockets but here he is and he is definitely not a head coach material.
...This is such a bunch of BS. Does James Haren get pulled for not applying defensive pressure? Lets not confuse activity for achievement here. Much of what Tony and Patrick do is absolutely meaningless. Jeremy does a GREAT job of containing his man, particularly when unscreened. Containment being far more important than pressure if McHale believes in his own system (that is, keeping guys out of the paint.) NO ONE in this league can guard pick and roll without proper hedge help (the kind LIN sees ALL THE TIME from opposing teams because they know he WILL KILL THEM IF ALLOWED TO GET TO BUCKET)... but does LIN get similar help NO. Also, LIN is probably one of, if not the best help defenders in the league. There isn't a guy on the team in his league where this is concerned. NO D Haren being the worst on the team at this. LAST, Sampson sees basketball through a BLACK prism pure and simple. He's gonna put his money on BLACK before all else. I'm certain he is the guy influencing these 4th quarter calls.
ReplyDelete10/10 good post. Exactly what I wanted to say when Racha said Lin has to turn on his turbo and apply more defensive pressure. He's completely ignoring the team dynamic regarding why there is currently a defensive breakdown.
DeleteI will say this... Racha is right that he needs to turn on his turbo... but not because the Rockets need it for some defensive purpose... BUT He needs to turn it on so it can't be held against him by Sampson and McHale. In the same vein, he also needs to sprint the ball to half court like TD or Beverly do after a made shot simply because Sampson has already said TD pushes pace better than LIN (hahahahahahahaha!). And, of course, we all know what a criminal joke that is ... because, we know, as JLIN well knows, that the upcourt pass is far faster than sprint dribbling a ball. Sampson's convenient eye test doesn't pass muster with people that know the game ... it's just an AAU/Black Prism excuse that serves as pablum for the masses. We need a good reporter! A reporter that could call them on their BS. If they want to marginalize JLIN, go ahead. But have the balls to tell it like it is.
DeleteNope, not ignoring it at all. I always talk about breakdowns in defensive rotations. I'm just pointing out, individually, what JLin should try to do more. I never gave Harden a pass on defense and called it horrid. If I give Harden a pass it's because he is needed for his scoring more than his defense. Again, not giving him a pass and I'm sure McHale had a word or two with him on that.
DeleteI'll be brief Racha. The only player that deserves a defensive pass is a player that can score and has LITTLE TO NO ATHLETIC ABILITY ... Dirk comes to mind here. James Haren is an athlete. He gets NO PASS.
DeleteHaren on plays hard with the ball in his hands. He doesn't run the floor hard for teammates. And, He doesn't defend. And, he rarely rebounds ... almost never on the offensive glass (and astonishingly he doesn't get back in transition.)
the +- on James Haren would be close to ZERO or MINUS if Haren were truly graded. Talk all you will, MOREY, about sabrematrics but there are no SABREMATRICS for Harens poor play. Reach MINUS. Doesnt get back in transition MINUS. Doesn't run floor MINUS.
ADDITION by SUBTRACTION.
10/10 well Racha said Jeremy needed to turn on the turbo specfically for PnR defense.
DeleteBoth Harden and Lin dribble the ball up court very slowly. But, I get more impatient when Harden is dribbling the ball up because I know all he's going to do is waste the shot clock then force up an iso fga.
And, it's not like you have to be a "hard nose" reporter to work the sports beat... It's all entertainment after all including the "journalism".
It probably takes more citizen reporting to expose the truth rather than through traditional media.
I do have to give Harden credit on defense at times because he does make difficult things look so effortless.
DeleteNevertheless, Harden is not alone where teammates are just standing around when on D.
McFail draws up pick up-game plans on the offense. Who is to say he didn't do something similar on the defensive end.
Exactly. Harden bringing it up the floor slowly is just all about him. LIN is reading the floor, looking for the pass up, particularly the big running the middle, and allowing people to space themselves. There's nothing worse than watching someone sprint dribble the ball up the floor into three people and to no advantage (LIN does this at times too but I think at the coaches insistence and it rarely has good results). Space is the 6th man in transition. What the coaches don't get is Jeremy IS running the offense ... an offense that starts from the moment he touches it in the back court.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCan some of the Roxs problems be attributed to a Wet Albert type of situation. Remember the story of the little boy where rain clouds would always follow?
ReplyDeleteLin is marked man right now. He is going to get the opposing players' most motivated effort. He is accounted throughout the game. When he goes out of the game the other team relaxes a bit giving the Rox players more bleathing room to play. The Rox coaches and players pick up on this.
Is some of this happenning?
Of course - and it's not just Lin getting that treatment.
DeleteOpponents are targeting Harden TOO.
Lin will battle people in isolation, as guys like Russell Westbrook and Lebron James have found out. But because Lin's teammates refuse to help him defend the pick and roll, opponents target Lin. I'd do the same thing against any NBA pg who was left high and dry by his teammates, no matter how good that PG was.
But Harden? He's getting targeted in isolation. Opponents have figured out that he's not getting any more defensive help than Lin is, plus Harden doesn't contest isolations like Lin does.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Rockets big men are tanking on both Lin AND Harden, since the offense really does run through those guys alone. For all of my ranting about teammates being unwilling to play team ball with Lin, Harden has it almost as bad.
The only difference is that the coaches will keep plowing the ball through Harden because NBA refs respect Harden enough to put him at the line. If the refs put Lin at the line at the same rate that they put even unrespected 10 day D league players, Lin would shoot 8-10 free throws a game and call himself "Asian Dantley".
The pace definitely slows way down when they both leave the court.
DeleteDid anyone catch Parsons' interview with nbatv? TD and Beverly have publicly said that jeremy and james are the leaders of this team. No one's mentioned Parsons. Glue guy? Yes. Leader? No. Parsons has mentioned that he, himself is a team leader though...I guess that means something.
ReplyDeleteHe's really making sure everyone knows that he called that players' meeting. What a great guy.
Not a big deal but it's further confirmation that players' don't know their roles on this team. They're not the Heat, they're not good enough to play position-less.