Without James Harden, the Houston Rockets looked more like a team. The ball didn't stick as there was great ball movement and balanced scoring. They played great team defensive and frustrated Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. Jeremy's stats didn't show how well he played. He really went at Chris Paul and although he turned it over a lot, he still basically controlled the game.
Lets see how long they plan to rest Harden. It's so nice to watch a Jeremy Lin led club play winning team ball.
Hi Ya!
ReplyDeleteReally nice to see this team oriented game, with Smith and Asik helping Lin get it going. Then Del3no coming in to add great value. Parson as usual, and Garcia except for his foul to stop the Lin breakaway.
DeleteTeam TOs:
33 losses, avg 17.6
This game, 20
33 Losses, Lin 2.6
This game, 6
To me, Del3no and Garcia's veteran leadership was an important factor. On one instance, Garcia made a three, got back on d, and pointed at another player to get back into position. And again, it seemed like midway or so into the third the Rockets was slowing the rhythm down (taking a page out of the Pacers' book?) and Garcia would hold the ball just for a second or two after the Rockets got an offensive rebound.
DeleteThe two veterans also rotated well around the perimeter, Del3no playing good D on the block and man on man, Garcia rotating on the perimeter well and exerted effort chasing down guys in the open court (like when he got dunked on by JLin).
The Clippers averages 100 points a game, scored 100+ on the Spurs the night before, but was held only to 81 by the Rockets. It is impressive team D even if the Clippers have played 4 games in 5 nights, and on the second game of a back to back. This is perhaps a piece of evidence pointing towards Harden's harm to team D.
I'm going to watch this again on LP after my nap :-) I'll look for what you said.
DeleteSuperb post, wilc.
DeleteI admire both Delfino and Garcia. These guys really know how to play team basketball, even if they physically aren't dominating like Lin or Harden.
I know that McHale gets flak for using Delfino to defend power forwards, but Delfino's wily veteran toughness and court smarts make him still the best backup defensive power forward on the Rockets. Hopefully Delfino rubs off on Greg Smith and Donatas Motiejeunas and Thomas Robinson as far as showing those guys how to effectively defend the post.
I think Delfino is essentially a swing man between small forward and a scoring guard. Physically he couldn't match a PF. It would be nice see him backing up Parson or Jeremy or Harden. In case McHale switches to small line up, he could be the extra SG.
DeleteVery happy that Lin was treated normally by McHale !!! (;~O) (;~))) WOW!
ReplyDeleteWow! McHale treated Lin like a real starter - like the rest of the coaches in the league treats their starters!!! It's about time.
A great team ball, everyone getting involved and chipping in.
Lin struggled in the beginning with sloppy playing (but still tied 10 minutes into the game at 21-21 against a top team), but he came around to playing a decent game.
He wasn't sloppy. He was ran into a trap setup by the Clippers. Those are design plays by the Clipper since he was the only ballhandler for the rockets. He was trying the best protecting the ball.
DeleteThis game won by good defense.Everyone played better without harden instead of just watching him to play hero ball.
ReplyDeleteYes, but that's the Jeremy Lin Effect. That doesn't happen without Jeremy.
DeleteHe's the one calling out screens and helping out weak defenders and throwing his body around for charges and making a spectacular block or steal when needed.
And when he's the leader on the floor (not Harden), he teammates follow his example and words. When he's 2nd or 3rd banana...nobody listens. They just watch Harden like you said.
Yeperoni.
DeleteI'm pretty sure the official consensus among fans and announcers is that the Clippers magically played bad and the refs gave the Rockets the game, LOL.
DeleteYou just can't win if you're Lin. Even when you lead your team to a win, it's always someone else's victory.
@zxcvb "..follow his ... words" I also heard at least 2 times on the broadcast JLin shouting so loud at his teammates that it picked up on the announcers' mics at court side! (Once at Dmo for calling the ball and then not sealing his man out, and another on Asik presumably for not stepping out to hedge(?).)
DeleteExactly -- that's exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about. He did that in NY, too, even though they have Tyson.
DeleteHe's a great on-court communicator, even though he always gives the credit to his teammates during post-game interviews.
It was a team ball for the Rockets alright:
Delete5 Rockets players scored in double digits; and 2 "almosts" (they each scored 9, plus good stat lines).
Only 3 Clippers players scored in double digits and no
.... and no (Clippers) players scored almost double digits.
DeleteSpeaking of TEAM ball....I just came upon a UK article on Lin and the Rockets that is just PLAIN BAD sports "journalism" with a crucial ERROR.
DeleteIn the 2nd paragraph of the article (see below), they INCORRECTLY stated that the Rockets lost 2 previous games because they've played WITHOUT Harden! BS.
http://tinyurl.com/cqlt7g8
"After losing two games in the absence of injured top scorer James Harden, the Rockets managed to win without their shooting guard, with Lin, Chandler Parsons and Francisco Garcia scoring 15 points apiece."
A few games ago, a bunch of haterz were flaming me for saying that Harden was giving up 40-60 points a game by refusing to play defense.
ReplyDeleteNow that we see how a Lin led Rockets team can defend even with a 12th man starter in James Anderson, everybody can see why I made my seemingly outlandish claim.
Without Harden, the only defensive sieve was Beverley with his sub NBA slow reflexes getting burnt. That's acceptable for a D league talent like Beverley to be roasted, provided it's not for too many minutes.
When Lin gets the team going offensively, everybody defends harder too.
there was some moron dissecting every play trying to discredit you LOL. what a dumb bitch.
DeleteSEVERAL people trying to discredit me.
DeleteActually, I didn't have any problem with the analysis they put up.
Those guys were trying to argue that Harden was a GOOD defender, and I was telling them "noooooooo".
Oh yeah Continuum...He is never around when Lin does well.
DeleteHe wasn't the only hater trying to discredit me.
DeleteThe "regular" cast of characters I spar against here were trying to say that Harden was a superstar and wasn't getting scored on all that much.
This game DEBUNKS THEM.
I openly dare them to come out and post that Harden is a good defender.
- jeez, I sound like General Zod from Superman II when he looks at the TV screen at Superman and says "I defy you!"
The bitter truth is -> Harden CAN play d. He just doesnt do it :)
DeleteMy thinking -> reduce his minutes to 30 a game. Theres no reason for making/letting him play 40 a game. Its BS and your coach is to blame for it. Substitue for him as they substitute for every other player and MAKE him play d.
I'd BENCH Harden if he were my player.
DeleteWhen a single player gets attacked as much as Harden does, it makes the entire team look bad. Can't have that at the NBA level.
Harden doesn't even have to become a super defensive stopper like Jeremy Lin. He just has to move his feet, go over picks, stick with his man, and get his hands up. Even if he PRETENDS to play defense, that would be enough!
James Anderson is an adequate backup for Harden. Anderson can shoot, rebound and move the ball too. There is no reason to put a player on the court over 40 minutes defending nobody. The player won't last too long playing like that.
DeleteIt's team defense with the fast pace in NBA. SOLO offense and no defense will be exploited to the fullest by your opponent team.
@KHuang:
Delete"He just has to move his feet, go over picks, stick with his man, and get his hands up. Even if he PRETENDS to play defense, that would be enough!"
Ive seen him do it all. He just doesnt do it all the time 8)
If McHale would reduce Hardens PT to around 30 (which is also much healthier) he would have the energy to play better d. Also - it would give the bench some PT. Coach could stagger Hardens and JLins minutes. They have Anderson for a reason and I would like to see more of him (and others) as well.
Awesome, awesome TEAM win!
ReplyDeleteHarden can be so devastating if, at least sometimes, he can let Lin's dribble drive penetration and / or team ball movement break down defense and let him attack in quasi-transition situation once set defense has been disrupted. Ball will get back to him if he just trusts his teammates a bit more.
Prior to the game, I thought Lin needed to put up a Linsanity 1.0 repeat performance, but this was better (because we won and awesome team ball movement). It was more like his Big Horns point guard performances where he just did what offense needed, and didn't have, like he does now, occasional hero ball impulses.
Chris Paul isn't stupid and he was playing Lin's passes vs. trying to stop his individual jump shooting. He knows Lin is much more dangerous as a facilitator getting all of his teammates involved and lots of easy looks, vs. lots of me ball like he still occasionally does now (e. g. trying to force a moment of Linsanity when he is frustrated by his own play occaisionally).
Overall, though, awesome, feel good, total TEAM win!
And just like his high school coach said, Lin (Reno Big Horns Lin especially) doesn't care about individual stats, just making plays and winning games.
:)
I forgot where I read this but CP3 is a league pass junkie. He even watches games on the team plane. I'm sure he's seen lots of video of Lin. Props to him for reading Lin so well and knowing his tendencies. I hope Lin can learn from this game against CP3.
DeleteThe surefire way to avoid TOs in dicey situations is to shoot the ball. I know Lin wants to get others involved especially in the 1st quarter and I'm happy to see him improve his passing game so much, but he passes up way too many shots.
CP3 is amazing, but those TOs weren't because of his scouting Lin. Anyone would have picked off those passes. Like you (and I) said, he overpasses to get his teammates involved, which is nice, except his teammates are inept.
DeleteThey don't cut hard, they don't step up to grab passes, and they miss easy layups. Once Jeremy started shooting (make, miss or FTs), everything else fell into place. He only had 2 TOs caused by good defense tonight. 3 were simply overpassing when he had a open mid-range shot. And 1 was a home-run pass that failed.
CP3 and Blake Griffin were tag teaming Lin.
DeleteIf Chris Paul had to guard Lin alone the way Lin guards Paul without help, Lin would've scored 30 on Paul without breaking a sweat.
The Clippers have a real matchup problem with Jeremy Lin. He's the one guy they cannot stop, no matter who they put on him.
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DeleteI enjoy your comments zxcvb. I hadn't thought of that -- you're right Lin's teammates esp Asik aren't good at stepping up to grab passes. Asik has gotten better at knowing when to cut into the paint and expecting passes; he still sucks at this though. Barnes and Jordan are good at this. I wonder if that's partly bc CP3 has taught them to be better at that.
DeleteOn a separate note:
Tonight isn't a great example but from my observations, Lin's layup misses have an incredibly high rate of put backs. This is something that is not reflected in the basic stat sheet; I'd wager Morey keeps track of this.
On a related note, when Lin MISSES a layup and there is no one around to grab the offensive board, there is also a really high rate of the opposing team getting a transition bucket. Because Lin is out of the play (odds are he has fallen to the ground after missing the layup, LOL) -- he is usually the first line of defense after the team misses a shot, and without him, that just leaves Harden, who is awful with transition defense.
So the results of Lin missing a layup can mean very dramatic swings depending on whether the miss is boarded.
What I was trying to say above is that Chris Paul was playing Lin to pass vs. shoot because he knows Lin is more dangerous that way.
DeleteIf you turn Lin into jump shooter, it is going to be rare night where he goes for 30 or 40 points and lifts team to victory singlehandledly.
Lin sometimes gets a bit casual with his passing, in that he makes some of those passes sometimes when he really doesn't have defense reeling, off balance, and on their heels. e. g. second half of Boston Celtics Knicks game where Doc Rivers seemed to have defenders sag off and make look like people were open, but they were just waiting for Lin to pass. Third quarter of Phoenix loss (a bit too casual with passes, in that he didn't really have his defender off balance when he tossed pass).
First game against Minnesota during Linsanity Lin "beat" Rubio and was going up for shot and Rubio, who wasn't concerned that Lin had beat him because he was just waiting for Lin to go into his shooting motion, would just reach in from behind and knock ball lose either while it was still around Lin's hip or as he was just bringing ball up to about shoulder level to start shooting motion. Lin was probably expecting any contest of his shot to be near release point or above, but Rubio very calmly and deliberately had other plans.
That being said, CNM Jeremy Lin YouTube Channel had some great comments about how though Chris Paul beat Lin in individual matchup, Lin seemed to have more of an impact on game (7:45 mark):
Jeremy Lin vs. Chris Paul Matchup (CNM Jeremy Lin Channel (start at 7:45 mark)
CNM Jeremy Lin YouTube Channel
CNM Jeremy Lin commentator observed same thing casual viewer (me) thought: Chris Paul and Eric Bledsoe were specifically playing Lin for pass during those drives to basket where he tried to drive, draw, and dish, and ball got picked off.
DeleteHis specific comment is around 10:40 mark of video commentary above.
Chris Paul seemed to be doing same thing Doc Rivers did to Lin in second half of Celtics Knicks game during Linsanity 1.0 (baiting Lin into making passes he thought were open, but really weren't).
Other teams do exactly what Chris Paul and Bledsoe do.
DeleteThe difference is that they don't have Blake Griffin on the doubleteam who runs like a guard.
It's New York all over again. The star player gets hurt and the team plays better overall. I hope McHale and Harden can see the pattern.
ReplyDeleteDon't lump Harden in with McHale.
DeleteHe's been a lot more unselfish in the past two months. Blame McHale for his erratic subbing and benchings. Blame Parsons too for being a ball-hog without cause (at least Harden is indeed an elite scorer).
Oh, I'll DEFINITELY lump Harden in.
DeleteIn fact, I'd say that Harden's ballhogging and refusal to play defense are more damaging than McHale.
I've been calling Harden a SCRUB because he's such a net negative. NO WAY the Rockets win this game with a healthy James Harden doing his tutu pirouettes when his man dribbles by him.
Hahah...the most abused word in this forum..HOPE, yup, that's all we can do.I do hope so too!
DeleteKHuang is a lot smarter than me, but I don't know if I can go that far. Harden's lazy defense has been atrocious all year, but his ball-hogging has died down, IMO.
DeleteAnd even his bad defense remains McHale's fault as well -- he should bench/discipline Harden when he slacks off on D. Popovich has no problem screaming at Duncan, Ginobli and Parker for lazy D...Harden is not above reproach.
zxcvb, Harden is actually being defended now!
DeleteThat's why he hogs the ball less!
Earlier this year, teams clamped down on Lin with the double and triple team zones and let Harden go iso. Now they're going after Harden too.
There plenty of times early in the season where Harden hogged the ball even when double-teamed -- resulting in 2-3 TOs per game when he tried to split it.
DeleteNow I see him give the ball up in that situation. I also see Harden give the ball up to Jeremy when they're simply bringing the ball up the court in the 4th. I never saw that in the first two months.
Khuang has an excellent scouting report on Harden. Harden indeed has no plan to not ballhog but recently he is left no choice by the tight defense that shut him down most of the time.
DeleteTo be fair -> James Harden is a year younger than JLin. You live -> you learn.
DeleteBut - my dear KHuang - if its OK for McHale to yell at Lin because of the TOs (KHuangs opinion) he should also yell at Harden for being lazy on d. I maintain -> Harden can play d and its even OK at times. He just doesnt play d all the time. Coaches fault!
If I were Lin's coach, I would have yelled on the two late turnovers in the 1st and that's it.
DeleteThe others, I'd have been yelling at Lin's TEAMMATES.
A lot of people here are justifiably unhappy with the Rockets trading away Marcus Morris and Patrick Patterson.
ReplyDeleteBut y'know what? Those guys would have been firing 3s from outside against this Clippers team instead of POUNDING IT INSIDE like today's guys did. And 3s come and go in the NBA.
I have been very supportive of the Rockets trades because it meant more size and power and athleticism inside.
This game illustrates the importance of ATTACKING the rim with the big men when Jeremy Lin gets double teamed out to the 3 point line.
Are people here unhappy with Morris and P-Pat being gone? Only a few vocal fans.
DeleteI think most people couldn't stand their terrible defense, rebounding and streaky shooting.
If the majority of J-Lin fans miss anyone, it's Toney Douglas. Mostly because he's a great teammate and played well behind or with Jeremy.
I also have been crowing about how terrific Francisco Garcia is.
DeleteFrom the start, I've been praising Garcia's smart if unspectacular game. That guy's been getting it DONE for years despite that horrible Sacramento franchise. Now he's KILLIN IT for Houston with his trademark heady play. I love this guy's game.
The Rockets stole Garcia too.
I was happy to see Ppat and Morris gone. Morris is a chucker who fades away from the basket even in the paint instead of going towards the bucket like DMo or Robinson. Ppat has a great midrange game, but he's a wuss who can't board. They are already near their ceiling. I never got the sense that many ppl missed these guys, though in the short term it messed up the rotation.
DeleteYeah, I definitely like Garcia -- ideal role player for this team.
DeleteI'm cringing at Robinson, though (garbage time production hides his horrendous performance thus far). Oh well, he's a rook, I'll give him the off-season to improve.
I also don't miss TD for a second. Bev is so much better than TD.
DeleteI wish that the Rockets had given the Kings Beverley instead of Toney Douglas.
DeleteToney Douglas is physically limited, but he's a rugged and willing defender. Patrick Beverley simply doesn't have NBA reflexes to defend actual NBA players, and that's why he keeps getting LIT UP like today.
I wish that BOTH Bev and TD were shipped out for Jimmer Fredette who I think can become a Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson type of 6th man bench scoring guard behind Lin and Harden. Plus Jimmer is superior to TD and Bev on defense.
And don't worry, zxvcb, Robinson's GOT GAME.
DeleteLike so many heralded college players from major Div 1 programs, he's nothing but a raw physical specimen right now. But WHAT A SPECIMEN!!!
McHale is the best big man coach in the NBA. He will take Robinson in the offseason and teach him how to play, just like McHale taught Kevin Garnett and Kevin Love and Al Jefferson how to play.
Asik had more than 2 post moves today, so if McHale did that, it's great. I also like TD better than Bev, mainly because he plays more controlled and therefore makes less mistakes. Bev is 'deceptively' good, because his big plays hide his mistakes. TD is steady and cool, what you want from a guy running the 2nd unit. Also, he has a knack for scoring hard ones at key times, so I'm guessing he sees the game flow and the need to step up when it counts. More veteran ...
DeleteExcellent post, Joeteam.
DeleteYes, McHale taught Asik those post moves. Asik had NOTHING coming from 3 years of Derrick Rose ballhogging in Chicago.
McHale is one of the greatest developmental coaches in the game. Here's a nonLin list of the players whose games he developed from zero:
Kevin Love
Al Jefferson
Kevin Garnett
Goran Dragic
Chandler Parsons
Jordan Hill
Greg Smith did a good job inside today. Just standing in there and taking up space, hustling to get rebounds helped. Smith and Asik bullying guys with their sheer mass helps each other since they aren't rebounding against two guys.
DeleteA downside may be that with Smith and Asik both in the game it will block up driving lanes, but I didn't see that to be a big problem in this game. Having two big guys inside may actually have the desirable incidental effect of forcing the Rockets to use some post up plays.
DeAndre Jordan could not trap Lin because Asik was inside scoring like he was Kevin McHale!
DeleteBlake Griffin abandoned Greg Smith to help Chris Paul defend Lin. Greg Smith went berserk like he was Blake Griffin scoring inside!
KHuang - I'll give you McHale developing this players where he knows the game. It's got to be because Asik today was very confident about his post play, calling for it too. He was aggressive on his put backs too. He had good passes as well. I don't think I've seen that kind of will from Asik this season, so for sure he's been working on it and today, without Harden on the ball all the time, he had his chance. Also, what people noticed above about Smith and him first quarter helped a lot, and that all goes to Lin ball getting everyone confident and accountable out there.
DeleteThat's why I want to watch the game again, because with all these good comments from everyone, I'm going to really enjoy every play and the flow.
I like it! Let's see what happens when Harden is back. I'm confident they'll try to advance from this lesson, because this team seems to fall flat on its face, get to a really bad place, have some kind of breakthrough, and then fix things for a bit.
Gotta agree with you. Asik is really developing and he was so confident this game. Clock running down - JLin to Asik on the inside - Asik post move - bam. He didnt make all of them but he looked good, quick, confident. You can tell hes developing cause hes gotten slimmer and quicker.
DeleteReally hope that McHale turned a cornet for good from now on and there will be no more stupid shits. But we've been on this road before so many times during the season
ReplyDeleteDon't hold your breath.
DeleteNope. If a three 20 point mistake free lisanity performance doesn't turn a corner, u know this wont. I wouldn't get your hopes up. Just expect more of the same. It's good for your health.
DeleteI'd be dead by then if I hold my breath
DeleteI've given up on Mchale, especially after the utter stupidity of last night's game. I wouldn't be surprised if Lin gets benched for the entire fourth quarter in the next game.
DeleteNah, once Harden is back, it's a different team.
DeleteSadly, I agree with everyone here.
Deletehappy easter everyone.............nice win
ReplyDeleteBtw, Lin's jumper has disappeared these last few games. We are not just talking about the shots coming up short; many are totally wayward. What up.
ReplyDeleteThe illegal hits DID get to Lin in the 2nd half.
DeleteIf Lin were officiated fairly, he'd put fouls on people and would also not be hit so much.
For most of the game, Jeremy Lin shot just fine. I used to be the biggest critic of that herky jerky Trex girly jumper he learned from Doc Scheppler, but Lin's abandoned that and has completely shut me up about his form!
The only way to stop Lin's jumpshooting is to illegally hit him - and often even that doesn't work.
Fatigue at the end. Shots were falling short sign of fatigue. He was expending tremendous amount if energy on defense. U can say he played reverse Harden ball tonight.
DeleteHe was over 50%. In the second half his numbers went down and in the end he also started limping...
DeleteI thought he had a good game. Hes young. Hes gonna be fine.
So much for the CP3 >>>>>>> Lin comments.
ReplyDeleteWe all remember how when Lin burst on the scene, people were like "He can't be as good as Chris Paul, blah blah friggin blah".
I was writing that Chris Paul can't score on Lin, can't defend Lin, and can't bust open games like Lin can. Then Lin goes out and torches Paul last game before coming into this one and blowing the Clippers out of the water.
The youngest and cheapest team in the NBA just CRUSHED one of the most expensive max contract teams - and Lin KILLING Chris Paul was the main reason why.
It's too bad that Lin's utter dominance in this game basically was invisible to most fans and won't show up in the stat lines.
DeleteThe Rockets blew out the Clippers because he totally shut down Paul's playmaking and so turned Lob City into Lobless City. And the Clippers cannot win when they can't get a bunch of easy baskets set up by CP3. Lin's D on Paul turned Blake Griffin into a jump shooter.
And, when was the last time the Rockets won a game when they didn't score 100 points?
The key thing that McHale did at least for Lin tonight was to let him play thru his mistakes. Lin made 3 careless TO in the beginning of the game but instead of getting mad at him or make him camp out, he still let him play.
ReplyDeleteIts probably because he had no other choice with harden being out. Typically when these things happen eith jarden in, he benches him a la Indiana game or takes the ball out of his hands and makes him stand in the corner.
Although I didn't want the Rox to win, it was fun to see this team actually play TEAM BALL and TEAM D.
Jeremy wasn't Linsanity but if he had a role like this on this team, I would be more than satisfied. The only reason his offense suffered a bit toward the end was because he was soo tired playing his heart out on d. He could learn to adjust with time.
What McHale fails o realize is that Lin will never let him down if he is given the chance. He will do everything it takes to make a contribution because he realizes how fortunate to be where he is.
Great team win.. But I'm sure it will go back to the old ways when harden's back.
yes you did want the Rockets to win.
DeleteYou are a HUMONGOUS Lin fan!
"But I'm sure it will go back to the old ways when harden's back." - sad but true
DeleteI'd argue that this was one of Lin's best games ever, better than many of the games during Linsanity. Lin absolutely dominated the game, on offense and defense, and blew out a team and totally outplayed CP3.
DeleteFor me it was the OKC and San Antonio games.. Those were just sooo Linsanity...
DeleteHonestly - it sucks when people point out JLins TOs. Hes always been like that and hes won a lot of games with high TOs (see yesterdays game). As he matures his TOs will go down folks!
DeleteThough I agree with KHuang a lot I have to insist -> its not good for JLin if coaches yell at him when he turns it over. You think hes not aware of it when he turns it over carelessly? Yelling only makes him stop playing with confidence.
Take all those games in which JLin had 5-6 TOs. Take away those he cant be blamed for (teammate to stupid to get the pass) and he is left with 3-4 "careless" TOs. Thats one per quarter. Thats absolutely acceptable. The JLin factor makes up for those TOs.
DeleteWow, watching the Kings/Lakers game.
ReplyDelete3 secs left b4 half time Kings ball, pass to Thomas, catch and shoot does a 180 spin around and plants a 3ptr at the corner.
If Lin can do that...Wow...
It is really amazing to see w/o Harden, the D can step up this big.
ReplyDeleteLinsanity was about defense.
DeleteIt was beautiful to see the Clips get into shot clock violations tonight.
I'd go one step further and say Linsanity was about selfless TEAM play - whether on offense or defense.
DeleteWe saw flashes of that tonight - it's just so beautiful to see.
Anyone has links to post games?
ReplyDeleteGreat team win! I was surprised that Harden was out for this game. For one night, it's nice to see JLin being treated as the starting PG, team-ball, and high defensive energy by the Rockets. However, it's also like a mirage that will disappear once Harden is back to the lineup. McHale will revert back to iso-Harden along with poor defense, odd JLin bench rotations, and less ball movement.
ReplyDeleteThis game is a much needed break from the bad games we had to endure (those rough games for JLin) so at least I will be in a good mood until the next game on Monday lol.
So far this season, McHale's biggest mistake is not recognizing that when he let Jeremy play PG by handling the ball, his team plays a lot of ball movement, no 'sticky' ball and with a lot of energy. These are his wishes.
ReplyDeleteBut he allowed 'sticky' ball with Harden ISO ball so how can we and other players take him seriously?
It's still a big question on if he will still let Harden dominate the ball when he's back.
Most of us would say 80% yes. So let's not get our hopes up.
Hopefully a light bulb turns on in McHale's head tonight because ironically Jeremy didn't play well offensively (no 29pts, 10 TOs) but he still got his teammates involved to play team-ball.
Sorry, i think all the light bulbs in McHale's head are broken.
DeleteWhen harden comes back, i expect mchale to go back to running the offense through Harden, and we'll again see Lin standing in the corner watching Harden do his thing.
I missed the game, can anyone find a torrent? thanks
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to see Rox trade Lin and Asik for cp3. Lin could actually help the clips over the hump.
ReplyDeleteLol, oh the drama that would be with cp3 and harden. They'll get their second star!
haha :) I like the idea although CP3 would veto it because he can no longer get easy assists with Griffin and Jordan.
DeleteAnd instead of LOFs, CF fans have to deal with COFs.
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DeleteClips have plenty of big men. They're not giving up CP3 for Asik.
DeleteI don't get all this obsession about trading Lin. I don't see anything clearly positive about Lin getting traded away, except not having to see ClutchFan clowns.
Getting cp3 will be the worst thing the Rox can do. Harden and cp3 will diminish each others game. Rox are lucky to have Lin who is so humble and willing to sacrifice his game for the good of the team. Someone who lets harden have the spot light instead of seeking his own.
DeleteOnly if the McHale recognizes that and respects what Lin is trying to do.
Lin's strength of being the best playmaker in Houston is not currently being used because his high-risk/high-reward style of play is discouraged by McHale. Lin
DeleteAnd Harden is allowed to dominate the ball although he breaks the coaches' rules of no 'sticky' ball and lots of ball movement.
I had high hope that McHale would trust Lin to be the PG and allow a few TOs trying to make great plays but clearly he hasn't seen the light with only <12 games left in the season.
Unless McHale had a sudden change of heart, he would never allow Lin to play his style of basketball which boosts his and his teammates' confidence to play Linsanity team-ball.
Expect the next 2 years under McHale to see the same inconsistent Lin as a struggling spot-up shooter who is afraid to make mistakes in fear of being benched.
Yes.. People need to temper their highs. This is not the first time Jeremy played well. Remember when Jeremy went off in the SA game without harden and we all thought that things will change? That was eons ago, and nothing has changed much since.
DeleteExpect more of the same as long as McHale is around.
Good news! We'll see more Lin assists to Greg Smith!!
ReplyDeleteHopefully, Harden rests his tender ankles for 5 games.
Jason Friedman @JasonCFriedman 16m
Sounds like Smith might stick in starting 5 for time being. McHale: "Alot will depend on matchups but Greg’s been really good for us lately"
Let's not get our hopes up. He needs to get PT first.
DeleteMcHale is SUPPOSED to be a good coach for big men but after an entire season Smith has made ZERO improvements in avoiding stupid fouls while playing defense. Someone explain how this is possible under McHale's HOF tutelage.
DeleteGreg Smith was a totally raw player with virtually zero skills in the beginning of the season.
DeleteHe's made strides under McHale, learning how to play real basketball. It takes time to become a real NBA big man, and some guys NEVER get it.
The Rockets do have a PLAYER in Smith, though it may take till next season for him to fully learn the NBA game.
Smith can at least catch and finish with a dunk.
DeleteThat puts him LIGHT YEARS ahead of every other Rocket big man.
Jeremy Lin after Rockets beat Clippers 98-81
ReplyDeleteLin said he learned a lot going up against CP3. =)
DeleteI dont know if you have noticed but during interviews people keep offering him gadgets like iphones. He wouldnt take them :)
Delete-------> JOKE! <--------
The most important win of the season from Houston was without Harden.
ReplyDeleteVery good for fortify the team Houston
JLin's bad passes today can be attributed to less spacing from the offense with Smith and Asik on the floor. Also, there were times when Anderson was not spreading the floor, and Parsons was the only one at the 3 pt line when Lin was penetrating. Also give credit to CPaul who covered the passing lanes very well when Lin drove by him. That is why CPaul leads the NBA in steals. Hopefully Lin can learn from him in this game.
ReplyDeleteI think they should keep Smith and Asik on the floor more as they made a difference getting offensive rebounds, and keeping Griffin from dominating inside.
McHale post game interview.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky-yxW8rkYk
He comments on Lin's PnR defense at ~3:30 mark. It's not extremely critical, but he is definitely unsatisfied with Lin on this point.
can someone give me a pg that's great on pnr defense? Also, does that pg have kick ass big men that know how to communicate?
DeleteLin just needs to learn Turkish, then he's good.
DeleteIf Lin goes over the screen, so much of the PnR defense depends on how the defender of the roll man handles it -- shows hard or sags, and so on. Yet McHale seems to put it all on Lin that Conley was able to get separation using a pick by (elite screener) Marc Gasol.
DeleteSMH. Lin is just a fail in McHale's eyes.
He doesn't really comment.. Neither good or bad. .. Not really surprising.
DeleteLets face it .. Lin got minutes tonight because harden was out. He doesn't see that Lin contributed to the win. He just sees the TO's he made.
Nothing has changed. It seems that McHale's view of Lin is locked in. It's like those worst LOH's u see on cf. No matter what Jeremy does, he has something to pick on.
Onto the next game we go.
I'll say this though -- CP3 moves around screens really efficiently: the path taken is tight but avoids obstructive contact. It's not just about quickness but requires good footwork.
DeleteIMO, CP3 has the best footwork in the league. This may sound like an odd comparison since they are so different in size but CP3's footwork is at the level of Olajuwon. People praise his handle but so much of his ball handling is about his footwork.
After a great win McHale goes and criticizes Lin performance in a previous game... :(
DeleteLOL.
Delete"The ball really moved tonight"
DeleteNo shit sherlock, I wonder why....
After a great win over the Clippers, McHale doesn't even look too excited about the win.
DeleteHe's probably thinking to himself "Oh shit, here comes the Jlin questions again..."
For realz -- is that comment a coded way of commenting on Harden, or does McHale really not see it? Either way, he is totally feckless about changing Harden.
DeleteTranslation: "The ball didn't get stuck on Harden's Beard tonight" :D
DeleteI don't think he was blaming Jlin on defending the PnR. He's talking about the team as a whole on defending the PnR.
DeleteRox don't deserve Lin.
DeleteThanks for the post game analysis. I'll be watching the game after work. I checked realgm and dreamshake but they really didn't have much to say about Lin; almost like he wasn't really an impact player. At least they're not ripping him apart right?
ReplyDeleteThe stats don't say much but i'll trust you guys when you say that Lin did more than what was shown on the stat sheet.
Lin highlights:
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/6UwHruTkHdA
Good MMA highlights.
DeleteI like that kind of compilation. It shows unsuccessful plays too. It's like a combo of higlights, lowlights, almost successful, and who-should-be-blamed-for-that? moments.
Deletehaha 5:54 mark, Jeremy was angry and said,"Dmoooooo!!!!" then Parsons tried to calm him down.
DeleteLOL If coaches didn't appreciate how hard Lin played on D to draw offensive fouls from Griffin, they're truly blind.
DeleteHe pretty much frustrated Griffin and made CP3 play hero ball in the end. I don't know where DeAndre Jordan went in the 3Q. I didn't recall seeing him making any impact.
kan Cassie, I didn't notice it till you pointed it out. Wow, that scream was so loud compared to the otherwise indistinguishable din.
DeleteI was reading some of the comments from the video. Did Bill Worrell really say that CP3 was laughing at Lin? I didn't hear it.
DeleteMost lovely play of the night was that floater. What a joy to see that.
Delete@Occipati0 Everytime Lin's getting angry, I just felt excited and wanna laugh hahaha
Deletekan Cassie, LOL, I am with you!
DeleteYeaaaah. I LOVE THAT ANGER. Jeremy had enough of his ****ing idiot inept teammates causing TOs on him and blowing his easy assists.
DeleteNo other PG has it worse than Jeremy -- he plays with a ball-dominant SG and his teammates are the YOUNGEST team in the league and therefore prone to idiot mistakes like D-Mo's.
@k.smith. No. He said he was "SLAPPING" at Lin. Which he was. All night. That final TO by Paul was a clear foul -- raking him across the arm. But to be fair, Jeremy's "block" on Green was a rake as well.
Yeah. Lin left it all on the floor tonight. He's gonna be sore tomorrow. U'd think a coach would appreciate an effort like that. That's the type of guy I would love to have on my team - and not just because I'm LOF.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteJust because daddy (Lin) is angry that doesnt mean he doesnt love his (boy) teammates :)
DeleteI like that compilation for it also shows the TOs. Those CP3 steals were awesome. No shame JLin - good chance to learn and improve. Keep in mind guys - CP3 is 3 years older than JLin.
And 5 years more in NBA than Jeremy.
DeleteIt's crazy how every single NBA player plays him 10 times extra harder than anyone else.
ReplyDeleteYah, seriously. When was the last time you saw a team trap a player and just completely MAUL him like they did to Lin tonight? Thankfully the refs called most of it, but that's easily a TO or jump ball if they don't call it.
DeleteWatching a Lin game is like watching an NFL game with no helmets or pads.
Delete@KHuang:
DeleteYou know - there is a game called rugby :)
Footwear's highlights show Chris Paul's 3 steals from Lin. CP3 leads the league in steals. He's a point guard with great court awareness and he knows where the open man is when he's on D. Those were not bad turnovers by Lin, just learning experiences. By the 2nd half Lin already adjusted.
ReplyDeleteI don't know. Watching it again only confirmed to me they were bad fouls.
Delete1st steal by Paul = should've taken it the rack on Jordan. Might have been blocked, but could just as easily be a foul and FTs.
2nd steal by Paul = should've curled towards the rim for a floater. Asik in position for a put-back if he misses (the one offensive thing Asik does great).
3rd steal by Paul = should've taken one more step forward and shot the floater. Again, Asik is position for put-back if he misses.
(*bad TOs, not "bad fouls")
DeleteThis will teach Jlin what to expect in the playoffs. The clippers looked at the tapes really well, more so, since Harden was out. They know that when Jlin burns his defender and when the Center defender switches to defend him, that he will look for Omer Asik or whoever is the Rockets Center. Chris paul knew this and basically was forcing Lin to take it to DJordan or "think" that Omer was open. In reality Chris Paul was already gambling on the fact that based on their scouting report Jlin's tendency (or can be a team play kind of thing) in that situation was to pass.
DeleteMcHale in the postgame interview said they adjusted on those CP3 steals in the 2nd half. Which Jlin did and stopped doing any type of mismatch interior passes and instead became more aggressive driving it into the whole in the 3rd quarter. Which was a result of a big burst of lead. They also knew that everyone else had to step up and the ball movement had to become better to counter what the Clippers was doing (which was focusing on Jlin).
It worked out great, however, I don't see why they don't do this all the time when Harden is playing. Instead they force feed it to Harden ISO ball instead of playing more team ball.
Stop hitting me okayyy???
ReplyDeleteI've never seen Lin picture in that expression, I wonder what the ladies would think
Delete"Sexy" probably
DeleteLooks like he's getting buttraped by two big black guys...
DeleteOkay, I just had to say it. U can erase this post forum moderator.
You can delete it youself solidz? The option is available
DeleteLooks like a domestic violence scene :)
DeleteBTW - I like this one where he is "challenged" by three guys:
Deletehttp://tieba.baidu.com/photo/p?kw=%E6%9E%97%E4%B9%A6%E8%B1%AA&tid=2128965954&flux=1&from=1#!/pidb9d9ab82b9014a908ce4b04ea9773912b11beebe/pn1
Bromance with Harden
ReplyDeleteGreat team ball by the Rockets! It really showed how they don't need to just funnel the ball to Harden all the time. And that they can win games with good team defense.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, we all know what's going to happen. McHale won't learn a thing. Nothing will change. We've already seen this many times throughout the season. Lin scores 38 and the Rockets almost beat the Spurs without Harden. Lin proved that he is a lethal offensive weapon. But McHale goes right back to sending him to the corner.
Jeremy has to be a ball-hog whenever he's in...and he can because of his contract. No matter what, McHale is obligated to start him and play him 25-30mpg.
DeleteThe problem is that Jeremy is way too unselfish and wants to be a leader, so he refuses to look for his own shot most of the time. But the reality of the NBA is that he MUST be selfish in the short-term to put pressure on McHale to give him more control.
I think he'll adjust by next season even if McHale isn't fired or disciplined by Les/Morey. Jeremy is too smart not to adjust eventually, and he has a big-time agent now to whisper this "necessary evil" advice into his ear.
Linsanity is coming to Los Angeles guys. http://www.examiner.com/article/visual-communications-announces-program-for-upcoming-asian-pacific-film-fest
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link. I have been waiting for this.
DeleteYAYYYY!!! Definitely going to be there!
DeleteLOH and McHale will only see the 6 turnovers in the Lin stat column. Nevermind that the Clippers trapped very hard on pick n' roll defense. You can tell that the Clippers watched tape of Lin and the Rockets and game planned to double team him and take the ball out of his hands.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I finally watched the game and agree that they focused in on Lin.
DeleteKevin McHale said in postgame interview, "The ball was really moving tonight, and it was good to see that."
ReplyDeleteHmm, I wonder why. Too bad nothing will be gained out of this potential learning experience. McHale will just chalk this up to random luck.
Some highlights here on today's game
ReplyDeletefootwearfoot (6:45)
Mehmet Yilmazlar (3:50)
Blaiyan (4:08)
PostGame JLin
PostGame McHale
ConservativeNewMedia
Blaiyan version was for 2/13/13's game, not last night.
DeleteOne thing, that I would want Mchale from from this game is to trust Jlin.
ReplyDeleteSimple as that, we would have easily been on the 5-6th spot on the conference.
Jlin did extremely well in this game, (numbers aint gonna show), as many had pointed it out.
1) He got his team involved in every area X and O and the PnR
2) He was aggressive
3) His TO was fine, for 2 reason. One being to be active and get the team involved and coming in the first half, especially the 1st Qtr, he had been marked by CP and Clippers to shutdown ROX. They thought its easier since they have to concentrate only on one player. Jeremy came thru way beyond expectation. Hence his TO reduced as we progressed into the rest of the Qtrs. JLin learned quickly how to tackle that.
JLin kept CP in check, bare in mind, CP is rated No1 in 2 areas, steal and to create TO for the opposing team.
Obviously playing both X and O thru out the 3 Qtrs, took some gass out for Jeremy, we did observe that in 4Q, btu he still had the team involved and going. And that was the zKey. He made the team to play like how did with NYK.
Go Lin. I'm not going to bother to comment on McHale and what he thinks. Just hoping that he had gain some trust.
Going fwd, JLin, just need to be aggressive, immaterial, if JH is or not.
He just need to play a little smart with JH on the floor, to criss-cross passed with JH.
Trust me. This game isn't going to change McHale's view about Jeremy, when multitudes of other games have not- games in which Jeremy even played better.
DeleteFor whatever reason, it seems that McHale's view of Jeremy is already set in stone - just an average to below average nba pg, who should really be coming off the bench, With a coach like that, Jeremy is never going to achieve the success he was destined for.
If I knew Harden was going to be out, I woulda watched the game.
ReplyDeleteIf I knew James Anderson was going to start with Lin, I woulda watched the game.
If I knew Greg Smith was going to start with Asik, I woulda watched the game.
Hey, now I know why Rox won the game, cuz stupid Fridge finally used the line up that I proposed him to use last week!
etane is coach of the year!
If Etane knew a friend with LP, he would have watched Q3 :)
DeleteIt's a great team ball game to watch, Etane!
Watch how many times Parsons, Lin, Asik smiled because they got to make plays together.
Told you so - COACH OF THE YEAR! I must say its quite boring here without you Etane!
DeleteEtane, you're a poet. Who would've known!
DeleteThe definition of linsanity is doing the same thing over and over again, hoping for a different result.
ReplyDeleteI fully expect nothing different when harden returns. That's the problem of playing hard for a fool, playing hard for his team...the credit is being given to how Mchale was brilliant for benching the guys last night. How Mchale system was brilliant. No mention of Lin's contribution or leadership. Sounds like a lot of the bad bosses we've worked for!
That's the thing. The outsiders do not look at the inner workings of the team as intently as we do and they only see the bottom line.. Youngest team on the verge of playoffs.. McHale is doing tremendous job. Lin 12 and 6 .. Solid average pg - having harden helps him out, etc etc.
DeleteAnd with the media as pathetic as in Houston, none of these issue gets addressed. They are soo tame.
It's such an injustice but what can Jeremy really do at this point in the season.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHouston Rockets Ride Jeremy Lin, Defense to Impressive Bounce Back Win
ReplyDeleteWithout Harden, the Rockets certainly needed Lin to step up, and step up he did. He shot just 40 percent from the field, but scored 15 points which was tied for the lead on the team. He ran the offense well early and kept the Rockets in the game until a third quarter explosion inflated the Rockets’ lead from five to 22.
Lin scored seven points in the third and held Chris Paul to just two while forcing Paul into foul trouble. It’s a good sign for the Rockets to see Lin play well. He had four straight single digit scoring efforts prior to tonight.
Houston Rockets – Jeremy Lin Kind of Basketball Without James Harden
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin was one of five players in double figures, leading the team with 15 points and 3 assists, to go with his six turnovers.
Lin had more of the ball in his hand, which meant less spot-up shooting for him (1-2 from beyond the arc) and more driving to the paint, a skill we haven’t seen enough of this year because of losing the de facto point guard role to his backcourt teammate.
He went to the line 8 times, making 6 of the shots.
CNM Jeremy Lin You Tube channel (around 2:10 minute mark) said that Harden got a shot in his foot about a week ago probably to reduce inflammation.
ReplyDeleteCNM Jeremy Lin Channel (Harden got shot in his foot to possibly reduce inflammation about a week ago
yes, it was the same shot Derron Williams got. It is a steroid shot to reduce inflammation. A cortisone shot starts to work very quickly once injected, although the time when you feel relief from your symptoms can vary. Most people find that relief begins within 48 to 72 hours after the injection.
DeleteDude needs rest or his minutes cut. This will linger into the playoffs. Things like that require rest to fully heal. I expect the Rox to sit him out once they clich the playoffs.
DeleteI'd like to see Jeremy Lin be able to turn his body while dribbling and make plays with Chris Paul on his side or back.
ReplyDeleteI love the way Chris Paul challenges Lin's dribble by reaching in. While many of those reach-ins are uncalled fouls, I still like the way it forces Jeremy Lin to upgrade his ballhandling.
If Jeremy Lin could do that half spin pivot and use his off hand to deflect Chris Paul's reach ins, Lin would lose the ball far less and would also greatly expand his scoring options.
Yeah, Lin should use his body to shield defenders away from his dribble, maybe he just doesn't like to put his back into defenders ... what if Chris Paul was a homosexual? ... then Jeremy will be committing a sin.
DeleteSaw this on CF posted by torocan and also another post from LOH. Anyone has an account to respond on CF.
ReplyDeletetorocan >
Observations on this game...
1) Team ball is much better when Harden is off the floor. Harden's ISO moves are amazing but he calls for pure ISO's and doesn't play off the pick or make quick decisions and move the ball often enough. This can discourage his team mates from making aggressive cuts, and sometimes even discourages passing the ball as you're never sure you'll get it back.
2) Harden's absence was very noticeable in terms of the defensive effort. It wasn't perfect, but fast rotations, everyone getting back in transition, lots of contesting and even some aggressive plays for blocks throughout the game.
While Harden does expend a lot of energy on offense, I think it would be good for McHale to reduce the load on Harden in terms of offense and demand more defensive play.
I'm not really sure you can expect Harden to significantly change his game this late in the season, but I don't think it's unreasonable for McHale to reign in Harden when he's looking to ISO too much.
This can either be through reducing Harden's minutes to a more reasonable level (35-38) and allowing Anderson more play time, or through running the offense more frequently through Lin and Beverley through set play (yes, I KNOW they don't really have a playbook, but it can't be THAT hard to introduce a few more plays).
The Rockets were for the most part sloppy on the offensive end, but their crisp ball movement happened often enough to more than make up for it. They really shined on defense, and with the play offs looming I have to say it's a very impressive performance defensively.
Lin had a lot of turnovers, however he was guarded by Chris Paul (#1 leader in steals) and he was double-teamed and trapped frequently. Given the defensive pressure, I think he did okay. More importantly, he racked up fouls on the Clippers all night. The Clippers had multiple players deep in foul trouble... rough on Lin's body, but it really hurts their ability to play aggressive body up defense on us.
Beverley had a strong game offensively in terms of shooting and took care of the ball well, however I felt he didn't drive nearly often enough, especially when the Clippers went to a 3-2 zone. 4 contested perimeter jumpers. 4 team misses. Most of them at the very end of the shot clock. He still has a long way to go before he'll be starting material as a facilitator.
Anderson was the best surprise of the night. I wondered to myself why he never got much playing time prior to this. When we signed him I believed he was supposed to relieve Harden of some of his minutes. It never made sense to me why McHale continued to burn Harden for so long all season.
Anderson isn't Harden, but he's a decent defender, can drive to the basket, and can make a shot now and then. I feel McHale is underutilising him.
Asik... just a beast on the glass. And some nice post moves tonight too.
All in all, was pretty happy with the substitutions and minutes alotted by McHale. Pulled Lin when he was tired. Pulled Bev when the offense was stagnated in the 4th. Didn't ask Delfino to play a horrible mismatch at the 4 and put it instead on Smith.
And most importantly, it was a win.
Here's from the LOH:
DeleteHere comes the bull sh*t queen again.
Harden was also off the floor against the prior Clipppers game. So how did the Rockets do? How did Mr. Team Ball Jeremy Lin do leading the team. Oh, I forgot..it wasn't Lin's fault they lost last time, it was on the coaches, the refs, the ball boy, or perhaps the chick in the stands staring at Lin making him nervous. So this time around, there was suddenly ball movement and Lin played even less minutes than previously but they win and it's all because of Lin and we didn't have Harden's ISO and lackadaisical defense. I guess I really need to get myself a pair of Lin-tinted glasses to elevate my bball knowledge.
Lin turning the ball over was atrocious and it shouldn't be glorified at all. Lin has been known in the league to be a turn over machine since the Knicks, so there's no point in getting into the argument of why? Lin is just a lousy ball-handler and passer when he handles the ball more, especially under defensive pressure, plain and simple. Also, a lot of these traps Lin got were just him dribbling himself into, LMFAO. He likes to dribble himself into defenders and then attempts a home-run pass in tight quarters--there's a reason why McHale can't stand his home-run style. There were a couple of home-run passes Lin attempted in the Q1 that resulted in TOs. Talking about quick decisions, Lin needs to make quicker decisions and pass it out when he gets himself trapped. And BTW, justifying that the higher TOs is the reason for Lin winning games is the most pathetic thing I've ever read. Who else would be saying things like that? Only LOFs obviously.
The fact that Beverley was so much better handling the ball than Lin, this LOF queen has to disingenuously praise Beverley just to jab at him that Lin did a better job penetrating in this game. Are you saying that Lin can drive in a zone and Beverley can't. Ok, so let me see how many times Lin drove to the basket in the zone. ZERO. Lin's first drive to the basket for a easy layup wasn't defended by a zone and thereafter. If it was a 3-2 zone, driving to the basket would be easier, but the Clippers wasn't playing 3-2. Do you even know what a 3-2 zone is? Do you know the Clippers wasn't playing a 3-2 zone but a different type of "zone." You have no idea what that zone is and you want to talk about zones. The specific type of "zone" the Clippers played when Beverley was on the court and on specific possessions, not all possessions, is called a nickle defense or a zone and man. When the Clippers played nickle defense, Beverley popped it from the arc because the Rockets destroyed it with ball movement forcing the Clippers to shift on defense because the "zone" you mentioned wasn't meant to protect the 3pt line. Greg Smith defended Blake well. The same backup player you deemed not worthy to play when Mchale sat the starters in the game against the Grizzlies. Garcia individually was the biggest contributor to the win. Looks like the majority of the players were backups that made your Lin-led Rockets look good against the Clips. You still got a bone to pick on McHale's decision to play the backups in the Grizzlies game? The backups played hard this game as well as the last.......
This was a game more about the Clippers playing poorly than the Rockets playing that much better..oops meant to write Lin-led Rockets playing well--can't forget to attach Lin's name. The Clipper has way too many "mental" breakdowns and playing lackadaisical getting technicals, fumbling the ball, bad attitudes, sloppy, and effortless. Talk about sloppiness, Clippers were way worse.
Here's some more:
DeleteLets get some game recap shall we:
Game Recap, oops...Lin Recap. It's all about Linning you know.
Q1 - 5 pts (layup, 3pt)
In the first quarter while the other Rockets players were busy defending the Clippers frontcourt, Lin was busy throwing the ball away. Whatever Lin did in that quarter was negated by his TOs.
Lin was an eye-sore in this Q. Lin subbed out and the game was tied at 21-21 a piece.
Q2 - 5 pts (layup, technicals x2, ft 1/2)
Lin back in the game at 6:31 and with the Rockets leading 40-34, thanks to Garcia, the man of the Q. Sorry LOFs, forgot to mention that Lin was also the man! The Rocket's lead was cut down to 45-44 at 3:19. Geez Lin, what are you doing to this team? When Lin was on the bench the team goes on a run. When Lin returns the lead shrinks. What gives? But guess what? We got super backup Garcia keep draining them 3s to save the day. The lead goes back up. Lin you are such an inspiration to the team! Don't know where the Rockets will be w/out Lin.
At the end of Q, the game was 50-55. Lin is the man! Lin single-handedly kept the Rockets on a roll.
Q3 - 5 pts (ft 1/2, ft 2/2 floater)
Here's another role for Lin since he such a great shooter and finisher at the basket. Just have Lin throw his body against the big boys so he gets fouled. Lin can certainly earn quite a few points from the foul line. It's an alternative way Lin can become elite and pad his stats. Actually, Lin should thank Harden for sitting out; otherwise, Lin would have scored a total of 13 pts w/out those 2 technicals.
Q4 - 0 pts
All I can say this was a Linspirational Q.
All in all, Lin's scoring and playmaking abilities got Rockets this win. Without Lin, the Rockets was a guaranteed failure. However, let me end this by giving Lin some more credit. Lin sure can transform backup scrubs like Anderson, Beverley, Smith, and Garcia into stars with his magical appearance on the floor as the primary ball handler. Lin didn't even have to pass it off after crossing half-court and camp in the corner in this game. Lin played his brand of basketball. I'm happy for him.
James Anderson is the opposite of Patrick Beverley.
DeleteBeverley has a quick nervous energy, but he has slow reflexes and neither can stay with his man or make the right reads.
James Anderson looks super slow when he's making his moves, but he's a solid player on both ends of the court. He's one of those clumsy looking players that constantly scores and gets stops.
People think Beverley is this great energy guy because he can get up court quickly and wave his hands. However, Beverley has a severely dampening effect on the SCORE because of his lack of productivity.
James Anderson looks awkward out there, but he actually PRODUCES. I like his game.
I got banned so I can't respond.
Delete@jlinfan4ever,
DeleteWhat's the screen name of that LOH please? The next time I go to CF, I would just skip his/her comments and move on to the next post.
jlinfan4ever, I actually enjoy seeing those negative reviews of Lin's game.
DeleteAs long as people don't attack others, I'm OK with Lin only haters writing critical stuff about Lin. As long as they're not professional media, they can rant all the want.
I actually enjoyed the critical article you put up on Lin. It helped me think about basketball more.
Rockets_Pride
DeleteWhy do U feel the need to copy and paste such infuriating posts on here. Those are probably what McHale sees in Jeremy. just goes on to show that no matter what Jeremy does, it will NOT change some people's attitude toward him as they see his game differently.
DeleteTo some Jeremy will always be an undrafted scrub .. Unfortunately one of those people just happens to be McHale.
You're too nice KHuang :)
DeleteBecause I want to respond but I'm banned. I was hoping someone else can respond. That's all.
DeleteDon't understand Rockets' fans hating on their own starter ... SMH. It's fine being critical but the tone and attitude are beyond that. Eh.
DeleteTalking about Turnover, CP3 had 7TO in the loss to Dallas the night before. What about Harden's TO? Jeremy isn't that bad in terms of TO considering he's playing with new teammates.
DeleteTorocan will respond and shoot this guy down, I'm certain.
Just like u can't change McHale's view, responding to it won't change theirs.
DeleteHowever, It is quite revealing to see the game through the eyes of a person who doesn't think much of Lin's game, like McHale. I mean by their accounts Jeremy didn't do much of anything in the game! It is almost like McHale himself wrote it.
This explains a lot, like the questionable moves to bench him. And it just bolstered my view that Jeremy was forced upon a coaching staff who never believed in him. That is a lot on Jeremy's plate to work against. That is a mountain to climb.
My reply to that idiot:
DeleteMy reply to LOH on CF
That was pretty good Kenoshi. About the homerun pass, I think it's not necessarily a full-court pass but rather a difficult pass. I think Jeremy had one of those in the 1st quarter where he wanted to pass to Asik in the paint when it was kind of jammed. I think Anderson was open on the corner or something like that. I think Jeremy should have passed that one to Anderson instead. Thanks for your post.
DeleteI find it interesting that you guys cite the "homerun" comment when it was found in an article from a very questionable source. Hardly substantiated. But if you like citing it even though Mchale may have never said anything like it, go for it.
DeleteRockets_Pride is a LOH troll, each and EVERY ONE of his posts is used to insult Lin and his fans.
DeleteI'm almost positive that he's the same troll as Random_Fan and a few others. All joined in March 2013, and when one gets shut out or ignored on the threads, another hater account pops up.
Pretty soon, that ONE LOH will have more screen names on Clutchfans than all other members put together. LOL.
Notice the play-by-play breakdown by Rockets_Pride (born on date - March 2013. Reminds you of a little "continuum" and his other aliases, perhaps. Don't fall for these guys. They're a small, small minority.
Delete"You can't structure randomness" - Jeremy Lin
ReplyDeleteThe man said it himself...
With their random offensive system, it's hard for their players to get a good offensive rhythm as a team. Without a good offensive rhythm you'll have multiple miss-communications that will lead to turnovers and team chemistry won't always be consistent.
I'm surprised how this team wins against top .500 teams, but then again I'm not surprised how they loose to below .500 teams.
Until they change their offensive system to a more structured type of system. This team will always be unpredictable in the Win/Loss per game column.
Very nice when did he say that?
Deleteafter the Utah Jazz game(March 20).
Delete(second to the last paragraph - )
http://www.mutiara-damansara.com/1/post/2013/03/jeremy-lin-houston-rockets-nothing-random-about-it.html