How many times tonight did DMo get burned by over-helping on defense? Same with Har_en's "matador" defense. Most of team looked lost and lethargic on defense. Too bad Rox had a 12 point lead in early 2nd Qrt but lost it.... Good that Jeremy showed up.
Karl exposed Harden pretty badly today, probably just watched the OKC vs Rockets tapes and got a good idea how to shut him down.
Despite being heavily defended Lin still walked away with 8/15 23pts 8 assists despite non calls and moving screens. He did well.
Parsons/TJ/Asik/Garcia/Delfino/Smith/PB/Anderson/DMo needs to step up, they need to expect their #1 scoring option getting shut down, or find ways to bail him out. Problem is Harden is not only predictable but is a huge liability on defense. And our bigs need to get aggressive, they can't keep getting dominated at the post like this.
HOU had lost 7 straight to DEN, including all 4 this season. [As HOU opponent-season-high tonight 74 pts in the paint, most fast break points, their most overall.]
I bow to your wisdom. 7th is better than 6th this year for Rockets. They have a better chance to play against SA or OKC. Rockets are not a good matchup against the Nuggets. They are big and strong and athletic and fast and well coached team. History showed that they beat the Rox 4 times this year. It is better to stay with 7th or 8th spot. Just don't drop out of the playoff.
Do you guys think that McFail will go back to his benching Lin agenda once Parsons, Harden and Delfino are all back and healthy? Is it a sign that he is seeing the light because he actually benched HARDEN after he only hit 2 of 10. In previous games, he would play Harden 40 minutes regardless of his poor D and O. I guess time will tell. I am so proud of Jeremy for persevering through the humiliation and erratic sub patterns. He is a survivor.
Harden didn't do quite well to his normal scoring. I hope McHate is benching him to save his legs for the coming playoffs. He's playing way too many mins and he may have not fully recovered from his ankle injuries, here and there.
There is not much to say about this schedule loss other than Lin came to play with 23pts/8asts.
Garcia also came in shooting hot. Harden's shooting was off although he managed to get into the paint drawing 10FTs.
It's a schedule loss because there was no way most Rockets would be ready to play when they arrived in Denver from Portland at 3-4am. That means they only had 4-5 hrs of good sleep.
Asik was clearly laboring because he didn't even jump up to grab rebound in 1 play when Wilson Chandler grabbed his own miss for an easy putback.
But yes, I agree Denver would be a matchup nightmare with George Karl exploiting weaknesses easily with his in-game adjustment.
Spurs or OKC is not an easy matchup either so let's hope the Rockets continue to develop their offense with TJones/GSmith as the PF and play decent D.
Who knew TJones can shoot 3s so well? A nice surprise indeed.
I think the game just ended late and it took at least ~3 hrs to fly to Denver, then a bus trip to the hotel. That's why it's called a schedule loss because most likely the coach will pencil in a loss. It messed up with sleeping hours and shooting routine, etc.
Matt Bullard @bull50 18h How you know it's late...when you get to ur hotel room and the morning paper is already hanging on ur door handle. pic.twitter.com/nCXDvLLCmv
Matt Bullard @bull50 19h Denver = Longest bus ride in the league. The good news is there's no traffic at 3:30am...
I like the Rockets players, but they are less experienced, less paid. And much thinner, except for a few players; Smith comes to mind. I think the current Rockets - if they keep everyone (highly unlikely) - would look like the Nuggets in about 2 years. That's too long a wait. They don't have the patience, they are tired of disappointing their fans.
McHale probably won't bench JLin if he keeps hitting his shots and plays good defense, at this part of the season. Each game matters much more from now onwards until the playoffs. And at the playoffs, all the games are televised nationally so he won't pull that "benching JLin when he's hot" crap for fear of exposing himself as a poor coach.
Hardwood Paroxysm @HPbasketball I don't want to talk about the Knicks, but I really like what I've seen from Jeremy Lin this year. Just a good point guard. 7:43 PM - 6 Apr 13
Wait until his 60 minutes interview is going to air. trashy sports shows like first take and sports radio are going to tear into Lin's interview, blaming him for using the race card.
People are in denial if they don't think racial bias exists. Let them try to tear JLin down for those comments he made in the interview. It will lead people to debate and discuss, and ultimately bring more awareness to the issue.
This makes no sense given Rox avg 16-17 turnovers per game last 5, 10, and 20 games ... today was 18. This coach is not talking straight, or not thinking straight.
I think it was Harden 2/10, DMo missing so many ...
He won't call out Harden although his "benching" of Harden while letting the rest of the team try to attempt a come back in the third quarter spoke volumes about his opinion about Harden's play tonight. However, it's not just Harden's fault. The whole team (JLin better than others) couldn't do much against a superior team.
Sure, it was the TOs, McHale. Nothing whatsoever to do with the gulf in your coaching smarts and those of your counterpart on the Nuggets. A gulf that's amply demonstrated by your respective opinions of Jeremy Lin:
Karl: Lin is the engine of his team.
McHale: Lin is a scrub that I was right to cut on Christmas day.
Rox were sagging off players at the perimeter. They sagged so much that they could not close out properly against 3 point shooters, giving Fournier and Chandler open looks all day. A simple inside-out pass often sufficed, even without a hockey pass. There were also serious rotation problems, esp with the 2nd unit. People getting confused about their assignments, again open looks. Tonight, Nuggets shot 11-25 from 3 pt land. That's definitely anomalous for them, but the Rox helped them out with crappy defense.
I'm not blaming Bev here for the game but it was just really egregious how he could not keep Fournier in front of him. He played him too tight, so Fournier could easily blow by him.
I've never heard of Fournier before tonight but he got the hot hands tonight. Everything he threw up seemed to be going in. He got that step-back 3 confidently on Lin, too. Nothing you can do against that shot.
Between him and WChandler making all the shots with HOU's weak D, Houston got no chance for any comeback.
Was pretty impressed with Fournier tonight, kid is fast with decent moves in the lane, and evidently can shoot and dish, though lacks a certain finesse. Tall too with a nice wingspan.
Not bad for a rook?
The entire Rox was caught watching the ball quite a few times allowing peeps to cut to the rear from the ball to the rim, they literally walked up unopposed for an easy dish and quick points.
Hiren Joshi @htown747 3m Basically describes what it feels like to play a B2B with little sleep and altitude problems. http://pic.twitter.com/22ktfaGw1X 9:44 PM - 6 Apr 13
Nice find, via! Thanks! Good to know more people are noticing Lin's post defense.
"..I continue to be very impressed by Lin’s post defense – Miller took him down to the post a few times tonight and he handled it exceptionally well. It’s been a recurring theme with him – I remember Chris Paul trying to post him up a few games ago and getting nowhere either. He may struggle to keep quick guards in front of him at times, but if they’ve got their back to him you can count on him to do a decent job."
Scott Carasik @ScottCarasik Interesting thoughts about Jeremy Lin. While I'm not a basketball guy, he's definitely proven himself as an above average PG with potential. 9:40 PM - 6 Apr 13
Lin is a very good player, there should be no surprise when people are praising him. There are tons of Asians on twitter that always praise Lin, but i notice that u like to post a non-asian tweets praising Lin. I'm not attacking u personally, but clearly u have some inferiority complex, please just stop it. Lin is a star it should be no surprise that people of all races are rooting for him except for racist and haters.
I love you via, for all that u have done for us but please stop posting tweets from a non-asian nobody. There are tons of asians tweets about Lin but u seem to be overwhelmed by the non-asian specifically. Is it such a surprise or do u feel so proud that a non-asian could somehow validates that Lin is a no scrub?
:) I'm not impressed/ or not impressed by anyone. The commonality between this 2 tweets is they are MEDIA PEOPLE [1 for HP, the other for B/R <- crappy place, but still.]
I post tweets from neaato.org all the time. I'm posting Terry Park's Joy Dunk Club, stuff from the jubilee guys, tweets from Greg Pak etc etc. Stuff from Asia.
Are you perhaps seeing this selectively? There are more non-asian media out there. It would be natural that it would seem I'm posting more of them.
I can stop posting tweets. [Tbh, I posted these bec I remembered Roberlin saying he likes reading favorable tweets on JLin.] :)
Please don't make assumptions about me with such scant info.
[I hope this is not going back to that time 777aam accused me of the same thing bec I posted Mohr and Koppelman's tweets <- That was because they are NYers at a time when there were so much vitriol in NY, not bec they are white, sigh.]
I'll try to be more careful and see it through your lenses, bmzll. :) [This is not a small issue for me. I still remember what was said that night with 777am and I never thanked @ntt, @eb5attorney, @Eric, you psalm, and @Michael Terry [?] for speaking up on my behalf. :)
I apologized if that's not the case but i think it's better not to post tweets from a nobody especially a non-asian because somehow it seems like we were overwhelmed by every little praise, when in fact most of us are not. Just a thought :)
bmzll~ I think lyd simply meant she appreciates the nice ones in contrast to those being crappy. [It's good to know it's not all haters out there. NOT that we give so much import to there opinions, but we could be indifferent enough to find it nice, couldn't we?] :)
I'm thinking now that it might look to you as if we're seeking non-asian approval? [It never occurred to me to think this, bcos I simply don't...think this way? I'll be more careful going forward.] :)
If you are complaining specifically b/c the tweet comes from a 'white person' then you sir are being racist. I am 'white' I like/admire JLin. Just letting you know so I guess you can ignore any posts I make about him. sigh :-(
Maybe you should read "Animal Farm" again with this in mind: Things are no better if those in charge simply play musical chairs yet never learn.
Keep those tweets coming. I don't make a point to go find out if the person is white or black or asian. JLin fans (& haters) come in all sorts of racial backgrounds.
I don't think most of us here are consciously or subconsciously having "inferiority complex". We just love and support Lin, so any info about Lin from ANYONE is appreciated.
Our FOCUS is LIN, not the ppl who wrote the articles or tweeted.
It's certainly a bummer... but when Lin shows up and not enough of the other players do: You're bound to lose.
Bright side is this performance just makes it that much more unlikely Mchale will give Lin less playing time during the rest of the season. Lin has proven time and again he's good at capitalizing on opportunities. Linsanity in NY underscores this. With some current injuries, and the team needing more production from Lin, this also underscores this.
Yeah, his health is #1 priority, more important than making it into the playoffs where the Rockets won't make it through the first round. He has much to work on in the offseason.
How come Jared Jeffries just sat on the bench for Portland. He was one of the best teammate with Lin in NY. I thought he looked real good with Lin in NY.
Someone was wondering why Lin got more spotlight lately with "60 Minutes", CBS preview video about Asian-American stereotype preventing D1 scholarship offer, also his comment on "true PG" covered by 60 Minutes reporter, ESPN game last night.
Paul Villareal had interesting thought that NBA wants to promote Lin more as his performance is peaking closer to the playoff.
I listened to it. I thought his insight was very good. I love his recaps. I also (and this is my personal opinion)... I find him to be balanced and objective. Granted, no human being can ever reach complete objectivity... but I feel he really tries not to have bias and to call it as best he can.
k.smith, not sure about the ESPN post-game interview. I was referring to the ORL post-game interview where apparently CBS reporter was there for "60 Minutes" segment.
agree, Bamboo. Paul is clearly a big Lin fan but he stays quite objective if things don't go so well for Lin either. We gotta appreciate a guy who consistently made 40-50min Lin post-game analysis for every game!
In his post POR game vid, he talked about meeting up with Cluth, how Cluth likes Jeremy and Cluth isn't biased but just got annoyed by Jeremy fans...so, not sure whether he actually knows what he's talking about CF and Cluth though.
jane, he actuallly rebutted Clutch's claim in CF under PhiSlamma member about Bev could be the starter since there wasn't much drop-off in performance.
I think he tried to give the benefit of the doubt to Clutch but he also stepped up on Lin's defense.
Nothing is black and white. There is truth in Clutch liking Jeremy and getting annoyed by exuberant Lin fans putting him above the Rockets. From his comments, there is truth that he doesn't have full appreciation YET of what Lin brings to the team plays more so than Bev.
paslm, i didn't listen to the vid which he mentioned about Bev but from his tone, he seemed to be in agreement with Clutch's way of moderating CF. I don't doubt there is truth to Clutch liking Jeremy but to say that Clutch is objective and fair in treating Jeremy and his fans the way CF is being moderated, I just think the credibility is no longer intact.
Who said Clutch is objective and fair? I think that Paul is objective and fair in his assessments. I'm not sure if you're responding to what I said... but my mention of objectivity and balance was in reference to Paul and what he says, not people on Clutch.
Also, I don't remember Paul saying that Clutch isn't biased. In fact... he has mentioned before that he wants to go there to see what the haters will say after a strong Lin performance. All Paul was saying is that the owner of Clutch loses patience for people who frame Lin as walking on water and being without faults, etc. Something to that effect, anyways. What he said doesn't suggest, though, that he agrees with Clutch as demonstrated by what Psalm said that he defended Lin on the forum in response to Clutch's opinion. By the way: I almost never go there and don't have much experience there.
jane, I didn't listen to the video when he mentioned that Clutch is objective and fair in his moderation with Lin fans.
Of course, he could be wrong. What's important is he showed he came ready to disagree with Clutch when his comment on Bev/Lin was clearly wrong.
Even if he doesnt' agree with Clutch 100%, it's better for him and us to be in the business of changing his Clutch's mind and CF old-timers slowly than declaring war publicly. It would have been disastrous if Paul called out CF for his wrong BB knowledge and not be peace-makers.
I'm saying Paul knows Clutch is wrong on the Bev/Lin starter thing but he's right not publicizing it in his Youtube videos. He could if he wants to get more hits but that would have been the wrong thing to do.
I completely understood what you meant. I couldn't get over with his friendly tone about CF since I just heard it less than 12 hours ago. Well, I will listen to his DEN vid later to find the good feeling, again :)
As for Villareal, I think he errs on the side of being overly generous towards others, which is the right side of erring. Certainly that's the case with what he said about Clutch.
in the most recent Villareal video, he basically said that he's known Clutch for years, so it's really because of that long connection that he was not harsh towards Clutch for his comments on Lin.
btw, Villareal's new video also gives a shout out to jeremylin.net
I don't like the fact that the site-owner chose the username "Clutch". It totally ruined the Rockets mascot for me! I love Clutch the bear (he's so funny with his antics around the court during gametime) but I don't like Clutch the forum owner lol.
I've talked a lot about the mental part of the game and tonight is yet another example of why lin is so unique and special in ways that most scouts would never be able to measure.
Yes everyone was tire but that's just an excuse, that's why I hate to let my players settle for excuses no matter how reasonable. Part of the reason great players are great is that they don't accept reasonable, they are totally delusional in their own belief of what they are capable of. They only accept unreasonable because they choose to believe in destiny.
Second thing about tonight's game is that there was fear and defeat in the eyes of the Rox players. They played scared. The only one that came to play was Lin. This is the inner battle of will that is often the turning point of a game. When players are loose with no pressure, they are relaxed, in the present. As a game progresses, it's trading pts and tactics until someone panics and start to loose their present. They start to worry about who is doing what to whom. They start worrying about what happened in the past play and what they can or can't do in the future. Once you can make your opponents worry about you, they have already lost their own mind. Once that happens, the body is like a chicken with its head cut off.
Few players have this innate ability to thrive under pressure which is why Lin is so clutch. Lin always plays up to his opponents, he may be totally out played but he always plays with heart. Fear of failure is the toughest enemy of any athlete and Lin has proven time and time again that he is fearless.
I agree with you that Lin has a unique capacity to not let pressure get to him. It's part of his mental outlook/philosophy/focus and it strongly carries over into his basketball performance. This is something that allows an athlete to harness their full potential more times than not. Many things can derail an athlete that have nothing to do with their innate capacity to perform. Then again: Being adamant about having the right mindset is a skill in itself.
Yes, and I believe Jeremy knows how to see and attack the weaknesses in a stronger opponent/team -- a skill of strategic gamesmanship or leadership that few NBA players have that Jeremy has developed and demonstrated in high school, college, and last year with the Knicks.
That's how Poly upsets nationally-ranked Mater Dei in CA State Championship, that's how Harvard wins Ivy's, and that's how last year's going-no-where-fast Knicks suddenly turnaround and have a momentum shift and go on a winning streak that enables them to make the playoffs. That's Jeremy's proven record of leading teams to big victories under pressure ... when he's trusted and given the reigns.
Its a beautiful thing ... hopefully we will see more in this playoffs.
FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: The stat sheet rarely reflects the way Iguodala impacts a game, but it was hard to ignore his output against the Rockets. He set a season high in assists -- which was two shy of his career high -- while playing shutdown defense on James Harden.
I completely understood what you meant. I couldn't get over with his friendly tone about CF since I just heard it less than 12 hours ago. Well, I will listen to his DEN vid later to find the good feeling, again :)
BSPN talking heads are debating JLin's comment that racism was a factor in how other NBA players go against him (and him not getting a D-1 college scholarhsip)?
Jeremy Lin cites college race 'barrier' http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9141475/jeremy-lin-houston-rockets-race-was-barrier-college
I thought Rob Parker (one of the people in the video) was fired by BSPN for his comments about RG3, but apparently he's back.
DMo is best down low yet they continue to have him shoot 3s...His per 48 is pretty nice. For a small sample size he is actually better than Asik in all 4 quadrants down low.
Our boy is just a penetrating machine. His per 48 makes him the obvious choice for PG, but again, misused. He seems to do great top or near top of the key, I wonder how many of those 2s were 3s where his fat toe crossed the line. Yay his FG% is higher than Hardens :)
And wow, look at the offensive juggernaut that is Asik/Lin/Smith/Harden/Parsons. But for a good defensive game still with good offense the combination of Lin/Garcia/Asik/Anderson/Smith seems to work well. I'm discounting the Lin/Harden/Asik/Parsons/Jones combination because we really haven't seen TJ play enough minutes to matter.
You and your charts/graphs/stats! I kid, great stuff Kenoshi. Why the hell is DMo shooting 3's? He's not consistent enough to be doing it. They want him to play a certain way but that's not him. He needs to be closer to the basket.
It's not the coaching staff's fault that Dmo is being misused.
Dmo is a rookie who's just learning about NBA physicality. He's being bashed out of the post.
The only coaching option to get Dmo inside is to run either a Princeton offense or a flex offense. Both of those offenses feature a big man flashing inside briefly for backdoor cuts. However, that won't stop guys from knocking Dmo off his spot if such offenses are run.
Dmo will be a much improved player next season. The Rockets are going to have a major league logjam of quality power forwards in the fall.
Seriously, goingthru today's game, I do see some light at the end of the tunnel. The way, Jeremy had been playing the last 5 games, its really at Linsanity level. His acceleration is at its highest. And it seems McHale is acknowledging Lin's play.
He gets the team involved at the both end of the court, and constantly calling off his teamates when they are not at their postion and having a word with them.
Hack, we even saw, JLin on drawing board with Mchale. I feel (hope, its true) McHale, is learning to trust Lin a little bit more and for the first time, I see that Mchale is benching Harden! wow.
Harden was not defending at all. Defense was the main reason we lost; together with trying to go tit-for-tat with nuggets, since both are playing the same type of offense; run and gun.
Rox should have tried slow down the pace.
But overall, Lin was suberb in this game, although he was alone. The rest were either too tired (since they reached like at 4am) or just didnt have it in them to run up and down.
Oh Bev, was also good playing buddy with Lin as well.
Anyways, we still have 5 more games; chances are still there to clinch 6th spot. Butg do we really want to be at 6th, since we have meet nuggests again?!
There have been lots of discussions about Lin's ceiling (can he be a superstar, is he an all star, etc). So what exactly makes a player a superstar? What is the difference between a superstar, all star, star, and above average player? These seem highly subjective. Is it just the stat line that matters?
Superstar = Top 5-10 player All star = Top 15-20 player (some would say less); maybe even 11-15. Question to ask to label someone an all star: how often does this guy belong on the all star team year in and year out.
To me, star doesn't really mean anything.
I think that JLin can be an All-Star. I expect superstars to carry a team. I don't think he can do that. But I do think he has the skill set to play @ a high level (18 pts and 8-9 assists a night). But he does either always need a Harden or a good PF to make it work. No shame in that.
He really needs to develop a dependable shot that will get easy buckets. I think if he could get a Tony Parker like floater/teardrop that he drives into the lane and can just release, then his game will go through the roof. He just doesn't have anything right now that isn't defensible. At times, he has to work too hard on offense.
It's fortunate that he has good passing vision, though. That will keep his game open.
The answer is that it depends on what the public decides is to be a star. Chinese people innately value the cerebral part of bball; in general we appreciate brain over brawn. However, this doesn't pass the eye test in the game as it is appreciated by the fans. What most fans see is the finisher the one that scores the "touchdown" and not the quarterback. In The present evaluation system, it's the one that can score the most that makes you the star. Thus Mchale thinks Harden is the number 1 player and Parsons is the # 2 player and Lin is sometimes even below Bev.
This is why I've been advocating that Lin use this system to elevate himself in the league. If scoring is the only way for Lin to be respected by others, he must become a scorer first. The more Lin scores 20 ppg, the more he'll be able to assert his own game style on his team. The more he scores, the more he becomes a star and be respected.
Also, people have differing opinions of what a "superstar" is.
For most people, a "superstar" is a guy (usually high scoring, but not necessarily) that the NBA hypes regardless of his game. The "All Hype" NBA 1st team is:
Each one of those players is WAY OVERHYPED because the NBA has deemed their pseudo stardom necessarily to the economic survival of their franchises.
----
I can't speak for others, but I can speak for my own "grading system" that is unlike anyone else's.
To me, a true basketball superstar is a guy that can make a significant winning impact against any opponent including other superstars. Usually that player gets it done on both ends of the court, especially when it comes to creating for others.
Jeremy Lin is a "superstar" to me. He can play winning basketball against anybody in the NBA. He might not get the win because no one man other than Tim Duncan can carry a team all by himself, but Lin is as impactful on winning as any single guard I've ever seen. Other superstars in the NBA are guys like Lebron James, Chris Paul, John Wall, Tyson Chandler, Dirk Nowitzki, Andre Iguodala, Zach Randolph, LaMarcus Aldridge, and others.
Now as far as "stars" go, I apply that designation to guys like James Harden that can do certain aspects of the game like superstars like Lin but fail in others. Harden is a very good offensive player who can be stopped (like in this last Denver game), but he's got too many holes in his defense for me to view him as a superstar. Also, I'd like to see Harden play better off the ball because he often gets in other people's way when dribbling around looking for his own shot.
The rest to me are role players. A role player to me is a guy who is physically and athletically incapable of having a consistent winning basketball impact. A guy like Chandler Parsons with his limited athleticism and limited court vision will always be a role player to me, even if he scores double figures by cherry picking off Lin and Harden.
@JYL CHang, I disagree that a superstar can carry a team. Almost no team in NBA can rely on only one star to do enough damage. They still need the capable team mates.
@KHuang I am 100% agree on your very good point. I think Jeremy Lin need to develop one more skill set(post move) to be a superstar. IMO, Magic Johnson is the most successful PG in NBA history. And the post move skill that he has is a very useful tool. When a PG do a high post on elbow or free throw area, he can use his back body to protect the ball very well to buy time. Then he can ether pass to a cuter or shoot it by himself.
Hopefully, Jeremy can be like Magic get a Champ on his rookie year this year. But Magic was very lucky to had a another superstar big men Kareem working with him. Jeremy has Big O and Greg Smith. Are they good enough?
Alan Xie, what you're describing about Lin's post move is what I've been harping on Lin to do since I first posted about it in January 2012.
Magic Johnson was very fortunate he had not just the greatest big man of all time in Kareem Abdul Jabbar, but 2 other #1 picks in Worthy and Thompson and an underrated 2nd overall pick in the forgotten but totally great Bob McAdoo (possibly the best power forward of all time).
Jeremy Lin has Omer Asik and Greg Smith, both of whom would not even crack the rotation on Magic's championship teams.
Magic was a great player, but he had trouble with individual defense. That's one area that Jeremy Lin is LINCOMPARABLY better than Magic Johnson is.
Now Micheal Ray Richardson, the 80s Jeremy Lin? Sugar's defense is equal to what Lin does now.
I hate how people say Lin is not a star. He is a star amongst stars and has the most recognizable name in the NBA. Last year his name was more recognizable than Lebron James to the US population and that included people who did not know basketball. If he got the ball more he would average more than 20 points per game. Probably easily what Westbrook gets. Plus he is shooting better 3's than Westbrook and even Chris Paul.
I am watching the Knicks-Thunder game and they get so many ticky tack fouls. If Lin got these fouls he would maintain Linsanity numbers the entire year.
I agree that he needs to work on the pullup 2 pointer or floater or at least take it more often.
Even with Harden struggling, the Rockets still scored over 110 points.
Thus offense is not the problem.
For the Rockets, defense is always the problem.
A George Karl team is always hard to defend. Even though the Nuggets aren't individually talented, Karl runs that fast break halfcourt offense that simply befuddles opponents. Playing against a Karl team is like being fast breaked on all game long, even after made free throws.
Against the Nuggets, Lin always does well because he's the only Rocket who has both the individual superstar talent and the matchless basketball IQ to play against Karl's turbo philosophy.
I have been harping about the importance of set plays or lack thereof since early of the season. We will need it even more(sets that the team can fall back on) in the playoffs later
I think it's more Karl's breakneck style than the altitude.
George Karl run and gun up tempo teams have a way of lulling opponents into trying to run against them. When Karl was in Seattle, Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp's Sonics played the same style as today's Nuggets, only with far superior talent.
The Nuggets have a deep expensive team. Sometimes in the NBA the more expensive and better talent simply wins out.
Totally agreed ricki m. Not only on a back to back, but against a real "team" of 5 contributing unselfish players who runs and guns better. It was a schedule lost for sure, but to play 4 times the same way and expect a win is absolutely bad coaching. A lost was almost a given, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to slow things down and run a half court game of set plays. Sure it's going to look ugly, but it's also a good way to make the lost useful for the future knowledge.
The last time the Rox played a back to back, they did the same thing and just ran out of legs, and their mental fatigue produced again so many TOs. When players are tire, taking care of the ball means slowing down a bit and being much more deliberate in your attack.
This also saves your own legs for defense. It also makes denver play a slower game which is to make them do something contrary to what they want to do.
Burn DeAleck at the stake! The prophet failed us!
ReplyDeleteAnyway good try by Lin, him and TJ showed up, everyone else was suffering from thin air I guess.
Harden played like a scrub. Our defense was non existent.
Damn it just 2 more wins...
TJ is the best bet for PF now, and GS should be a backup 5. If they can get Josh Smith and make Harden plays D, they would certainly be a contender.
DeleteHow many times tonight did DMo get burned by over-helping on defense?
DeleteSame with Har_en's "matador" defense. Most of team looked lost and lethargic on defense. Too bad Rox had a 12 point lead in early 2nd Qrt but lost it.... Good that Jeremy showed up.
If Golden State lose to Utah tomorrow...
ReplyDelete^^ Lyd
Deleteah, we're graced with a via appearance :)
Deletehope things are going well with you, via!
psalm, you...:)
Delete[Thnx, could be better haha.]
@Lyd~ Why? That's part of your charm! [I <3 you Lyd ^^ ]
DeleteVia! Long time no see!!! Where's my cheerleader pics?
DeleteJoking of course, welcome back!
LOL, I'll keep an eye out Kenoshi.
Delete[Thanks ^^]
hey via, welcome back...missing you like crazy...:)
DeleteHeya jan! ^^
DeleteHiya via ... welcome back. I owe ya a GSW vid, but just haven't had time myself.
Delete^^ @JT. [Oh please no rush, I'm grateful enough for all the trouble you went to, to get those pics and vid on tumblr and ytube haha.]
DeleteBeing late, but the place is never right without you. Welcome back, via!
DeleteHoChen: McHale postgame clearly not happy with the Rockets' 19 turnovers, Nuggets' 32 points off them.
ReplyDeleteNewsflash: Lin had ONE TO all game, that's why you lost. The more TO Lin has, the less the entire team has.
DeleteGive him the ball more.
Well McHale can't blame this loss on Lin. Sucka!,,,
DeleteOh btw this is a preview of things to come.
ReplyDeleteKarl exposed Harden pretty badly today, probably just watched the OKC vs Rockets tapes and got a good idea how to shut him down.
Despite being heavily defended Lin still walked away with 8/15 23pts 8 assists despite non calls and moving screens. He did well.
Parsons/TJ/Asik/Garcia/Delfino/Smith/PB/Anderson/DMo needs to step up, they need to expect their #1 scoring option getting shut down, or find ways to bail him out. Problem is Harden is not only predictable but is a huge liability on defense. And our bigs need to get aggressive, they can't keep getting dominated at the post like this.
Maybe 7th seed is not so bad.
ReplyDeleteHOU had lost 7 straight to DEN, including all 4 this season. [As HOU opponent-season-high tonight 74 pts in the paint, most fast break points, their most overall.]
They grow them big and fast in Denver...
DeleteDEN had won 20 in a row at home.
DeleteOn tonight though~
Only The Heat has won in DEN on the 2nd night of a B2B this season.
Via,
DeleteI bow to your wisdom. 7th is better than 6th this year for Rockets. They have a better chance to play against SA or OKC. Rockets are not a good matchup against the Nuggets. They are big and strong and athletic and fast and well coached team. History showed that they beat the Rox 4 times this year. It is better to stay with 7th or 8th spot. Just don't drop out of the playoff.
Do you guys think that McFail will go back to his benching Lin agenda once Parsons, Harden and Delfino are all back and healthy? Is it a sign that he is seeing the light because he actually benched HARDEN after he only hit 2 of 10. In previous games, he would play Harden 40 minutes regardless of his poor D and O. I guess time will tell. I am so proud of Jeremy for persevering through the humiliation and erratic sub patterns. He is a survivor.
ReplyDeleteHarden didn't do quite well to his normal scoring. I hope McHate is benching him to save his legs for the coming playoffs. He's playing way too many mins and he may have not fully recovered from his ankle injuries, here and there.
DeleteThere is not much to say about this schedule loss other than Lin came to play with 23pts/8asts.
ReplyDeleteGarcia also came in shooting hot. Harden's shooting was off although he managed to get into the paint drawing 10FTs.
It's a schedule loss because there was no way most Rockets would be ready to play when they arrived in Denver from Portland at 3-4am. That means they only had 4-5 hrs of good sleep.
Asik was clearly laboring because he didn't even jump up to grab rebound in 1 play when Wilson Chandler grabbed his own miss for an easy putback.
But yes, I agree Denver would be a matchup nightmare with George Karl exploiting weaknesses easily with his in-game adjustment.
Spurs or OKC is not an easy matchup either so let's hope the Rockets continue to develop their offense with TJones/GSmith as the PF and play decent D.
Who knew TJones can shoot 3s so well? A nice surprise indeed.
Why did they arrive so late? Is that common?
DeleteNo....usually they will leave right after the previous game
DeleteI think the game just ended late and it took at least ~3 hrs to fly to Denver, then a bus trip to the hotel. That's why it's called a schedule loss because most likely the coach will pencil in a loss. It messed up with sleeping hours and shooting routine, etc.
DeleteMatt Bullard @bull50 18h
DeleteHow you know it's late...when you get to ur hotel room and the morning paper is already hanging on ur door handle. pic.twitter.com/nCXDvLLCmv
Matt Bullard @bull50 19h
Denver = Longest bus ride in the league. The good news is there's no traffic at 3:30am...
Ahh I see. Was wondering what you meant by schedule loss.
Deletehaha, yes. It could mean that McHale scheduled the loss :) Of course not true.
DeleteJLin averaging 19.8 points on 50.9% from the field (45% from three) and 9.3 assists in his last 4 games. [CF]
ReplyDeleteWe've seen this before, now we could guess what happened next
DeleteYep, next 2 games, single digit scoring games for Lin as he gets benched for AB/PB/
Deleteas a wise man once said, ride her like my Secretary.
DeleteYou mean, "Ride him like a freaking secretariat"
DeleteHAHAHAHAHAHA I like 0ccupati0's better!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteRikki M, I prefer my secretary. =)
DeleteLol pervs, I'm curios now but let's just leave it at that
DeletePics or it didn't happen!
DeleteJoking of course ;)
LOL Kenoshi.
DeleteJeremy's benching by McHale may happen after the Suns game which will be played on NBATV. McHals can't be that stupid to do it so blatantly?
DeleteDat team ball. If only Lin have coach like George Karl and teammates like those in Denver, could be something really special.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Karl is a brainy coach.
DeleteI like the Rockets players, but they are less experienced, less paid. And much thinner, except for a few players; Smith comes to mind. I think the current Rockets - if they keep everyone (highly unlikely) - would look like the Nuggets in about 2 years. That's too long a wait. They don't have the patience, they are tired of disappointing their fans.
McHale probably won't bench JLin if he keeps hitting his shots and plays good defense, at this part of the season. Each game matters much more from now onwards until the playoffs. And at the playoffs, all the games are televised nationally so he won't pull that "benching JLin when he's hot" crap for fear of exposing himself as a poor coach.
ReplyDeleteHey Brent Yan you were right, Harden had no problems "forcing" ISOs on himself at all, Karl didn't have to do anything :D
ReplyDeleteI bet Karl was laughing at the side line watching Harden's self destruction. LOL
DeleteWe need a 7ft manimal
ReplyDeletePut a wig, some springs, and spraypaint some muscles on DMo and call it done.
DeleteAlso performance enhancing drugs and steroids might do the trick
DeleteThat monster jam by him today was effing unreal, omg how far up did he get above the rim?!?
DeleteI'd say about at least 35 inch
DeleteWESTERN STANDING UPDATE
ReplyDeleteI think we clinched the playoff spot on April 14 & 15
Delete@Lydia, Memphis is 2nd in South West division behind Spurs. LAC is Pacific division champion, I hope its clear enough
DeleteYou can find the rules here
DeleteHardwood Paroxysm @HPbasketball
ReplyDeleteI don't want to talk about the Knicks, but I really like what I've seen from Jeremy Lin this year. Just a good point guard.
7:43 PM - 6 Apr 13
Im tired of ppl, commentators down playing Lin superstar talent at the pg position, "just" a good point guard
DeleteIts a good start imo, its better than "he's a flash in the pan" or "I guess its better to be lucky" when talking about Lin.
DeleteYou are misreading that 'just'. It's emphatic, instead of attenuating.
DeleteYeah, first he's a fluke, then a scrub, then is an overrated overpaid starter and finally he is just a good player.
DeleteAll this in the second month of his sophomore year.
Wait until his 60 minutes interview is going to air. trashy sports shows like first take and sports radio are going to tear into Lin's interview, blaming him for using the race card.
DeletePeople are in denial if they don't think racial bias exists. Let them try to tear JLin down for those comments he made in the interview. It will lead people to debate and discuss, and ultimately bring more awareness to the issue.
Delete"JUST a good point guard." -> SIMPLY WITHOUT QUESTION a good point guard.
DeleteI couldn't watch the second half. How did Lin have a team-best 23 pts, 8-15, 8 ast, 1 to, but yet have a team-worst -23?
ReplyDeleteHe played all of 3rd quarter when Rox fell apart. You can thank DMo for quite a few of those negative points.
DeleteWe went small and the defense collapse, Denver ate us inside out
Deleteyeah, DMo at one point was -21.
DeleteTotally lost his confidence on D and O. He shouldn't have been on the floor in the past 2-3 games.
MCHALE POST GAME [blames TOs]
ReplyDeleteLin with 1 TO. They did have too many to's though.
DeleteThis makes no sense given Rox avg 16-17 turnovers per game last 5, 10, and 20 games ... today was 18. This coach is not talking straight, or not thinking straight.
DeleteI think it was Harden 2/10, DMo missing so many ...
He won't call out Harden although his "benching" of Harden while letting the rest of the team try to attempt a come back in the third quarter spoke volumes about his opinion about Harden's play tonight. However, it's not just Harden's fault. The whole team (JLin better than others) couldn't do much against a superior team.
DeleteTrue, it was a mild slide until it fell off the cliff at end of 3rd. Still, it wasn't TOs, Mr. McHale.
DeleteSure, it was the TOs, McHale. Nothing whatsoever to do with the gulf in your coaching smarts and those of your counterpart on the Nuggets. A gulf that's amply demonstrated by your respective opinions of Jeremy Lin:
DeleteKarl: Lin is the engine of his team.
McHale: Lin is a scrub that I was right to cut on Christmas day.
You dumb prick.
Rox were sagging off players at the perimeter. They sagged so much that they could not close out properly against 3 point shooters, giving Fournier and Chandler open looks all day. A simple inside-out pass often sufficed, even without a hockey pass. There were also serious rotation problems, esp with the 2nd unit. People getting confused about their assignments, again open looks. Tonight, Nuggets shot 11-25 from 3 pt land. That's definitely anomalous for them, but the Rox helped them out with crappy defense.
ReplyDeleteI'm not blaming Bev here for the game but it was just really egregious how he could not keep Fournier in front of him. He played him too tight, so Fournier could easily blow by him.
I might not be giving Fournier enough credit here since I'm not familiar with his game. But he was just torching Bev tonight.
DeleteI've never heard of Fournier before tonight but he got the hot hands tonight. Everything he threw up seemed to be going in. He got that step-back 3 confidently on Lin, too. Nothing you can do against that shot.
DeleteBetween him and WChandler making all the shots with HOU's weak D, Houston got no chance for any comeback.
Was pretty impressed with Fournier tonight, kid is fast with decent moves in the lane, and evidently can shoot and dish, though lacks a certain finesse. Tall too with a nice wingspan.
DeleteNot bad for a rook?
The entire Rox was caught watching the ball quite a few times allowing peeps to cut to the rear from the ball to the rim, they literally walked up unopposed for an easy dish and quick points.
Hiren Joshi @htown747 3m
ReplyDeleteBasically describes what it feels like to play a B2B with little sleep and altitude problems. http://pic.twitter.com/22ktfaGw1X
9:44 PM - 6 Apr 13
There is one thing I learned from that play: which socks are Lin's.
Deletehttps://twitter.com/ChandlerParsons/status/320425348095414272/photo/1
OccupatiO <=> Sherlock
DeleteDEN 132, HOU 114 - SOMETIMES THE SCHEDULE KNOWS BEST
ReplyDeleteNice find, via! Thanks!
DeleteGood to know more people are noticing Lin's post defense.
"..I continue to be very impressed by Lin’s post defense – Miller took him down to the post a few times tonight and he handled it exceptionally well. It’s been a recurring theme with him – I remember Chris Paul trying to post him up a few games ago and getting nowhere either. He may struggle to keep quick guards in front of him at times, but if they’ve got their back to him you can count on him to do a decent job."
Lin's post defense is very good. People are so clueless when it comes to him.
DeleteScott Carasik @ScottCarasik
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts about Jeremy Lin. While I'm not a basketball guy, he's definitely proven himself as an above average PG with potential.
9:40 PM - 6 Apr 13
[more into football]
Who is this. While he just couldn't contain his enthusiasm, huh
Deletewe've missed you via.
Delete@Solidz~ his twitter.
Delete@k.smith~ Missed you guys ^^ [Did lurk a bit, couldn't post til now, some stuff.]
Just a white dude nobody. Why are u so overwhelmed by non-asian validation of Lin?? Please we as Asian need to stop showing any inferiority sign!!
DeleteJust a white dude nobody. Why are u so overwhelmed by non-asian validation of Lin?? Please we as Asian need to stop showing any inferiority sign!!
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DeleteOops, just to clarify: I tend to put ALL JLin mentions on all media on here. :)
DeleteLin is a very good player, there should be no surprise when people are praising him. There are tons of Asians on twitter that always praise Lin, but i notice that u like to post a non-asian tweets praising Lin. I'm not attacking u personally, but clearly u have some inferiority complex, please just stop it. Lin is a star it should be no surprise that people of all races are rooting for him except for racist and haters.
DeleteI love you via, for all that u have done for us but please stop posting tweets from a non-asian nobody. There are tons of asians tweets about Lin but u seem to be overwhelmed by the non-asian specifically. Is it such a surprise or do u feel so proud that a non-asian could somehow validates that Lin is a no scrub?
Deletebmzil, to be fair via provided many tweets on Lin that she can find on twitter, mostly on sports columnist.
DeleteThis guy listed himself on as a B/R columnist who might not mean much but it's a good representation of what many sport columnist think of Lin now.
I'm just reading these tweets as media/public representation and not implying via having Asian inferiority.
If you found good Asian columnist tweets, perhaps you can help to post. I know there were some good Grantland Asian writers, WSJ writers, etc.
:) I'm not impressed/ or not impressed by anyone. The commonality between this 2 tweets is they are MEDIA PEOPLE [1 for HP, the other for B/R <- crappy place, but still.]
DeleteI post tweets from neaato.org all the time. I'm posting Terry Park's Joy Dunk Club, stuff from the jubilee guys, tweets from Greg Pak etc etc. Stuff from Asia.
Are you perhaps seeing this selectively? There are more non-asian media out there. It would be natural that it would seem I'm posting more of them.
I can stop posting tweets. [Tbh, I posted these bec I remembered Roberlin saying he likes reading favorable tweets on JLin.] :)
Please don't make assumptions about me with such scant info.
[I hope this is not going back to that time 777aam accused me of the same thing bec I posted Mohr and Koppelman's tweets <- That was because they are NYers at a time when there were so much vitriol in NY, not bec they are white, sigh.]
Thank you for understanding, psalm. :)
DeleteI'll try to be more careful and see it through your lenses, bmzll. :) [This is not a small issue for me. I still remember what was said that night with 777am and I never thanked @ntt, @eb5attorney, @Eric, you psalm, and @Michael Terry [?] for speaking up on my behalf. :)
Er keep posting via I for one like them tweets.
Delete:) @Kenoshi
DeleteI apologized if that's not the case but i think it's better not to post tweets from a nobody especially a non-asian because somehow it seems like we were overwhelmed by every little praise, when in fact most of us are not. Just a thought :)
DeleteI'll keep that in mind, bmzll. :)
DeleteLydia
Deletea praise from a non-asian to Jeremy makes u feel appreciated? that's an inferiority complex!
bmzll~ I think lyd simply meant she appreciates the nice ones in contrast to those being crappy. [It's good to know it's not all haters out there. NOT that we give so much import to there opinions, but we could be indifferent enough to find it nice, couldn't we?] :)
DeleteI'm thinking now that it might look to you as if we're seeking non-asian approval? [It never occurred to me to think this, bcos I simply don't...think this way? I'll be more careful going forward.] :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete*THEIR opinions
Delete*I'M seeking
Always appreciate your posts, via. You post things I never would have seen.
Deletecali7, it's because I'm nosy hehe
DeleteIf you are complaining specifically b/c the tweet comes from a 'white person' then you sir are being racist. I am 'white' I like/admire JLin. Just letting you know so I guess you can ignore any posts I make about him. sigh :-(
DeleteMaybe you should read "Animal Farm" again with this in mind: Things are no better if those in charge simply play musical chairs yet never learn.
'keep 'em coming , @via!
Deletewelcome back! 'miss ya! :)
Keep those tweets coming. I don't make a point to go find out if the person is white or black or asian. JLin fans (& haters) come in all sorts of racial backgrounds.
DeleteI like ALL info about Lin.
DeleteKeep them coming, via.
I don't think most of us here are consciously or subconsciously having "inferiority complex". We just love and support Lin, so any info about Lin from ANYONE is appreciated.
Our FOCUS is LIN, not the ppl who wrote the articles or tweeted.
Damn, wish we could have won this game, especially since Lin played so well.
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly a bummer... but when Lin shows up and not enough of the other players do: You're bound to lose.
DeleteBright side is this performance just makes it that much more unlikely Mchale will give Lin less playing time during the rest of the season. Lin has proven time and again he's good at capitalizing on opportunities. Linsanity in NY underscores this. With some current injuries, and the team needing more production from Lin, this also underscores this.
Lin is a master at capitalizing on opportunities.
True.
DeleteI haven't read any post game stuff but I hope his arm's okay. I want Lin healthy (enough) for the playoffs.
Yeah, his health is #1 priority, more important than making it into the playoffs where the Rockets won't make it through the first round. He has much to work on in the offseason.
DeleteGeraldd highlights.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXfT1G7zs8Q
4:40 JLIN + TEAM HIGHLIGHTS VS DEN
Delete[Blaiyan]
Lin post-game interview.
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KogNUkWPZk
4/5/13 - JLIN VS PORTLAND FANCAM SERIES
ReplyDeleteVia, you rock!
DeleteHi Kauaiblue! ^^
DeleteHow come Jared Jeffries just sat on the bench for Portland. He was one of the best teammate with Lin in NY. I thought he looked real good with Lin in NY.
DeleteJLIN NO-LOOK PASS COMPILATION 2/20 - 3/20/13
ReplyDelete[AbsoluteSatisfaction]
Someone was wondering why Lin got more spotlight lately with "60 Minutes", CBS preview video about Asian-American stereotype preventing D1 scholarship offer, also his comment on "true PG" covered by 60 Minutes reporter, ESPN game last night.
ReplyDeletePaul Villareal had interesting thought that NBA wants to promote Lin more as his performance is peaking closer to the playoff.
J-Lin Extra #2: 60 Minutes Interview Drama, Rockets on ESPN Tonight, CNM's ..
i don't have espn. did they interview him after the POR game? what did the ESPN reporter say?
DeleteI listened to it. I thought his insight was very good. I love his recaps. I also (and this is my personal opinion)... I find him to be balanced and objective. Granted, no human being can ever reach complete objectivity... but I feel he really tries not to have bias and to call it as best he can.
Deletek.smith, not sure about the ESPN post-game interview. I was referring to the ORL post-game interview where apparently CBS reporter was there for "60 Minutes" segment.
Deleteagree, Bamboo. Paul is clearly a big Lin fan but he stays quite objective if things don't go so well for Lin either. We gotta appreciate a guy who consistently made 40-50min Lin post-game analysis for every game!
In his post POR game vid, he talked about meeting up with Cluth, how Cluth likes Jeremy and Cluth isn't biased but just got annoyed by Jeremy fans...so, not sure whether he actually knows what he's talking about CF and Cluth though.
Deletejane, he actuallly rebutted Clutch's claim in CF under PhiSlamma member about Bev could be the starter since there wasn't much drop-off in performance.
DeleteI think he tried to give the benefit of the doubt to Clutch but he also stepped up on Lin's defense.
Nothing is black and white. There is truth in Clutch liking Jeremy and getting annoyed by exuberant Lin fans putting him above the Rockets. From his comments, there is truth that he doesn't have full appreciation YET of what Lin brings to the team plays more so than Bev.
paslm, i didn't listen to the vid which he mentioned about Bev but from his tone, he seemed to be in agreement with Clutch's way of moderating CF. I don't doubt there is truth to Clutch liking Jeremy but to say that Clutch is objective and fair in treating Jeremy and his fans the way CF is being moderated, I just think the credibility is no longer intact.
DeleteWho said Clutch is objective and fair? I think that Paul is objective and fair in his assessments. I'm not sure if you're responding to what I said... but my mention of objectivity and balance was in reference to Paul and what he says, not people on Clutch.
DeleteAlso, I don't remember Paul saying that Clutch isn't biased. In fact... he has mentioned before that he wants to go there to see what the haters will say after a strong Lin performance. All Paul was saying is that the owner of Clutch loses patience for people who frame Lin as walking on water and being without faults, etc. Something to that effect, anyways. What he said doesn't suggest, though, that he agrees with Clutch as demonstrated by what Psalm said that he defended Lin on the forum in response to Clutch's opinion. By the way: I almost never go there and don't have much experience there.
Delete'Clutch isn't biased" in reference to the forum, that is.
DeleteThis gets confusing because the owner is Clutch and the forum can be referred to as Clutch : /
DeleteWho cares what he thinks. He has no better understanding of bball that the average viewer. Frankly, I think he's a fool.
DeleteMy post directed to Psalm; his comment triggered a thought about CNM.
DeleteWho cares? Obviously people who listen to him care what he thinks. If you think he's a fool because he disagrees with your opinion: That's bogus.
Deletejane, I didn't listen to the video when he mentioned that Clutch is objective and fair in his moderation with Lin fans.
DeleteOf course, he could be wrong. What's important is he showed he came ready to disagree with Clutch when his comment on Bev/Lin was clearly wrong.
Even if he doesnt' agree with Clutch 100%, it's better for him and us to be in the business of changing his Clutch's mind and CF old-timers slowly than declaring war publicly. It would have been disastrous if Paul called out CF for his wrong BB knowledge and not be peace-makers.
I'm saying Paul knows Clutch is wrong on the Bev/Lin starter thing but he's right not publicizing it in his Youtube videos. He could if he wants to get more hits but that would have been the wrong thing to do.
I completely understood what you meant. I couldn't get over with his friendly tone about CF since I just heard it less than 12 hours ago. Well, I will listen to his DEN vid later to find the good feeling, again :)
DeleteI was referring to Clutch, not to Villareal.
Deleteyeah, let's focus on all the positives like Lin's superb performance in the past few games. He's ready for the playoff! :D
DeleteOccupati0, cool. Got it.
DeleteAs for Villareal, I think he errs on the side of being overly generous towards others, which is the right side of erring. Certainly that's the case with what he said about Clutch.
Deletein the most recent Villareal video, he basically said that he's known Clutch for years, so it's really because of that long connection that he was not harsh towards Clutch for his comments on Lin.
Deletebtw, Villareal's new video also gives a shout out to jeremylin.net
More Lin fans LOVING Clutchfans!
DeleteThanks for sharing that site here, guys!
I don't like the fact that the site-owner chose the username "Clutch". It totally ruined the Rockets mascot for me! I love Clutch the bear (he's so funny with his antics around the court during gametime) but I don't like Clutch the forum owner lol.
DeleteI've talked a lot about the mental part of the game and tonight is yet another example of why lin is so unique and special in ways that most scouts would never be able to measure.
ReplyDeleteYes everyone was tire but that's just an excuse, that's why I hate to let my players settle for excuses no matter how reasonable. Part of the reason great players are great is that they don't accept reasonable, they are totally delusional in their own belief of what they are capable of. They only accept unreasonable because they choose to believe in destiny.
Second thing about tonight's game is that there was fear and defeat in the eyes of the Rox players. They played scared. The only one that came to play was Lin. This is the inner battle of will that is often the turning point of a game. When players are loose with no pressure, they are relaxed, in the present. As a game progresses, it's trading pts and tactics until someone panics and start to loose their present. They start to worry about who is doing what to whom. They start worrying about what happened in the past play and what they can or can't do in the future. Once you can make your opponents worry about you, they have already lost their own mind. Once that happens, the body is like a chicken with its head cut off.
Few players have this innate ability to thrive under pressure which is why Lin is so clutch. Lin always plays up to his opponents, he may be totally out played but he always plays with heart. Fear of failure is the toughest enemy of any athlete and Lin has proven time and time again that he is fearless.
I agree with you that Lin has a unique capacity to not let pressure get to him. It's part of his mental outlook/philosophy/focus and it strongly carries over into his basketball performance. This is something that allows an athlete to harness their full potential more times than not. Many things can derail an athlete that have nothing to do with their innate capacity to perform. Then again: Being adamant about having the right mindset is a skill in itself.
DeleteKid is tough as nails.
DeleteOne of these days we'll see Lin do the Kobe/LeBron thing:
DeleteJust will it to win.
I somehow just don't see Harden doing that. Because when Kobe/LeBron "wills" it, they turn up the heat on BOTH sides of the court.
That is just how Lin rolls. Harden? Not so much, he just wants easy points.
This is why Lin will be a superstar. Harden? Well, he'll be loved and hated by fans at the same time.
JLin is like a war general that will fight (& not give up) no matter how strong the opponent is.
DeleteYes, and I believe Jeremy knows how to see and attack the weaknesses in a stronger opponent/team -- a skill of strategic gamesmanship or leadership that few NBA players have that Jeremy has developed and demonstrated in high school, college, and last year with the Knicks.
DeleteThat's how Poly upsets nationally-ranked Mater Dei in CA State Championship, that's how Harvard wins Ivy's, and that's how last year's going-no-where-fast Knicks suddenly turnaround and have a momentum shift and go on a winning streak that enables them to make the playoffs. That's Jeremy's proven record of leading teams to big victories under pressure ... when he's trusted and given the reigns.
Its a beautiful thing ... hopefully we will see more in this playoffs.
FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: The stat sheet rarely reflects the way Iguodala impacts a game, but it was hard to ignore his output against the Rockets. He set a season high in assists -- which was two shy of his career high -- while playing shutdown defense on James Harden.
ReplyDeleteNotebook: Nuggets 132, Rockets 114
I completely understood what you meant. I couldn't get over with his friendly tone about CF since I just heard it less than 12 hours ago. Well, I will listen to his DEN vid later to find the good feeling, again :)
Deleteoops, the above post is meant for Psalm few lines above. Re-posted there.
DeleteDid anybody see this?
ReplyDeleteBSPN talking heads are debating JLin's comment that racism was a factor in how other NBA players go against him (and him not getting a D-1 college scholarhsip)?
Jeremy Lin cites college race 'barrier'
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9141475/jeremy-lin-houston-rockets-race-was-barrier-college
I thought Rob Parker (one of the people in the video) was fired by BSPN for his comments about RG3, but apparently he's back.
Ixy~ ESPN is reusing a clip taped back in Nov, they were reacting to THIS Wojnarowski article.
DeleteLin is just speaking the truth but the media is going to be all over Lin (using the race card again) on Monday, after his 60 min interview.
DeleteJEREMY LIN AND THE 2006 ALL-STATE TEAM
DeleteIt seems a lot of posters listen to this channel~
ReplyDeleteCNM COMMENTARY HOU VS DEN
[Just trying to make this board more user-friendly.] :)
Some interesting information:
ReplyDeleteDMo is being misused
DMo is best down low yet they continue to have him shoot 3s...His per 48 is pretty nice. For a small sample size he is actually better than Asik in all 4 quadrants down low.
Harden favors jumpers on his right
Confirms what coach Nick said about Harden. Notice he is pretty good from the left where he usually drives then fade back for a jumper.
JLin also favors his right, but he sure plants them treys from the left corner
Our boy is just a penetrating machine. His per 48 makes him the obvious choice for PG, but again, misused. He seems to do great top or near top of the key, I wonder how many of those 2s were 3s where his fat toe crossed the line. Yay his FG% is higher than Hardens :)
And wow, look at the offensive juggernaut that is Asik/Lin/Smith/Harden/Parsons. But for a good defensive game still with good offense the combination of Lin/Garcia/Asik/Anderson/Smith seems to work well. I'm discounting the Lin/Harden/Asik/Parsons/Jones combination because we really haven't seen TJ play enough minutes to matter.
Can Delfino hit his jumpers or what
He is just a threat everywhere, tho Garcia has him beat slightly from behind the arc
Another 3pt shooter
Yay another 3pt threat.
You and your charts/graphs/stats! I kid, great stuff Kenoshi. Why the hell is DMo shooting 3's? He's not consistent enough to be doing it. They want him to play a certain way but that's not him. He needs to be closer to the basket.
DeleteLol c'mon seriously guys. Our team <3 to make certain players be who their not with excuse of game plan or growth
DeleteEven TJones could shoot 3 points now if forced. VIVA STRETCH 4
It's not the coaching staff's fault that Dmo is being misused.
DeleteDmo is a rookie who's just learning about NBA physicality. He's being bashed out of the post.
The only coaching option to get Dmo inside is to run either a Princeton offense or a flex offense. Both of those offenses feature a big man flashing inside briefly for backdoor cuts. However, that won't stop guys from knocking Dmo off his spot if such offenses are run.
Dmo will be a much improved player next season. The Rockets are going to have a major league logjam of quality power forwards in the fall.
We should beat Goran and PHX on Tuesday night. They'll have 3 days of rest, it's a home game and because of our votes, it'll be on nba tv.
ReplyDeleteShould being the operative word. Set my DVR, and seriously, because of our votes it was 40%. I think it was in the teens when I first voted.
DeleteThe Rox game was over 43% when I voted. Not that I can watch it on TV. I voted for you guys :)
DeleteFan: Did Lin hurt himself when he fell? Do you have any news? Seemed to grimace. Fell on his face and didn't got up slowly.
ReplyDeleteJF: [I] can say with 100 percent certainty that Jeremy is fine.
Great news, thank you...but none of us knew of Lin's knee injury until weeks after it happened.
Delete1:47 CSN CHINESE VIDEO: "Rockets lose, but Lin shines; Lin discusses race on '60 Minutes', we show his 2 dunks this yr"
ReplyDeletejesus christ, howard's mandarin is terrrible. his american accent is worse than mine!
Deleteyup. i was saying that earlier in the season. his american accent is far worse than jeremy's.
DeleteOn a dark night, Lin shines brightly
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin summer league...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKrjrtNXaEA
Is that McHale whos commenting (0:22)?
Sounds like McHale... thanks for the link...1st time seeing this
DeleteSeriously, goingthru today's game, I do see some light at the end of the tunnel. The way, Jeremy had been playing the last 5 games, its really at Linsanity level. His acceleration is at its highest. And it seems McHale is acknowledging Lin's play.
ReplyDeleteHe gets the team involved at the both end of the court, and constantly calling off his teamates when they are not at their postion and having a word with them.
Hack, we even saw, JLin on drawing board with Mchale. I feel (hope, its true) McHale, is learning to trust Lin a little bit more and for the first time, I see that Mchale is benching Harden! wow.
Harden was not defending at all. Defense was the main reason we lost; together with trying to go tit-for-tat with nuggets, since both are playing the same type of offense; run and gun.
Rox should have tried slow down the pace.
But overall, Lin was suberb in this game, although he was alone. The rest were either too tired (since they reached like at 4am) or just didnt have it in them to run up and down.
Oh Bev, was also good playing buddy with Lin as well.
Anyways, we still have 5 more games; chances are still there to clinch 6th spot. Butg do we really want to be at 6th, since we have meet nuggests again?!
There have been lots of discussions about Lin's ceiling (can he be a superstar, is he an all star, etc). So what exactly makes a player a superstar? What is the difference between a superstar, all star, star, and above average player? These seem highly subjective. Is it just the stat line that matters?
ReplyDeleteI do think stat line matters a lot.
DeleteI think each group is a pretty easy designation:
Superstar = Top 5-10 player
All star = Top 15-20 player (some would say less); maybe even 11-15. Question to ask to label someone an all star: how often does this guy belong on the all star team year in and year out.
To me, star doesn't really mean anything.
I think that JLin can be an All-Star. I expect superstars to carry a team. I don't think he can do that. But I do think he has the skill set to play @ a high level (18 pts and 8-9 assists a night). But he does either always need a Harden or a good PF to make it work. No shame in that.
He really needs to develop a dependable shot that will get easy buckets. I think if he could get a Tony Parker like floater/teardrop that he drives into the lane and can just release, then his game will go through the roof. He just doesn't have anything right now that isn't defensible. At times, he has to work too hard on offense.
It's fortunate that he has good passing vision, though. That will keep his game open.
Lin HAS a Tony Parker floater/teardrop.
DeleteWhat Lin doesn't have is Tim Duncan setting screens and drawing defenses.
Lin's teammates will have to get better for Lin to exhibit more offensive repertoire than he already has.
The answer is that it depends on what the public decides is to be a star. Chinese people innately value the cerebral part of bball; in general we appreciate brain over brawn. However, this doesn't pass the eye test in the game as it is appreciated by the fans. What most fans see is the finisher the one that scores the "touchdown" and not the quarterback. In The present evaluation system, it's the one that can score the most that makes you the star. Thus Mchale thinks Harden is the number 1 player and Parsons is the # 2 player and Lin is sometimes even below Bev.
DeleteThis is why I've been advocating that Lin use this system to elevate himself in the league. If scoring is the only way for Lin to be respected by others, he must become a scorer first. The more Lin scores 20 ppg, the more he'll be able to assert his own game style on his team. The more he scores, the more he becomes a star and be respected.
Also, people have differing opinions of what a "superstar" is.
DeleteFor most people, a "superstar" is a guy (usually high scoring, but not necessarily) that the NBA hypes regardless of his game. The "All Hype" NBA 1st team is:
G: Kyrie Irving
G: Ricky Rubio
F: Rudy Gay
PF: Blake Griffin
C: DeMarcus Cousins
Each one of those players is WAY OVERHYPED because the NBA has deemed their pseudo stardom necessarily to the economic survival of their franchises.
----
I can't speak for others, but I can speak for my own "grading system" that is unlike anyone else's.
To me, a true basketball superstar is a guy that can make a significant winning impact against any opponent including other superstars. Usually that player gets it done on both ends of the court, especially when it comes to creating for others.
Jeremy Lin is a "superstar" to me. He can play winning basketball against anybody in the NBA. He might not get the win because no one man other than Tim Duncan can carry a team all by himself, but Lin is as impactful on winning as any single guard I've ever seen. Other superstars in the NBA are guys like Lebron James, Chris Paul, John Wall, Tyson Chandler, Dirk Nowitzki, Andre Iguodala, Zach Randolph, LaMarcus Aldridge, and others.
Now as far as "stars" go, I apply that designation to guys like James Harden that can do certain aspects of the game like superstars like Lin but fail in others. Harden is a very good offensive player who can be stopped (like in this last Denver game), but he's got too many holes in his defense for me to view him as a superstar. Also, I'd like to see Harden play better off the ball because he often gets in other people's way when dribbling around looking for his own shot.
The rest to me are role players. A role player to me is a guy who is physically and athletically incapable of having a consistent winning basketball impact. A guy like Chandler Parsons with his limited athleticism and limited court vision will always be a role player to me, even if he scores double figures by cherry picking off Lin and Harden.
@JYL CHang, I disagree that a superstar can carry a team. Almost no team in NBA can rely on only one star to do enough damage. They still need the capable team mates.
Delete@KHuang
DeleteI am 100% agree on your very good point.
I think Jeremy Lin need to develop one more skill set(post move) to be a superstar.
IMO, Magic Johnson is the most successful PG in NBA history. And the post move skill that he has is a very useful tool. When a PG do a high post on elbow or free throw area, he can use his back body to protect the ball very well to buy time. Then he can ether pass to a cuter or shoot it by himself.
Hopefully, Jeremy can be like Magic get a Champ on his rookie year this year. But Magic was very lucky to had a another superstar big men Kareem working with him. Jeremy has Big O and Greg Smith. Are they good enough?
Alan Xie, what you're describing about Lin's post move is what I've been harping on Lin to do since I first posted about it in January 2012.
DeleteMagic Johnson was very fortunate he had not just the greatest big man of all time in Kareem Abdul Jabbar, but 2 other #1 picks in Worthy and Thompson and an underrated 2nd overall pick in the forgotten but totally great Bob McAdoo (possibly the best power forward of all time).
Jeremy Lin has Omer Asik and Greg Smith, both of whom would not even crack the rotation on Magic's championship teams.
Magic was a great player, but he had trouble with individual defense. That's one area that Jeremy Lin is LINCOMPARABLY better than Magic Johnson is.
Now Micheal Ray Richardson, the 80s Jeremy Lin? Sugar's defense is equal to what Lin does now.
I hate how people say Lin is not a star. He is a star amongst stars and has the most recognizable name in the NBA. Last year his name was more recognizable than Lebron James to the US population and that included people who did not know basketball. If he got the ball more he would average more than 20 points per game. Probably easily what Westbrook gets. Plus he is shooting better 3's than Westbrook and even Chris Paul.
DeleteI am watching the Knicks-Thunder game and they get so many ticky tack fouls. If Lin got these fouls he would maintain Linsanity numbers the entire year.
I agree that he needs to work on the pullup 2 pointer or floater or at least take it more often.
ConservativeNewMedia
ReplyDeleteCNM had a note of thanks to this site (jeremylin.net)!
Even with Harden struggling, the Rockets still scored over 110 points.
ReplyDeleteThus offense is not the problem.
For the Rockets, defense is always the problem.
A George Karl team is always hard to defend. Even though the Nuggets aren't individually talented, Karl runs that fast break halfcourt offense that simply befuddles opponents. Playing against a Karl team is like being fast breaked on all game long, even after made free throws.
Against the Nuggets, Lin always does well because he's the only Rocket who has both the individual superstar talent and the matchless basketball IQ to play against Karl's turbo philosophy.
Only Lin knew Karl's trap and tried to tone down the tempo but Lin's teammates and head coach pretty much clueless (how to and what not to do).
DeleteRun & Gun after back to back in high altitude is pretty much suicide, that was the reason that there were so many mistakes
I have been harping about the importance of set plays or lack thereof since early of the season. We will need it even more(sets that the team can fall back on) in the playoffs later
DeleteI think it's more Karl's breakneck style than the altitude.
DeleteGeorge Karl run and gun up tempo teams have a way of lulling opponents into trying to run against them. When Karl was in Seattle, Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp's Sonics played the same style as today's Nuggets, only with far superior talent.
The Nuggets have a deep expensive team. Sometimes in the NBA the more expensive and better talent simply wins out.
Totally agreed ricki m.
DeleteNot only on a back to back, but against a real "team" of 5 contributing unselfish players who runs and guns better. It was a schedule lost for sure, but to play 4 times the same way and expect a win is absolutely bad coaching. A lost was almost a given, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to slow things down and run a half court game of set plays. Sure it's going to look ugly, but it's also a good way to make the lost useful for the future knowledge.
The last time the Rox played a back to back, they did the same thing and just ran out of legs, and their mental fatigue produced again so many TOs. When players are tire, taking care of the ball means slowing down a bit and being much more deliberate in your attack.
This also saves your own legs for defense. It also makes denver play a slower game which is to make them do something contrary to what they want to do.
via can do whatever the hell he wants. he's been around awhile and posted a ton of good info. so, keep posting tweets!
ReplyDeletealso, clutch from clutchfans is a moron with zero credibility. he's the same moron who said lin was nothing better than rafer alston LOL.
ntt, via is a Fembot with beautiful soul :)
DeleteJames Anderson throws down a posterizing slam dunk -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHjVop5aQhU
0:10-0:12 LOL at Jeremy's and bench reaction. :>
The first part of that clip shows Harden's defense... :(
DeleteYeah! another video upload of this should be entitled -
DeleteHarden's posterizing lack of defense.