You wouldn't be able to tell by watching tonight's game guys.
You always know he isn't playing well, when he doesn't bring the ball up court. He will immediately pass to someone and then stand at the wing (fine, maybe this is by design, but is it coincidental this happens often after he's blocked or TOs)
Lin gets loaded up on defensively, Beverley is not.
That's because teams LET Beverley do his thing. After all, Beverley cannot hold leads and cannot make basic NBA decisions. Teams WANT Beverley to screw up the game, unlike Lin who's the killer than everybody wants to stop.
Lin struggles against traps, Bev gently does his thing because he feels no defensive pressure. OKC knows that Lin is the team guy who gets everybody else going.
Nobody played well tonight. Beverley played better than Lin tonight, as he and all bench players on occasion do play better than the starters (this is the case with every team). But Lin is OVERALL a much better player than Beverley - the same with other starters. You can't go by several - let alone just one - games. If any bench player plays better than his starter counterpart on a more consistent level, the coaches in the league don't think twice about swapping their roles. And it happens in the league more than you think; but Lin has nothing to worry about because he's hands down a better player.
They both can get into the paint. The defense was to play tight outside, but once they entered the paint there was NOTHING.
They clogged, cut passing lanes, and had someone waiting AT THE RIM to block the shot (instead of going out to meet them during their drive into the paint).
And when they did manage to pass to Asik or Smith, there were very, very few easy buckets- playoff hoops, man.
But KHuang said it well... they are an EITE defensive team, that will probably end up representing the West.
Why some of you keep crying that Lin played a bad game? It was his first time getting the feeling of playoff basketball. He's playing the best team in the west. All his shots were good shots. They just didn't fall in the hole. When he drove to the basket, either Ibaka or Perkins will block him or foul him hard. Perkins fouled him hard in the first quarter, and that made Lin think twice when he's penetrating. Thunders' D is far superior than the Rox's. It's playoffs, but the Rox played like a preseason game. Nothing has changed with the Rox. They played very disorganized without a true point guard. This is solely on the coach. McHale has no talent being an NBA coach. He looks scared and lost out there not knowing what to do to counter Thunders' superb offense and defense. So just stop bashing Lin and let him gain some experience and learn .
“We’re pleased,” said CHRIS FINCH, a Rockets assistant who works with the team’s point guards. “Jeremy is superaggressive. For us, he’s a big X factor...“He has the ability to make big plays in runs. And where he’s matured is, he doesn’t have the runs of mistakes."
“Linsanity was an unbelievable three-week period in his life,” McHale said. “He’ll look back when he’s 80 and go, ‘Man that was magical.’ But magic don’t last forever.”
When JLin thanked "the coaching staff," that wouldn't be McHale. [But the writers keep asking him specifically about McHale, and he'd have no choice but be diplomatic.] He'd mention McHale if he'd meant McHale [the way he'd specifically mention D'Antoni.]
That McHale quote makes me sick. So fucking patronizing, demeaning, disrespectful, and just pure B.S. I've never seen a coach go to such great lengths to undermine and diminish the abilities and accomplishments of one of his own players. Coaches may say kinda of negative stuff to motivate their players, but, McHale isn't saying this magic b.s. to motivate Lin, but instead, to tell the whole world that he thinks Lin isn't that good.
I really hope that they trade Lin this summer to a team and coach that will appreciate him. I really think the Knicks would love to have him back, especially since Jason Kidd is ready for social security and Ray Felton isn't going to get any better than he is now, which is merely servicable. And the Lakers, especially with Kobe injured, I bet are thinking hard about trading for Lin, to get back some of the thunder that the Clippers have stolen from them.
No, Lin/Mellow combo didn't work and won't work. I don't think Lin should go play with Kobe either. If things are going well, Kobe is cool but once Lin starts committing bonehead mistakes and costing Lakers wins, Kobe's gonna be on his ass. I'm pretty sure you've seen Kobe's death stare and him talkin smack to his teammates. Lin still has a way to go before he becomes a polished player.
Lin knows when and how to come back stronger and better...he knows how to use this loss as a motivation to improve..he won't let us down 2 games in a row...i'm counting on this...excited to see what he will and can do next game....i will let out a big sigh of frustration and i will see y'all tmrw..night everyone...one word of advice, avoid LOH site/s, at least for tonight
I predicted that the Rockets will have a poor 3-point shooting night and lose big. I said the Rockets will shoot 7 of 34 and the Thunder 12 of 24. It turned out to be 8 of 36 and 11 of 24, respectively. Of course, I was hoping I was wrong..... Boy, what a rout that was! So outmatched.
Painful game to watch. Its again those times where you just sense he plays scared and is overwhelmed by the moment.
I want him to play well just as much as everyone on this site, and am heart-broken he didn't.
But he made some brainless mistakes (attempted baseline x-court skip pass and trapped in mid-court)... even Kenny Smith said... just inexperience.
JLin is usually the smartest b-ball IQ guy on the court, but not today.
He has to play better - and there's no excuse... this is the NBA. This is the highest level of competition for basketball.
They game planned for him well: when he turns the corner on his man, immediately pick him up to his right hand and cut off his passing lanes. I don't think he went left one time. And let him shoot from outside till he can consistently hit.
oh please.. people saying PBev is better than Jeremy. he is aggressive yeah, but just that. aggressive.his aggressiveness doesn't help much on the game.when Jeremy is aggressive, the rest of the Rox follows.
Who ever said PB is better basically lost their credibility immediately, to me at least. PB is not bad, I think he is very suitable for backing up LIN. I am not saying he can not be better either, he can improve too.
Yes, people are blind to what they want to believe. PB played well tonight when he played together with Lin and Harden. At least on offense.
Beverly was HORRIBLE on defense - Lin shut down Westbrook's penetrations while Westbrook just ran wild and loose when Beverly was trying to guard Westbrook.
I think even clueless McHale cannot blind himself to the fact that Beverly simply is no match for Westbrook, and Lin actually played shut down D on Westbrook, forcing him to rely on pull up jumpers because he couldn't drive past Lin.
People who think PB is a better defender than Lin in general fail to realize PB is a liability on defense because he's much smaller and lighter than Lin, and Lin can match up well against point guards like CP3 and Westbrook because physically he's got certain advantages over them. Lin does have trouble guarding guards similar to him physically, like Goran Dragic.
I see a lot of NBA newbies FREAKING OUT over Lin's performance this game.
Newbies, welcome to the playoffs. It's a different - and BETTER - brand of basketball from the regular season.
Here's how it works.
Every year, there's a new "hot" regular season team that comes out of nowhere and makes the playoffs. This year it's Lin's Rockets.
These young playoff teams face off against veteran laden playoff tested battle hardened high seeds who have already made their share of mistakes. Consequently these young teams get SCHOOLED.
So fans here who are freaking out over Lin's performance, RELAX. Lin is going to improve while still having bad games along the way. Stop taking the game so personally and stop acting offended just because Lin is new to all this.
The Rockets are an incredibly overachieving team that I expect to get swept this series, no matter how well Lin plays. So just appreciate the season and don't pout when Lin predictably struggles the way ALL major NBA star guards do in their first playoff experiences.
At least Lin never endured the HARSH LOSING SEASONS that Westbrook and Durant weathered.
To keep things in perspective for the Lin fans here who feel personally crushed that Lin didn't have a great game, remember that Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant went 3-23 at the end of one of their early seasons. That's a lot worse than Lin has ever done in the NBA.
For the record, Lin actually played okay for most of the first half. He was missing jumpers but he defended well, made some nice passes and got fouled and had a nice layup in transition. That why it was a close game until he and Harden made some bad TOs and the usual swiss-cheese defense from his teammates.
Everyone was tight and after OKC took back control, things just snowballed from there. Also, Jeremy was playing the Derek Fisher role as usual, so he never found his rhythm. It's one game, one series, one season.
As long as we see PROGRESS...it'll be a long-term victory.
I agree with your general sentiments. What is frustrating for me is that I think with better coaching and an offense that lets Lin play to his strengths, the entire team would have played better tonight, even if they may not have won.
It sickens me to see Lin standing on the sideline doing a Steve Novak impression while Harden and Beverly play shitty point guard and run the offense into the ground. And it frustrates me to no end that no fucking basketball experts point out and wonder and ask why Lin is NOT playing point guard and running the offense and instead basically playing the position that KEvin Martin played for the Rockets last season.
Letting the PG play point guard is just too radical an idea for McHale. For him it's 100% read-and-react...or 100% ISO Hero Ball.
That said, it wouldn't have made a difference tonight. Everyone was just TIGHT and TERRIBLE.
Heck, I'm almost relieved it was a blowout and not a nailbiter loss -- at least they know they can't use this strategy anymore. And who knows? Maybe OKC gets cocky or sloppy in Game 2.
You know I always agree with you. I like how you break things down and create sense out of chaos.
PBev is definitely not better than Jlin. He just had a better game than Lin tonight. But that's it.
You're right about KD and WB. They struggled a lot as a team in their early days. It's growing pains.
I think most fans just have a lot of expectations of Jlin and usually uncontrollably panic. There's definitely frustrated fans out there and I understand. It's okay if people say Jlin had a bad game tonight. We all know he'll bounce back.
I have written all season that the weakness of McHale's motion system is that defenses can STEER McHale around by double teaming the ball out of Lin's hands.
Even if Lin brought up the ball on every play, he'd make the first pass and then never see the ball again.
Lin playing pg makes NO DIFFERENCE in the playoffs.
If Lin is not hitting his outside shot (like tonight), there is no way for him to play well in this kind of situation. You can only take what the defense gives, and they were giving him the shot only.
Especially with athletic defenders doubling him to stop penetration, there's really nothing he can do except find cutters (which weren't cutting to relieve the double team) or reset.
Lin's weakness is his inconsistent shot, which took down his entire game tonight.
Bev game up too much penetration, forcing Lin and others to rotate. That corner 3 to Fisher was Lin rotating to stop the layup after Bev gave up the dribble drive.
I thought they put Bev on WB to relieve Lin of foul trouble. It was pick your poison. Even so, Lin got into foul trouble.
Two of them were against Durant, one on a ticky tack and an early one trying to draw a charge early in the game. Sorry, you aren't going to get that call against Durant. That was an early mistake. I attribute it to nerves.
Speaking of drawing charges, when Durant stepped in front of Harden on the fast break, that was an extremely dangerous play, and I totally disagree with that call. If the league allows that, it is setting up offensive players to get injured, and in principle borderline situations should always go in favor of the offensive player. In this case, I don't even consider it borderline. It was a poor call. It should totally have been a blocking foul, but Durant gets all the calls.
Asik and Smith aren't getting anything on posting up against their frontline, and the backcourt is getting double teamed. The game is not even close to winnable unless Rockets are hitting their 3s, which is the great equalizer.
Rockets shot 8 for 36 from 3. That's 22%. That's game over.
KHuang, zxcvb, 0ccupati0, k.smith, IsabeliJane, Batman, Brent ... nice to read what you say. It was a tough game to watch, but harder to read us eat our own. I cringed at the mistakes too, but really, if you are QB on a team that is dropping every ball, or getting sacked time and time again, playing midfield for a team that continues to panic, or playing ersatz PG on the Rox, it's near impossible to pick the team up when everyone else is just crazy out of control. Add Bev to the mix with all that hyped up energy, and you get very spotty indeed. Shaq said it right - Lin should have calmed this thing down as PG ... but really, Lin only had PG for a time in the 3rd. Before that, it was multiPG as usual. Del's blocked shot was an example of hubris at work ... he had trailing help, and what an ejection. That after a great steal by Harden and pass to him. Nobody had their head on in a calm way.
I say they were unprepared. McHale has been in these kinds of games - couldn't he have seen almost all of these guys never saw a playoff game from the inside, and done something to get them mentally prepared?
O_O: "Speaking of drawing charges, when Durant stepped in front of Harden on the fast break, that was an extremely dangerous play, and I totally disagree with that call."
The announcers agreed with you, and I saw it that way too. That was one for sure. The other was Lin getting slapped in the face on the 2nd move where he just left his man in the dust. First one, he had a nice layup. This time, he was well past, and he got fouled and they let it go.
What LIN did GREAT tonight, was penetrate and get fouls called to get to the free throw line. I think they should have gone with Lin more and did more PNR, and let Lin bully his way into the paint regardless of how they were playing him.
If I was the coach, I would have told Lin to do his thing and just drive it in. Because they were actually calling fouls on Lin drives. He could have put the WHOLE Thunders team in foul trouble.
I'm really encouraged by the shot of Jeremy on the bench in the fourth quarter. That was not of someone who was broken. He actually looked determined chatting with parsons ( about the strategy?).
I have a feeling he will handle the pressure much better the next game. To quote out favorite person, "Jeremy will be fine".
Yeah...it's just an ugly night all around. It happens.
It's not like they haven't been blown out by OKC before. And then Lin was HUGE in that comeback win.
They're young. They were nervous. And after fighting back, they made some quick mistakes at the end of the first half that ruined all their momentum -- GAME OVER.
Yeah people are making this to be way bigger than it actually is. They thought OKC will just roll over? They are the second bet team in the league for a reason.
Playoffs are games of adjustments. Lin will need to adjust.
Kenoshi.. Yeah he really took the loss in stride. Beginning of the year, u could see he would be down in the bench if he played badly. I think he is confident that he could play better. What matters now is now how he played this game but how he will rebound from this. I'm looking forward to it.
Bad night pretty much from everyone. Lin looked tentative most of the night. Again, Harden got his stats but the game started off slow because of him and I'm glad Barkley called him out. I have to remember that out of the starters, only Asik and Harden have any playoff experience.
I thought Kenny Smith's comments at the half about Lin were right. Lin is young and inexperienced. Noticed he said that it was not that Lin was not playing good basketball but that Lin is inexperienced in playoff basketball.
This game made me realize that I have extremely high expectations of Lin because I believe his potential to be so great. I want him to not only be great now and skip the growing process, but also prevail over how he is being played by the coach and not being utilized in the most advantageous way. Completely unfair of me. This is a journey, not a brief road trip, and Lin can only go up from here.
Beverly did play well comparatively (not just to Lin but to a pretty much everyone else) tonight so props to him.
Personally, I don't think it's a good idea for the team to go home and then fly back regardless of the short flight. I think it's better that they get more comfortable in foreign territory, but that's just me.
Harper from my old Knicks point guard on the nba tv just said that in order for The Rockets to have any chance they need Lin's performance. He is the x factor in my mind to have any chance.
It's 45-50 mins. Yeah, McHale wants to be on familiar ground. [The OKC hotel NBA teams use is also allegedly haunted, haha. Maybe it's better not to have to deal with crap like that on their minds too.]
A few of his assists i thought was good in the 2nd half. They let Lin run the point and tested the strategy i thought. He was pressing a bit in my mind in the 1 st half.
A few years ago, Eddy Curry once said he was too exhausted for an OKC game (Knicks lost) because he only got 2 hours of sleep. Why? Because he kept hearing scary noises during the night! In fact, he ended up sleeping in Nate Robinson's room, lol.
There's a haunted hotel in Tampa where baseball players stay and have reported ghostly encounters. The Ghost Hunters investigated it and got some evidence. The funny part was when they played the EVPs (ghost voices caught on tape) for the hotel manager, and she was genuinely freaked out when she heard them, you could see it clearly in her facial expressions. It looked like she saw a ghost, lol.
Seems like everyone except Lin's family is blaming Lin for the loss and/or getting off on saying Lin sucks.
The "storyline" that's been built around this game (Rockets lost because of Lin and Lin sucks) is interesting because the "superstar" on the team is getting a complete pass for his piss-poor play.
The game wasn't lost by Lin's mistakes at the end of the first half. It was lost in the first five minutes of the game when OKC completely dominated Houston and Hardenstickyisoball. The only reason Houston sort of got back in the game is because McHale went small with three guards, which got the ball moving better on offense. But, that wasn't going to work for the entire game.
Houston was going to lose this game, even if Lin didn't make those mistakes and made a few more baskets.
Houston is likely going to lose this series, the question is, can they make it competitive? I don't think so, because the best chance for that to happen will not happen - McHale will not run the offense through Lin and instead continue to have him play some weird non-position where he mostly just stands on the sideline watching Harden or Beverly play his position.
This playoff series is turning out to be a microcosm of the entire season of disrespect and marginalization that Lin has been subject to by McHale. Fucking depressing.
Lin is resilient and tough, but, I think the relentless criticism, bashing, inexplicable benchings has to have chipped away at his self-confidence, and the fact that the offense is set up to ensure that Lin cannot play to his strengths as a playmaker makes it likely we'll see more of shaky Lin play the rest of the series, and maybe we'll even see Beverly start over Lin this series. That will just be the icing on the cake of Lin's hellish first season in Houston.
At least Lin has playoff inexperience as a legitimate excuse for not playing his A game.
Just so all the Lin bashers can look STUPID, I'll gently remind people that Charles Barkley who was a battlehardened playoff veteran had only FOUR POINTS in his first championship game ever.
So if Charles Barkley who was a proven playoff performer can have only 4 points, people shouldn't be bashing Lin who's inexperienced and ref hated.
Jeremy isn't bothered by criticisms or fans or media. Not at all.
But yeah, he's clearly bothered by McHale's baseless 4th quarter benchings and his "Derek Fisher Role" on the team.
He'll perseveres as always and improve as a result (as always), but come on, we need to be patient. There's a reason OKC is the #1 seed and defending Western Conference Champs. Finally, it's only one game! See how he plays in the next 3+ games...
Come on Roberlin, chill, relax, - dont get too high and too low, it's one game. I am sure they will be more competitive now that they experience the 1 st playoff game. Did u guys see that McHale used 7 player lineup? Any thoughts on that
Lin is an easy scapegoat and Harden has been getting a pass all season long.
The TNT group wasn't blaming Lin although I couldn't see the last couple minutes of the game. They just said someone had to step up because Harden can't do it by himself. The majority of fans seem to be ignorant or on a bandwagon. Ignore em.
Lin is human. It probably has and will get to him at times but he seems level headed and he'll just get back stronger and better. He's persevered through worse.
Batman, it's me venting about the entire season and how McHale's decision to go with Beverly over Lin for in the 3rd and 4th quarters of the game against LA cost the Rockets a game they were in control of the entire time (with Lin in the game) and forced a match-up with OKC instead of San Antonio.
I do expect a more competitive game in game 2, although I expect Lin's minutes to get reduced, and I wouldn't be totally surprised if McHale decides to start Beverly over Lin. Don't think that will happen, but, with McHale, you never know.
Well basically, Lin could of hit all his shots and Rox would still lose by 16 points.
This game was a team loss. Sure Lin wasn't stellar and is part of the reason, but he certainly wasn't the biggest problem. Like I said, its a team loss.
Exactly. That just goes to show you gotta power through the struggles and keep shooting, attacking, being aggressive. The percentages will even out in time.
Of course, doing that is a lot harder when you don't get to handle the ball, don't get good screens (or even consistent screens) and have to play against the #1 seed!
Of course it's a team loss, and the game was lost in the first five minutes. But, tell that to the analysts and fanboys who started to focus on Lin's mistakes and blame him for the loss by the end of the first half.
My frustration and anger is the treatment Lin is getting in the media and by fans (Lin fans being the worst offenders) and by the coaching staff. Oh, and I'm sure Clyde Drexler is telling everyone if they could get Damian Lillard, the team would win the championship next year.
It depends on the origin of the hesitation - because the D is shutting u down or confusing you (bad), or because you are initiating your offensive move (good).
I don't agree with this 'Lin playing out of position' stuff. You cannot be a PG if the rest of the team is just standing around and watching and not cutting and not moving. You cannot play PG if the defenders are blitzing every PnR and the team is not prepared to take advantage of that. Back when Patterson was on the team, Lin could dump the ball for a pick and pop. But that's not available with this starting lineup. Asik/Smith are not going to make it to the bucket against this Thunder defense. I think they should consider starting DMo at the 4.
Lin is totally playing out of position. Most of the game, he was standing on the sidelines without the ball, basically playing shooting guard. Beverly handled the ball more than Lin when Beverly and Lin were in the game together.
So, yeah, Lin's not playing his position; he played point guard only in name, not in actuality.
I was referrin to Lin scooting into the corner at every opportunity. He deferred to Harden/PB all night and was basically playing a SG. He didn't touch the ball much at all.
Yes the team wasn't moving off ball, but then again the starting 3 was playing a whole lot of ISO. Things changed a bit 2nd half, but too little too late.
I get what you're saying Roberlin, but does it really matter who brings the ball up if there the team has no concept of what to do in the half court offense?
Most of the 1st quarter was Rox players going one on one, including Lin. If you're doing that, there is no distinction between PG or SG or whatever. That first quarter was a total mess with no team basketball.
The only reason the Rox came back in 2nd quarter was because of transition buckets. But they didn't solve the problem from the beginning: there is no half court offense, just individual players trying to take their man.
sorry, i'm bball newbie and, cough, freaking out unnecessarily. i don't know what's success in NBA mean but for me, it's something like shutting up the haters, getting due recognition, respects from the media and fans.
Some ISOs in the 1st Q was actually OK because mismatches. Rox just did not capitalize on those chances. But a lot ISOs in the 2 3 and 4th Qs are just desperate attempts. I blame that on Coaches. However, I do not think you can install a lot of set plays in one year anyway.
Occupa, if Lin was actually allowed to play point, you would see a half-court offense. Just think of all the games where Lin actually played point guard because Harden was injured. The team offense plays so much more smoothly and efficiently with Lin quarterbacking the team.
Roberlin, I certainly agree the team does better when Lin runs the offense, but I don't think this game was close to winnable by putting the ball in Lin's hands more. The coaches don't have an idea of what they are trying to do in the half court, and that problem runs deeper than how Lin is being used.
When they went with the Harden-Lin-Bev lineup, Lin was playing SG bc the coaches, for whatever reason, wanted Bev to guard the Thunder PG. You basically play the position you are defending, and in that lineup, Lin was guarding the Thunder SG, which at various points was Martin or Fisher.
Occupa, I don't think they would have won, either. But, if Lin was the point guard the entire season, the Rockets would have had a better record and not have faced OKC in the first round.
jakemaverick, you're completely wrong. No one said Lin was gonna hang with Durant,at least not the rational fans. He's getting an average, starting PG salary. WTF were you expecting?! Stop with the exaggerations. There's enough of that on the hater forums.
Lin would still get double teamed like he always does. The only difference is that instead of receiving the ball at the end of the shot clock like he does now, Lin would get the balm early and never get the ball back. That's actually worse.
In the NBA, coaches that don't have a good balance between set plays and reading offenses tend to struggle on BOTH ends of the court.
This game was just horrendous. The ball was sooo sticky everyone started to play Iso or what not. THis habit needs to stop, idk if it's the coaches or the players fault that keeps preaching this whole iso thing, it's obviously not working as they have lost 4 in a row now. Lin tonight just did not show up, I wouldn't go as far as saying that this game was deja-vu from last year against the Heats, he just didn't play well, he wasn't completely shut down. And I still don't get the whole thing why Lin has to be the SG when he and Bev plays together, Lin's a better PG then SG, their roles should be reverse in those times. Tonight I will note that Lin did start the 2nd and 4th qtr w/out Harden or Parsons, which is something new? But jesus christ, talk about Harden getting all the attention for this series, seems like Lin's the one getting all the attention. Once again, Lin seems to be the "leader" again every time he has a really bad game and the team loses. The only positive thing about this is that people do recognize that Lin's the game changer, his performance determines Rox's wins/losses. It's interesting everyone is calling for Lin's head but hate to admit that Lin is maybe the most important player on the team, he plays good they win, he plays bad they lose or get blown out vice versa. Just warning, Twitter is ugly tonight towards Lin even Ryan Higa was defending Lin, people are really pathetic and bandwagoners when it comes to the Jeremy Lin case. I think someone said that when he plays a bad game, people get off the bandwagon but when he plays a good game, everyone's cheering. some sort of comment like that, I'm just paraphrasing now. Just frustrating game, I hope and know that Lin will bounce back, he usually does and I expect so, I'm just going to think that tonight they were just testing waters or the Skirvin Hotel bothered them, I wanna hear their stories about their experiences there!
Lin has been playing SG for almost the whole reg season and he's pretty prepared for it by now, though it's playoff time and intensity is many notches higher. Hope this blowout loss give him the invaluable playoff experience and he comes out strong the next game...not sure whether he can recover fast enough though.
The 2nd game will be still difficult for the Rox. Please do not freak out again :P. That been said, it is easier to go from 0% to 90% ready than from 90% to 99%. OKC can not play any better, but Lin sure can.
Too much is being made of Lin's TO from the double team that led to a transition bucket. Sure, it was a bad play. But it was ONE play. How many live ball turnovers has Harden committed that led to transition buckets? Actually, many many more than Lin this year, but at no point does a half court show or the announcers focus on Harden's mistakes like that, and they certainly don't replay the thing over and over again. Harden's TO's have been horrendous this year but you never hear about it bc it is not part of the narrative.
Lin's mistakes are very much amplified, especially since that play looked like a replay of last year's Miami game. People love information that fits into their prepackaged narratives and preconceptions. In this case, the preestablished narrative is that Lin is 'turnover-prone.' Don't get hung up about it. It's just the standard narrative looking for material to feed on.
At one point, Bev got a steal on WB that led to a fast break. But you will never see an announcer or half time show comment on such a play. WB has a lot of turnovers, including ball handling turnovers, but no one ever talks about it.
People ignore information that doesn't fit with established narratives, and regard those examples as anomalous exceptions and noise.
Exactly. Couldn't have said it better myself. Just to add, the "Lin is a turnover machine" narrative is the central meme used to discredit him overall as a quality NBA player/point guard. The turnover meme is part of the larger narrative that Lin simply is not good enough to be an NBA starter, because, you know, he is that which is obviously an indicator that it is impossible for him to be a good basketball player. We don't even need to say why Lin cannot be a good player, because its so obvious, it need not be said out loud.
LOL. Your response time needs work. If you're gonna be pissed, it shoulda happened earlier. =P
I ain't mad. There's no way Lin can play worse than today. The only annoying thing is I have to listen to annoying ppl cream themselves over it. But that ain't nothing new.
Alright, some major jittery nerves got in the way for lin and the rest of the team. The bright spots are 1) rox have the defense to stop okc, at least slow down okc enough for the rox to make their runs. Unfortunately the runs didnt come cuz no one could make their shots except for beverly. I was impressed by him tonite. Bev is better than what we give him credit for. I think he can be a competent scorer if he wants to be. Never understood why he doesnt put up more shots even in the european league. He can penetrate, finish, and has good shooting mechanics. So he's not selfish... Major plus. Asik is still the glue for this team, imo. Okc had a hard time, esp. Westbrook of making layups. Nothing easy cuz of asik. Even in the game ag/ lakers asik played dwight was able to contain dwight and plug up the middle. 2) the bench got some burn. Im tired of complaining about mchale. So lin just got to take the bull by the horn and do his thing. I believe he called for a pick and it never came. Tell his bigs " hey your not getting the ball till you set me some picks"
Rockets played terribly at the start and they were very lucky that OKC had a mental lapse and let Rockets back in the game, and I believe the score was even tied briefly at something like 40-40. Lin, during this period, just missed 4 or 5 open shots -- he just missed open shots. I was glad he took these shots, although I think he should have probed a little more before doing so. When Rockets couldn't take advantage of OKC's letting up on their play and allowed OKC to go up by around 15 before the half, I knew the game was over and didn't even watch 2nd half.
What I was disappointed in Lin was not that he missed open shots -- it happens -- but really dumb passes he made and the apparent lack of confidence -- absolutely no swagger; Lin played tentatively from the beginning. Even the first pass he tried to make to Asik for his first attempt was too risky. It's that he seemed to play this playoff game on the same level as regular games, when OKC players, as you would expect, turned it up a notch in intensity. Anyway, I expected Rockets to lose both games at OKC, so maybe if Rockets gets lucky, they might be able to win one of their home games. Anyway, I just want to see Lin play well at least one playoff game.
Anyway, I watched the first half with someone who has not watched NBA in 10 years, and he said after watching the first half that he thought "Lin had zero positive impact on the game. Why are you following him." I told him Rockets lost chance to hang close when they went down around 15 points after being tied, and that I never seen Lin play this badly and I am not following his game tonight. The person I watched the game with said "Bev played with more confidence."
True, Bev seemed more confident and aggressive. That's probably because the head coach has confidence in Bev and praises and appreciates him, and tells him so.
I thought Lin was playing for God; that alone should give him some confidence. Missing long jumpers I can take; but playing without confidence and hesitating all the time, I just don't understand. Anyway, I will wait for all 4 (or maybe 5 games).
[As you know] JLin will be using the time from now til Wednesday studying film, making adjustments, getting into a more battle-ready mindset, now that he's had a taste of what it'll be like for the next games.
It'll be different on Wednesday. =)
[Hopefully, McHale will be making some adjustments too.]
Eb5attorney, you always blame Lin when his teammates screw him up.
Lin shot a bunch of shot clock beaters, had trouble finding guys who were tightly guarded, was double teamed with no passing targets, and was ref cheated.
When we argue, it's because you blame Lin for his teammates' failures.
One more thing. Rockets should have done everything in its power to avoid OKC during 1st round. As Kenny Smith said at the beginning of the game, OKC plays the same style as Rockets, but their players are just a lot better and more talented. He said exactly what I felt, so no surprise there; but I was shocked at the lack of confidence with which Lin played. If Lin plays well only when he's pissed, Rockets are in trouble.
Going forward, I wonder if McHale will continue the failed strategy of having Bev guard Westbrook. If McHale wants Bev on the floor, Bev will have to guard their SG, which doesn't seem bad to me.
OKC's SG's aren't huge/tall so Bev should be able to guard them with Lin at the 1.
It's not like Mchale's offense has defined roles anyway. Remember the POR game when Lin/Bev were on the court together? Bev was the PG and Lin was the SG but the ball still ran through Lin.
I'm not even sure it'd matter who played the 1 or 2.
Lin was right about the fans. We are bipolar, but that's what being a sports fan is all about. U can love and hate your team. It's not all love all the time.
This game does not define Jeremy as a player. Sure he played badly but so did everyone else. I was surprised and disappointed like most of you but really, what matters now is how Lin responds in the next game.
The team cannot do well without Lin playing better and Lin himself can't do much if the rest if the team plays badly. The key for Lin will be for him to make shots. Look, he is not going to all of a sudden run the team. Lin had open looks and he missed most of them. OKC will let him shoot.. Lin will have to shoot better. I
I thought Lin learned during regular season not to make those types of passes, but it seems like everything he learned during regular season, it went out the window.
He just didn't look comfortable tonight. Maybe he put too much pressure on himself. I'm sure he knew a lot of people were watching.. Maybe hoping for him to fail. He was pressing a lot, making uncharacteristic mistakes.
But the place looked rather intimidating, facing the best team in the west - that's gotta be intimidating.
how would Lin not be "intimidated" knowing it very well that the team was entering into a game long lost even before it started -- there wan't any good gameplans, coaches inept in making in-game adjustments, he's asked to play spot up SG not PG, etc, etc...afterall, like you said, Lin is only human. I don't think Lin was intimidated, he was just, feeling helpless, imo.
I understand what Solidz trying to convey, Lin had make the shots he have but in reality it is not that easy. It's not like an on and off switch, Lin said it himself. In terms of soccer, Lin is a "Fantasista" type of player which needed to given free role and key of the offense to truly shine. Teams that have and respect their "Fantasista" wins championship. Hell even Lionel Messi will be shit if being coached by McHale because perceived being small and weak.
This was a team lost but it could have been less embarrassing that's all. I've been saying that playoff will bring down the Rox because of their reliance on 3s. This whole year Mchale has rode Harden and Parsons and totally disreguarded the weak side. If the players look confused its because they've been out coached from the get go. Theirs no movement because of Mchale's dependency on Harden iOS. Their is no chemistry because the 3 of them don't get any touches. No plays are ever set of the weak side because of Mchale's favoritism. At to this is the nerves that inevitably come with playoffs. It has to be experienced. It is liken to jumping out of a plane for the first time, except you are naked with all the cameras watching your every move. The level of adrenalin firing through your veins is unreal. These guys are pros but even they have to make the adjustments and learn to deal with those nerves.
The truth is that you could see that they were like deer caught in headlights right of the bat. Then they all just hit the wall mentally and just panicked. Mchale in his infinite wisdom gave his young team no set plays. Once players hit a wall mentally they become like chickens with their heads cut off, playing blindly without meaningful purpose. All Mchale comes back to is to hand Harden the ball and hope he does something. Their is no chemistry because for 4 months now, it's been mostly Harden ISO with everyone else standing still spread out away from the middle. No one knows how to play with one another because they don't get enough touches. Lin hit the wall and played blind in desperation like the rest of the team.
Mchale has to let Lin be the pg down the middle with 4 or 5 PNR and harden and parsons on the wings as snipers. This would present a triple threat inside and outside. If Mchale can make this happen, the Rox will have a chance to win a few games.
What you want out from the team is the right thing to do, but it will make the coaches, Harden, and Parsons looked bad. Those kind of plays you want will make Jeremy shine so bright the most. Egoist don't like being in shadow
U saying Beverley doesn't deserve it after this game? Rahat didn't say to drop Jeremy anyway. He wants to drop Greg Smith and move Parsons to the 4. So Bev-Lin-Harden-Parsons-Asik. He's been a long time Lin supporter. Don't take cheap shots at his name. Be civil.
I will give credit to the Rockets coaches for giving Jeremy the minutes and experience despite his subpar game. He even started the 4th quarter (gasp!), and was only pulled when OKC pulled their starters too.
This game isn't surprising, it would be a major upset for Rockets to win even one game at OKC. The Rockets should be thrilled if they can win one in Houston. That's why we wanted the 7th seed so bad, everyone knew OKC would obliterate whoever their 1st round opponent was.
(being tentative a result of lack of experience?) We really don’t have an excuse anymore. We’ve already gotten it out. We played terrible all the way across the board, offensive and defensively. That one’s over with for us so we’re going to learn a lot and I’m personally going to learn a lot. Then it’s time to move on – another game on Wednesday.
(were you happy with your shots?) I literally thought every single one of my shots was going in. I’m being completely honest when I say I thought every single one was in. They were all just kind of back rim; I don’t know if I was a little too excited or whatever it might be but that’s not going to happen every game.
I don’t think anyone in (the locker room) is saying we played well, even for a stretch. I think we played bad all the way across the board and we were still within four. I think our team is capable of so much more and I think everybody, starting with myself, is capable of a lot more. Hopefully we can come back here on Wednesday and make a series out of this.
I’ve been through a lot of situations this season that have prepared me for this – tough games, tough stretches – and have often resulted or led to better performances or better stretches of basketball, and a lot of it is because you go through something like this. For us, we don’t have time to learn at this point being down 1-0, so we gotta go.
But like what Lin said. Really meshes well with his demeanor on bench in the 4th.
He sounds confident that he can play better - as a matter of fact, everyone sounds like that.
I hope everyone on the team realizes there is absolutely no pressure. At this point they are playing with house money.man Wednesday can't come soon enough.
No doubt he'd be practicing/ adjusting/ over-preparing up to Wednesday [not that he hadn't been.] These are the only things he can control. The rest depends on McHale's decision-making...
1) Since I'M the real coach of the team because Coach McHale won't move my guys off the ball, what am I going to say to my guys to get them to spots where they can open up driving lanes and catch handoffs for inside baskets?
2) Mmm, I can easily shut down Russell Westbrook by myself because OKC's bigs other than Ibaka can't score. So how do I get my guys to take away Ibaka's offense since that guy is scouted as a great shooter?
3) The guys keep handing me the ball at the end of the shot clock. How do I get the bigs to move around without the ball so that it's not always me receiving a last second bailout pass?
Don't worry, it's just the first playoff game. Shots weren't front rim so jeremy wasn't intimidated. We'll see what happens in next games but don't forget no one expected this series to be nothing but a 4-0.
Whatever happens, good or bad, everything will turn out ok. Be faithfull and God bless you all.... Hoping that He gives extra blessing to jeremy :D
Lin's first mistake was risking a foul (which he got) so early in game when he tried to take charge. It took away a lot of Lin's aggressiveness on defense of Russell Westbrook for most of first half then. Lin can at least occasionally slow down or even contain Westbrook; Beverley just gets run over.
It may look ugly, but Lin, and probably others on team, should just hold ball and take shot clock violation, rather than taking wild shot with long rebound triggering transition, or really risky play that does the same (easy transition basket for OKC).
And when Lin gets aggressively trapped like he did at end of second quarter, either take shot clock violation or think about throwing ball off of defender's leg to bail himself out. May not look pretty to fans, but at least it doesn't result in easy 2 for OKC.
And finally he has to totally eliminate his hero ball impulses in that horrible third quarter, where he was forcing high risk, high reward plays that resulted in quick turnovers and sometimes easy transition buckets for OKC.
Stop try to force being a hero on team (it will come naturally in flow of game if he is just patient) and just be the point guard of Rockets.
If Lin play very bad again, he will be reserve for PB in the games in Houston
ReplyDeleteWhy are you kept saying this? Lin is obviously better than PB.
DeleteBrent, I enjoyed your posts in the other thread. I agree, for what it's worth.
DeleteYou wouldn't be able to tell by watching tonight's game guys.
DeleteYou always know he isn't playing well, when he doesn't bring the ball up court. He will immediately pass to someone and then stand at the wing (fine, maybe this is by design, but is it coincidental this happens often after he's blocked or TOs)
(alert: I am a big JLin fan)
Lin gets loaded up on defensively, Beverley is not.
DeleteThat's because teams LET Beverley do his thing. After all, Beverley cannot hold leads and cannot make basic NBA decisions. Teams WANT Beverley to screw up the game, unlike Lin who's the killer than everybody wants to stop.
Lin struggles against traps, Bev gently does his thing because he feels no defensive pressure. OKC knows that Lin is the team guy who gets everybody else going.
Nobody played well tonight. Beverley played better than Lin tonight, as he and all bench players on occasion do play better than the starters (this is the case with every team). But Lin is OVERALL a much better player than Beverley - the same with other starters. You can't go by several - let alone just one - games. If any bench player plays better than his starter counterpart on a more consistent level, the coaches in the league don't think twice about swapping their roles. And it happens in the league more than you think; but Lin has nothing to worry about because he's hands down a better player.
DeleteDid OKC guard Harden and Lin the same? Harden got into the paint a lot more than Lin did.
DeleteThey both can get into the paint. The defense was to play tight outside, but once they entered the paint there was NOTHING.
DeleteThey clogged, cut passing lanes, and had someone waiting AT THE RIM to block the shot (instead of going out to meet them during their drive into the paint).
And when they did manage to pass to Asik or Smith, there were very, very few easy buckets- playoff hoops, man.
But KHuang said it well... they are an EITE defensive team, that will probably end up representing the West.
@JoeTeam, thanks :P
DeleteI should point out that had the opponents trapped and double teamed Beverley instead of Lin, Lin would have played much better, obviously.
DeleteI don't understand why the Rox coaches not doing anything to help Lin when he's trapped or double-teamed?
DeleteWhy some of you keep crying that Lin played a bad game? It was his first time getting the feeling of playoff basketball. He's playing the best team in the west. All his shots were good shots. They just didn't fall in the hole. When he drove to the basket, either Ibaka or Perkins will block him or foul him hard. Perkins fouled him hard in the first quarter, and that made Lin think twice when he's penetrating. Thunders' D is far superior than the Rox's. It's playoffs, but the Rox played like a preseason game. Nothing has changed with the Rox. They played very disorganized without a true point guard. This is solely on the coach. McHale has no talent being an NBA coach. He looks scared and lost out there not knowing what to do to counter Thunders' superb offense and defense. So just stop bashing Lin and let him gain some experience and learn .
DeleteNYT: From Phenom to Everyday NBA Player
ReplyDelete“We’re pleased,” said CHRIS FINCH, a Rockets assistant who works with the team’s point guards. “Jeremy is superaggressive. For us, he’s a big X factor...“He has the ability to make big plays in runs. And where he’s matured is, he doesn’t have the runs of mistakes."
Lin works out with Finch the most. Harden with Sampson.
DeleteIf Lin's a big X factor, why don't they utilize him more?
Finch is pro-Lin, McHale is...
Delete“Linsanity was an unbelievable three-week period in his life,” McHale said. “He’ll look back when he’s 80 and go, ‘Man that was magical.’ But magic don’t last forever.”
DeleteThanks Coach Mchale.
When JLin thanked "the coaching staff," that wouldn't be McHale. [But the writers keep asking him specifically about McHale, and he'd have no choice but be diplomatic.] He'd mention McHale if he'd meant McHale [the way he'd specifically mention D'Antoni.]
DeleteThat McHale quote makes me sick. So fucking patronizing, demeaning, disrespectful, and just pure B.S. I've never seen a coach go to such great lengths to undermine and diminish the abilities and accomplishments of one of his own players. Coaches may say kinda of negative stuff to motivate their players, but, McHale isn't saying this magic b.s. to motivate Lin, but instead, to tell the whole world that he thinks Lin isn't that good.
DeleteI really hope that they trade Lin this summer to a team and coach that will appreciate him. I really think the Knicks would love to have him back, especially since Jason Kidd is ready for social security and Ray Felton isn't going to get any better than he is now, which is merely servicable. And the Lakers, especially with Kobe injured, I bet are thinking hard about trading for Lin, to get back some of the thunder that the Clippers have stolen from them.
No, Lin/Mellow combo didn't work and won't work. I don't think Lin should go play with Kobe either. If things are going well, Kobe is cool but once Lin starts committing bonehead mistakes and costing Lakers wins, Kobe's gonna be on his ass. I'm pretty sure you've seen Kobe's death stare and him talkin smack to his teammates. Lin still has a way to go before he becomes a polished player.
DeleteOh, Lin's ALREADY a polished player.
DeleteWith a coach who's more prepared for playoff basketball, Lin's game would look a lot better.
Lin's game is tailor made for the playoffs, but his Rockets team is not.
Lin knows when and how to come back stronger and better...he knows how to use this loss as a motivation to improve..he won't let us down 2 games in a row...i'm counting on this...excited to see what he will and can do next game....i will let out a big sigh of frustration and i will see y'all tmrw..night everyone...one word of advice, avoid LOH site/s, at least for tonight
ReplyDeleteHarden on the loss: "It was good for us. It was definitely good for us. Now we know how to play."
ReplyDeleteI predicted that the Rockets will have a poor 3-point shooting night and lose big. I said the Rockets will shoot 7 of 34 and the Thunder 12 of 24. It turned out to be 8 of 36 and 11 of 24, respectively. Of course, I was hoping I was wrong..... Boy, what a rout that was! So outmatched.
DeletePainful game to watch. Its again those times where you just sense he plays scared and is overwhelmed by the moment.
ReplyDeleteI want him to play well just as much as everyone on this site, and am heart-broken he didn't.
But he made some brainless mistakes (attempted baseline x-court skip pass and trapped in mid-court)... even Kenny Smith said... just inexperience.
JLin is usually the smartest b-ball IQ guy on the court, but not today.
He has to play better - and there's no excuse... this is the NBA. This is the highest level of competition for basketball.
They game planned for him well: when he turns the corner on his man, immediately pick him up to his right hand and cut off his passing lanes. I don't think he went left one time. And let him shoot from outside till he can consistently hit.
your last paragraph was spot on.
Deletey'know, OKC's vaunted defense DOES have an impact on shutting Lin down.
DeleteGive the #1 seed in the West A TEENY WITTLE CREDIT for being a great defensive team.
It's never all on Lin.
Uh...
DeleteLin missed outside the arc, inside the arc, pullups, layups, wide open looks, you name it.
His shot was just not on. He couldn't penetrate, and I saw what one maybe two picks set for him?
Yes they planned for him, but that doesn't explain it when most of his measly 7 shots was uncontested.
He was misused all game, shoved into the corner where he is the weakest. McHale's brilliant strategy.
BTW WB was on him like white on rice...Oh yeah he had Lin's number today.
oh please.. people saying PBev is better than Jeremy. he is aggressive yeah, but just that. aggressive.his aggressiveness doesn't help much on the game.when Jeremy is aggressive, the rest of the Rox follows.
ReplyDeleteWho ever said PB is better basically lost their credibility immediately, to me at least. PB is not bad, I think he is very suitable for backing up LIN. I am not saying he can not be better either, he can improve too.
DeleteYes, people are blind to what they want to believe. PB played well tonight when he played together with Lin and Harden. At least on offense.
DeleteBeverly was HORRIBLE on defense - Lin shut down Westbrook's penetrations while Westbrook just ran wild and loose when Beverly was trying to guard Westbrook.
I think even clueless McHale cannot blind himself to the fact that Beverly simply is no match for Westbrook, and Lin actually played shut down D on Westbrook, forcing him to rely on pull up jumpers because he couldn't drive past Lin.
People who think PB is a better defender than Lin in general fail to realize PB is a liability on defense because he's much smaller and lighter than Lin, and Lin can match up well against point guards like CP3 and Westbrook because physically he's got certain advantages over them. Lin does have trouble guarding guards similar to him physically, like Goran Dragic.
???
DeleteLin has NEVER had trouble guarding Goran Dragic or any other NBA pg.
When Lin gets screened out and gets no help, that's not Lin's fault.
I see a lot of NBA newbies FREAKING OUT over Lin's performance this game.
ReplyDeleteNewbies, welcome to the playoffs. It's a different - and BETTER - brand of basketball from the regular season.
Here's how it works.
Every year, there's a new "hot" regular season team that comes out of nowhere and makes the playoffs. This year it's Lin's Rockets.
These young playoff teams face off against veteran laden playoff tested battle hardened high seeds who have already made their share of mistakes. Consequently these young teams get SCHOOLED.
So fans here who are freaking out over Lin's performance, RELAX. Lin is going to improve while still having bad games along the way. Stop taking the game so personally and stop acting offended just because Lin is new to all this.
The Rockets are an incredibly overachieving team that I expect to get swept this series, no matter how well Lin plays. So just appreciate the season and don't pout when Lin predictably struggles the way ALL major NBA star guards do in their first playoff experiences.
Damn, couldnt say it any better. No pain no gain,
Deleteyeah before Thunder became the number 1 in the West, they were practically digging their claws to get to the number 8th seed.
DeleteAt least Lin never endured the HARSH LOSING SEASONS that Westbrook and Durant weathered.
DeleteTo keep things in perspective for the Lin fans here who feel personally crushed that Lin didn't have a great game, remember that Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant went 3-23 at the end of one of their early seasons. That's a lot worse than Lin has ever done in the NBA.
Lin's JUST FINE.
For the record, Lin actually played okay for most of the first half. He was missing jumpers but he defended well, made some nice passes and got fouled and had a nice layup in transition. That why it was a close game until he and Harden made some bad TOs and the usual swiss-cheese defense from his teammates.
DeleteEveryone was tight and after OKC took back control, things just snowballed from there. Also, Jeremy was playing the Derek Fisher role as usual, so he never found his rhythm. It's one game, one series, one season.
As long as we see PROGRESS...it'll be a long-term victory.
I agree with your general sentiments. What is frustrating for me is that I think with better coaching and an offense that lets Lin play to his strengths, the entire team would have played better tonight, even if they may not have won.
DeleteIt sickens me to see Lin standing on the sideline doing a Steve Novak impression while Harden and Beverly play shitty point guard and run the offense into the ground. And it frustrates me to no end that no fucking basketball experts point out and wonder and ask why Lin is NOT playing point guard and running the offense and instead basically playing the position that KEvin Martin played for the Rockets last season.
Letting the PG play point guard is just too radical an idea for McHale. For him it's 100% read-and-react...or 100% ISO Hero Ball.
DeleteThat said, it wouldn't have made a difference tonight. Everyone was just TIGHT and TERRIBLE.
Heck, I'm almost relieved it was a blowout and not a nailbiter loss -- at least they know they can't use this strategy anymore. And who knows? Maybe OKC gets cocky or sloppy in Game 2.
Haha yeah right on, totally agree Robertlin, Lin was Steve Novak for most of the game today.
DeleteTalk about misused...
@Khuang
DeleteYou know I always agree with you. I like how you break things down and create sense out of chaos.
PBev is definitely not better than Jlin. He just had a better game than Lin tonight. But that's it.
You're right about KD and WB. They struggled a lot as a team in their early days. It's growing pains.
I think most fans just have a lot of expectations of Jlin and usually uncontrollably panic. There's definitely frustrated fans out there and I understand. It's okay if people say Jlin had a bad game tonight. We all know he'll bounce back.
Good posts, guys. Thanks!
DeleteI have written all season that the weakness of McHale's motion system is that defenses can STEER McHale around by double teaming the ball out of Lin's hands.
DeleteEven if Lin brought up the ball on every play, he'd make the first pass and then never see the ball again.
Lin playing pg makes NO DIFFERENCE in the playoffs.
If Lin is not hitting his outside shot (like tonight), there is no way for him to play well in this kind of situation. You can only take what the defense gives, and they were giving him the shot only.
ReplyDeleteEspecially with athletic defenders doubling him to stop penetration, there's really nothing he can do except find cutters (which weren't cutting to relieve the double team) or reset.
Lin's weakness is his inconsistent shot, which took down his entire game tonight.
Bev did fine, but keep in mind he was not seeing double teams and traps like Lin was.
DeleteYep, pretty much.
DeleteBeverly was horrendous on defense and allowed so many easy buckets to make up for the ones he got.
DeleteMake no mistake: everyone was godawful tonight. Lin, Harden, Parsons, Asik, Beverly, Smith...everyone.
Bev game up too much penetration, forcing Lin and others to rotate. That corner 3 to Fisher was Lin rotating to stop the layup after Bev gave up the dribble drive.
DeleteI thought they put Bev on WB to relieve Lin of foul trouble. It was pick your poison. Even so, Lin got into foul trouble.
Two of them were against Durant, one on a ticky tack and an early one trying to draw a charge early in the game. Sorry, you aren't going to get that call against Durant. That was an early mistake. I attribute it to nerves.
Speaking of drawing charges, when Durant stepped in front of Harden on the fast break, that was an extremely dangerous play, and I totally disagree with that call. If the league allows that, it is setting up offensive players to get injured, and in principle borderline situations should always go in favor of the offensive player. In this case, I don't even consider it borderline. It was a poor call. It should totally have been a blocking foul, but Durant gets all the calls.
DeleteAsik and Smith aren't getting anything on posting up against their frontline, and the backcourt is getting double teamed. The game is not even close to winnable unless Rockets are hitting their 3s, which is the great equalizer.
DeleteRockets shot 8 for 36 from 3. That's 22%. That's game over.
KHuang, zxcvb, 0ccupati0, k.smith, IsabeliJane, Batman, Brent ... nice to read what you say. It was a tough game to watch, but harder to read us eat our own. I cringed at the mistakes too, but really, if you are QB on a team that is dropping every ball, or getting sacked time and time again, playing midfield for a team that continues to panic, or playing ersatz PG on the Rox, it's near impossible to pick the team up when everyone else is just crazy out of control. Add Bev to the mix with all that hyped up energy, and you get very spotty indeed. Shaq said it right - Lin should have calmed this thing down as PG ... but really, Lin only had PG for a time in the 3rd. Before that, it was multiPG as usual. Del's blocked shot was an example of hubris at work ... he had trailing help, and what an ejection. That after a great steal by Harden and pass to him. Nobody had their head on in a calm way.
DeleteI say they were unprepared. McHale has been in these kinds of games - couldn't he have seen almost all of these guys never saw a playoff game from the inside, and done something to get them mentally prepared?
O_O: "Speaking of drawing charges, when Durant stepped in front of Harden on the fast break, that was an extremely dangerous play, and I totally disagree with that call."
DeleteThe announcers agreed with you, and I saw it that way too. That was one for sure. The other was Lin getting slapped in the face on the 2nd move where he just left his man in the dust. First one, he had a nice layup. This time, he was well past, and he got fouled and they let it go.
What LIN did GREAT tonight, was penetrate and get fouls called to get to the free throw line. I think they should have gone with Lin more and did more PNR, and let Lin bully his way into the paint regardless of how they were playing him.
DeleteIf I was the coach, I would have told Lin to do his thing and just drive it in. Because they were actually calling fouls on Lin drives. He could have put the WHOLE Thunders team in foul trouble.
@ Etymology
DeleteI agree. It also showed how aggressive they were playing him, even fouling him before he attempted shots.
@Etymology and 0ccupati0, AGREED!!!!!
DeleteWhy don't we do more PNR or ANYTHING to get him/our guards free?!?! I just don't understand it.
K.smith, a pure motion system like McHale's does not have enough specific movement off the ball to make a pick and roll work.
DeleteI'm really encouraged by the shot of Jeremy on the bench in the fourth quarter. That was not of someone who was broken. He actually looked determined chatting with parsons ( about the strategy?).
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling he will handle the pressure much better the next game. To quote out favorite person, "Jeremy will be fine".
Yeah...it's just an ugly night all around. It happens.
DeleteIt's not like they haven't been blown out by OKC before. And then Lin was HUGE in that comeback win.
They're young. They were nervous. And after fighting back, they made some quick mistakes at the end of the first half that ruined all their momentum -- GAME OVER.
Yeah people are making this to be way bigger than it actually is. They thought OKC will just roll over? They are the second bet team in the league for a reason.
DeletePlayoffs are games of adjustments. Lin will need to adjust.
I think that's the biggest improvement Lin has all year.
DeleteHe doesn't get fazed easily like before.
Kenoshi.. Yeah he really took the loss in stride. Beginning of the year, u could see he would be down in the bench if he played badly. I think he is confident that he could play better. What matters now is now how he played this game but how he will rebound from this. I'm looking forward to it.
DeleteBad night pretty much from everyone. Lin looked tentative most of the night. Again, Harden got his stats but the game started off slow because of him and I'm glad Barkley called him out. I have to remember that out of the starters, only Asik and Harden have any playoff experience.
ReplyDeleteI thought Kenny Smith's comments at the half about Lin were right. Lin is young and inexperienced. Noticed he said that it was not that Lin was not playing good basketball but that Lin is inexperienced in playoff basketball.
This game made me realize that I have extremely high expectations of Lin because I believe his potential to be so great. I want him to not only be great now and skip the growing process, but also prevail over how he is being played by the coach and not being utilized in the most advantageous way. Completely unfair of me. This is a journey, not a brief road trip, and Lin can only go up from here.
Beverly did play well comparatively (not just to Lin but to a pretty much everyone else) tonight so props to him.
Personally, I don't think it's a good idea for the team to go home and then fly back regardless of the short flight. I think it's better that they get more comfortable in foreign territory, but that's just me.
How long is the flight?
DeleteI thought I read that it was like 50min?!
DeleteThat's what I heard too.
DeleteThat's it? Then it's much better to go back..
DeletePlus u never know how some of this over zealous fans will taint your food.
DeleteI know McHale said he thought it was better for them to home to what's familiar.
DeleteHarper from my old Knicks point guard on the nba tv just said that in order for The Rockets to have any chance they need Lin's performance. He is the x factor in my mind to have any chance.
DeleteBatman189, besides hitting his shots, what does Lin and the team need to do to put him in that position then?
DeleteIt's 45-50 mins. Yeah, McHale wants to be on familiar ground. [The OKC hotel NBA teams use is also allegedly haunted, haha. Maybe it's better not to have to deal with crap like that on their minds too.]
DeleteA few of his assists i thought was good in the 2nd half. They let Lin run the point and tested the strategy i thought. He was pressing a bit in my mind in the 1 st half.
DeleteHAHA. . . the hotel is allegedly haunted?!? I just find traveling exhausting, no matter how short the flight.
DeleteNo it is really haunted. There is a bill Simmons article about what he experienced.
Deleteeww haunted hotels...Yeah I'd wanna fly home too lol.
DeleteA few years ago, Eddy Curry once said he was too exhausted for an OKC game (Knicks lost) because he only got 2 hours of sleep. Why? Because he kept hearing scary noises during the night! In fact, he ended up sleeping in Nate Robinson's room, lol.
Delete@cali7~ That makes sense [the exhaustion.]
Delete@Solidz~ Whether it's real or not, you never know who in the team might be susceptible to getting psychologically affected...
oops~
Delete*[The exhaustion.] Hopefully, their well-traveled selves wouldn't register that short flight too much.
I give. I would not willingly stay in a haunted hotel.
DeleteHaha @zxcvb.
As a general note, it sucks then that any team has to stay at that hotel. One would think they could pick another hotel.
There's a haunted hotel in Tampa where baseball players stay and have reported ghostly encounters. The Ghost Hunters investigated it and got some evidence. The funny part was when they played the EVPs (ghost voices caught on tape) for the hotel manager, and she was genuinely freaked out when she heard them, you could see it clearly in her facial expressions. It looked like she saw a ghost, lol.
DeleteMCHALE POSTGAME
ReplyDeletethanks via, for everything!
Deletehey :)
DeleteMCHALE: A LOT OF GUYS ON FIRST PLAYOFF GAME
DeleteMCHALE: HOW WESTBROOK BEAT ROX
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete6:25 MCHALE POSTGAME
DeleteWE WAITED THREE YEARS FOR THIS?!?
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin struggles mightily in first playoff game
ReplyDeleteSeems like everyone except Lin's family is blaming Lin for the loss and/or getting off on saying Lin sucks.
ReplyDeleteThe "storyline" that's been built around this game (Rockets lost because of Lin and Lin sucks) is interesting because the "superstar" on the team is getting a complete pass for his piss-poor play.
The game wasn't lost by Lin's mistakes at the end of the first half. It was lost in the first five minutes of the game when OKC completely dominated Houston and Hardenstickyisoball. The only reason Houston sort of got back in the game is because McHale went small with three guards, which got the ball moving better on offense. But, that wasn't going to work for the entire game.
Houston was going to lose this game, even if Lin didn't make those mistakes and made a few more baskets.
Houston is likely going to lose this series, the question is, can they make it competitive? I don't think so, because the best chance for that to happen will not happen - McHale will not run the offense through Lin and instead continue to have him play some weird non-position where he mostly just stands on the sideline watching Harden or Beverly play his position.
This playoff series is turning out to be a microcosm of the entire season of disrespect and marginalization that Lin has been subject to by McHale. Fucking depressing.
Lin is resilient and tough, but, I think the relentless criticism, bashing, inexplicable benchings has to have chipped away at his self-confidence, and the fact that the offense is set up to ensure that Lin cannot play to his strengths as a playmaker makes it likely we'll see more of shaky Lin play the rest of the series, and maybe we'll even see Beverly start over Lin this series. That will just be the icing on the cake of Lin's hellish first season in Houston.
At least Lin has playoff inexperience as a legitimate excuse for not playing his A game.
DeleteJust so all the Lin bashers can look STUPID, I'll gently remind people that Charles Barkley who was a battlehardened playoff veteran had only FOUR POINTS in his first championship game ever.
So if Charles Barkley who was a proven playoff performer can have only 4 points, people shouldn't be bashing Lin who's inexperienced and ref hated.
Jeremy isn't bothered by criticisms or fans or media. Not at all.
DeleteBut yeah, he's clearly bothered by McHale's baseless 4th quarter benchings and his "Derek Fisher Role" on the team.
He'll perseveres as always and improve as a result (as always), but come on, we need to be patient. There's a reason OKC is the #1 seed and defending Western Conference Champs. Finally, it's only one game! See how he plays in the next 3+ games...
Come on Roberlin, chill, relax, - dont get too high and too low, it's one game. I am sure they will be more competitive now that they experience the 1 st playoff game. Did u guys see that McHale used 7 player lineup? Any thoughts on that
DeleteKHuang, thanks for the comparison with Barkley, it really put things into perspective. I'm not as depressed anymore hehe
Delete@ khuang - u mean Barkley's game against Bulls? I remeber that seriese bet Phoenix and Bulls
DeleteLin is an easy scapegoat and Harden has been getting a pass all season long.
DeleteThe TNT group wasn't blaming Lin although I couldn't see the last couple minutes of the game. They just said someone had to step up because Harden can't do it by himself. The majority of fans seem to be ignorant or on a bandwagon. Ignore em.
Lin is human. It probably has and will get to him at times but he seems level headed and he'll just get back stronger and better. He's persevered through worse.
Batman, it's me venting about the entire season and how McHale's decision to go with Beverly over Lin for in the 3rd and 4th quarters of the game against LA cost the Rockets a game they were in control of the entire time (with Lin in the game) and forced a match-up with OKC instead of San Antonio.
DeleteI do expect a more competitive game in game 2, although I expect Lin's minutes to get reduced, and I wouldn't be totally surprised if McHale decides to start Beverly over Lin. Don't think that will happen, but, with McHale, you never know.
Also: Curry started yesterday's loss 0-9.
DeleteNot to mention he's a "star" and all-time great shooter in the making who gets to handle the ball and get multiple screens and re-screens.
Well basically, Lin could of hit all his shots and Rox would still lose by 16 points.
DeleteThis game was a team loss. Sure Lin wasn't stellar and is part of the reason, but he certainly wasn't the biggest problem. Like I said, its a team loss.
Good point, zxcvb. I remember seeing that yesterday and being somewhat surprised. He finished 8/20 I think.
DeleteExactly. That just goes to show you gotta power through the struggles and keep shooting, attacking, being aggressive. The percentages will even out in time.
DeleteOf course, doing that is a lot harder when you don't get to handle the ball, don't get good screens (or even consistent screens) and have to play against the #1 seed!
Of course it's a team loss, and the game was lost in the first five minutes. But, tell that to the analysts and fanboys who started to focus on Lin's mistakes and blame him for the loss by the end of the first half.
DeleteMy frustration and anger is the treatment Lin is getting in the media and by fans (Lin fans being the worst offenders) and by the coaching staff. Oh, and I'm sure Clyde Drexler is telling everyone if they could get Damian Lillard, the team would win the championship next year.
Lin says 2nite, Rockets were pretty terrible across the board. When askd what he needs 2improve on, he says, "What isn't there 2improve on?"
ReplyDeleteLin: Being tentative hurt Rockets. OKC took advantage of every slight bit of hesitation.
[Knows he struggled, but says he honestly felt each shot was goin' in. Not sure if it was adrenaline or what that causd misses.]
Lin: playoff debut obv didn't go according to plan. Playoff inexperience can no longer be excuse. Now, Rockets have some, albeit bad taste.
JLIN, PARSONS POST GAME
DeleteI love his response. He said it right. I think every split hesitation can change the rhythm. I hope his mindset is clear.
DeleteIt depends on the origin of the hesitation - because the D is shutting u down or confusing you (bad), or because you are initiating your offensive move (good).
DeleteLin's basically calling his guys out in the papers and saying:
Delete"Stop playing SCARED!"
Assuming Lin is played out of his natural position by McHale, will he ever be a good player?
ReplyDeleteLet's say Lin is traded to another team and, again, he isn't allowed to play PG. Can he succeed?
Anyone? KHuang, all bball experts?
You have to define what succeed is first, otherwise, your question is basically pointless.
DeleteWhy is everyone freaking out, stop this stupid nonsense
DeleteI don get it either, this one-game freaking-out/hype is ridiculous.
DeleteI don't agree with this 'Lin playing out of position' stuff. You cannot be a PG if the rest of the team is just standing around and watching and not cutting and not moving. You cannot play PG if the defenders are blitzing every PnR and the team is not prepared to take advantage of that. Back when Patterson was on the team, Lin could dump the ball for a pick and pop. But that's not available with this starting lineup. Asik/Smith are not going to make it to the bucket against this Thunder defense. I think they should consider starting DMo at the 4.
DeleteHmmm, i thought the Thunders switched a lot on PnR
DeleteLin is totally playing out of position. Most of the game, he was standing on the sidelines without the ball, basically playing shooting guard. Beverly handled the ball more than Lin when Beverly and Lin were in the game together.
DeleteSo, yeah, Lin's not playing his position; he played point guard only in name, not in actuality.
I was referrin to Lin scooting into the corner at every opportunity. He deferred to Harden/PB all night and was basically playing a SG. He didn't touch the ball much at all.
DeleteYes the team wasn't moving off ball, but then again the starting 3 was playing a whole lot of ISO. Things changed a bit 2nd half, but too little too late.
I get what you're saying Roberlin, but does it really matter who brings the ball up if there the team has no concept of what to do in the half court offense?
DeleteMost of the 1st quarter was Rox players going one on one, including Lin. If you're doing that, there is no distinction between PG or SG or whatever. That first quarter was a total mess with no team basketball.
DeleteThe only reason the Rox came back in 2nd quarter was because of transition buckets. But they didn't solve the problem from the beginning: there is no half court offense, just individual players trying to take their man.
Deletesorry, i'm bball newbie and, cough, freaking out unnecessarily.
Deletei don't know what's success in NBA mean but for me, it's something like shutting up the haters, getting due recognition, respects from the media and fans.
Some ISOs in the 1st Q was actually OK because mismatches. Rox just did not capitalize on those chances. But a lot ISOs in the 2 3 and 4th Qs are just desperate attempts. I blame that on Coaches. However, I do not think you can install a lot of set plays in one year anyway.
DeleteYou live by the hype (Linsanity), you die by the hype.
DeleteIts the era we live in. Yeah, I am over-reacting... but that's the way most people are feeling. Its not good/bad, its what it is.
We expect JLin to hang w Durant, Lebron, Kobe, Carmelo, etc. That's the bar Linsanity set. That's what got him paid in HOU.
But we see an inexperienced, limited PG with potential. This isn't a bash, its the hurt from the reality we are seeing.
A bash is when we don't want him to succeed and don't think he's any good. I couldn't be any more opposite.
But as many have said... ITS JUST ONE GAME (yup, ok got it :)
Occupa, if Lin was actually allowed to play point, you would see a half-court offense. Just think of all the games where Lin actually played point guard because Harden was injured. The team offense plays so much more smoothly and efficiently with Lin quarterbacking the team.
DeleteKenoshi, LIn scoots to the corner because that's what he's told to do by his coach. It's not being passive, he's playing his "position."
DeleteRoberlin, I certainly agree the team does better when Lin runs the offense, but I don't think this game was close to winnable by putting the ball in Lin's hands more. The coaches don't have an idea of what they are trying to do in the half court, and that problem runs deeper than how Lin is being used.
DeleteWhen they went with the Harden-Lin-Bev lineup, Lin was playing SG bc the coaches, for whatever reason, wanted Bev to guard the Thunder PG. You basically play the position you are defending, and in that lineup, Lin was guarding the Thunder SG, which at various points was Martin or Fisher.
DeleteOccupa, I don't think they would have won, either. But, if Lin was the point guard the entire season, the Rockets would have had a better record and not have faced OKC in the first round.
Deletejakemaverick, you're completely wrong. No one said Lin was gonna hang with Durant,at least not the rational fans. He's getting an average, starting PG salary. WTF were you expecting?! Stop with the exaggerations. There's enough of that on the hater forums.
DeleteLin playing PG would MAKE NO DIFFERENCE.
DeleteLin would still get double teamed like he always does. The only difference is that instead of receiving the ball at the end of the shot clock like he does now, Lin would get the balm early and never get the ball back. That's actually worse.
In the NBA, coaches that don't have a good balance between set plays and reading offenses tend to struggle on BOTH ends of the court.
Jeremy Lin 2012-13 Season TOP 10 in April
ReplyDeleteSo much inside my head and hearth but I can't get it out as words. Too bad there is no google hangout for us so we can chat about Lin in real time
ReplyDeleteHey that would be cool
DeleteRikki, take a break fr Twitter a bit...[it's brutal.]
Delete@via, "Gott dat china white, callin' it Jeremy Lin"
DeleteThe worst kind of tweet ever
Getting your name mixed-up with 3:08 Heroin is pretty bad, I'd agree [esp JLin being Christian...]
DeleteTwitter is just frustrating. [Nyk fans are out gloating all over the place tonight, stupid people fr HOU too...] :/
china white? whaaat? What does that even mean?
Deletethat line is from rapper french montana. It's a compliment, I think. Where are all the rap enthusiasts, help us out here.
DeleteChina white = heroin. [Just a rhyme. Though JLin, seeing how he trademarked "Linsanity" when it got mixed up with weed, wouldn't be amused, heh.]
Delete'MURICA!
DeleteThis game was just horrendous. The ball was sooo sticky everyone started to play Iso or what not. THis habit needs to stop, idk if it's the coaches or the players fault that keeps preaching this whole iso thing, it's obviously not working as they have lost 4 in a row now.
ReplyDeleteLin tonight just did not show up, I wouldn't go as far as saying that this game was deja-vu from last year against the Heats, he just didn't play well, he wasn't completely shut down.
And I still don't get the whole thing why Lin has to be the SG when he and Bev plays together, Lin's a better PG then SG, their roles should be reverse in those times.
Tonight I will note that Lin did start the 2nd and 4th qtr w/out Harden or Parsons, which is something new? But jesus christ, talk about Harden getting all the attention for this series, seems like Lin's the one getting all the attention. Once again, Lin seems to be the "leader" again every time he has a really bad game and the team loses.
The only positive thing about this is that people do recognize that Lin's the game changer, his performance determines Rox's wins/losses. It's interesting everyone is calling for Lin's head but hate to admit that Lin is maybe the most important player on the team, he plays good they win, he plays bad they lose or get blown out vice versa.
Just warning, Twitter is ugly tonight towards Lin even Ryan Higa was defending Lin, people are really pathetic and bandwagoners when it comes to the Jeremy Lin case. I think someone said that when he plays a bad game, people get off the bandwagon but when he plays a good game, everyone's cheering. some sort of comment like that, I'm just paraphrasing now.
Just frustrating game, I hope and know that Lin will bounce back, he usually does and I expect so, I'm just going to think that tonight they were just testing waters or the Skirvin Hotel bothered them, I wanna hear their stories about their experiences there!
Lin has been playing SG for almost the whole reg season and he's pretty prepared for it by now, though it's playoff time and intensity is many notches higher. Hope this blowout loss give him the invaluable playoff experience and he comes out strong the next game...not sure whether he can recover fast enough though.
ReplyDeleteThe 2nd game will be still difficult for the Rox. Please do not freak out again :P. That been said, it is easier to go from 0% to 90% ready than from 90% to 99%. OKC can not play any better, but Lin sure can.
ReplyDeletenicely said!
DeleteToo much is being made of Lin's TO from the double team that led to a transition bucket. Sure, it was a bad play. But it was ONE play. How many live ball turnovers has Harden committed that led to transition buckets? Actually, many many more than Lin this year, but at no point does a half court show or the announcers focus on Harden's mistakes like that, and they certainly don't replay the thing over and over again. Harden's TO's have been horrendous this year but you never hear about it bc it is not part of the narrative.
ReplyDeleteLin's mistakes are very much amplified, especially since that play looked like a replay of last year's Miami game. People love information that fits into their prepackaged narratives and preconceptions. In this case, the preestablished narrative is that Lin is 'turnover-prone.' Don't get hung up about it. It's just the standard narrative looking for material to feed on.
At one point, Bev got a steal on WB that led to a fast break. But you will never see an announcer or half time show comment on such a play. WB has a lot of turnovers, including ball handling turnovers, but no one ever talks about it.
DeletePeople ignore information that doesn't fit with established narratives, and regard those examples as anomalous exceptions and noise.
Exactly. Couldn't have said it better myself. Just to add, the "Lin is a turnover machine" narrative is the central meme used to discredit him overall as a quality NBA player/point guard. The turnover meme is part of the larger narrative that Lin simply is not good enough to be an NBA starter, because, you know, he is that which is obviously an indicator that it is impossible for him to be a good basketball player. We don't even need to say why Lin cannot be a good player, because its so obvious, it need not be said out loud.
DeleteNow i'm pissed. F*CK everyone!
DeleteLOL. Your response time needs work. If you're gonna be pissed, it shoulda happened earlier. =P
DeleteI ain't mad. There's no way Lin can play worse than today. The only annoying thing is I have to listen to annoying ppl cream themselves over it. But that ain't nothing new.
Wednesday seems so far away. What the hell are we going to talk about until then?? Dman.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Deletevia, appreciate very much all your efforts. is the link broken?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Deleteyw, liv. :) [What to do til Wednesday: Try to guess WHAT MCHALE'S GAMEPLAN WAS?
Deletethanks so much, via. this board is loaded with lots of cool stuff with you around :)
DeleteOKC'S DEFENSIVE TACTIC
ReplyDeleteAlright, some major jittery nerves got in the way for lin and the rest of the team. The bright spots are 1) rox have the defense to stop okc, at least slow down okc enough for the rox to make their runs. Unfortunately the runs didnt come cuz no one could make their shots except for beverly. I was impressed by him tonite. Bev is better than what we give him credit for. I think he can be a competent scorer if he wants to be. Never understood why he doesnt put up more shots even in the european league. He can penetrate, finish, and has good shooting mechanics. So he's not selfish... Major plus. Asik is still the glue for this team, imo. Okc had a hard time, esp. Westbrook of making layups. Nothing easy cuz of asik. Even in the game ag/ lakers asik played dwight was able to contain dwight and plug up the middle. 2) the bench got some burn. Im tired of complaining about mchale. So lin just got to take the bull by the horn and do his thing. I believe he called for a pick and it never came. Tell his bigs " hey your not getting the ball till you set me some picks"
ReplyDeleteRockets played terribly at the start and they were very lucky that OKC had a mental lapse and let Rockets back in the game, and I believe the score was even tied briefly at something like 40-40. Lin, during this period, just missed 4 or 5 open shots -- he just missed open shots. I was glad he took these shots, although I think he should have probed a little more before doing so. When Rockets couldn't take advantage of OKC's letting up on their play and allowed OKC to go up by around 15 before the half, I knew the game was over and didn't even watch 2nd half.
ReplyDeleteWhat I was disappointed in Lin was not that he missed open shots -- it happens -- but really dumb passes he made and the apparent lack of confidence -- absolutely no swagger; Lin played tentatively from the beginning. Even the first pass he tried to make to Asik for his first attempt was too risky. It's that he seemed to play this playoff game on the same level as regular games, when OKC players, as you would expect, turned it up a notch in intensity. Anyway, I expected Rockets to lose both games at OKC, so maybe if Rockets gets lucky, they might be able to win one of their home games. Anyway, I just want to see Lin play well at least one playoff game.
Anyway, I watched the first half with someone who has not watched NBA in 10 years, and he said after watching the first half that he thought "Lin had zero positive impact on the game. Why are you following him." I told him Rockets lost chance to hang close when they went down around 15 points after being tied, and that I never seen Lin play this badly and I am not following his game tonight. The person I watched the game with said "Bev played with more confidence."
True, Bev seemed more confident and aggressive. That's probably because the head coach has confidence in Bev and praises and appreciates him, and tells him so.
DeleteOKC didn't guard Bev like they did Lin...at all.
DeleteIt's Lin's responsibility to make his shots though.
I thought Lin was playing for God; that alone should give him some confidence. Missing long jumpers I can take; but playing without confidence and hesitating all the time, I just don't understand. Anyway, I will wait for all 4 (or maybe 5 games).
Delete[As you know] JLin will be using the time from now til Wednesday studying film, making adjustments, getting into a more battle-ready mindset, now that he's had a taste of what it'll be like for the next games.
DeleteIt'll be different on Wednesday. =)
[Hopefully, McHale will be making some adjustments too.]
*an even more battle-ready mindset
DeleteEb5attorney, you always blame Lin when his teammates screw him up.
DeleteLin shot a bunch of shot clock beaters, had trouble finding guys who were tightly guarded, was double teamed with no passing targets, and was ref cheated.
When we argue, it's because you blame Lin for his teammates' failures.
One more thing. Rockets should have done everything in its power to avoid OKC during 1st round. As Kenny Smith said at the beginning of the game, OKC plays the same style as Rockets, but their players are just a lot better and more talented. He said exactly what I felt, so no surprise there; but I was shocked at the lack of confidence with which Lin played. If Lin plays well only when he's pissed, Rockets are in trouble.
ReplyDeleteGoing forward, I wonder if McHale will continue the failed strategy of having Bev guard Westbrook. If McHale wants Bev on the floor, Bev will have to guard their SG, which doesn't seem bad to me.
ReplyDeleteThe hard part about Lin guarding WB is he can't afford to foul him. Game over if Lin gets into foul trouble.
DeleteThe Thunder are just a really hard matchup in so many positions.
OKC's SG's aren't huge/tall so Bev should be able to guard them with Lin at the 1.
DeleteIt's not like Mchale's offense has defined roles anyway. Remember the POR game when Lin/Bev were on the court together? Bev was the PG and Lin was the SG but the ball still ran through Lin.
I'm not even sure it'd matter who played the 1 or 2.
Lin was right about the fans. We are bipolar, but that's what being a sports fan is all about. U can love and hate your team. It's not all love all the time.
ReplyDeleteThis game does not define Jeremy as a player. Sure he played badly but so did everyone else. I was surprised and disappointed like most of you but really, what matters now is how Lin responds in the next game.
The team cannot do well without Lin playing better and Lin himself can't do much if the rest if the team plays badly. The key for Lin will be for him to make shots. Look, he is not going to all of a sudden run the team.
Lin had open looks and he missed most of them. OKC will let him shoot.. Lin will have to shoot better. I
I thought Lin learned during regular season not to make those types of passes, but it seems like everything he learned during regular season, it went out the window.
DeleteHe just didn't look comfortable tonight. Maybe he put too much pressure on himself. I'm sure he knew a lot of people were watching.. Maybe hoping for him to fail. He was pressing a lot, making uncharacteristic mistakes.
DeleteBut the place looked rather intimidating, facing the best team in the west - that's gotta be intimidating.
how would Lin not be "intimidated" knowing it very well that the team was entering into a game long lost even before it started -- there wan't any good gameplans, coaches inept in making in-game adjustments, he's asked to play spot up SG not PG, etc, etc...afterall, like you said, Lin is only human. I don't think Lin was intimidated, he was just, feeling helpless, imo.
DeleteI understand what Solidz trying to convey, Lin had make the shots he have but in reality it is not that easy. It's not like an on and off switch, Lin said it himself. In terms of soccer, Lin is a "Fantasista" type of player which needed to given free role and key of the offense to truly shine. Teams that have and respect their "Fantasista" wins championship. Hell even Lionel Messi will be shit if being coached by McHale because perceived being small and weak.
DeleteI enjoyed everyone's comments tonight. Thanks for keeping me off realgm. Peace out til tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteWow u guys weren't kidding about Lin hate/ jokes all over forums and twitter.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if there is any player out there who gets mocked as much as Lin does.
It will make Lin's transformation that much sweeter when it happens. I hope..
Haters out in droves.
DeleteHe'd be aware too, even if he stays away fr social media. [Probably Joseph would be reading stuff...]
Hope it serves to motivate him further.
I hate to say it again but, 'MURICA!
DeleteDisgusting haters..!
DeleteLin, I Believe In You!
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin`s Top 10 Plays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB5XyBdB55k
This was a team lost but it could have been less embarrassing that's all. I've been saying that playoff will bring down the Rox because of their reliance on 3s. This whole year Mchale has rode Harden and Parsons and totally disreguarded the weak side. If the players look confused its because they've been out coached from the get go. Theirs no movement because of Mchale's dependency on Harden iOS. Their is no chemistry because the 3 of them don't get any touches. No plays are ever set of the weak side because of Mchale's favoritism. At to this is the nerves that inevitably come with playoffs. It has to be experienced. It is liken to jumping out of a plane for the first time, except you are naked with all the cameras watching your every move. The level of adrenalin firing through your veins is unreal. These guys are pros but even they have to make the adjustments and learn to deal with those nerves.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is that you could see that they were like deer caught in headlights right of the bat. Then they all just hit the wall mentally and just panicked. Mchale in his infinite wisdom gave his young team no set plays. Once players hit a wall mentally they become like chickens with their heads cut off, playing blindly without meaningful purpose. All Mchale comes back to is to hand Harden the ball and hope he does something. Their is no chemistry because for 4 months now, it's been mostly Harden ISO with everyone else standing still spread out away from the middle. No one knows how to play with one another because they don't get enough touches. Lin hit the wall and played blind in desperation like the rest of the team.
Mchale has to let Lin be the pg down the middle with 4 or 5 PNR and harden and parsons on the wings as snipers. This would present a triple threat inside and outside. If Mchale can make this happen, the Rox will have a chance to win a few games.
What you want out from the team is the right thing to do, but it will make the coaches, Harden, and Parsons looked bad. Those kind of plays you want will make Jeremy shine so bright the most. Egoist don't like being in shadow
DeleteThat guy Asshat Huq is calling for McHale to play Beverley 35 minutes a game in this series!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.red94.net/oklahoma-city-thunder-120-houston-rockets-91-hakeem-olajuwon-walking-door/12443/#more-12443
What do you expect from a man named start with ass?
DeleteLol, good one! The only thing under that ass hat is sh@t for brains!
DeleteU saying Beverley doesn't deserve it after this game? Rahat didn't say to drop Jeremy anyway. He wants to drop Greg Smith and move Parsons to the 4. So Bev-Lin-Harden-Parsons-Asik. He's been a long time Lin supporter. Don't take cheap shots at his name. Be civil.
Delete[CNM] 2013 Playoffs Game #1 -- Report & Analysis
ReplyDeleteI will give credit to the Rockets coaches for giving Jeremy the minutes and experience despite his subpar game. He even started the 4th quarter (gasp!), and was only pulled when OKC pulled their starters too.
ReplyDeleteThis game isn't surprising, it would be a major upset for Rockets to win even one game at OKC. The Rockets should be thrilled if they can win one in Houston. That's why we wanted the 7th seed so bad, everyone knew OKC would obliterate whoever their 1st round opponent was.
Joseph Lin @Joelinsta
ReplyDeleteJust a feel out game today..no worries onto game 2 now
9:19 PM - 21 Apr 13
D-League, doin ok
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ReplyDeleteJFriedman: Game 1 Leaves Houston Thunderstruck
ReplyDeleteJLIN QUOTE
(being tentative a result of lack of experience?) We really don’t have an excuse anymore. We’ve already gotten it out. We played terrible all the way across the board, offensive and defensively. That one’s over with for us so we’re going to learn a lot and I’m personally going to learn a lot. Then it’s time to move on – another game on Wednesday.
(were you happy with your shots?) I literally thought every single one of my shots was going in. I’m being completely honest when I say I thought every single one was in. They were all just kind of back rim; I don’t know if I was a little too excited or whatever it might be but that’s not going to happen every game.
I don’t think anyone in (the locker room) is saying we played well, even for a stretch. I think we played bad all the way across the board and we were still within four. I think our team is capable of so much more and I think everybody, starting with myself, is capable of a lot more. Hopefully we can come back here on Wednesday and make a series out of this.
I’ve been through a lot of situations this season that have prepared me for this – tough games, tough stretches – and have often resulted or led to better performances or better stretches of basketball, and a lot of it is because you go through something like this. For us, we don’t have time to learn at this point being down 1-0, so we gotta go.
Via.. U r working overtime tonight.
DeleteBut like what Lin said. Really meshes well with his demeanor on bench in the 4th.
He sounds confident that he can play better - as a matter of fact, everyone sounds like that.
I hope everyone on the team realizes there is absolutely no pressure. At this point they are playing with house money.man Wednesday can't come soon enough.
Wednesday would be see a better showing fr the team. :)
Delete[And hopefully McHale would make some adjustment, with some prodding fr Morey.]
Daryl Morey @dmorey
That was painful
9:12 PM - 21 Apr 13
*we'll be seeing a better showing
DeleteNot sure if everyone else(McHale & Harden) will let Jeremy have better showing.
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DeleteMcHale had done enough damage, Morey had better shut up if he doesn't straighten McHale out after this...
DeleteG1 PICS - JLIN VS OKC
ReplyDeleteI want to know what's going through Lin's head tonight.
ReplyDeleteAs Lin goes to bed tonight, he is saying to himself..."_______________________________________"
"I know I am better than this. Be patient and it will come to me."
Fill in the blanks if you please.
"A W on Wednesday."
DeleteNo doubt he'd be practicing/ adjusting/ over-preparing up to Wednesday [not that he hadn't been.] These are the only things he can control. The rest depends on McHale's decision-making...
What's probably going through Lin's head?
Delete1) Since I'M the real coach of the team because Coach McHale won't move my guys off the ball, what am I going to say to my guys to get them to spots where they can open up driving lanes and catch handoffs for inside baskets?
2) Mmm, I can easily shut down Russell Westbrook by myself because OKC's bigs other than Ibaka can't score. So how do I get my guys to take away Ibaka's offense since that guy is scouted as a great shooter?
3) The guys keep handing me the ball at the end of the shot clock. How do I get the bigs to move around without the ball so that it's not always me receiving a last second bailout pass?
Villarreal post game comments.
ReplyDeletewww.youtube.com/watch?v=opjci8k-ibE&
Don't worry, it's just the first playoff game. Shots weren't front rim so jeremy wasn't intimidated. We'll see what happens in next games but don't forget no one expected this series to be nothing but a 4-0.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happens, good or bad, everything will turn out ok. Be faithfull and God bless you all.... Hoping that He gives extra blessing to jeremy :D
Lin's first mistake was risking a foul (which he got) so early in game when he tried to take charge. It took away a lot of Lin's aggressiveness on defense of Russell Westbrook for most of first half then. Lin can at least occasionally slow down or even contain Westbrook; Beverley just gets run over.
ReplyDeleteIt may look ugly, but Lin, and probably others on team, should just hold ball and take shot clock violation, rather than taking wild shot with long rebound triggering transition, or really risky play that does the same (easy transition basket for OKC).
And when Lin gets aggressively trapped like he did at end of second quarter, either take shot clock violation or think about throwing ball off of defender's leg to bail himself out. May not look pretty to fans, but at least it doesn't result in easy 2 for OKC.
And finally he has to totally eliminate his hero ball impulses in that horrible third quarter, where he was forcing high risk, high reward plays that resulted in quick turnovers and sometimes easy transition buckets for OKC.
Stop try to force being a hero on team (it will come naturally in flow of game if he is just patient) and just be the point guard of Rockets.