DMayberry [fr The Oklahoman]: Kevin Durant charges Jeremy Lin as he crosses halfcourt planning to call timeout. Durant wraps his arm around him and then smiles.
HoChen: btw for all those hating on KD right now for the timeout thing, he's seriously a really nice guy. ---
Royce Young [fr Daily Thunder]: KD in the halftime interview: "First off, I love you Russ."
Howard Chen @ho_chenCSN Btw for all the OKC fans who weren't happy w/Bev's play as Westbrook called timeout, guess what? Lin was smacked by KD as he called TO 2nite
I think the Rockets are like the softest team in the league. No one on the team has got each other's backs. It's like everyone is doing their own thing.
Captain Marvel, well Beverly sure got his back covered (23 3 points game against GSW Marcus Morris tech and last game Garcia's tech for Perkin's hard screen on Bev)
Will probably not happen next game because JLin is still injured, but I'm optimistic about JLin's future. Yes, JLin's NBA road had been nothing but smooth so far, but one thing is steady, and that's JLin himself. His will to succeed is strong. He will get better and prove doubters wrong over and over again.
@Mchale~ The Oklahoman reporter saw KD SMILE as he go for the steal.
[You know people are already being generous seeing this as KD doing it for RW, and not some assh*le move for nothing, right? It's all over the news how JLin's chest is INJURED. Did you see how he was in pain after that steal?]
KD did what he was supposed to do. Him going after Bev would be like the Rox going after Derek Fisher. would make no sense.
What disappointed me was Lin's reaction. He just hunched over like a biatch and didn't push back. Grow a heart, man. You've done next to nothing in this series. The least you could do is show some fight, instead of feeling sorry for yourself. I'm really losing respect for this kid. I've had high hopes for him, but he keeps disappointing. It's time to show something, anything.
Bottom line, Jeremy needs to show some attitude at times. You can't let a player get away with shoving you like that. I can't help but think his religious background hinders him at times, but I've known some feisty Christian athletes.
I never said he was soft, I just pointed out the perception that many fans have of him. Look at Clutch Fans or Twitter. They are going in on JLin and it ain't pretty.
1. Give me a break, that was nothing. KD didn't do anything dangerous or dirty, just wrapped his arm. If you want to make a big deal out of this, you're just asking for all Lin fans to be labelled as whiners.
2. That said, like others called out, KD is an all-around fake. He appears like a humble guy, but he's just as cocky as Kobe. He appears to be a clean-cut NBA player, but he is tatted up all over his upper body everywhere that's covered up by his jersey. He also fake-retaliated for Westbrook by being all "tough" and fouling Lin on the timeout.
I'm appalled and disgusted by the anti Lin anti Asian race based hate trolling done here by TVN and McHale Jeremiah.
They insinuate that Lin doesn't retaliate because he's Asian. What RACIST GARBAGE that is. I'm Asian and I'm retaliating against their dumbass accusations of Asians being weak.
Lin got hit so hard his arms doesn't work. I've been hit hard like that several times, and it's a level of pain and dysfunctionality that results in mind numbing pain and your arms not doing what you tell them to do. It's such hate BS for those trolls to openly state that Lin should be playing better through that.
Lin, despite the pain and misfunctioning arms, toughed his way into this game. Then these trolls taunt Lin, saying that he lacks toughness. That's such a hate filled lie from them.
TVN has been Lin's biggest hater ever because he has ALWAYS felt that Lin never deserved to be in the NBA. This Jeremia neutered troll is another racist who's just here to flame Lin's Asian fans. Their hatred of Lin and Asians in general is expected here.
I don't care if this starts a flame war. But I won't stand for those two trolls firing racist insults at Lin and Asians in this place.
I came to realize that Lin is he who he is. I so desperately wanted Lin to speak out against McHale's unfair treatment of him during the season .. U know, to man up, but he never did just letting his play do the talking.
So It would be extremely uncharacteristic of Lin to suddenly lash out at people. But I do have a problem with his teammates not coming to his defense. It's like they took it like they expected it.
I'm utterly disappointed as any of u that we as a collective fans on the " Lin team " were not able to get the last word on the haters and the doubters, but i believe that ultimately we will get the last laugh. The proverbial the best things comes to those who wait.
I'm looking forward to Lin coming on striong next year. I'm sure he has a lot if built up temper and frustration he is dying to unleash this summer. Hopefully, he will come back better than ever.
In my case, I don't care about the haters outside this forum. They're going to hate Lin whether he succeeds or fails.
I've been in Lin's shoes as "Asian villain" who was trying to do his best despite everybody hating me. Once I realized that nothing I did mattered to such folks, I became happier and freer. I also knew which situations to avoid and how to stand up for myself. I was much older than Lin before I figured it out - he'll get it sooner than I did.
Now trolls on this board? They wanna fire at Lin and Lin's fans, they're going to get heat fired back at them. It's FAIR that way here.
KHuang~ It IS about what's being/ can be written on this forum [or how a Lin fan is supposed to conduct oneself.] Did you see JLin wince in pain when KD went for the injured guy? Isn't it simply reasonable for fans to react to this? OKC fans are reacting. [Gleefully.] Why can't we? [Bec others will disapprove?]
[As for info about what's out there, some people like knowing, some people don't. For those who don't, SKIP THE POSTS.]
For me, a big part of being Lin's fan is to prove to others that he was not just a fluke. Most of us obviously believe in him and his skills, and its human mature to want to be proven right and to prove doubters wrong.
Now, unlike some of u ( u know who u r), I don't mind going to the hater site and reading what their perspectivr of Lin's game is but I have to say some of these critcisms are just so cringe worthy. And that gives me extra desire to prove them wrong.
What did I expect from Lin this season? Lin to be an all star guard ( 18. / 8 ) leading the rox to a playoff birth. The Knicks to fail miserably with Felton messing things up and Dolan regretting Letting Lin go. That for me would've been an extra satisfying season.
The only thing that came true was the Rox making the playoffs but not the way I had anticipated.
I also realized Lin has few important holes in his game that he needs to improve and that is shooting and the confidence to take the shot.
If everything stays status quo, except Lin improving his shooting.. He will be considered one of the top pg in the league. I anticipate that he will just like I had confidence he would suit up for this game. I think we can expect a great year next season.
As a christian, Lin would not fight on the court. He would rather play a better game and let God be the judge. Damn! He's a professional basketball player and not a prize fighter. Fighting doesn't make him a better basketball player.
It wasn't as bad as it looked. The opponent can't treat Lin as an egg shell and play softly against him just because Lin is injured. I feel bad for Lin though.
It's too bad that Lin couldn't be an integral part of the most exciting Rockets' playoff game. Why start the 4th game if he's hurt; Lin shouldn't play unless his injury improves to an extent that he can help Rockets. It sucks though not to have one good playoff game yet.
He could make some improvement. I think its gonna be minor though. Prob 20-25% better. And no needling! Yes, no needling. Ice that pectoral muscle, maybe ultrasound therapy.
Muscle contusion is usually at least a week off and then return to range of motion.
I am praying he finds a new team. Harden is just not clutch at the end.
Lol, I don't have twitter. I think they are doing icing and ultrasound already. I'm sure they have a ton of medical professionals looking at this already.
Or maybe he needs a topical anti-inflammatory cream or something
we cant even see jeremy lin performance in houston rocket unless mchale is there..even in next season it is the same things happend..go go go idol jeremylin..find a better place for you.
Very sad loss, it was a winnable game. I hate the fact that Rockets almost won it without Lin though, Lin should be a key factor to their success. I bet you if Lin was healthy tonight, the Rockets will take home the W.
- Jeremy gave his best effort but just wasn't healthy enough -- his first jumper and a nice pass or two gave me false hope!
- A monstrous comeback and then a lucky-shot by KD and a flurry of TOs without even getting a shot off.
- Because of the loss, Jeremy won't be able to make much of an impact this series. He'll probably still be sore for Game 4 and now it's all but impossible to advance.
P.S. KD's rip-through fouls are a disgrace to the game. At least Harden drives when he does through. Durant just stands there and throws his arms into his defender's face...FTs!!! You call that a superstar? What garbage.
This game teaches Harden to be humble because it's his missing Fts and TOs that makes the difference. He should not be paid like KD for sure. Garcia stepped up and played a good game. Next season the rockets is going to be awesome with the playoff experience. The team would be playing together as a team more. Everybody is going to have a realistic look at Harden's productivity. The Rox needed more solid players rather than a superstar. None of the Rox are elite players.
zxcvb "KD's rip-through fouls are a disgrace to the game. At least Harden drives when he does through. Durant just stands there and throws his arms into his defender's face...FTs!!! You call that a superstar? What garbage."
A variation of that rip-thru is that KD will try to swing his arms under the defender's outstretched arms and then immediately jumps. If he succeeds in catching the defender's arms, then he gets 2 FTs. If he misses the guy's arms while jumping up, he will then pass in mid-air to a teammate nearby.
CP3 did a similar thing to Lin this year, by getting his arms under Lin's elbow and shoulder and then jumping. The difference with KD is that his arms are so long that he can can fish a much longer distance. KD does this regularly whenever he is in a triple-threat position. It is not a rare gimmick but rather a regular feature of his offense.
Savvy, experienced defenders like Tayshaun Prince will bait KD to do it then immediately pull his own arms back. Inexperienced defenders will get punked, and KD does this every game, and refs reward him. It really forces defenders to give him lots of space.
Houston is full of fakes. Fake friends, fake coaches, fake teammates, fake supports, fake love, etc.
Some of ladies may fall for the fake bromance and stuff, some other believe that the coaches will turn around and use Lin the right way. Glad I never on board of those groups. I put my faith in Lin and only Lin alone.
Harden has not improved ANY aspect of his game this year.
He's not clutch -- just a crutch. His 'playmaking' in the last possession consisted of being too afraid to take the last shot and instead throws the ball to Delfino to take a contested shot against a lengthy defender. What a coward move. He wants to be 'the man', but he passes off the difficult part of being the man to his teammates. Not to mention the unforced turnovers and missed FTs. I have to watch this guy for another two years? SMH.
If you were Parsons getting paid less than $1 Mill per year and yet to hit a pay day, you would be diplomatic also. A guy like in this situation isn't going to put himself on line by defending a guy who's getting paid $24 Mill in 3 years.
he doesn't get any backup for the same reason he doesn't get any picks: hes a role playing scrub named Jeremiah Lin right now. waaaaaahhh my chest hurts!
@eb5attorney, I don't buy that at all. It's not about the contract situation but who you are as a person. Jeffries made 1.2 mil last year, and that never stopped him from sticking up for Lin.
I think it's just different personalities. Some people are very confrontational, while others are not. Parsons gets fouled pretty often and I haven't seen him defend himself either. He's just not that type of person.
It's not about being confrontational or not. It's about sticking up for your friends or you don't. This entire year Lin has been hit and bloodied and no one sent the message that they are not going to stand by and let that happen. Even if you don't resort to retaliatory hits, are you going to look the other way and let that go on and not say something? Fake friends.
Jeffrey already made his money people. Jeffrey's pay day has already passed. Parsons is not going to stand up for Lin against coaches or GM when his money is on the line. Not saying Parsons is a loyal guy but that's business.
I like Landry Fields, Jeffries, Novak. They really stick up for one another. No point playing hurt like tonight. Bruised could be very painful and it threw off the balance a bit. Hope that next season, GSmith and Asik would develop some mid-jumpers. Hope that Garcia might come back. He's a solid player. Delfino is a warrior.
Forget about this season and just have fun in playing. Not expect the Rox can win anyway. Most of the team will be back and the next season is going to be fun to watch. Hope no players will be hurt in this series.
@0ccupati0. I think it does have to do with being confrontational. Not everyone has the tough guy persona. Ask Lin, he gets fouled, just gets up and walk away. Most of his teammates does the same.
I think it's time for Lin to start standing up for him. Good teammates will back you up if they see you got some fight in you. If you (the victim) walks away, no one will do anything.
Even Harden isn't immune to the lack of team support. There was one time in the 4th when he was on the ground and NO ONE came to help him up. He sat there and some random dude with blue gloves helped him up. Pan up and his teammates are staring at him. We all know Lin would have helped him up.
At least JLin tried to play through pain. Not sure if he should play on Monday since he was clearly not effective on the court today, and the injury might have worsened from the forced play. Probably game-time decision again.
Looking forward to the offseason & see what moves the Rockets will make. Hope for a fast recovery for JLin so he could start his training on schedule.
I predict OKC will be beaten by the next team. Opposing coach just needs to put one or two good defenders on KD. Parsons and Harden on Durant with a slow Asik protecting the rim is not the way.
Even putting Lin or Bev at the top of the key to stop KD making the drives with help at the post-ups would be more productive.
Again, again, again, Rockets loss all 4 close games. It is just proof one thing for sure, James Harden might be a score machine but he definitely is not a clutch player. I just wish Jeremy is health tonight. oh.. damn. damn damn.
The most frustrating part is that in these last two games, if Lin had not been injured and actually played the second half, I am confident Houston would have won.
Doc Stu, they were talking about westbrooks injury and the meniscus being "sewn" back together and thberefore better than having been "shaved." They said it the best case scenario. Was jeremy's knee also sewn as opposed to shaved?
Jeremys knee was a meniscectomy - resected or shaved which is worse. You can tell because he was walking immediately after. Depends where the injury is (central or periphery or the meniscus (central ones usually do not heal) and the extend of the injury. A repair is much better because it is still intact, but the recovery is long and you can't be on your feet for several weeks.
I'm just glad Lin has not had a repeat knee injury this year.
1. Jeremy is tough. I knew he would play but with all the negativity from everyone saying how bad this could be, doubts slowly stared to appear. I'm glad Lin tried. I knew he was not at his best, but for me personally, it gave me almos t a Linsanity-esque joy to see him out there.
2. McHale in consistent. I brought this up during the game thread but I thought bev was playing well in the second half so I was surprised to see him on the bench at the end. If that was Lin, we would've gone crazy. McHale is not off the hook by any means but it gave me a little joy to see him bring treated the same way Jeremy had been the entire season
3. Harden is not clutch. That KD bounce three was a killer but no where as bad as harden's missed free throws as well as his TO's at the end. This is nothing new. Once in a while every dog has his day (ie San Antonio game) but more often than not his failed play at the end has cost this team a lot of close games.
Exciting game but deflating nonetheless. Hope u work on that shooting This summer Jeremy. You are really a consistent jumper away from being a top 10 pg.
I was always wondering why people were saying that Harden is a good play maker. I guess they just been blinded by those flashy pass. Good passer != good play maker.
It's simple. Once you are anointed a 'superstar', most of your mistakes, however numerous and egregious, will be overlooked and discounted in some way.
Hell there is no expectation for the Rox to be successful in the playoff this year.
Next season when GSmith, TJones, JAnderson have got more minutes, they're going to beat many good teams. The depth is not here yet.
Hope Harden learn to be humble and the Rox play more team ball. After 1 year, all these players are going to be impact players. I believe they're going to trade TRob in the next season.
Next season is totally differenet. Some will not be back. I think Jlin is most likely be back. He just need this playoff expereience as the motivation to get better.
Quick recovery to Jeremy. Hope he sees a high-level TCM or shiatsu practitioner for help as impact from chest blow seems to be messing with energy to his nervous system ( thus pain) and maybe internal organs like lungs ( tough breathing and spasms while running out of tunnel last game). God bless Jeremy Lin!
Harden really looked reluctant and even scared to take important shots in last 2 minutes. Wish Jeremy was well and coaches let him do his thing - he thrives under pressure as everything he's accomplished in the past shows that's his mindset and natural temperament - that's when he performs best.
Just got back to the hotel, even tho Rox played well later in the game, but I was not excited at all, as Lin was not in much (as I said I am an LOF).
As for his interaction with coaches/players: - not much between him & coaches, since he didn't play much - during timeout, he stood behind all players, not involved much, seems to be a loner in the team - one time when he was in game, CP25 was talking to the young coach (don't remember his name, his dad is assistant coach of Lakers), JLIN was trying to tell him something, and I saw CP25 just ignored him
After the game, I saw Lin's parents still in the arena, I went to them to say hi, and took pic with them. I also asked his dad about the pain/bruise, his dad also said JL is still in pain, I mentioned someone thinks it's just bruise, why it looks so serious. His dad said the bruise was caused by NBA player, it IS serious.
I am praying JLIN will recover soon, but after KD bumped into him today (intentionally? which I am not quite sure, I thought KD is not a dirty player), I am not so sure he will be recovered well enough.
He does need our prayers, no matter u r religious or not.
One more thing, idk if TV showed it, but before the game, the starters were hugging bench players, I saw Garcia saying something to JLIN when hugging (feels like he was encouraging JL or something), he is like last year's JJ (like a big brother).
HY - so glad for you you did the trip. No matter if he made it big or played a little and you saw him work through it, you will remember his effort and meeting his parents. I saw him at GSW - he walked right in front of me with Bev following. I was too surprised and now regret not saying something good for him. He's such a good guy. Have fun Monday!
Chinese acupuncture can help. I'm not an expert in Eastern Medicine though. I think a topical steroid cream could have helped for pain relief. In terms of speeding up the healing process I really do not think there is much else they could have tried in a few days. I know that several well-placed lidocaine shots can help deaden the pain but you run the risk of injuring the area while playing without actually knowing it.
Sooo.... it still holds true that Rox cant win w/Lin playing like crap.... so they NEED Lin to play well to pull out a W. Hope they survive game 4 and Lin recovers!! Hate to sound like a LOF but these 3 gms shows that Rox needs Lin
It seems that Harden can shoot, but only when things go well or immediately after a set play eg, that last second winner some games ago. But during a stretch of a stressful few minutes he cannot focus (poor free throws) or make good decisions (turn overs, bad passes).
How do you improve on that - mental training, playoff experience, better coaching?
What about nightly visualisation drills, stress drills (match drills when players are tired), brain washing or extremes such as medication, witchcraft... As a coach in another sport, I'm interested in optimising players under stress conditions.
'CANNOT be improved' - KHuang as much as I realise Lin has innate talent at playing under pressure, is it because of his Christian ethics of praying - which is a continual repetition of positive outcomes - that helps?
I also like that Lin doesn't shirk from post match interviews. If you express positive results you might start believing them even tho you might not originally.
You either have it or you don't - and Harden don't got it.
You can't fake being tough, which Harden and a lot of other NBA players do. It just results in jittery turnovers and badly bricked shots and horrid defense.
It's not hard to spot who's got real toughness. On the Rockets, Lin and Garcia and Brooks and Anderson and Smith all have real toughness.
Whether it's talking real at interviews, keeping his cool when racists like TVN and Jeremiah fire lies at him, absorbing illegal hits from bad referees, or trying to play good basketball despite coaches that hate him, Jeremy Lin gets the job done because the pressure doesn't affect him past a minimal level.
Lin's inner strength has nothing to do with his faith or his upbringing or his life experiences. He's just a born tough guy, a player who handles pressure as if it doesn't exist. If anything, the pressure focuses him and brings out the best in him.
In the entertainment industry, stars are born and not made. Lin is a born star.
You gotta be a bad shot maker to be a clutch player. Harden's whole game is built around Moneyball efficiency, that's why he will never be a clutch player.
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen Jeremy Lin: "Especially in the playoffs, you (face) up huge leads and expect to be able to create magic. It doesn't always work like that."
Lin said he was well enough. "If I choose to go out there and play then I've got to perform and that's basically it." Was obviously hurting.
Howard Chen @ho_chenCSN Lin didnt wanna use injury as excuse for his play. Says it was his decision 2play, so it falls on him if he's not playin the way he wants to
Lin says he believes in miracles since his life's been a miracle. He's not sure if that means Rockets'll win 4 straight, but keepin faith.
He looks really dejected. I think he knows his season is done. I mean he has less than 48 hours to recover. At best he will feel as well as he did in the beginning of this game. Poor kid. What a fitting end to a frustrating season.
I hope Lin comes back with a vengeance next season. He knows he will need to significantly improve his shooting to be able to contribute the way this offense is run. As u guys saw tonight, they don't need a pg.
I anticipate McHale declares starting pg position up for grabs between McHale and bev next season. But if Lin can be a more insistent shooter, it won't even be a contest.
I know Lin is going to improve and be a better player next season and the season after that but I get caught up in the NOW. I want him to prove everyone wrong NOW. I'm a NYK fan and it bothers me to see some of the fans say how much better we are w/o him or how much of a bust he was this year and in the playoffs.
Yeah, leave it to the guy that gets banned from forums. How the hell does that even happen? An online message forum. You've gotta have terrible etiquette to get banned.
Lin has successfully completed an entire 82 game season which was the most physically brutal season I've ever seen a single player endure. Now he's played in 3 playoff games against a top team and would've done better this game had his chest worked.
Don't get caught up in the anti Asian hate thrown at Lin by the media and racist trolls on this board like TVN and Neuterboy. If you look at Lin's season, he's done well despite a very screwy coaching situation.
By the way, Bamboo Forest is a RABID Lin fan. He actually expects more out of Lin than you do, K.Smith. He just gets frustrated that Lin doesn't do more, but that doesn't mean he think Lin lacks the capability or even doubts it the way Solidz75 does.
I think Lin is doing well and will come back much stronger. Lin is the kind of player who's always improving his game.
Harden is getting too comfortable in a system set up for him to succeed, i.e. franchise player, carry the whole team by himself. Clearly he cant prove to be an impactful player that the Rox coaces,FO envision in the last 5 games. It isnt good news for Lin and Lin's fans cuz the Rox wont go far with Harfen be the player the team so heavily relying on while Lin continued to be marginalized.
If you're REALLY a NYK fan, it wouldn't matter and you should be happy the Knicks are doing well...with or without Lin. There were people who didn't even think Lin belonged in the NBA his rookie year.
This is his first year in the playoffs, against the #1 seed which the Knicks aren't even playing against. The whole team was expected to struggle.
Now if you're a Lin fan, part of his journey is enduring the struggles and this is just a part of it. Let them laugh now. It's not like the Knicks are going to win a championship. Lin still has a whole career ahead of him where you can get the last laugh.
He never said that you weren't happy for your own team. It looks more like he's questioning the truthfulness behind such a claim that you call yourselves a Knicks fan.
Lin is no longer a Knick, so it shouldn't matter what they're saying about him. No reason for them to praise him now.
Lin was surrounded with many good friends and good players in NY. In Houston, he was like going to a foreign country with coaches dissing you and let Harden do whatever he wants. Harden is not a player you want to be in your team. His character stinks. Overrated. Garcia proved that he really deserved every million he was paid; just the coaches have not used him properly. Without him to night, the Rox wouldn't even be in the game. McHale didn't know his players. Maybe he was caught too much in office politics. The Rox team is very talented. You, McHale have to wait until now to let them play significant minutes. Giving all those minutes to Harden was the cause of the Rox's problem. There are so many more players who could have been developed for the playoff. Let McHale know that you have seen the best of Harden. From now on, it's all the way downhill.
This game was not even a fair match, and it showed. Kevin Durant is a superstar who can carry a team. James Harden is overrated and is only paid like a superstar.
Realistically, Jeremy should not play the next game. He will not only risk further injury, but also hurt his team. His +/- was -23 or something like that tonight. I know he is courageous, but sometimes the brave thing is to do what's right for the team. Let people think what they will, but unless Jeremy can help, he should sit this one out.
+\- is misleading because it's influenced by the other teammates.
I think that Lin should play as many minutes as he can, even if he struggles. I want him to soak up this playoff experience and ENJOY IT. It'll be over next game anyway.
As for people howling that Lin is a bad player because he's struggling, their opinions are wrong and don't matter. Lin is going to play his game and not worry about what they think.
I think Lin is learning a lot by competing, even if he's not at full strength. For Lin to improve, he has to go through this.
agreed. this is very good experience for him. i really would like to see him in the last game too. even if its 20-25 minutes. he was ready and more poised but just couldn't finish and his shot actually looked good though it didnt go in.
Yeah, every starter's +/- was -20 something for the first half. Only Parsons was shooting well and his TOs and poor defense evened that out.
If Jeremy feels the same he did today, then he should rest and see if they can win Game 4 without him. But if he feels better, then he should try to play -- a couple of his shots didn't even miss by much (2nd half 3, nice move but couldn't finish through KD's light uncalled foul).
I'm not a doctor but I don't think you can really aggravate a contusion (unless you get smacked in the same place without protection again). So it'll probably feel a little better with every passing day.
But u saw what durant did.. Squeezing the crap out of it. As well as the constant pain he was in after a basketball move. Everytime he grimaces, he is aggravating it. I think he orobably feels worse this morning. My guess is he won't play the next game because he has now realized he can't help the team as much as he wanted to last night.
I do respect McHale also for letting Lin play. These playoffs I have no prob with McHale in terms of playing time - he's given Lin tons of time. However, for the team to win Lin needs to be the primary PG. So good and bad from McHale
Yeah, I was surprised to see him run Jeremy out there for the 2nd half. McHale is old school so he probably wanted to reward Jeremy's heart. And really, other than missing some open shots, he wasn't playing much worse than anyone else -- the whole team didn't come alive until mid-3rd quarter.
PLEASE,please Basketball god, make it happen that Lin gets away from McFail and Choken next season, pls let him be traded to Dallas where he would be averaging 19/10/5 FOR SURE. Dirk Nowitzki, the strong roleplayers and the shooters like Carter and the Center they are going to get will be just perfect for him. Dallas offered him a one year contract once and after Linsanity Don Nelson said he may resign Lin if evert given the chance... plssss make it happen Lin and the great Dirk Nowitzki will OWWWWWWNNN
I hear ya, but I think Jeremy's stuck in Houston for at least one more season. The only exception would be a Dwight Howard S&T (e.g. Asik + Lin for Dwight).
Otherwise, his trade value isn't high enough right now for Morey to let him go...nor should he as Beverley came back down to earth last night.
On the bright side, Jeremy will remain the starting PG and get more minutes now that his knee is 100% and his jumper improved so much in the 2nd half of the season. 16/6 is a good baseline for next season -- it's only 1 more FG and 1 more FT!
Lin still needs to improve his offensive skillset. But 8 assists per game is very doable if he handles the ball as much as most PGs, and Asik doesn't brick half of his buckets in the paint.
I think he averaged 15/6, but yeah, that's exactly what I mean. 16/6 is the bare minimum he'll put up even if McHale continues to misuse them!
And he'd probably average 20/8 if allowed to play his position. Skeptics should take note that he averaged 22/7 with the 4 games w/o Harden! And the competition was Spurs, Clippers, Clippers, Orlando -- three great teams and one crap.
I don't think he'd average more than 8 assists on this Rockets team even if given the reins to the offense -- they're just too inept at finishing. There'd be a lot of "semi-assists" for FTs, though.
Setting aside the stats, it's simply that I watch Lin and see many passes that the majority of starting PGs could not pull off. And those include passes he himself could not do last year. He's improved a lot.
I've been saying this since preseason, but even during Linsanity, Jeremy never really made a "highlight reel" pass other than alley-oops. But this year, he makes at least one "WOW" pass every game.
Huge improvement. He just needs to keep listening to Doc Scheppler and stay healthy.
As for 'semi assists', those count. Maybe not for the conventional-boxscore watchers, but they certainly matter. Along with his assists in the paint, which require more skill to set up than the Rondo-type assists for midrange jumpers in which most of the skill involved goes to the jumpshooter instead of the passer. (I'm not dissing Rondo, but it is what it is.)
I remember a stretch in which Brandon Jennings was racking up assists but the stats were misleading; it was just his teammates hitting jumpers while he passed to them coming off curls and screens. It doesn't take special skill to do that.
Yeah, PGs like Rondo and Vazquez devalidate the "assist" as an important statistic. You can tell because those guys average lots of assists...and yet their team's offenses stink.
There's a difference between recording an assist and creating offense. Too bad most viewers and analysts don't understand that.
I know this sounds a bit silly, but Jeremy needs to do more behind the back passes. I think a level of flashiness would help his perception around the league as well as an being an effective tool. I think Rubio benefits from this like no other player. Lin is clearly the better player yet doesn't seem to get the same respect.
Is it just me or do NBA have some agenda against certain players and some obvious bias towards some other players?
I am not even talking about Lin here. I just saw Nate Robinson pulling off maybe one of the greatest playoffs performances of all time and having a lot of great regular season games as well yet the public opinion is that he's still just a minimum wage bench spark plug. You would never hear that he's a threat to Derrick Rose or even Kirk Hinrich's starting spot. Yet with Beverley, he played only 2 okay games that were significantly lesser than Nate's performance but he's crowned as the next young star and starting material?
I don't find it odd that Nate is not considered starting material. Nate doesn't have the sound judgment and decision making to consistently run the offense well. But he's the perfect player for bringing enough 'variance' to pull off an upset against a superior opponent. He was also stellar in the game that ended the Miami win streak -- that was perhaps the best game of the regular season.
As for Bev, I attribute his favorable reception to the fact that he has a knack for standout INDIVIDUAL plays, while the ways in which he hurts the TEAM are less obvious to casual viewers.
For example, he looks great getting offensive rebounds but no one notices how this hurts the Rockets' transition defense -- because it is someone else getting burned. When he pulls off a great offensive rebound, all credit goes to him, and when he fails, it's someone else who looks bad. (Lin is the actually the most important player in the Rockets' transition defense. This is obvious from the fact that whenever Lin misses a layup or falls down on a play, MUCH of the time this results in the opposing team getting a transition bucket because Lin cannot get back im time, which leaves just Harden handling transition defense, which is usually a fail.)
Another example of how Bev's INDVIDIDUAL play looks good for him but hurts the TEAM is his defense. Bev gets impressive blocks and makes a good show of waving his arms, but he is an undisciplined fouling machine. For guards averaging 15 minutes or more, Bev is TIED FOR NUMBER ONE in fouling rate: he racks up 4.6 personal fouls per 40 minutes. http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8290/32764294.png
People look at him and see his 'aggressive defense' and don't notice that he is reaching in constantly and racking up non-shooting fouls. Unlike someone like Hinrich, Bev's fouls are often pointless because they do not challenge shot attempts but are rather fouls on the perimeter. The four non-shooting fouls by Rockets early in the 4th quarter of the Lakers game should make abundantly clear how damaging this can be to the team. It puts the opposing team in the bonus early, and when the team racks up fouls like that, it forces everyone on the team to play less aggressive to avoid further fouls. How can someone be considered a good defender when he is constantly sending the opposing team to the free throw line by putting them in the bonus early? This is yet another example of how Bev can look good individually but actually hurt the team.
I can understand Nate doesn't have the decision making to consistently run an offense, but Beverley doesn't either. At least Nate can go on a scoring spree and make plays which Beverley is incapable of.
I attribute to some prejudiced opinions more. People saw Nate as a short guy like they saw Lin as unathletic Asian guy so they made up their mind that they are never going to be good defenders thus could not be starting quality despite how they are effective on the court again and again.
And I agree with you that Beverley's play cheated a lot of normal viewers who could only watch on ball activities but not off ball activities. I don't think Beverley can be a starting PG in this league, might not even be a consistent backup as well, any team with him playing heavy minutes could not be a winning team IMO.
I feel like if Nate was on the Rockets, McHale would have started him months ago as he's always looked for the "spark". And those so called Rockets fans would have called for Nate playing 40 minutes and Lin getting traded lol.
I watched a youtube clip of a playoffs game between Bulls and Celtics years ago. The most amazing thing to me is that how the Bulls featured John Salmons and Ben Gordon as their main options and used Derrick Rose as the 3rd option. How stupid were they lol. I believe their coach then was VDN and was before Thibs went to Chicago. It really showed me how important a head coach is and how his recognition of talent could affect a team.
I agree with all your points Cara. (I'm not going to write much today, as I feel kinda down.) I think Bev is a fringe backup player, not even good enough to be backup PG on many teams. As for McHale, to me the important thing is not actually his (mis)recognition of talent. A good coach brings the best out of his players, and we have already seen what Lin playing his best in long stretches looks like -- McHale cannot even come close to putting Lin in a situation to bring that out. Fail.
harden must play this game without any thinking of revenge or something just play team basketball.you don't need to show off cause if you lose you'll be a laughing stock of a thunder.you don't need to show to thunder that its their lost in trading you to rockets.right now all we need is team basketball.that's are always success in our previous win.lets fight till end...........i don't want to end our season yet we must advance to................FINALS
Big props for Lin for playing. Especially like that image of him as a wounded warrior on the bench with the sling wrap. You can tell it really hurts when he called a timeout and durant came at him. He couldnt even raise his hands high enough to give a proper timeout signal even before the cheapshot. A profanity laced comeback at durant would have been nice. Anyways, just want to also give a shout out to man, andrew goudelock of the lakers. If u havnt heard of him, people will soon find out. I think he's a better shooter than fredette from downtown and has a very effective floater that every huard should have.
Anybody think there is chance Lin will play the next game? Wouldn't it be a miracle if his adrenaline takes over and he goes beast mode? I am dying for an end to this horrible season with a bang for our guy. He deserves some love! Everyone forgot that when Harden and Parsons were out, he shed the team. Short memories. So sad.
While the haters outside this forum go crazy with anti Lin anti Chinese articles, I sit here placidly enjoying the show.
Lin has had a magnificent season, even if he didn't do as much in terms of volume statistics as most people would like. Houston was dead set on limiting his touches, but Lin is such a GREAT player that he found ways to contribute anyway.
Lin's leadership, league best defense, super scoring when he gets touches, ability to beat traps, and superb individual matchups against any NBA guard are why the Rockets made the playoffs when they should've won 30 games. Lin's great season has infuriated a great many haters who predicted utter destruction of the Rockets but got RACE PUNKED by Lin.
No matter what anyone says, I'm relaxed and enjoying the show. I hope that Lin plays the entire series, as the playoffs are a hugely important learning experience for him. I have utter faith in Lin's All Star greatness and have no fear of him not succeeding even if Houston stupidly dumps him this summer.
[For latecomers]
ReplyDeleteDURANT TRIES FOR A STEAL AS JLIN CALLS TIMEOUT [hits JLin's right forearm]
DMayberry [fr The Oklahoman]: Kevin Durant charges Jeremy Lin as he crosses halfcourt planning to call timeout. Durant wraps his arm around him and then smiles.
HoChen: btw for all those hating on KD right now for the timeout thing, he's seriously a really nice guy.
---
Royce Young [fr Daily Thunder]: KD in the halftime interview: "First off, I love you Russ."
Dick move.
DeleteThat KD thing was cheap, but you sure will be glad to have teammate(s) like that. Where are Lin's teammates?
DeleteHopefully it won't make the injury even worst
DeleteI like KD. He's a true superstar while Harden is just a 2nd tier wannabe. I wish KD is Lin's teammate instead of Harden.
DeleteNo matter what KD's motives were, that was a real cheap move.
Delete@Lyd~ Yeah.
DeleteHoward Chen @ho_chenCSN
Btw for all the OKC fans who weren't happy w/Bev's play as Westbrook called timeout, guess what? Lin was smacked by KD as he called TO 2nite
It doesn't matter KD did. It's what Lin's teammates didn't do in return that irritates me
DeleteWhat Beverly did ended up hurting Lin more instead. That is one hack of a great karma, god.
DeleteNo worries. More motivation for JLin for the next time he sees KD, if not in the next game, then next season.
DeleteI think the Rockets are like the softest team in the league. No one on the team has got each other's backs. It's like everyone is doing their own thing.
Delete@Rikki~ Yeah, that's the crappy part. Go for JLin, right?
DeleteI really lost respect on KD on this cheap move.
DeleteActing tough on injured Lin to give shout-out to his beloved Russ?
Garcia will be Lin defender in the next game! Watch your back, KD.
Captain Marvel, well Beverly sure got his back covered (23 3 points game against GSW Marcus Morris tech and last game Garcia's tech for Perkin's hard screen on Bev)
Delete@ psalm234.
DeleteI doubt it. Role players are scared of superstars.
@Rikki M. Well, only PB and Harden it seems are covered.
DeleteEveryone else is left to fend for themselves.
First of all he didn't do anything. Second if he actually did something like the Ron Artest elbow, he wouldn't do jack diddly squat.
Delete@Lydia
DeleteWill probably not happen next game because JLin is still injured, but I'm optimistic about JLin's future. Yes, JLin's NBA road had been nothing but smooth so far, but one thing is steady, and that's JLin himself. His will to succeed is strong. He will get better and prove doubters wrong over and over again.
@Mchale~ The Oklahoman reporter saw KD SMILE as he go for the steal.
Delete[You know people are already being generous seeing this as KD doing it for RW, and not some assh*le move for nothing, right? It's all over the news how JLin's chest is INJURED. Did you see how he was in pain after that steal?]
KD did what he was supposed to do. Him going after Bev would be like the Rox going after Derek Fisher. would make no sense.
DeleteWhat disappointed me was Lin's reaction. He just hunched over like a biatch and didn't push back. Grow a heart, man. You've done next to nothing in this series. The least you could do is show some fight, instead of feeling sorry for yourself. I'm really losing respect for this kid. I've had high hopes for him, but he keeps disappointing. It's time to show something, anything.
Not really losing respect for Jeremy, just venting.
DeleteI'm really disappointed. This "soft" label is going to follow him for some time. As a player, you NEVER want to be labeled as "soft".
@ TVN, are you Asian American ?
DeleteI actually agreed. Lin needs to defend himself.
People fouling him excessively cause they know he won't fight back.
@Captain Marvel,
DeleteYes.
Bottom line, Jeremy needs to show some attitude at times. You can't let a player get away with shoving you like that. I can't help but think his religious background hinders him at times, but I've known some feisty Christian athletes.
@Lydia,
DeleteI never said he was soft, I just pointed out the perception that many fans have of him. Look at Clutch Fans or Twitter. They are going in on JLin and it ain't pretty.
1. Give me a break, that was nothing. KD didn't do anything dangerous or dirty, just wrapped his arm. If you want to make a big deal out of this, you're just asking for all Lin fans to be labelled as whiners.
Delete2. That said, like others called out, KD is an all-around fake. He appears like a humble guy, but he's just as cocky as Kobe. He appears to be a clean-cut NBA player, but he is tatted up all over his upper body everywhere that's covered up by his jersey. He also fake-retaliated for Westbrook by being all "tough" and fouling Lin on the timeout.
I'm appalled and disgusted by the anti Lin anti Asian race based hate trolling done here by TVN and McHale Jeremiah.
DeleteThey insinuate that Lin doesn't retaliate because he's Asian. What RACIST GARBAGE that is. I'm Asian and I'm retaliating against their dumbass accusations of Asians being weak.
Lin got hit so hard his arms doesn't work. I've been hit hard like that several times, and it's a level of pain and dysfunctionality that results in mind numbing pain and your arms not doing what you tell them to do. It's such hate BS for those trolls to openly state that Lin should be playing better through that.
Lin, despite the pain and misfunctioning arms, toughed his way into this game. Then these trolls taunt Lin, saying that he lacks toughness. That's such a hate filled lie from them.
TVN has been Lin's biggest hater ever because he has ALWAYS felt that Lin never deserved to be in the NBA. This Jeremia neutered troll is another racist who's just here to flame Lin's Asian fans. Their hatred of Lin and Asians in general is expected here.
I don't care if this starts a flame war. But I won't stand for those two trolls firing racist insults at Lin and Asians in this place.
@real-dsb~ Yes, let's all behave [or what will people think!]
DeleteAnyhow, at least OKC fans are happy:
Exxxx Jxxxx @bxxxxxxxxx
@DxxxxxxMxxxxxx I smiled too. He kind of cranked Lin's shoulder a bit. :)
AT LEAST SOME PEOPLE ARE AMUSED
DeleteI personally don't care what people write about Lin off this forum.
DeleteBut ON this forum? I beg to differ.
I came to realize that Lin is he who he is. I so desperately wanted Lin to speak out against McHale's unfair treatment of him during the season .. U know, to man up, but he never did just letting his play do the talking.
DeleteSo It would be extremely uncharacteristic of Lin to suddenly lash out at people. But I do have a problem with his teammates not coming to his defense. It's like they took it like they expected it.
I'm utterly disappointed as any of u that we as a collective fans on the " Lin team " were not able to get the last word on the haters and the doubters, but i believe that ultimately we will get the last laugh. The proverbial the best things comes to those who wait.
I'm looking forward to Lin coming on striong next year. I'm sure he has a lot if built up temper and frustration he is dying to unleash this summer. Hopefully, he will come back better than ever.
Good post, solidz75.
DeleteIn my case, I don't care about the haters outside this forum. They're going to hate Lin whether he succeeds or fails.
I've been in Lin's shoes as "Asian villain" who was trying to do his best despite everybody hating me. Once I realized that nothing I did mattered to such folks, I became happier and freer. I also knew which situations to avoid and how to stand up for myself. I was much older than Lin before I figured it out - he'll get it sooner than I did.
Now trolls on this board? They wanna fire at Lin and Lin's fans, they're going to get heat fired back at them. It's FAIR that way here.
KHuang~ It IS about what's being/ can be written on this forum [or how a Lin fan is supposed to conduct oneself.]
DeleteDid you see JLin wince in pain when KD went for the injured guy? Isn't it simply reasonable for fans to react to this? OKC fans are reacting. [Gleefully.] Why can't we? [Bec others will disapprove?]
[As for info about what's out there, some people like knowing, some people don't. For those who don't, SKIP THE POSTS.]
^ Not that we should base our actions on other people's reactions.
DeleteBut. That swipe at JLin is not nothing like that troll "Mchale neutered lin" wants to portray. It's fair to call that cheap shot out.
Agree @Solidz.
DeleteFor me, a big part of being Lin's fan is to prove to others that he was not just a fluke. Most of us obviously believe in him and his skills, and its human mature to want to be proven right and to prove doubters wrong.
DeleteNow, unlike some of u ( u know who u r), I don't mind going to the hater site and reading what their perspectivr of Lin's game is but I have to say some of these critcisms are just so cringe worthy. And that gives me extra desire to prove them wrong.
What did I expect from Lin this season? Lin to be an all star guard ( 18. / 8 ) leading the rox to a playoff birth. The Knicks to fail miserably with Felton messing things up and Dolan regretting Letting Lin go. That for me would've been an extra satisfying season.
The only thing that came true was the Rox making the playoffs but not the way I had anticipated.
I also realized Lin has few important holes in his game that he needs to improve and that is shooting and the confidence to take the shot.
If everything stays status quo, except Lin improving his shooting.. He will be considered one of the top pg in the league. I anticipate that he will just like I had confidence he would suit up for this game. I think we can expect a great year next season.
As a christian, Lin would not fight on the court. He would rather play a better game and let God be the judge. Damn! He's a professional basketball player and not a prize fighter. Fighting doesn't make him a better basketball player.
DeleteI must have missed the game when Harden missed both FT's. When did this happen?
ReplyDeleteRox must make Lin get so much better than today ! Lin should play for Rox to win !!
ReplyDeleteSo next game will probably the last game for Lin for this season, if he could play that is
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't as bad as it looked. The opponent can't treat Lin as an egg shell and play softly against him just because Lin is injured. I feel bad for Lin though.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad that Lin couldn't be an integral part of the most exciting Rockets' playoff game. Why start the 4th game if he's hurt; Lin shouldn't play unless his injury improves to an extent that he can help Rockets. It sucks though not to have one good playoff game yet.
DeleteDisappointing first playoffs for sure, but there will be more opportunities in the future.
DeleteStu, where are you?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think Lin's chances of playing on Monday night are? Could there be ANY improvement?
He could make some improvement. I think its gonna be minor though. Prob 20-25% better. And no needling! Yes, no needling. Ice that pectoral muscle, maybe ultrasound therapy.
DeleteMuscle contusion is usually at least a week off and then return to range of motion.
I am praying he finds a new team. Harden is just not clutch at the end.
Hey tweet your recommendation to Lin and that little asian trainer.
DeleteThanks for your medical opinion, Stu!
DeleteYes, tweet it to Lin in case they don't already know it.
Lol, I don't have twitter. I think they are doing icing and ultrasound already. I'm sure they have a ton of medical professionals looking at this already.
DeleteOr maybe he needs a topical anti-inflammatory cream or something
@Stu~ In case you decide to tweet it, you can try these 2:
DeleteJLIN'S STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACH
ROX INTERN ATHLETIC TRAINER
Oops, anyhow there's the info.
DeleteThanks via. I don't want to overstep boundaries though. They have probably thought of and tried all these things.
Deletepsalm234, LOL, sorry.
DeleteYou're probably right, @Stu.
DeleteDoc Stu,
DeleteAs soon as the series is over, I'm seeing Jeremy Lin wearing the #77 Utah Storm jersey. And they will let the poor Pelicans chaps have the name Jazz.
haha, k.smith .. worth a try
DeleteDoc Stu knows best that Rox docs probably did all they can so the rest of us can only hope and pray for a little miracle in Game 4 :)
we cant even see jeremy lin performance in houston rocket unless mchale is there..even in next season it is the same things happend..go go go idol jeremylin..find a better place for you.
DeleteVery sad loss, it was a winnable game. I hate the fact that Rockets almost won it without Lin though, Lin should be a key factor to their success. I bet you if Lin was healthy tonight, the Rockets will take home the W.
ReplyDeleteWhat a painful loss.
ReplyDelete- Jeremy gave his best effort but just wasn't healthy enough -- his first jumper and a nice pass or two gave me false hope!
- A monstrous comeback and then a lucky-shot by KD and a flurry of TOs without even getting a shot off.
- Because of the loss, Jeremy won't be able to make much of an impact this series. He'll probably still be sore for Game 4 and now it's all but impossible to advance.
P.S. KD's rip-through fouls are a disgrace to the game. At least Harden drives when he does through. Durant just stands there and throws his arms into his defender's face...FTs!!! You call that a superstar? What garbage.
This game teaches Harden to be humble because it's his missing Fts and TOs that makes the difference. He should not be paid like KD for sure. Garcia stepped up and played a good game.
DeleteNext season the rockets is going to be awesome with the playoff experience. The team would be playing together as a team more. Everybody is going to have a realistic look at Harden's productivity.
The Rox needed more solid players rather than a superstar. None of the Rox are elite players.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Deletezxcvb "KD's rip-through fouls are a disgrace to the game. At least Harden drives when he does through. Durant just stands there and throws his arms into his defender's face...FTs!!! You call that a superstar? What garbage."
DeleteA variation of that rip-thru is that KD will try to swing his arms under the defender's outstretched arms and then immediately jumps. If he succeeds in catching the defender's arms, then he gets 2 FTs. If he misses the guy's arms while jumping up, he will then pass in mid-air to a teammate nearby.
CP3 did a similar thing to Lin this year, by getting his arms under Lin's elbow and shoulder and then jumping. The difference with KD is that his arms are so long that he can can fish a much longer distance. KD does this regularly whenever he is in a triple-threat position. It is not a rare gimmick but rather a regular feature of his offense.
Savvy, experienced defenders like Tayshaun Prince will bait KD to do it then immediately pull his own arms back. Inexperienced defenders will get punked, and KD does this every game, and refs reward him. It really forces defenders to give him lots of space.
It IS a disgrace. It's not basketball.
Lin is always alone out there. Wish I could be there with him and support him
ReplyDeleteYou said it.
Delete^ above post @Rikki.
DeleteSeriously. Lin needs a Landry Fields and Jared Jeffries type on this team.
DeleteHouston is full of fakes. Fake friends, fake coaches, fake teammates, fake supports, fake love, etc.
DeleteSome of ladies may fall for the fake bromance and stuff, some other believe that the coaches will turn around and use Lin the right way. Glad I never on board of those groups. I put my faith in Lin and only Lin alone.
I like Garcia. He reminds me of Jared Jeffries for some reason, a veteran that seems to have bonded with Jeremy fairly quickly.
Delete@ Lydia. I agreed.
DeleteI think Parsons can't even defend himself and isn't the guy that will retaliate for his teammate.
Harden has not improved ANY aspect of his game this year.
DeleteHe's not clutch -- just a crutch. His 'playmaking' in the last possession consisted of being too afraid to take the last shot and instead throws the ball to Delfino to take a contested shot against a lengthy defender. What a coward move. He wants to be 'the man', but he passes off the difficult part of being the man to his teammates. Not to mention the unforced turnovers and missed FTs. I have to watch this guy for another two years? SMH.
well said Rikki M
DeleteIf you were Parsons getting paid less than $1 Mill per year and yet to hit a pay day, you would be diplomatic also. A guy like in this situation isn't going to put himself on line by defending a guy who's getting paid $24 Mill in 3 years.
Deletehe doesn't get any backup for the same reason he doesn't get any picks: hes a role playing scrub named Jeremiah Lin right now. waaaaaahhh my chest hurts!
Delete@eb5attorney, I don't buy that at all. It's not about the contract situation but who you are as a person. Jeffries made 1.2 mil last year, and that never stopped him from sticking up for Lin.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete@0ccupati0.
DeleteI think it's just different personalities.
Some people are very confrontational, while others are not. Parsons gets fouled pretty often and I haven't seen him defend himself either. He's just not that type of person.
It's not about being confrontational or not. It's about sticking up for your friends or you don't. This entire year Lin has been hit and bloodied and no one sent the message that they are not going to stand by and let that happen. Even if you don't resort to retaliatory hits, are you going to look the other way and let that go on and not say something? Fake friends.
DeleteJeffrey already made his money people. Jeffrey's pay day has already passed. Parsons is not going to stand up for Lin against coaches or GM when his money is on the line. Not saying Parsons is a loyal guy but that's business.
DeleteI like Landry Fields, Jeffries, Novak. They really stick up for one another.
DeleteNo point playing hurt like tonight. Bruised could be very painful and it threw off the balance a bit.
Hope that next season, GSmith and Asik would develop some mid-jumpers.
Hope that Garcia might come back. He's a solid player.
Delfino is a warrior.
Forget about this season and just have fun in playing. Not expect the Rox can win anyway. Most of the team will be back and the next season is going to be fun to watch. Hope no players will be hurt in this series.
Lin is diplomatic; Parsons is diplomatic. What do you wish that Parsons would say regarding Lin?
Delete@0ccupati0. I think it does have to do with being confrontational. Not everyone has the tough guy persona.
DeleteAsk Lin, he gets fouled, just gets up and walk away. Most of his teammates does the same.
I think it's time for Lin to start standing up for him. Good teammates will back you up if they see you got some fight in you. If you (the victim) walks away, no one will do anything.
The McHale Jeremiah guy here is just a FLAME TROLL.
DeleteI should bash him in the chest. See how tough he talks.
Jeffries for sure. Always had JLin's back.
DeleteEven Harden isn't immune to the lack of team support. There was one time in the 4th when he was on the ground and NO ONE came to help him up. He sat there and some random dude with blue gloves helped him up. Pan up and his teammates are staring at him. We all know Lin would have helped him up.
Love JJ, always looking out for JLin. And not only on the court -- He'd straighten out any reporter who's being unfair to JLin.
DeleteJLin stands up for teammates. JLin was jawing at Dwight Howard after a timeout, presumably for some shot at Asik.
DeleteAt least JLin tried to play through pain. Not sure if he should play on Monday since he was clearly not effective on the court today, and the injury might have worsened from the forced play. Probably game-time decision again.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the offseason & see what moves the Rockets will make. Hope for a fast recovery for JLin so he could start his training on schedule.
I predict OKC will be beaten by the next team. Opposing coach just needs to put one or two good defenders on KD. Parsons and Harden on Durant with a slow Asik protecting the rim is not the way.
ReplyDeleteEven putting Lin or Bev at the top of the key to stop KD making the drives with help at the post-ups would be more productive.
Agree.
DeleteI definitely agree that Lin and Rox need a player like Jared Jeffries.
ReplyDeleteAgain, again, again, Rockets loss all 4 close games. It is just proof one thing for sure, James Harden might be a score machine but he definitely is not a clutch player. I just wish Jeremy is health tonight. oh.. damn. damn damn.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThat's why OK let Harden traded. They had no reason to keep him paying the luxury tax.
Deleteagree! Harden's not even a solid player in the last few mins, much overrated. In clutch time, Garcia & Parson are more reliable.
DeleteIt's okay. It was an underwhelming season as a Lin fan. He'll be better next season.
ReplyDeleteThe most frustrating part is that in these last two games, if Lin had not been injured and actually played the second half, I am confident Houston would have won.
ReplyDeleteword
DeleteDoc Stu, they were talking about westbrooks injury and the meniscus being "sewn" back together and thberefore better than having been "shaved." They said it the best case scenario. Was jeremy's knee also sewn as opposed to shaved?
ReplyDeleteI think JLin's meniscus was repaired and not shaved off thus the long recovery time.
DeleteJeremys knee was a meniscectomy - resected or shaved which is worse. You can tell because he was walking immediately after. Depends where the injury is (central or periphery or the meniscus (central ones usually do not heal) and the extend of the injury. A repair is much better because it is still intact, but the recovery is long and you can't be on your feet for several weeks.
DeleteI'm just glad Lin has not had a repeat knee injury this year.
So, Lin had a part of his meniscus removed then. That's not good. For some reason I thought it was repaired, or maybe confusing the two?
DeleteFew of my thought.
ReplyDelete1. Jeremy is tough. I knew he would play but with all the negativity from everyone saying how bad this could be, doubts slowly stared to appear. I'm glad Lin tried. I knew he was not at his best, but for me personally, it gave me almos t a Linsanity-esque joy to see him out there.
2. McHale in consistent. I brought this up during the game thread but I thought bev was playing well in the second half so I was surprised to see him on the bench at the end. If that was Lin, we would've gone crazy. McHale is not off the hook by any means but it gave me a little joy to see him bring treated the same way Jeremy had been the entire season
3. Harden is not clutch. That KD bounce three was a killer but no where as bad as harden's missed free throws as well as his TO's at the end. This is nothing new. Once in a while every dog has his day (ie San Antonio game) but more often than not his failed play at the end has cost this team a lot of close games.
Exciting game but deflating nonetheless. Hope u work on that shooting This summer Jeremy. You are really a consistent jumper away from being a top 10 pg.
4. KD was cheap....he knows Lin is injured.
DeleteCoach Doc is right, Lin need to work on dunking off any or both feet and both hands of course.
KD is just a fake tough guy. He probably deferred to Westbrook a lot all these years because he is scared to be number 1.
DeleteCongratulations to KD for being No #1 in something: No #1 cheapshot wanker.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWaiting for HY
ReplyDeleteDoes the losing team get a press conference like the winning team? I haven't seen any this season.
ReplyDeleteI was always wondering why people were saying that Harden is a good play maker. I guess they just been blinded by those flashy pass. Good passer != good play maker.
ReplyDeleteIt's simple. Once you are anointed a 'superstar', most of your mistakes, however numerous and egregious, will be overlooked and discounted in some way.
DeleteAnd, what ever small things you did right, it became BIG just like that NBA's commercial.
DeleteHell there is no expectation for the Rox to be successful in the playoff this year.
ReplyDeleteNext season when GSmith, TJones, JAnderson have got more minutes, they're going to beat many good teams. The depth is not here yet.
Hope Harden learn to be humble and the Rox play more team ball. After 1 year, all these players are going to be impact players. I believe they're going to trade TRob in the next season.
Next season is totally differenet. Some will not be back. I think Jlin is most likely be back. He just need this playoff expereience as the motivation to get better.
DeleteQuick recovery to Jeremy. Hope he sees a high-level TCM or shiatsu practitioner for help as impact from chest blow seems to be messing with energy to his nervous system ( thus pain) and maybe internal organs like lungs ( tough breathing and spasms while running out of tunnel last game). God bless Jeremy Lin!
ReplyDeleteHarden really looked reluctant and even scared to take important shots in last 2 minutes. Wish Jeremy was well and coaches let him do his thing - he thrives under pressure as everything he's accomplished in the past shows that's his mindset and natural temperament - that's when he performs best.
Hope for the best...
ReplyDeleteJust got back to the hotel, even tho Rox played well later in the game, but I was not excited at all, as Lin was not in much (as I said I am an LOF).
ReplyDeleteAs for his interaction with coaches/players:
- not much between him & coaches, since he didn't play much
- during timeout, he stood behind all players, not involved much, seems to be a loner in the team
- one time when he was in game, CP25 was talking to the young coach (don't remember his name, his dad is assistant coach of Lakers), JLIN was trying to tell him something, and I saw CP25 just ignored him
After the game, I saw Lin's parents still in the arena, I went to them to say hi, and took pic with them. I also asked his dad about the pain/bruise, his dad also said JL is still in pain, I mentioned someone thinks it's just bruise, why it looks so serious. His dad said the bruise was caused by NBA player, it IS serious.
Btw u have a ticket for a game on Mon ??
DeleteThanks for the report! His dad, at that moment, might thought you are a LOH. lol
DeleteThx HY! [And you got to speak to papaLin! The whole family must be just stressed about this injury thing and the public BS...]
DeleteThe coach is Bickerstaff.
Yes, I will be in that game, too.
DeleteI am praying JLIN will recover soon, but after KD bumped into him today (intentionally? which I am not quite sure, I thought KD is not a dirty player), I am not so sure he will be recovered well enough.
He does need our prayers, no matter u r religious or not.
Brent: I told papalin I came all the way from NJ, so I am sure he definitely knows I am an LOF :-)
DeleteThanks for the update, glad you got to experience a playoff game.
DeleteLydia: actually, I am an LOF, but not a fangirl type, all I wish is JLIN plays well, and has a long bb career :-)
DeleteOne more thing, idk if TV showed it, but before the game, the starters were hugging bench players, I saw Garcia saying something to JLIN when hugging (feels like he was encouraging JL or something), he is like last year's JJ (like a big brother).
DeleteHY - so glad for you you did the trip. No matter if he made it big or played a little and you saw him work through it, you will remember his effort and meeting his parents. I saw him at GSW - he walked right in front of me with Bev following. I was too surprised and now regret not saying something good for him. He's such a good guy. Have fun Monday!
Delete@JoeTeam: I don't regret I made the trip, just feel too painful to see JLIN in pain but still made the effort to try to help the team.
Delete@Dr. Stu: can Chinese acupuncture or some other type of treatment help JLin better?
Chinese acupuncture can help. I'm not an expert in Eastern Medicine though. I think a topical steroid cream could have helped for pain relief. In terms of speeding up the healing process I really do not think there is much else they could have tried in a few days. I know that several well-placed lidocaine shots can help deaden the pain but you run the risk of injuring the area while playing without actually knowing it.
DeleteThanks for the observations HY.
DeleteMcHale says he was trying to get officials' attention to call timeout after KD 3. When turnover ensued, did NOT want team to foul.
ReplyDeleteMcHale:"We've had leads in 4thQ of last 2 games. Overall in 2nd half I thought we played the way we want to."
DeleteMCHALE POSTGAME
DeleteWell. Mchale.. We are trying not to score much but to win this game ...
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Deletehttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2544127/luckyKD_medium.gif
ReplyDeleteSooo.... it still holds true that Rox cant win w/Lin playing like crap.... so they NEED Lin to play well to pull out a W. Hope they survive game 4 and Lin recovers!!
ReplyDeleteHate to sound like a LOF but these 3 gms shows that Rox needs Lin
It seems that Harden can shoot, but only when things go well or immediately after a set play eg, that last second winner some games ago. But during a stretch of a stressful few minutes he cannot focus (poor free throws) or make good decisions (turn overs, bad passes).
ReplyDeleteHow do you improve on that - mental training, playoff experience, better coaching?
CANNOT be improved.
DeleteThe ability to withstand and even thrive under pressure is born, not made.
This is why everybody here knows Jeremy Lin is a star. He thrives under pressure.
What about nightly visualisation drills, stress drills (match drills when players are tired), brain washing or extremes such as medication, witchcraft... As a coach in another sport, I'm interested in optimising players under stress conditions.
DeletePractice 3s while being water boarded.
Delete'CANNOT be improved' - KHuang as much as I realise Lin has innate talent at playing under pressure, is it because of his Christian ethics of praying - which is a continual repetition of positive outcomes - that helps?
DeleteI also like that Lin doesn't shirk from post match interviews. If you express positive results you might start believing them even tho you might not originally.
Nope. Won't work.
DeleteYou either have it or you don't - and Harden don't got it.
You can't fake being tough, which Harden and a lot of other NBA players do. It just results in jittery turnovers and badly bricked shots and horrid defense.
It's not hard to spot who's got real toughness. On the Rockets, Lin and Garcia and Brooks and Anderson and Smith all have real toughness.
rintintin, Lin's inner toughness is INBORN.
DeleteWhether it's talking real at interviews, keeping his cool when racists like TVN and Jeremiah fire lies at him, absorbing illegal hits from bad referees, or trying to play good basketball despite coaches that hate him, Jeremy Lin gets the job done because the pressure doesn't affect him past a minimal level.
Lin's inner strength has nothing to do with his faith or his upbringing or his life experiences. He's just a born tough guy, a player who handles pressure as if it doesn't exist. If anything, the pressure focuses him and brings out the best in him.
In the entertainment industry, stars are born and not made. Lin is a born star.
You gotta be a bad shot maker to be a clutch player. Harden's whole game is built around Moneyball efficiency, that's why he will never be a clutch player.
DeleteJonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin: "Especially in the playoffs, you (face) up huge leads and expect to be able to create magic. It doesn't always work like that."
Lin said he was well enough. "If I choose to go out there and play then I've got to perform and that's basically it." Was obviously hurting.
Howard Chen @ho_chenCSN
DeleteLin didnt wanna use injury as excuse for his play. Says it was his decision 2play, so it falls on him if he's not playin the way he wants to
Lin says he believes in miracles since his life's been a miracle. He's not sure if that means Rockets'll win 4 straight, but keepin faith.
He looks really dejected. I think he knows his season is done. I mean he has less than 48 hours to recover. At best he will feel as well as he did in the beginning of this game. Poor kid. What a fitting end to a frustrating season.
DeleteI hope Lin comes back with a vengeance next season. He knows he will need to significantly improve his shooting to be able to contribute the way this offense is run. As u guys saw tonight, they don't need a pg.
I anticipate McHale declares starting pg position up for grabs between McHale and bev next season. But if Lin can be a more insistent shooter, it won't even be a contest.
I hope there was no re-injury fr this game...
DeleteI know Lin is going to improve and be a better player next season and the season after that but I get caught up in the NOW. I want him to prove everyone wrong NOW. I'm a NYK fan and it bothers me to see some of the fans say how much better we are w/o him or how much of a bust he was this year and in the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteHere's to next season...
Damn, where is bamboo forest's big picture, optimism when you need him.
DeleteLydia, why are u flaming k smith. Leave such matters to professionals.
Deleteshut up.
DeleteYeah, leave it to the guy that gets banned from forums. How the hell does that even happen? An online message forum. You've gotta have terrible etiquette to get banned.
DeleteK.smith, it's good to be caught up in the "now".
DeleteLin has successfully completed an entire 82 game season which was the most physically brutal season I've ever seen a single player endure. Now he's played in 3 playoff games against a top team and would've done better this game had his chest worked.
Don't get caught up in the anti Asian hate thrown at Lin by the media and racist trolls on this board like TVN and Neuterboy. If you look at Lin's season, he's done well despite a very screwy coaching situation.
By the way, Bamboo Forest is a RABID Lin fan. He actually expects more out of Lin than you do, K.Smith. He just gets frustrated that Lin doesn't do more, but that doesn't mean he think Lin lacks the capability or even doubts it the way Solidz75 does.
I think Lin is doing well and will come back much stronger. Lin is the kind of player who's always improving his game.
Harden is getting too comfortable in a system set up for him to succeed, i.e. franchise player, carry the whole team by himself. Clearly he cant prove to be an impactful player that the Rox coaces,FO envision in the last 5 games.
DeleteIt isnt good news for Lin and Lin's fans cuz the Rox wont go far with Harfen be the player the team so heavily relying on while Lin continued to be marginalized.
If you're REALLY a NYK fan, it wouldn't matter and you should be happy the Knicks are doing well...with or without Lin. There were people who didn't even think Lin belonged in the NBA his rookie year.
DeleteThis is his first year in the playoffs, against the #1 seed which the Knicks aren't even playing against. The whole team was expected to struggle.
Now if you're a Lin fan, part of his journey is enduring the struggles and this is just a part of it. Let them laugh now. It's not like the Knicks are going to win a championship. Lin still has a whole career ahead of him where you can get the last laugh.
"some of the fans" -- you must have missed that part. Never said I wasn't happy for my team.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYou should just ignore "some" of those fans.
DeleteI doubt that you're a real Knicks fan, since it's more than common for Knicks fans to talk shit about anyone, including players on their own team.
He never said that you weren't happy for your own team. It looks more like he's questioning the truthfulness behind such a claim that you call yourselves a Knicks fan.
DeleteLin is no longer a Knick, so it shouldn't matter what they're saying about him. No reason for them to praise him now.
Knicks are vastly overrated especially in the East. They'll get bounced out eventually and the media will go back to the blame game.
DeleteLin still has many years to look forward to his career.
Problem solved.
Lin was surrounded with many good friends and good players in NY.
DeleteIn Houston, he was like going to a foreign country with coaches dissing you and let Harden do whatever he wants. Harden is not a player you want to be in your team. His character stinks. Overrated.
Garcia proved that he really deserved every million he was paid; just the coaches have not used him properly. Without him to night, the Rox wouldn't even be in the game.
McHale didn't know his players. Maybe he was caught too much in office politics. The Rox team is very talented. You, McHale have to wait until now to let them play significant minutes. Giving all those minutes to Harden was the cause of the Rox's problem. There are so many more players who could have been developed for the playoff.
Let McHale know that you have seen the best of Harden. From now on, it's all the way downhill.
This game was not even a fair match, and it showed. Kevin Durant is a superstar who can carry a team. James Harden is overrated and is only paid like a superstar.
ReplyDeleteRealistically, Jeremy should not play the next game. He will not only risk further injury, but also hurt his team. His +/- was -23 or something like that tonight. I know he is courageous, but sometimes the brave thing is to do what's right for the team. Let people think what they will, but unless Jeremy can help, he should sit this one out.
ReplyDelete+\- is misleading because it's influenced by the other teammates.
DeleteI think that Lin should play as many minutes as he can, even if he struggles. I want him to soak up this playoff experience and ENJOY IT. It'll be over next game anyway.
As for people howling that Lin is a bad player because he's struggling, their opinions are wrong and don't matter. Lin is going to play his game and not worry about what they think.
I think Lin is learning a lot by competing, even if he's not at full strength. For Lin to improve, he has to go through this.
agreed. this is very good experience for him. i really would like to see him in the last game too. even if its 20-25 minutes. he was ready and more poised but just couldn't finish and his shot actually looked good though it didnt go in.
DeleteYeah, every starter's +/- was -20 something for the first half. Only Parsons was shooting well and his TOs and poor defense evened that out.
DeleteIf Jeremy feels the same he did today, then he should rest and see if they can win Game 4 without him. But if he feels better, then he should try to play -- a couple of his shots didn't even miss by much (2nd half 3, nice move but couldn't finish through KD's light uncalled foul).
I'm not a doctor but I don't think you can really aggravate a contusion (unless you get smacked in the same place without protection again). So it'll probably feel a little better with every passing day.
But u saw what durant did.. Squeezing the crap out of it. As well as the constant pain he was in after a basketball move. Everytime he grimaces, he is aggravating it. I think he orobably feels worse this morning. My guess is he won't play the next game because he has now realized he can't help the team as much as he wanted to last night.
DeleteHopefully the Rox win and can extend this series.
FANVID: Jeremy Lin - Started From The Bottom ft. MGK
ReplyDelete[Bryan Fullbuster]
HOU 2013 PLAYOFF INTRO
ReplyDelete[CF]
Lin needs this experience to be a better player.His parents were there.so i believe they know whats best for Lin
ReplyDeleteI do respect McHale also for letting Lin play. These playoffs I have no prob with McHale in terms of playing time - he's given Lin tons of time. However, for the team to win Lin needs to be the primary PG. So good and bad from McHale
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was surprised to see him run Jeremy out there for the 2nd half. McHale is old school so he probably wanted to reward Jeremy's heart. And really, other than missing some open shots, he wasn't playing much worse than anyone else -- the whole team didn't come alive until mid-3rd quarter.
DeleteJLIN AND PB ON THE BENCH
ReplyDelete[Jewery How]
PLEASE,please Basketball god, make it happen that Lin gets away from McFail and Choken next season, pls let him be traded to Dallas where he would be averaging 19/10/5 FOR SURE. Dirk Nowitzki, the strong roleplayers and the shooters like Carter and the Center they are going to get will be just perfect for him. Dallas offered him a one year contract once and after Linsanity Don Nelson said he may resign Lin if evert given the chance... plssss make it happen Lin and the great Dirk Nowitzki will OWWWWWWNNN
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, but I think Jeremy's stuck in Houston for at least one more season. The only exception would be a Dwight Howard S&T (e.g. Asik + Lin for Dwight).
DeleteOtherwise, his trade value isn't high enough right now for Morey to let him go...nor should he as Beverley came back down to earth last night.
On the bright side, Jeremy will remain the starting PG and get more minutes now that his knee is 100% and his jumper improved so much in the 2nd half of the season. 16/6 is a good baseline for next season -- it's only 1 more FG and 1 more FT!
16/6 is what he averages since all star break while shooting 40% from 3.
Deletehe could easily average 18/7-8 on ANY non-retarded team
Lin still needs to improve his offensive skillset. But 8 assists per game is very doable if he handles the ball as much as most PGs, and Asik doesn't brick half of his buckets in the paint.
DeleteI think he averaged 15/6, but yeah, that's exactly what I mean. 16/6 is the bare minimum he'll put up even if McHale continues to misuse them!
DeleteAnd he'd probably average 20/8 if allowed to play his position. Skeptics should take note that he averaged 22/7 with the 4 games w/o Harden! And the competition was Spurs, Clippers, Clippers, Orlando -- three great teams and one crap.
I don't think he'd average more than 8 assists on this Rockets team even if given the reins to the offense -- they're just too inept at finishing. There'd be a lot of "semi-assists" for FTs, though.
DeleteSetting aside the stats, it's simply that I watch Lin and see many passes that the majority of starting PGs could not pull off. And those include passes he himself could not do last year. He's improved a lot.
DeleteAgreed.
DeleteI've been saying this since preseason, but even during Linsanity, Jeremy never really made a "highlight reel" pass other than alley-oops. But this year, he makes at least one "WOW" pass every game.
Huge improvement. He just needs to keep listening to Doc Scheppler and stay healthy.
As for 'semi assists', those count. Maybe not for the conventional-boxscore watchers, but they certainly matter. Along with his assists in the paint, which require more skill to set up than the Rondo-type assists for midrange jumpers in which most of the skill involved goes to the jumpshooter instead of the passer. (I'm not dissing Rondo, but it is what it is.)
DeleteI remember a stretch in which Brandon Jennings was racking up assists but the stats were misleading; it was just his teammates hitting jumpers while he passed to them coming off curls and screens. It doesn't take special skill to do that.
Yeah, PGs like Rondo and Vazquez devalidate the "assist" as an important statistic. You can tell because those guys average lots of assists...and yet their team's offenses stink.
DeleteThere's a difference between recording an assist and creating offense. Too bad most viewers and analysts don't understand that.
I know this sounds a bit silly, but Jeremy needs to do more behind the back passes. I think a level of flashiness would help his perception around the league as well as an being an effective tool. I think Rubio benefits from this like no other player. Lin is clearly the better player yet doesn't seem to get the same respect.
DeletePhil, Lin could be the greatest NBA showman of all time and STILL American audiences wouldn't respect him because he's Asian.
DeleteLin will battle that his whole career and beyond.
Phil, McHale would get onto the court and yank Lin out of the game if Lin did that. Lol
DeleteIs it just me or do NBA have some agenda against certain players and some obvious bias towards some other players?
ReplyDeleteI am not even talking about Lin here. I just saw Nate Robinson pulling off maybe one of the greatest playoffs performances of all time and having a lot of great regular season games as well yet the public opinion is that he's still just a minimum wage bench spark plug. You would never hear that he's a threat to Derrick Rose or even Kirk Hinrich's starting spot. Yet with Beverley, he played only 2 okay games that were significantly lesser than Nate's performance but he's crowned as the next young star and starting material?
What made this double standard honestly?!
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI don't find it odd that Nate is not considered starting material. Nate doesn't have the sound judgment and decision making to consistently run the offense well. But he's the perfect player for bringing enough 'variance' to pull off an upset against a superior opponent. He was also stellar in the game that ended the Miami win streak -- that was perhaps the best game of the regular season.
DeleteAs for Bev, I attribute his favorable reception to the fact that he has a knack for standout INDIVIDUAL plays, while the ways in which he hurts the TEAM are less obvious to casual viewers.
For example, he looks great getting offensive rebounds but no one notices how this hurts the Rockets' transition defense -- because it is someone else getting burned. When he pulls off a great offensive rebound, all credit goes to him, and when he fails, it's someone else who looks bad. (Lin is the actually the most important player in the Rockets' transition defense. This is obvious from the fact that whenever Lin misses a layup or falls down on a play, MUCH of the time this results in the opposing team getting a transition bucket because Lin cannot get back im time, which leaves just Harden handling transition defense, which is usually a fail.)
Another example of how Bev's INDVIDIDUAL play looks good for him but hurts the TEAM is his defense. Bev gets impressive blocks and makes a good show of waving his arms, but he is an undisciplined fouling machine. For guards averaging 15 minutes or more, Bev is TIED FOR NUMBER ONE in fouling rate: he racks up 4.6 personal fouls per 40 minutes.
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8290/32764294.png
People look at him and see his 'aggressive defense' and don't notice that he is reaching in constantly and racking up non-shooting fouls. Unlike someone like Hinrich, Bev's fouls are often pointless because they do not challenge shot attempts but are rather fouls on the perimeter. The four non-shooting fouls by Rockets early in the 4th quarter of the Lakers game should make abundantly clear how damaging this can be to the team. It puts the opposing team in the bonus early, and when the team racks up fouls like that, it forces everyone on the team to play less aggressive to avoid further fouls. How can someone be considered a good defender when he is constantly sending the opposing team to the free throw line by putting them in the bonus early? This is yet another example of how Bev can look good individually but actually hurt the team.
I can understand Nate doesn't have the decision making to consistently run an offense, but Beverley doesn't either. At least Nate can go on a scoring spree and make plays which Beverley is incapable of.
DeleteI attribute to some prejudiced opinions more. People saw Nate as a short guy like they saw Lin as unathletic Asian guy so they made up their mind that they are never going to be good defenders thus could not be starting quality despite how they are effective on the court again and again.
And I agree with you that Beverley's play cheated a lot of normal viewers who could only watch on ball activities but not off ball activities. I don't think Beverley can be a starting PG in this league, might not even be a consistent backup as well, any team with him playing heavy minutes could not be a winning team IMO.
Great analysis Occupati0!
DeleteI feel like if Nate was on the Rockets, McHale would have started him months ago as he's always looked for the "spark". And those so called Rockets fans would have called for Nate playing 40 minutes and Lin getting traded lol.
DeleteI watched a youtube clip of a playoffs game between Bulls and Celtics years ago. The most amazing thing to me is that how the Bulls featured John Salmons and Ben Gordon as their main options and used Derrick Rose as the 3rd option. How stupid were they lol. I believe their coach then was VDN and was before Thibs went to Chicago. It really showed me how important a head coach is and how his recognition of talent could affect a team.
I agree with all your points Cara. (I'm not going to write much today, as I feel kinda down.) I think Bev is a fringe backup player, not even good enough to be backup PG on many teams. As for McHale, to me the important thing is not actually his (mis)recognition of talent. A good coach brings the best out of his players, and we have already seen what Lin playing his best in long stretches looks like -- McHale cannot even come close to putting Lin in a situation to bring that out. Fail.
DeleteI guess failing to maximize a player and failing to recognize talent are different sides of the same problem.
DeleteI have to probably watch Harden be Harden, McHale be McHale, and Lin not be Lin for another year. The thought is disheartening.
[CNM] 2013 Playoffs Game #3: Jeremy Lin & Houston Rockets Lose Close One To OKC -- Report & Analysis
ReplyDeleteHey, that looks familiar.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if we're going to hear two days of breathless opining from columnists and TV talking heads about Durant's bush-league play, how the All-NBA forward so brazenly violated one of the unwritten rules of the NBA game by taking a hard, unnecessary swipe at Lin, who's playing Saturday with a chest contusion suffered during Houston's Game 2 loss on Wednesday, and how the 24-year-old All-Star is a cheap-shot artist who has no respect for the integrity of the game and the way it should be played.
Somehow, I doubt it.
harden must play this game without any thinking of revenge or something just play team basketball.you don't need to show off cause if you lose you'll be a laughing stock of a thunder.you don't need to show to thunder that its their lost in trading you to rockets.right now all we need is team basketball.that's are always success in our previous win.lets fight till end...........i don't want to end our season yet we must advance to................FINALS
ReplyDeleteI'm calling it quits. I kind of lost interest in basketball.
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone on this site can continue to support JLin.
Best Wishes.
Big props for Lin for playing. Especially like that image of him as a wounded warrior on the bench with the sling wrap. You can tell it really hurts when he called a timeout and durant came at him. He couldnt even raise his hands high enough to give a proper timeout signal even before the cheapshot. A profanity laced comeback at durant would have been nice. Anyways, just want to also give a shout out to man, andrew goudelock of the lakers. If u havnt heard of him, people will soon find out. I think he's a better shooter than fredette from downtown and has a very effective floater that every huard should have.
ReplyDeleteAnybody think there is chance Lin will play the next game? Wouldn't it be a miracle if his adrenaline takes over and he goes beast mode? I am dying for an end to this horrible season with a bang for our guy. He deserves some love! Everyone forgot that when Harden and Parsons were out, he shed the team. Short memories. So sad.
ReplyDeleteI mean saved the team. Ha ha. Freudian slip. I would love Lin to "shed" this eff-ing team that has been an albatross around his neck!
ReplyDeleteWhile the haters outside this forum go crazy with anti Lin anti Chinese articles, I sit here placidly enjoying the show.
ReplyDeleteLin has had a magnificent season, even if he didn't do as much in terms of volume statistics as most people would like. Houston was dead set on limiting his touches, but Lin is such a GREAT player that he found ways to contribute anyway.
Lin's leadership, league best defense, super scoring when he gets touches, ability to beat traps, and superb individual matchups against any NBA guard are why the Rockets made the playoffs when they should've won 30 games. Lin's great season has infuriated a great many haters who predicted utter destruction of the Rockets but got RACE PUNKED by Lin.
No matter what anyone says, I'm relaxed and enjoying the show. I hope that Lin plays the entire series, as the playoffs are a hugely important learning experience for him. I have utter faith in Lin's All Star greatness and have no fear of him not succeeding even if Houston stupidly dumps him this summer.