At this rate, Lin will be outta league in a few years and will just end up doing motivational Christian speeches for the rest of his life.
I'm sure that is what he would much rather be doing anyways.
I have to say though his silence is getting annoying. All these signs of him leaving but nothing concrete.
Wish he would stood up for himself a little more dutring the season. I just hate the fact that he did everything the Rox asked him to do and ends up being nothing but a footnote. What a difference a year makes.
Outside of us, Lin is really a forgotten man in the nba. No one seems to give a shit where he ends up. If he has another mediocre season like the last, his fanbase will shrink and linsanity will be nothing but a distant memory.
You wait and see. What sets Jeremy apart and why so many people love him is that he is uncommon. Instead of trying to respond to all the negative publicity and trade rumors (which he can not control) he just focuses on what is important which is getting ready for next season and living his life based on his values.
The high road (Lin took) is always the hardest road to take, it gives the best result but requires a lot of time and patience. Want a quick fix? Then somebody else should get his/her hands dirty.
Yes, the hate and attacks that he gets are only when someone is a perceived to be a threat and/or there is real deep jealousy... not given to an average, insignificant scrub.
Thank God he finds the strength to deal with it and holds to his faith that this will work out for the good.
It's the way he responds to the put downs, insults, and "injustices" that reveal what kind of a man, person of faith, and leader Jeremy is.
What did he do to deserve this unfair treatment and yes, even contempt?He's a likable, hardworking, and humble guy. Seems the combination of sudden fame, fortune, and being Asian, and being a devout Christian just doesn't sit well with some people.
People don't have the courage or authenticity to say "I hate this guy because he's suddenly rich, famous and I'm not. He has an adoring fan base and I don't ." And of course it's not PC to say I hate devout Christians or I hate Asians. So instead what do these people do? They put down and discount JLin's game.
IMO those are the forces in play. Those of us who respect and like JLin, his story and what he represents, should continue to support him because it's the right thing to do.
Jeremy Lin has already thrown the haters out of their mind. They're going wild wondering. All I can say is if JLin's presence will be felt at the right time. Fact speaks louder than words. He has gone through his rookie seasons with fantastic results. Lin haters's accusations were turned to be mockery. He could move to the left...He could shoot with his left hand...He is going to be a great 3 point shooter...He can pass when he's double teamed...He tears defenses apart...He has great court vision...Best of all he always make his teammates better.
I really don't get why there isn't more excitement on this site of the signing of Dwight Howard. How many times last year did we see Jeremy give a good pass to Asik in the low post only to have him 1) fumble the pass out of bounds 2) miss an easy layup 3) throw up a wild reverse layup 4) get fouled. When Asik can't finish, Jeremy doesn't get credited with an assist. I wish someone would post a youtube video of all Jeremy's missed assist opportuniites. With Howard, those sweet entry passes become assists or pass outs for open 3's or opportunities to drive in for layups when the opposing guard is doubling down to help defend Howard. If people aren't excited with Dwight Howard, who would they rather have as Jeremy's teammate?
I am excited about Howard. I'm hoping to see Jeremy play with the most dominant big man in the game. If Lin played well with Tyson, he should do even better with a more offensively skilled player. If Lin is traded, I would be excited to see how he plays as the primary ball handler. All in all, I'm excited for this upcoming season, whether Lin is in Houston or another team.
isthmus, I would be excited about seeing Lin play with Dwight for the reasons you mentioned, but I feel that Lin will be more and more marginalized in the team. In this, everything I observed during last year makes me agree with HY on this. Time and time again, even when Lin was playing like an all-star during some games, Mac inexplicably tried to limit Lin's positive impact through weird substitutions. I still don't understand what they were trying to do with Lin. This is why I was not disappointed with Lin's stats during last year. If Lin got the same stats as he did last year while playing the primary ball handler, I would be the first to say Rockets should let him go. I truly believe Lin can become a 17 points and 9 assists per game PG if he was allowed to play the primary ball handler. But he definitely needs to play with a chip on his shoulder, which is one of the reasons why I like Bev.
In my case, Smoovies, it's because I've got serious doubts about Dwight Howard's game.
I am concerned with Dwight Howard's attitude, which I don't think is that of a champion. To me, this attitude rubs off on his game.
I also have my doubts about whether Howard-Harden-Parsons will accept Lin as a teammate. My fear is that Lin will just be asked to stay away from the team while not being bought out.
I hear you guys and understand your guarded optimism. Howard has not proven he can win a championship yet but he's better than Asik, right? Jeremy's game is predicated on a big man who can finish an ally oop pass (like Tyson Chandler) and Dwight Howard is one of the best leapers in the game. If Howard was on the Rockets last year, Jeremy would have had a good year. This year with an improved 3 point shot and Howard in the low post, Jeremy will have a great year and a chance to contend for the Western Conference championship.
Everyone knows D12 was not pleased / didn't work well with that LAL ball hogger. And everyone knows JH is a ball hogger in Rox (I'm sure D12 and his camp know that, too).
So how were the recruiting team, including JH, able to convince D12 that coming to HOU will be better for him? <-- They definitely didn't use Lin as a selling point (like saying, "Lin will feed him the ball just like he did to Tyson").
If Rox is smart, they should allow Lin to be "THE" PG, the floor general, the main playmaker to feed D12 <-- that means Lin-D12 pair will outshine JH and CP25 <-- will M&M allow that to happen? don't think so.
Do you guys think Lin was closer to Landry Fields then Parsons? Watching that one alley-oop highlight that someone posted was really fun to watch? and it also made me think, was Lin and Parsons that close? or even court chemistry as great as people seem to think, Parsons don't seem to be able to connect w/Lin on those passes. If I remember correctly Lin did attempt to Parsons a few times like once or twice and he couldn't finish it or seemed surprised by it. idk if my memory is doing me justice. But then back to that video, I reminisced about how well Lin and Fields connected, Landry like completed most of his lobs and was very well expecting it. Idk i just feel that Lin and Fields were probably closer then Parsons and Lin considering their time length, but then again it may have been that Fields was the one who was there thru Linsanity and all and but who knows? But then again the difference between Parsons and Fields is that fields didn't think he was a playmaker, he knew he was a shooting guard and let Lin do his job full heartedly, he respects Lin's game whereas Parsons, I'm not so sure if he does.. *sigh* I hate waiting until he NBA season begins.....I think we're all going a little crazy with all of this unconfirmed trade rumors and Jeremy's unusual silence..
ikr? even after 82 games we have none, but I'm going to say that because it's a young team, they don't have Shump, Fields, or Chandler on the squad to finish. But then again maybe no one respects Lin enough to pay attention to what he's going to do, they probably all buy in that he is a "home run hitter". and thanks Via for the link! @deadfish exactly their chemistry is amazing, they connected really well, can i assume that their chemistry on and off court is better then Parsons and Lin? Although I'm not real big on Raptors, i would like for Lin and Fields to be reunited and Novak too, it might Linsanity all over again, but i can only hope.
I consider Landry Fields a much more talented and capable player than Chandler Parsons.
Parsons is a good standstill shooter who can finish on the break, sort of like Steve Novak with a 3 man weave drill. He's not a ballhandler, rebounder, defender, or passer.
Landry Fields is a true NBA athlete who is sort of like a poor man's Grant Hill. He was injured last season, but Fields is a running dunking defending jumping athlete that Parsons could never be. Landry Fields was a wonderful teammate for Lin and I'd love to see them reunited at some point.
I think that Landry Fields has been messed up more by playing behind Carmelo Anthony in NY and being injured in Toronto than he has been by his own shortcomings.
The problem with Fields is the same problem that dogs 95% of NBA players: he lacks the offensive talent to create a shot for himself, let alone others.
But when Fields is with a truly great shot creator like Lin, it's like Magic to Worthy redux.
That's sorta of what I mean though. Someone like Jeremy can be dissed, marginalized and ignored by "stars" like Melo or Harden or hobbled by frustrating injuries...
...but still find the mental toughness to play their game or adjust their game. Fields just got frustrated and discouraged. And now lacks the confidence to attack and the determination to adjust.
I really do hope they're reunited. They play so perfectly together (and hella exciting with those truly epic alley-oops) and they're clearly true friends (rather than fair weather acquaintances).
Looking at Lin's best Alley Oops, Fields shows exactly what you guys are saying, how much better than Parsons he is. He didn't have an outside shot after his slump, though.
I hope PFV is right though i feel sorry for Lin to have to go through all these crap. Cant wait for him to slap all the haters' faces when the season starts.
Via can you check @elizfelizreina please? Most likely a bot but damn kinda creepy if not, 0 follower, only follow Lin and have like almost ten thousand tweets all to Lin. Completely dominates tweets Lin and can't understand any of it's tweet
Will Dwight Howard become a parody of Knick's Stoudemire? At 28 his stats are on a downhill trend and he didn't cover himself in glory with the Lakers. In similar conditions whereas K Durant played himself to a standstill and almost single handedly pulled OKC through the playoffs, Dwight petulantly fouled himself out in a 1st round playoff whitewash.
Maybe there could be worse things than Lin being traded if Howard turns Houston into a Dwightmare.
It very well could be that Dwight Howard becomes a "parody of Stoudemire", rintintin.
The difference between Howard and Stoudemire is that Stoudemire doesn't blow teams with his bad attitude the way Howard does.
My sole fear is that Dwight Howard throws his typical snit fits and ends up getting Lin permanently benched. That would be bad because NBA teams don't want to trade for Lin, so Lin would have to sit the way TJ Ford did with Indiana because the crazy coach Jim O'Brien hated his game (actually, O'brien hated EVERYBODY'S game on the Pacers).
Frankly, I don't think Dwight Howard has the mental fortitude to play alongside a truly tough player like Jeremy Lin.
If the Rockets hit a rough patch during the season, I worry that DHo is just the one to throw people under the bus. If JLin is still around, I fear it will be him. The press will definitely go after him first before daring to criticize the exalted DHo.
I expect (hope?) JLin and DH become (truly) good buddies.
Haven't followed DH a lot, but DH seems to be like a chill guy like JLin. Likes to joke around, and recognises playing basketball is also about having fun. I think they are on the same wavelength.
@Rockteer - that's a good point. Because Howard is an All Star and former no. draft pick etc any blame will be pointed at the former undrafted Lin and any one else except Howard, Harden and Parsons it seems.
It's doubtful that every player on the team will increase his personal stats so the constant plea to Lin to play less unselfishly. He's gotta increase his stats to stay on the team or get a good contract elsewhere.
First of all, I want to say thank you for your steadfast support while we have made the necessary moves to usher in a new age of Rockets basketball. Your dedication to the Rockets is both a source of non-stop inspiration and the fuel that drives us to build a championship caliber team, one that will bring another World Championship to the City and our fans.
To that end, it is with great excitement that I announce we have acquired the most dominant big man in the NBA - Dwight Howard. Dwight becomes the latest in a long legacy of centers to have had Hall of Fame careers wearing Rockets Red. More importantly, Dwight represents the perfect partner to pair with the electric James Harden. Simply put, we now possess two of the best players on the planet who are in the prime of their careers.
While James and Dwight provide us with an All-Star foundation, we’re equally excited about other championship ingredients already in place. Head Coach Kevin McHale provides us with the Hall of Fame experience necessary to make the most of this dynamic inside-out combination. Chandler Parsons is an up-and-coming star in his own right, and Jeremy Lin is rapidly improving as a player and on-court leader. We have several other young players loaded with talent, and we’ve moved quickly to add solid veterans to complement our young foundation. And in General Manager Daryl Morey we have a team-builder of the highest order, someone completely committed to this club’s pursuit of perpetual greatness.
This is a great day for the Rockets, the City of Houston, and all of Red Nation. We look forward to seeing you at Toyota Center this season for what will surely be a very exciting, memorable season for us all.
Apparently emailed out to rocket fans. My guess is Lin's status is in limbo so he needs to be mentioned in case he stays. Noticed Omer was not mentioned probably because of the rumors that he is demanding a trade.
So not really indicative of anything... We look to be in a limbo as to knowing where JLin will be next year.... This indefinite uncertainty, perhaps until the trade deadline, is too unnerving.
Guys, common... If he was mentioned by the OWNER in an email that related to the Rockets future, it means he is staying. Plus, he was shows on that video multiple times in addition to the international pitch. I'm really looking forward to next season, I can't wait!
JLin was just mentioned in case he can't be traded away. JLin's silence speaks volumes: he has always been vocal about welcoming/congratulating teammates. Instead of carrying away on Twitter like many people do, his silence shows where he stands.
I think this is indicative of what many have been saying all last season. The owner wants Lin. The GM does not. The coach does not. Linsanity was a slap to the face of Morey and McHale. Kind of sucks but I predict Lin isn't going anywhere. He gets one more year in this toxic environment. The boss gets the last word.
and job security isn't exactly high even if he stays with this team. (as if this hasn't been repeated enough here), rox seems to value pbev's skill set just as much as, or even more than, jlin's skill set... but let's try to be optimistic?
If the Rockets valued Beverly's skill set just as much or more than Lin's, then Beverly would have gotten more minutes. Beverly never did, and it wasn't even close. Folks overrated how the Rockets view Beverly just to justify their hopes that the Rockets would trade Lin. Now that folks are finally accepting that Lin is staying put (at least for now) notice how Beverly is being discussed a lot less.
Stop this nonsense about Jlin being traded.. If Les mentioned him in the statement that he is improving and being on court leader then he won't be going anywhere soon. Les should know by now that in Asian culture 'giving face' is all important and trading Jlin could be seen by many that he's not trustworthy.. Not good for business in Asia IMO.
At the end of games, we do often see the Rox valuing Bev's skillset over JLin's. And end of game minutes are those which are important, right? JLin may still have more minutes, but not all minutes are equal.
yeah must have been some incest inbreds from Clutchfans. when i saw Pat Bev saying" yeah just throw the ball to Dwight and let him work in the post" and then McHells interview i wanted to punch w hole in the wall... i hate these two to no limits
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen 5m Rockets waived Ohlbrecht, Anderson this morning.
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen 4m Rockets also renounced rights to Francisco Garcia and Earl Boykins. Will sign Garcia, Williams and Casspi in coming days.
so is this more evidence that jlin isn't going anywhere?
Anderson was a pretty good perimeter defender. But I guess Morey wanted more 3-point shooting :( I would've kept Anderson because he's a tougher, scrappy version of Harden.
Parsons allready dumped his bff Lin for the new cool kid D12. Beverley as allways heavy self promoting and acting like hes something that a headless scrub. It´s so frustrating. But i aint give a fck no more. i got other favourite players that i can follow, too and that are in better positions than Jeremy. And deep down i have a feeling Lin will come out blazing this season and don´t care about McRetards and Hogdens stupid ways no more. he has nothing to lose and much to gain as soon as Dwight realizes he will thrive with jeremy.
Seriously, you are absolutely nuts. First off, when did anyone on this board ever have the idea that Parsons was friends with Lin? Everyone accused him of conspiring with Harden to freeze Lin out. Second, Parsons has been friends with Howard for years, dating back to when Howard was in Orlando and Parsons was at the University of Florida. Patrick Beverly? I guess you would be happier if Beverly was out on the street somewhere instead of making enough money to support himself and his family in the NBA, but if that were to happen the Rockets would still need a backup PG and you would hate him just as much as you hate Beverly.
I do agree with the GM's upgrade mentality, but in terms of timing, when will the next superstar become available? Looking at the Free Agent Tracker on NBA.com, as of now, I can only see Jennings as probably the only 'big name' left on the available free agency list.
And in terms of trades, I expect that if anything big was going down, the rumors would have come out before the 10th and certainly since then. Plus, considering (Feigen tweets reporting) the house keeping transactions this morning, it seems like for now there won't be further transactions by way of trades.
So, hopefully, JLin will be around. And we can be sane for now?
yeah, i know, trade can happen any time. but at least for the purposes of signing of d12, we know neither jlin or oa will be moved.
----- Off topic... i think i recognise someone in this tweet
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen 10m Coaches can lead individual or limited workouts, not team practices. RT @BrentYen: Is Rox Coaches allowed to be in the workout as well?
"In addition to the players in Houston, Chandler Parsons and Patrick Beverley, Howard said he had received congratulatory messages or calls from James Harden and Jeremy Lin. Both will be a part of the workouts in Los Angeles."
it almost appears like Feigan had been reading our speculations here about JLin (not) sending 'congratulatory messages' and (not) being 'part of the workouts', lol
@dmorey, calling self assistant GM, on Lin, Asik: "Reality is James and Dwight want to play with Jeremy and Omer. They're going to be here."
Well that's it guys. please be at peace. Lin is staying with the Rockets and the best part? Because Harden and Howard said so. That should bring the team together even more, and I'm surprised and glad to hear that. I can't wait, I know Lin will be a lot better this year! :D
if they say so, hopefully they will respect what these two bring and let them do their job. I hope for this and have this feeling that they might just let these two do their jobs to make things easier.
ClutchFans @clutchfans Chandler Parsons told me Jeremy Lin will be there in LA for the mini-camp but he's not sure on Omer Asik since he's in Turkey right now.
Now that it looks like Jeremy is going to be on the Rockets, can we all get excited about Jeremy playing with Dwight Howard?! Dunk city baby! Jeremy is going to average a double/double this season!
I doubt that D12 and Harden want them to stay. Its obvious Morey just couldn't find a good deal.
Having said that, it looks like Lin is staying for now. I guess I just have to wait and see. Certainly my expectations will not be as high as last year. Enthusiasm couldn't be any lower....
that's great to hear! i hope we'll see many many alley-oops between Lin and Howard. It seem like Smith, Jones, and Howard will probably be the ones who will be able to complete those. Def very excited!
I'm cautiously optimistic. :) My big hope is that Howard did his homework on Lin and saw what Lin could do with Tyson Chandler and thought "hey I could do that x2!"
Seriously? You have lower expectations than last year? At this time last year the starting lineup was Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik, Kevin Martin, Patrick Patterson and Chandler Parsons. This year the starting lineup is Jeremy Lin, Dwight Howard, James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik. Jeremy is healthy, has improved his 3 point shot. Enthusiasm should be at a all time high!
But yeah, if he stays, and I've said this before as well, having Dwight and being healthy will make a BIG difference. Stat-wise and win-wise and respect-wise.
CBS Sports writer Moore reporting on Houston Chron article with some added commentary.
Note the writer, Moore, also recognises the possibility that this talk by DMorey may be about "re-establish[ing] leverage".
He also opines that JLin was "pretty good" for the second half. It seems like at least some writers recognises JLin's improvement (adding him to that Bleacher Report writer from a couple of days back).
I personally thing the main reason that Morey and Howard say those comments are just to repair the tensions built between Rox and Lin/Asik. They will still leave when the Time is right.
JLin's success lies in keeping DHo happy. Hopefully Harden won't try to hog the limelight and be both sg and pg. If JLin can do a good job of setting DHo up (and of course he can), then his playing time is assured. For all intents and purposes, DHo calls the shots, not McFail.
If I believed that Lin's position in the rox was solid and had the support of the coach and the organization , hell yeah I would be excited.
But I anticipate another year of frustration, with Lin often being subbed out in favor of Beverley - wouldn't be surprised being relegated to a bench role - avg playing time of 20 min.
And Lin being the "pleaser" he is will sacrifice his game to keep Dwight and harden happy.
Yeah I'm a big pessimist but tell me what concrete evidence you have to say this will not be happening. And I don't want some false hope. At least I have the history on my side.
"Him and Jeremy Lin will be very good playing with me. I’m going to do whatever I can to make those guys’ lives better. I realize how much they mean to this team.”
I mean, it is what it is -- clearly the Rockets are not going to trade Jeremy for a "salary dump." But they're also not going to pass up a genuinely good offer (that includes a starting PG/combo guard in return).
So whatever. With Dwight at C, Jeremy can only improve upon his underrated 2nd half and he'll still be on the "Steve Nash Career Track." Entering his prime at the end of his contract with stats to back it up (e.g. next year: 15/7 ; year after: 16/8)
"But they're also not going to pass up a genuinely good offer (that includes a starting PG/combo guard in return)."
But if you already have a good starting PG/combo guard, why give him up? To get Asik? Please. The Rox will give up Asik to get a PF, but they won't give up the only viable NBA pg on their entire roster.
@Etane:
"A company only release this type of PR/message when they know there is an issue that they need to defend/whitewash/distort."
And what issue would that be? That they are planning on making Patrick Beverly their starting PG when Beverly could barely handle summer league play?
I mentioned Beverly because he is the only thing that Morey could be trying to defend/whitewash/distort that is relevant to Lin. You are free to propose others if you like.
Hopefully this will end all of speculations. If the rockets want to win it now they must give the ball to jeremy. Nothing more nothing less. Circus is over for harden so it's time for him to wait the ball from jeremy's hands like Ray allen waited for rondo. I hope jeremy will have a stockton season with few points but tons of assists ... We'll see if this is the end of the story
John Stockton in his prime scored 17 ppg and shot over 51% from the floor. (One season he shot almost 60%). I am a huge fan of Jeremy Lin, but he has quite a way's to go before he reaches Stockton's level.
I don't know about that. The Pistons didn't have a true PG in those years. Billups and Rip Hamilton were both combo guards. Kind of like how the Rockets didn't have a true PG when they won those 2 titles but two combo guards (Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell) backed up by combo guard Sam Cassell, and they also had forwards Mario Elie and Robert Horry do a lot of ball-handling and passing too.
The bottom line is that having Howard on the team means that the Harden and Parsons iso-ball show is gone. They will still get their iso opportunities of course, but the offense will have to fundamentally change to accommodate Howard. The Rockets are going to go from being the worst team in the NBA in terms of low post scoring (3.5 a game) to being at least a middling one. They won't be one of the better ones because A) they still don't have a PF and B) their swingmen and guards aren't low post scorers.
It still won't be Linsanity, but it will look at lot like a traditional NBA offense.
U guys can hope all u want. I hope to win the next powerball jackpot but it doesn't mean it will happen.
But if u look at the probabilities, with Lin not having the ball in his hand and running the team like Stockton did, u really think the chances are realistic that Lin will have an all star season? Mchhale and harden will all of a sudden defer everything to Lin? Lets not kid ourselves. I'm actually expecting a chalmers like season and its obviously NOT because I think Lin can't play.
"with Lin not having the ball in his hand and running the team like Stockton did"
I am not convinced that Lin isn't going to have the ball in his hands running the team. I think that Lin's role is going to increase over time as he adds to his offensive game and his coaches become more sure of his ability.
"The Pistons didn't have a true PG in those years. Billups and Rip Hamilton were both combo guards."
Right. That's exactly my point. Lin hasn't and won't be used as a pure PG in Houston. Harden and Lin will both be combo guards with Harden in the Hamilton role and Jeremy in the Billups role.
Unknown .. Other than just a big hope, what makes u think Jeremy will have a bigger role? Unless this coaching staff had a big revelation watching the tapes, I don't see how Lin's role increasing in the upcoming season.
The piston championship team had everyone playing as a team. No true superstars. No clear hierarchy.
Morey has made it clear who will run this team / the superstars. U can't compare the Detroit team to this team. The interplanetary dynamics will be vastly different.
1) Jeremy's shooting improved as the season went on and he got 100% healthy. He'll have more respect and touches as a result next year if he continues that.
2) Dwight wants more low-post touches and he needs a real PG to throw him proper entry-feeds (which are harder than they look). Harden can run the pick and roll, but he's not a true PG.
So yeah, his role will be bigger, even if it's far from the role Jeremy can play and should play, IMO.
Again, you guys are using Linfan logic to predict how the rox will use him.
Yes, I agree with all off you. I don't need to hear again and sgain about how Lin can be more effective with a center who is much more polished than asik in executing an offense. Logic dictates that Lin should thrive with d12.
My pessimism fundamentslly arses fom my lack of confidence in this organization's respect or Lin's game as a pg and playmaker. I mean how many times was Lin pulled from the game inexplicably last year when we all thought he was playing well? How many times did we see Lin relegated to spot up shooter not even touching the ball even once during an offensuve possession ( this in an offensive scheme that prides in having everyone involved in the offense?). What has transpired in the off season thus far to believe that Lin will be more involved except some empty words from the pr firm?
People here seem to equate my pessimism for next year with my lack of confidence in Lin as a player. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, my belief in him as a player and knowing that this team will continue to show an utter lack of faith in him is what really ticks me off.
Yes, zxcvb, this crunch time problem needs to be solved. Not sure if Hack-a-Dwight can be fixed by Dwight in the short run, so coaching has to do better with crunch time. Not sure now this is going to work.
One of the rare times when I agree with zxcvb. Let Harden and Parsons shoot the 3 point shots. Howard being on the team will open up a lot of space on the floor. Lin can use that space to hit mid-range jumpers, which are much higher percentage than 3 point shots. Also, mid-range jumpers create short rebounds that Howard can suck up like a vacuum cleaner instead of long rebounds that create fast breaks for other teams. When Morey sees Lin scoring 16 ppg at 50% from the floor, he won't complain about the lack of 3 pointers.
Yes, those are NBA 3's, and that corner shot is perhaps the most valuable to the Rockets because it's the closest outlet pass for Dwight Howard in the low post.
Did u guys see granttland's shooting chart of harden last year. Almost everything by the rim or outside the arc. Almost nothing in between. This is moreyball. Lin will be discouraged to take the mud range shots (he's always done a good job with those).
But to be effective in moreyball, u need to able to make threes consistently. If the teams can respect Lin's jthrees, it will widely open up Lin's game given his ability to penetrate. It's threes or busy in Morey's system.
"Lin will bottle up his own man, but Lin will get blamed when Harden and Beverley play their turnstile defense. Then Howard will get pissed at Lin."
With all due respect KHuang, when has this ever happened in Howard's career? For all the bashing that Howard gets now, people forget that for the vast majority of his career he gave his coach and his teammates no problems and was one of the most liked players in the NBA. Howard's problems with his coaches and teammates started when he injured his back and he started getting pressured to play through the injury. It got really bad when they started spreading rumors that Howard wasn't REALLY injured but was just unhappy with coach, his role on the team, other players, etc.
Now I dislike Howard because of his off-the-court issues and because of the way that he choked at the free throw line in the NBA Finals (though it wasn't as epic as Nick Anderson's doing the same in the Finals against - ironically - Houston in the 90s ... no one remembers it because back then Shaquille O'Neal used to get blamed for all of the Magic's failures just like Howard is now). But people who act as if he has always been this problem child who doesn't get along with his teammates and gets into it with coaches are pretending as if the last 2 seasons are his entire career. They aren't. The guy was reacting to being pressured to get out there and help carry 2 bad teams despite having real back trouble. And though no one wants to admit it, Howard was 100% right about the Magic. Even with the players that they got back from the trade, the Magic had the worst record in the NBA (20-62) despite playing in the weakest division in the weakest conference. Imagine if they had played in the Rockets division, where everyone but the Pelicans finished at least .500. They probably don't surpass 12 wins. Yet people criticize Howard for calling his former teammates and organization what they were and not wanting to further waste his body and career sticking around trying to carry them? And then there was the situation with the Lakers ... they willing to carry along the pretense that the over the hill gang was still contending for a title when everyone knew they weren't, and they wanted Howard to get out there and do the dirty work for them under the basket and on defense - bad back and all - to keep the sham going. Now keep in mind: Howard never asked to be traded to the Lakers. As a matter of fact he never really asked to be traded at all. Orlando decided to trade him, they chose the destination and they even screwed that up, as their record and salary cap status indicates. And as for the Lakers? You have 38 year old Steve Nash ripping Howard when he himself has exchanged teams 4 times, has the same number of titles that Howard has (0) and at this point in his career needs a guy like that to cover for his defensive issues. The Lakers only let nearly 34 year old Artest/World Peace go because Howard isn't coming back. And soon to be 35 Kobe Bryant announced that he wants to play 4 more years but with no reduction in salary, minutes or role. Then there was 33 year old in-decline Pau Gasol. That situation was going to fail and Howard was going to get blamed. And Bryant talking about how he was going to teach Howard how to be a champion. Please. Bryant never won squat without a great team around him. Let Bryant go to Orlando and teach those guys how to be winners.
As long as Lin A) passes Howard the ball, B) scores when Howard kicks it back out to him and C) doesn't publicly pressure Howard to play when hurt or leak "off-the-record" stuff to the media suggesting that Howard's injuries aren't that bad then Lin and Howard will get along fine.
As long as Howard is willing to pick and roll. Nash said Howard wasn't willing.
"He didn't seem like he really wanted to do a pick-and-roll offense, maybe because he had run one in Orlando for so long and he wanted to get in the post more," Nash said during his radio interview.
First off, Howard had no problem playing pick and roll for years with Jameer Nelson. Also, a column on Yahoo Sports came out and said that Nash was lying. Howard's best games came when Nash was healthy and he and Nash played together: he scored 20 ppg during that stretch.
I will take the statistics that showed Howard scoring more points with Nash than without over Nash's words. I will also take my years of watching Howard play with guys in Orlando that are nowhere near as good as Lin over Nash's words.
Nash is ripping Howard because Nash knows that his last shot at winning a title just skipped town. Not that they were going to actually win a title anyway, but in Nash's mind they at least had a shot. But Nash has a lot of nerve because Nash forced the Suns to trade him last year, and before then ditched the Mavs for the Suns. Howard by contrast never demanded a trade from Orlando. Because he didn't, he didn't owe the Lakers - or Nash - a thing.
Honestly don't give a crap who's right. But my feeling is Dwight now has a lot of pressure to succeed. People will mock him to kingdom come if his team doesnt make it to at least the second tound of playoffs. He will do whatever necessary to succeed ... pnr or not.
solidz, mchale may pin the tail on any donkey he chooses just like last year and the PR machine will take over with sportscasters and articles explaining why lin caused rocket man to crash and burn.
Very disappointed in Nash's statements. I always thought he was a classy guy with a sense of fairness.Howard seems very happy to be in Houston. I hope he does bring this team together. I hope he reaches out to Lin especially, because Howard knows what it is like to be hated by the media and fans and always under the microscope. Hopefully Howard will put a leash on Mchale when it comes to lin, because it seems that whatever Howard says goes.BTW anybody else disgusted with Parson?
Etane, IMO, Lin has been so marginalized by everyone, the media, the team, the rocket fans, they will no longer be able to pin any failures on him. He will not play enough of an important role.
An apt anology would be blaming chalmers for aMiami loss. Yup, there I said it. Lin's career trajectory is taking the shape of Chalmer's career. Thank morey.. the architect.
looks like Lin and Asik are staying. quote from Dwight "Omer might not really see the total big picture right now and I totally understand,” Howard said. “He’s a young guy and he wants to really be respected. I would tell him when I see him, ‘You’ve done a great job on this team. I’m going to help you and this team get better.’ He’s a big piece to us winning a championship if we’re going to make that run. Him and Jeremy Lin will be very good playing with me. I’m going to do whatever I can to make those guys’ lives better. I realize how much they mean to this team.”
WTF yet another brain damaged idiot masquerading as a writer: "didn't have a particularly strong statistical season" - context like coming back from an injury just is too much to think about...
Here is how Lin can increase his stats without being overtly disruptive to the team. Last season he purposely fed Asik with inside balls which were fumbled. Lin was blamed for sending Asik bounce passes which the 7 footer had to reach down. Harden got openly annoyed when Asik fumbled his passes. This year Lin has to feed Howard, not Asik.
Last season when Harden just let his man go past him, Lin sometimes stood in front of the player to take the charging foul. This season he should reduce those because they are physically dangerous.
Lin got blamed for poor defence. Maybe he should copy Bev. If he's going to be blamed, don't waste energy on playing tough defence but do some flashy blocks now and then. However, I'm not sure about this tactic.
Opponents constantly tried to break Lin 1 on 1. He turned back opponents and rarely was beaten off the dribble.
The reason Lin played, in my opinion, was defense. Though the Rockets coaches likely felt that Lin was an inadequate defender, the truth is that Lin was put back into games to recapture lost momentum. More often than not, poor defense by Bev and especially Harden was the reason why the Rockets lost. Not even Lin could singlehandedly stop an entire team by himself.
I find Lin just as fascinating to watch on defense as he is on offense. I feel that he is the best "2 way" guard in the entire NBA.
He's an outstanding defender. The stats gets skewed because:
1) He gets "burned" on 3s by "overhelping." Most of the time, though, he's right to overhelp because the Rockets have such piss-poor one-on-one defense.
2) Typical NBA Ref BS. Lin and other "non-stars" get whistled for breathing on opposing players while "stars" are allowed to push, hack and punch all they want.
The fact that Lebron went two weeks without a foul is just hilarious. That's like a pitcher going a four starts without having a single pitch called a ball.
I did enjoy watching Lin playing tough courageous defence. He was given the job of double teaming a forward sometimes and then he had to run back to his man trying the 3 pointer. Others then blamed him for leaving his man alone. I'd recommend that he not do it so much, or do it slower because it does not contribute to his stats and takes too much energy.
We'll see if Howard has the ability to defend top forwards without Lin and others having to help with a lot of double teaming.
Somehow I don't find this joke on reducing Morey as assistant gm funny. Everyone know that Morey WANTS to trade Lin&Asik. Actually it is kind of funny they put this story out. Really?
lol it's sad, I think with all of those trade rumors and what not, i would imagine their chemistry to be really weird w/the rest, it's like they were not wanted and now after failing to trade them or not, it's like they're trying to awkwardly make everything seem like they're actually wanted on the team. like they're valuable assets for them to win. i find it a little sad, the damage is already done and now they have Howard and Harden deciding if Lin and Asik should go or stay? pathetic, it's funny how much can happen in a year, when did Lin and Asik's career's fate rely on these 2?
I just wish that this team would show some faith in Lin as they have shown Chandler this off season. I mean Lin has shown enough flashes last year to warrant this type of support.
They could totally make Lin-harden- d12 work. But I just get the sense they have given up on him after one season, when he was coming off an injury. They are sticking with him for now because they don't have any choice.
And they love parsons when he hasn't shown anything to suggest that his ceiling is high as Lin's. it's like this team just ignores all the great things Lin has done.
You are spot on. Damage control by the Rox hasn't been very effective and convincing.
What a huge difference from last year's offseason to this year's -- from the face of the franchise last year to this year's the organisation had to tweet(on a demoted position to downplay his role in trading Jeremy?) to publicly talking about looking for an upgrade. And the most funny part is that Harden had the say in keeping Jeremy on the roster? How sad.
i find that Morey's words sounds a little lame. after all the trade talks, he tries to make things better by saying they're wanted on the team. they're valuable blah blah blah, even though Harden says Lin and Asik is important, his actions on the court seems to differ, if he cared enough, then why the hell would he iso so much? if he cared why don't he just be a SG not a combo guard? it would make things a heck of a lot easier if everyone did their job or do what they're good at instead of being an all around player? he probably don't respect Lin enough because he has played w/Westbrook enough to not respect Lin's game. Besides Harden seems perfectly fine being the main ball handler, this is such BS. About Asik, i honestly think that it's a huge slap in the face for him to be demoted, i just really think that they should just trade him, if he doesn't want to play then he doesn't, why are they forcing him? most likely because they want him to really back Howard up. He left the bulls to have a fresh start and he did, now he's back to where he started? i can see how he's pissed about it. w.e they can stick it, i'm really fed up w/ how these team and org seems to view and treat Lin and Asik, I'm pretty darn sure these 2 will bolt when their contract is up.....
Life is never meant to be easy and nothing worth having in this life comes easy ....this is especially the case for Lin. Whatever happened behind the scene will only fuel him to work harder. But I'm so glad the trade talk is over!
Why the negativity or doubting? We have plenty of time to do that when the season starts. Now lets just be happy for Lin that he gets to play with the best center and wish him the best ! I truly believe with every up and down, you learn lessons that make you strong!! Time to move on guys!!
For me, I'm just happy I now get to see Lin play in the Taiwan game!! US$530 a ticket will be well spent!!
@always_lin, love that your ticket will be worth it! Only about a month and more away.
Yeah, the negativity is tough to bear. Can't that be managed internally? I mean, it's not like rose colored glasses are needed to see how good things can be for Lin. His stats and his youtubes, plus his summer work ethic and dropping 45 pts for fun instead of tweeting for credit. That's a quiet strength I love.
It's for now stable in that Lin will be in LA, press is coming out that Lin and Asik are important, and PFV at CNM has a really good read on the situation. Rox had to go all out for Howard, and now that they have him with a read that D12 values Lin and Asik, they want to bring the "family" closer. And as for LA mini-camp, Lin himself talked about it at the end of the season, saying that he and Harden are organizing that in "Cali". I remember noting then, what an odd way to say it, but Jeremy must have picked up some TX accent, because no CA native calls CA Cali, nor do we ever say Frisco. Finally, when any one of us gets a $25m business over 3 years, with an entourage, that business team is probably pretty smart. Why second guess them so much? They are very active protecting JLin's interests, and if not, then I'm sure Lin's family will advise they be upgraded. Look at Joe's tweet that via reposted last thread. They aren't stupid, so why keep talking like the Lins are? And would Volvo let their investment get crushed? PR teams are working with Lin now, it's true.
Anyway, check out the youtubes of Lin Alley Oops and that vid of Howard and Lin in 2010 in Taiwan, where they line up for press photos with the whole Lin family. Some lady tells him, that's your name, Dwight Lin. "Wo xing Lin de". "I'm part Chinese. My cousin's got a Chinese mother." D12 says it more than twice in English and Chinese and not with too bad an accent. Finally, someone said he's a Christian too, so Lin now has his own Fields prayer buddy, maybe. Jeremy was never going to hang with Harden after 1am, so now the team has more cohesion.
Fingers crossed ... no offense, but I hope people here can embrace and enjoy the goodness of Lin. His military hangout vibe got totally swamped in all the fear-talk. Manage your own fears for Lin. It's tough when people get too emo on little things. Be happy that McHale is now 'assistant coach' along with Morey, and Parsons is 'toast' as Solidz pointed out. Trust me, Fields is way better than Parsons. To that discussion, Fields went to Stanford, where it's like the mecca for a PA boy. Stanford campus is like a country club, and Lin/Fields share that place as roots, plus their fait and Linsanity. I wouldn't think Fields and Lin will 'lose friends to the business'.
I don't think Lin will play like mario chalmers. Chalmers got Wade and james and even Bosh can't barely get a touch. Parsons is nothing without jeremy. He's just a role player who shoot 3s... Spurs got Leonard who shoot 3s and defend pretty well.
No one knows what will happen next year. Celtics tried hard to ship Rondo in previous years and now they're claiming he's the man on whom they want rebuild; pop wanted Kidd as pg in spite of tony parker, and parker was snubbed at first by popovich cause he thought he wasn't a NBA player and played very hard on him, now he labels tony parker as the best pg in the league.
I pretty much think Lin and harden could co exist like parker and Ginobili... Parker is pretty much like Lin and Ginobili is like harden. It's all on mchale's hands to figure it out ... Now we'll see if Mchale just hates Lin or wanted to play hard on him just to see if he could build on him.
Time will tell. Anyway jeremy got 2 years left on his contract... He's not stuck in houston
Well, if morey has any trace of honor, this is what this Moonface should think at this point.
Alright, I finally got my number target on my team. I fucked over a lot of players to get to this point. I tried to fuck over lin and asik but hell no will snyone give me back something substantial in return. Now it looks like I'm stuck with him at this point. Alright, maybe this is god's calling that I need to stop being this asshole liar and try to make something of this situation. It was my call to sign Lin so maybe I should live up to it like a man and give this kid an honest try. He's a good kid, has no ego, and did everything we asked him to do last year at the expense of his own play. He did have some great games for us, and he did improve as the season went on.
U know what. That is what I'll do. Let me see what this kid can do - instead of trying so hard to get rid of him. I mean I'm getting stressed out. Look at my face, I'm a fucking fat mess.
This is the way morey is thinking, including about himself. He is stuck so give the kid am honest try and an honest effort to make this work.
1st..
ReplyDeleteis a winner!
DeleteAt this rate, Lin will be outta league in a few years and will just end up doing motivational Christian speeches for the rest of his life.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that is what he would much rather be doing anyways.
I have to say though his silence is getting annoying. All these signs of him leaving but nothing concrete.
Wish he would stood up for himself a little more dutring the season. I just hate the fact that he did everything the Rox asked him to do and ends up being nothing but a footnote. What a difference a year makes.
Outside of us, Lin is really a forgotten man in the nba. No one seems to give a shit where he ends up. If he has another mediocre season like the last, his fanbase will shrink and linsanity will be nothing but a distant memory.
your negativity is annoying. you have no idea how much Lin is loved and appreciated by fans outside of jeremylin.net.
DeleteYou wait and see. What sets Jeremy apart and why so many people love him is that he is uncommon. Instead of trying to respond to all the negative publicity and trade rumors (which he can not control) he just focuses on what is important which is getting ready for next season and living his life based on his values.
Deletegrow up.
DeleteThe high road (Lin took) is always the hardest road to take, it gives the best result but requires a lot of time and patience. Want a quick fix? Then somebody else should get his/her hands dirty.
DeleteI like the fact Lin is remaining silent: gives an air of mystery and self-contained focus. i hope he plays with a chip on his shoulder and an edge.
Deletefrankly , he is still going to be good even if he gets traded, Lin is just unrated again.
DeleteI pity you , man. You've been wallowing in despair long enough...
DeleteDon't let the haters get to you.
DeletePeople don't hate a player that is insignificant. The hate the guy gets...is hatred reserved for stars.
BR seems to have one article every day on Lin; this shows you he's not insignificant. Lin is right now being under-rated.
DeleteYes, the hate and attacks that he gets are only when someone is a perceived to be a threat and/or there is real deep jealousy... not given to an average, insignificant scrub.
DeleteThank God he finds the strength to deal with it and holds to his faith that this will work out for the good.
It's the way he responds to the put downs, insults, and "injustices" that reveal what kind of a man, person of faith, and leader Jeremy is.
DeleteWhat did he do to deserve this unfair treatment and yes, even contempt?He's a likable, hardworking, and humble guy. Seems the combination of sudden fame, fortune, and being Asian, and being a devout Christian just doesn't sit well with some people.
People don't have the courage or authenticity to say "I hate this guy because he's suddenly rich, famous and I'm not. He has an adoring fan base and I don't ." And of course it's not PC to say I hate devout Christians or I hate Asians. So instead what do these people do? They put down and discount JLin's game.
IMO those are the forces in play. Those of us who respect and like JLin, his story and what he represents, should continue to support him because it's the right thing to do.
Jeremy Lin has already thrown the haters out of their mind. They're going wild wondering.
DeleteAll I can say is if JLin's presence will be felt at the right time. Fact speaks louder than words. He has gone through his rookie seasons with fantastic results. Lin haters's accusations were turned to be mockery. He could move to the left...He could shoot with his left hand...He is going to be a great 3 point shooter...He can pass when he's double teamed...He tears defenses apart...He has great court vision...Best of all he always make his teammates better.
I really don't get why there isn't more excitement on this site of the signing of Dwight Howard. How many times last year did we see Jeremy give a good pass to Asik in the low post only to have him 1) fumble the pass out of bounds 2) miss an easy layup 3) throw up a wild reverse layup 4) get fouled. When Asik can't finish, Jeremy doesn't get credited with an assist. I wish someone would post a youtube video of all Jeremy's missed assist opportuniites. With Howard, those sweet entry passes become assists or pass outs for open 3's or opportunities to drive in for layups when the opposing guard is doubling down to help defend Howard. If people aren't excited with Dwight Howard, who would they rather have as Jeremy's teammate?
ReplyDeleteHoward is no Lebron. Despite being top dog there really is no high expectation from Dwight mare.
DeleteI am excited about Howard. I'm hoping to see Jeremy play with the most dominant big man in the game. If Lin played well with Tyson, he should do even better with a more offensively skilled player. If Lin is traded, I would be excited to see how he plays as the primary ball handler. All in all, I'm excited for this upcoming season, whether Lin is in Houston or another team.
Deletefor me, I do want to feel excited, but it's very hard for me to do so:
Delete1. we are not sure whether Lin will stay
2. and if he stays, will he be used as "THE" PG to feed D12 like he did to Tyson?
3. do you trust M&M? I don't <- if he stays, will they again misuse Lin? will they have everyone play PG and not let Lin be the main playmaker?
4. I feel fooled by Rox last season (Lin's misuage) and this off season (trade rumor), how to get excited with such feeling?
isthmus, I would be excited about seeing Lin play with Dwight for the reasons you mentioned, but I feel that Lin will be more and more marginalized in the team. In this, everything I observed during last year makes me agree with HY on this. Time and time again, even when Lin was playing like an all-star during some games, Mac inexplicably tried to limit Lin's positive impact through weird substitutions. I still don't understand what they were trying to do with Lin. This is why I was not disappointed with Lin's stats during last year. If Lin got the same stats as he did last year while playing the primary ball handler, I would be the first to say Rockets should let him go. I truly believe Lin can become a 17 points and 9 assists per game PG if he was allowed to play the primary ball handler. But he definitely needs to play with a chip on his shoulder, which is one of the reasons why I like Bev.
DeleteIn my case, Smoovies, it's because I've got serious doubts about Dwight Howard's game.
DeleteI am concerned with Dwight Howard's attitude, which I don't think is that of a champion. To me, this attitude rubs off on his game.
I also have my doubts about whether Howard-Harden-Parsons will accept Lin as a teammate. My fear is that Lin will just be asked to stay away from the team while not being bought out.
I hear you guys and understand your guarded optimism. Howard has not proven he can win a championship yet but he's better than Asik, right? Jeremy's game is predicated on a big man who can finish an ally oop pass (like Tyson Chandler) and Dwight Howard is one of the best leapers in the game. If Howard was on the Rockets last year, Jeremy would have had a good year. This year with an improved 3 point shot and Howard in the low post, Jeremy will have a great year and a chance to contend for the Western Conference championship.
DeleteI am still skeptical.
DeleteEveryone knows D12 was not pleased / didn't work well with that LAL ball hogger.
And everyone knows JH is a ball hogger in Rox (I'm sure D12 and his camp know that, too).
So how were the recruiting team, including JH, able to convince D12 that coming to HOU will be better for him? <-- They definitely didn't use Lin as a selling point (like saying, "Lin will feed him the ball just like he did to Tyson").
If Rox is smart, they should allow Lin to be "THE" PG, the floor general, the main playmaker to feed D12 <-- that means Lin-D12 pair will outshine JH and CP25 <-- will M&M allow that to happen? don't think so.
In the first 2 months, we'll see how Harden works with D12. Without Lin's threading and Asik's rebounding, they'll collapse.
DeleteDo you guys think Lin was closer to Landry Fields then Parsons?
ReplyDeleteWatching that one alley-oop highlight that someone posted was really fun to watch? and it also
made me think, was Lin and Parsons that close? or even court chemistry as great as
people seem to think, Parsons don't seem to be able to connect w/Lin on those
passes. If I remember correctly Lin did attempt to Parsons a few times like once or twice and he
couldn't finish it or seemed surprised by it. idk if my memory is doing me justice.
But then back to that video, I reminisced about how well Lin and Fields connected,
Landry like completed most of his lobs and was very well expecting it.
Idk i just feel that Lin and Fields were probably closer then Parsons and Lin considering their
time length, but then again it may have been that Fields was the one who was there thru Linsanity
and all and but who knows?
But then again the difference between Parsons and Fields is that fields didn't think he was a
playmaker, he knew he was a shooting guard and let Lin do his job full heartedly, he respects
Lin's game whereas Parsons, I'm not so sure if he does..
*sigh* I hate waiting until he NBA season begins.....I think we're all going a little
crazy with all of this unconfirmed trade rumors and Jeremy's unusual silence..
JLin 2011-12 Top 10 Alley-oop Pass
Delete[lance1229]
How ironic that even after 82 games season, we can't even have a top 10 alley oop highlights from Rockets Lin. Morey McHale genius!
DeleteLandry's chemistry with Lin was amazing. No just alley Opps, but Landry's screens were for Lin's drives were far superior to anything on the Rockets.
DeleteMaybe it's time for Lin to get traded to the Raptors.
Deleteikr? even after 82 games we have none, but I'm going to say that because it's a young team, they don't have Shump, Fields, or Chandler on the squad to finish. But then again maybe no one respects Lin enough to pay attention to what he's going to do, they probably all buy in that he is a "home run hitter".
Deleteand thanks Via for the link!
@deadfish exactly their chemistry is amazing, they connected really well, can i assume that their chemistry on and off court is better then Parsons and Lin?
Although I'm not real big on Raptors, i would like for Lin and Fields to be reunited and Novak too, it might Linsanity all over again, but i can only hope.
I consider Landry Fields a much more talented and capable player than Chandler Parsons.
DeleteParsons is a good standstill shooter who can finish on the break, sort of like Steve Novak with a 3 man weave drill. He's not a ballhandler, rebounder, defender, or passer.
Landry Fields is a true NBA athlete who is sort of like a poor man's Grant Hill. He was injured last season, but Fields is a running dunking defending jumping athlete that Parsons could never be. Landry Fields was a wonderful teammate for Lin and I'd love to see them reunited at some point.
I vastly overrated Parsons' athleticism. His leaping ability and timing is quite poor.
DeleteFields is like the exact opposite of Parsons -- very good talent and athleticism, but a serious lack of mental toughness that's derailed his career.
Parsons is a mediocre talent and sub-par athlete, but a total cocky S.O.B...and that's helped him play bigger/better than he is.
I think that Landry Fields has been messed up more by playing behind Carmelo Anthony in NY and being injured in Toronto than he has been by his own shortcomings.
DeleteThe problem with Fields is the same problem that dogs 95% of NBA players: he lacks the offensive talent to create a shot for himself, let alone others.
But when Fields is with a truly great shot creator like Lin, it's like Magic to Worthy redux.
That's sorta of what I mean though. Someone like Jeremy can be dissed, marginalized and ignored by "stars" like Melo or Harden or hobbled by frustrating injuries...
Delete...but still find the mental toughness to play their game or adjust their game. Fields just got frustrated and discouraged. And now lacks the confidence to attack and the determination to adjust.
I really do hope they're reunited. They play so perfectly together (and hella exciting with those truly epic alley-oops) and they're clearly true friends (rather than fair weather acquaintances).
DeleteLooking at Lin's best Alley Oops, Fields shows exactly what you guys are saying, how much better than Parsons he is. He didn't have an outside shot after his slump, though.
DeletePFV is calm, at 8:00 mins his view of news about Lin and why
ReplyDeleteIsaiah Canaan @SiP03
DeleteLooking forward to the week with the bros @Ju_Smith4 @patbev21 @terrencejones1 @ChandlerParsons @JHarden13 @DwightHoward @JLin7
I hope PFV is right though i feel sorry for Lin to have to go through all these crap. Cant wait for him to slap all the haters' faces when the season starts.
Deletegood to know lin is on good terms with nash.
ReplyDeletehe could pick up a few things from a future hof.
Always been friendly..
DeleteHi,via! :)
Deletechan c! ^^
DeleteLast SF Pro-Am game
ReplyDeleteRox hold the rights to Papanikolaou.
ReplyDeleteVia can you check @elizfelizreina please? Most likely a bot but damn kinda creepy if not, 0 follower, only follow Lin and have like almost ten thousand tweets all to Lin. Completely dominates tweets Lin and can't understand any of it's tweet
ReplyDeleteUsed to go by QueenElizabeth @billionare98 and tweets JLin every 5mins of everyday. Fortunately...
Deletei hope it's a bot, or yikes.
ASK JLIN - Identity Unleashed
ReplyDeleterecent Q&A, I noticed that he answered several questions he was asked tons of times already.I hope he answers something new.
DeleteWill Dwight Howard become a parody of Knick's Stoudemire? At 28 his stats are on a downhill trend and he didn't cover himself in glory with the Lakers. In similar conditions whereas K Durant played himself to a standstill and almost single handedly pulled OKC through the playoffs, Dwight petulantly fouled himself out in a 1st round playoff whitewash.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there could be worse things than Lin being traded if Howard turns Houston into a Dwightmare.
It very well could be that Dwight Howard becomes a "parody of Stoudemire", rintintin.
DeleteThe difference between Howard and Stoudemire is that Stoudemire doesn't blow teams with his bad attitude the way Howard does.
My sole fear is that Dwight Howard throws his typical snit fits and ends up getting Lin permanently benched. That would be bad because NBA teams don't want to trade for Lin, so Lin would have to sit the way TJ Ford did with Indiana because the crazy coach Jim O'Brien hated his game (actually, O'brien hated EVERYBODY'S game on the Pacers).
Frankly, I don't think Dwight Howard has the mental fortitude to play alongside a truly tough player like Jeremy Lin.
If the Rockets hit a rough patch during the season, I worry that DHo is just the one to throw people under the bus. If JLin is still around, I fear it will be him. The press will definitely go after him first before daring to criticize the exalted DHo.
DeleteI expect (hope?) JLin and DH become (truly) good buddies.
DeleteHaven't followed DH a lot, but DH seems to be like a chill guy like JLin. Likes to joke around, and recognises playing basketball is also about having fun. I think they are on the same wavelength.
@Rockteer - that's a good point. Because Howard is an All Star and former no. draft pick etc any blame will be pointed at the former undrafted Lin and any one else except Howard, Harden and Parsons it seems.
DeleteIt's doubtful that every player on the team will increase his personal stats so the constant plea to Lin to play less unselfishly. He's gotta increase his stats to stay on the team or get a good contract elsewhere.
Eye on Basketball (@EyeOnBasketball) 25 m
ReplyDeleteRockets have officially traded Royce White to the Sixers. Let's see what happens next!
Rockets Fans,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I want to say thank you for your steadfast support while we have made the necessary moves to usher in a new age of Rockets basketball. Your dedication to the Rockets is both a source of non-stop inspiration and the fuel that drives us to build a championship caliber team, one that will bring another World Championship to the City and our fans.
To that end, it is with great excitement that I announce we have acquired the most dominant big man in the NBA - Dwight Howard. Dwight becomes the latest in a long legacy of centers to have had Hall of Fame careers wearing Rockets Red. More importantly, Dwight represents the perfect partner to pair with the electric James Harden. Simply put, we now possess two of the best players on the planet who are in the prime of their careers.
While James and Dwight provide us with an All-Star foundation, we’re equally excited about other championship ingredients already in place. Head Coach Kevin McHale provides us with the Hall of Fame experience necessary to make the most of this dynamic inside-out combination. Chandler Parsons is an up-and-coming star in his own right, and Jeremy Lin is rapidly improving as a player and on-court leader. We have several other young players loaded with talent, and we’ve moved quickly to add solid veterans to complement our young foundation. And in General Manager Daryl Morey we have a team-builder of the highest order, someone completely committed to this club’s pursuit of perpetual greatness.
This is a great day for the Rockets, the City of Houston, and all of Red Nation. We look forward to seeing you at Toyota Center this season for what will surely be a very exciting, memorable season for us all.
Best regards,
Leslie L. Alexander
Is this a personal email from Alexander?
DeleteJeremy was mentioned by the owner himself.
Does this mean he is staying?
JLin was in that video at the beginning of the Rally as well.
DeleteApparently emailed out to rocket fans. My guess is Lin's status is in limbo so he needs to be mentioned in case he stays. Noticed Omer was not mentioned probably because of the rumors that he is demanding a trade.
DeleteLes' opening statement just said they will have a great time with "James, Dwight, Chandler and the rest of the guys".
DeleteSo not really indicative of anything... We look to be in a limbo as to knowing where JLin will be next year.... This indefinite uncertainty, perhaps until the trade deadline, is too unnerving.
DeleteGuys, common... If he was mentioned by the OWNER in an email that related to the Rockets future, it means he is staying. Plus, he was shows on that video multiple times in addition to the international pitch. I'm really looking forward to next season, I can't wait!
DeleteJLin was just mentioned in case he can't be traded away. JLin's silence speaks volumes: he has always been vocal about welcoming/congratulating teammates. Instead of carrying away on Twitter like many people do, his silence shows where he stands.
DeleteI agree the logic saying his silence is about the possible trades. He must learned to do this during the last summer.
DeleteI think this is indicative of what many have been saying all last season. The owner wants Lin. The GM does not. The coach does not. Linsanity was a slap to the face of Morey and McHale. Kind of sucks but I predict Lin isn't going anywhere. He gets one more year in this toxic environment. The boss gets the last word.
Delete@Dave T, yeah, it seams like your prediction was correct and JLin is staying in town. Check out the Feigen tweets by @Brent down thread.
Deletewhether Lin was mentioned or not does not guarantee anything <-- haven't we learned enough from last season?
Deleteif there is a chance to trade him, do you think Rox will hesitate just because the owner's letter included him?
@HY there's prolly no guarantee long term, but lets hope at least for this summer, things have been settled?
Delete@wilc: I do hope so, but I still have doubt.
DeleteEven though "Daryl Morey on Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin: ‘They’re going to be here’", but do you trust them? I don't.
Anything can happen at any time, and if something really happens, I know DM definitely knows how to explain himself.
@HY, yup, can certainly imagine jlin as one of the trading chips in a future deal
Deleteand job security isn't exactly high even if he stays with this team. (as if this hasn't been repeated enough here), rox seems to value pbev's skill set just as much as, or even more than, jlin's skill set... but let's try to be optimistic?
Delete@wilc:
DeleteIf the Rockets valued Beverly's skill set just as much or more than Lin's, then Beverly would have gotten more minutes. Beverly never did, and it wasn't even close. Folks overrated how the Rockets view Beverly just to justify their hopes that the Rockets would trade Lin. Now that folks are finally accepting that Lin is staying put (at least for now) notice how Beverly is being discussed a lot less.
Stop this nonsense about Jlin being traded.. If Les mentioned him in the statement that he is improving and being on court leader then he won't be going anywhere soon. Les should know by now that in Asian culture 'giving face' is all important and trading Jlin could be seen by many that he's not trustworthy.. Not good for business in Asia IMO.
Delete@unknown
DeleteAt the end of games, we do often see the Rox valuing Bev's skillset over JLin's. And end of game minutes are those which are important, right? JLin may still have more minutes, but not all minutes are equal.
Lin's future is still up in the air?
ReplyDeletedoes anybody know where lin is playing soccer with nash tomorrow?
ReplyDeletei mean exact location
ReplyDeletefrom via's post last thread http://aegworldwide.com/about/newsdetail/12055
Deletethanks
Deletenp
DeleteHarden was not at the PC....why?
ReplyDeleteSomeone on Twitter said the crowd booed when Jeremy's name was mentioned.
ReplyDeletehaha.....consider all these LOHs in Rox fan base, just some booooes are really OK I guess.
Deleteyeah must have been some incest inbreds from Clutchfans.
Deletewhen i saw Pat Bev saying" yeah just throw the ball to Dwight and let him work in the post" and then McHells interview i wanted to punch w hole in the wall... i hate these two to no limits
If the offense is just Iso-Harden and Dump-it-to-Dwight, then it's in Lin's best interest to get the heck out of there.
DeleteJonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen 5m
ReplyDeleteRockets waived Ohlbrecht, Anderson this morning.
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen 4m
Rockets also renounced rights to Francisco Garcia and Earl Boykins. Will sign Garcia, Williams and Casspi in coming days.
so is this more evidence that jlin isn't going anywhere?
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAnderson was a pretty good perimeter defender. But I guess Morey wanted more 3-point shooting :( I would've kept Anderson because he's a tougher, scrappy version of Harden.
DeleteParsons allready dumped his bff Lin for the new cool kid D12. Beverley as allways heavy self promoting and acting like hes something that a headless scrub. It´s so frustrating. But i aint give a fck no more. i got other favourite players that i can follow, too and that are in better positions than Jeremy. And deep down i have a feeling Lin will come out blazing this season and don´t care about McRetards and Hogdens stupid ways no more. he has nothing to lose and much to gain as soon as Dwight realizes he will thrive with jeremy.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, you are absolutely nuts. First off, when did anyone on this board ever have the idea that Parsons was friends with Lin? Everyone accused him of conspiring with Harden to freeze Lin out. Second, Parsons has been friends with Howard for years, dating back to when Howard was in Orlando and Parsons was at the University of Florida. Patrick Beverly? I guess you would be happier if Beverly was out on the street somewhere instead of making enough money to support himself and his family in the NBA, but if that were to happen the Rockets would still need a backup PG and you would hate him just as much as you hate Beverly.
DeleteJonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen 14s
ReplyDeleteIn long explanation of why he doesn't want to deal Lin, Asik, "Assisant GM" @dmorey added another reason. Dwight Howard and Harden said so.
so it seems that's at least one uncertainty out of the way: jlin is here staying for now.
Deletebut how will jlin be played next year? gotta wait till earliest pre-season to find out.
And it seemed Feigen did know something we didn't. Maybe that explains his consistent answers saying JLin isn't going anywhere.
DeleteI wonder if this 'long explanation' is published anywhere. would like to know the thinking behind all this.
I think it is still depends the availability of other STARs....Morey will not even blinks when he sees any opening to "upgrade".
DeleteI do agree with the GM's upgrade mentality, but in terms of timing, when will the next superstar become available? Looking at the Free Agent Tracker on NBA.com, as of now, I can only see Jennings as probably the only 'big name' left on the available free agency list.
DeleteAnd in terms of trades, I expect that if anything big was going down, the rumors would have come out before the 10th and certainly since then. Plus, considering (Feigen tweets reporting) the house keeping transactions this morning, it seems like for now there won't be further transactions by way of trades.
So, hopefully, JLin will be around. And we can be sane for now?
i mean i do agree that the GM has the upgrade mentality, not i agree with the GM's mentality
DeleteNot just FAs, he might see something that he thinks is worth a trade b4 Feb 2014.
Deleteyeah, i know, trade can happen any time. but at least for the purposes of signing of d12, we know neither jlin or oa will be moved.
Delete-----
Off topic... i think i recognise someone in this tweet
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen 10m
Coaches can lead individual or limited workouts, not team practices. RT @BrentYen: Is Rox Coaches allowed to be in the workout as well?
That tweet was follow-up on this article:
DeleteUltimate Rockets Article: Howard, new teammates to start work in L.A. Monday
"In addition to the players in Houston, Chandler Parsons and Patrick Beverley, Howard said he had received congratulatory messages or calls from James Harden and Jeremy Lin. Both will be a part of the workouts in Los Angeles."
it almost appears like Feigan had been reading our speculations here about JLin (not) sending 'congratulatory messages' and (not) being 'part of the workouts', lol
wilc...oooops.... :P I was double checking because my friend kept saying Coaches can be involved.
Delete@dmorey, calling self assistant GM, on Lin, Asik: "Reality is James and Dwight want to play with Jeremy and Omer. They're going to be here."
ReplyDeleteWell that's it guys. please be at peace. Lin is staying with the Rockets and the best part? Because Harden and Howard said so. That should bring the team together even more, and I'm surprised and glad to hear that. I can't wait, I know Lin will be a lot better this year! :D
if they say so, hopefully they will respect what these two bring and let them do their
Deletejob. I hope for this and have this feeling that they might just let these two do their jobs
to make things easier.
ClutchFans @clutchfans
ReplyDeleteChandler Parsons told me Jeremy Lin will be there in LA for the mini-camp but he's not sure on Omer Asik since he's in Turkey right now.
Ultimate Rockets News Article: Daryl Morey on Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin: ‘They’re going to be here’
ReplyDeleteNow that it looks like Jeremy is going to be on the Rockets, can we all get excited about Jeremy playing with Dwight Howard?! Dunk city baby! Jeremy is going to average a double/double this season!
DeleteHo Lee Fuk!!!!
DeleteI doubt that D12 and Harden want them to stay. Its obvious Morey just couldn't find a good deal.
DeleteHaving said that, it looks like Lin is staying for now. I guess I just have to wait and see. Certainly my expectations will not be as high as last year. Enthusiasm couldn't be any lower....
that's great to hear! i hope we'll see many many alley-oops between Lin and Howard.
DeleteIt seem like Smith, Jones, and Howard will probably be the ones who will be able
to complete those.
Def very excited!
I'm cautiously optimistic. :) My big hope is that Howard did his homework on Lin and saw what Lin could do with Tyson Chandler and thought "hey I could do that x2!"
DeleteSeriously? You have lower expectations than last year? At this time last year the starting lineup was Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik, Kevin Martin, Patrick Patterson and Chandler Parsons. This year the starting lineup is Jeremy Lin, Dwight Howard, James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik. Jeremy is healthy, has improved his 3 point shot. Enthusiasm should be at a all time high!
Delete@Smoovies, i think what @solidz meant was expectations for jlin (stats, development, etc.), not expectations for the overall team performance?
DeleteYou can't trust any PR speak.
DeleteYeah, he could totally stay this year and next year and sign another contract.
Or he could be traded for the right offer -- just like a hundred other players who teams said they'd be bringing back and didn't.
Bucks said they would "match any offer" made to Jennings. And then they signed Teague to an offer sheet.
But yeah, if he stays, and I've said this before as well, having Dwight and being healthy will make a BIG difference. Stat-wise and win-wise and respect-wise.
DeleteDwight Howard: Asik is a big piece to a championship
DeleteAlso mentions JLin.
Thanks Wilc for link. I like how he said "I’m going to do whatever I can to make those guys’ lives better."
DeleteI sincerely believes Dwight likes Jeremy. Just a hunch.
Now it's D12's turn to do damage control for Rox?
DeleteRemember Lin used to be (forced?) put in that position?
CBS Sports Article: Morey says Howard and Harden want Rockets to keep Lin, Asik
DeleteCBS Sports writer Moore reporting on Houston Chron article with some added commentary.
Note the writer, Moore, also recognises the possibility that this talk by DMorey may be about "re-establish[ing] leverage".
He also opines that JLin was "pretty good" for the second half. It seems like at least some writers recognises JLin's improvement (adding him to that Bleacher Report writer from a couple of days back).
I personally thing the main reason that Morey and Howard say those comments are just to repair the tensions built between Rox and Lin/Asik. They will still leave when the Time is right.
Delete@pop doggy, np. i also have a hunch dwight and jeremy's personalities go well together.
Delete@HY, difference is d12 is respected and thus better placed to succeed in that damage control task.
I'm predicting that Howard is going to have good block and rebound numbers while also consistently letting perimeter guys whiz by him.
DeleteLin will bottle up his own man, but Lin will get blamed when Harden and Beverley play their turnstile defense. Then Howard will get pissed at Lin.
JLin's success lies in keeping DHo happy. Hopefully Harden won't try to hog the limelight and be both sg and pg. If JLin can do a good job of setting DHo up (and of course he can), then his playing time is assured. For all intents and purposes, DHo calls the shots, not McFail.
DeleteHoward may let perimeter guys get by him, but that is not his job to guard wing players. He is a center. He should always be close to the basket.
DeleteAnyways it looks like Lin will stay with the Rockets a little while longer. I hope the mini camp in LA will help smooth things out some.
If I believed that Lin's position in the rox was solid and had the support of the coach and the organization , hell yeah I would be excited.
DeleteBut I anticipate another year of frustration, with Lin often being subbed out in favor of Beverley - wouldn't be surprised being relegated to a bench role - avg playing time of 20 min.
And Lin being the "pleaser" he is will sacrifice his game to keep Dwight and harden happy.
Yeah I'm a big pessimist but tell me what concrete evidence you have to say this will not be happening. And I don't want some false hope. At least I have the history on my side.
Howard saying the right things so far. Nice.
Delete"Him and Jeremy Lin will be very good playing with me. I’m going to do whatever I can to make those guys’ lives better. I realize how much they mean to this team.”
I mean, it is what it is -- clearly the Rockets are not going to trade Jeremy for a "salary dump." But they're also not going to pass up a genuinely good offer (that includes a starting PG/combo guard in return).
So whatever. With Dwight at C, Jeremy can only improve upon his underrated 2nd half and he'll still be on the "Steve Nash Career Track." Entering his prime at the end of his contract with stats to back it up (e.g. next year: 15/7 ; year after: 16/8)
A company only release this type of PR/message when they know there is an issue that they need to defend/whitewash/distort.
Delete"But they're also not going to pass up a genuinely good offer (that includes a starting PG/combo guard in return)."
DeleteBut if you already have a good starting PG/combo guard, why give him up? To get Asik? Please. The Rox will give up Asik to get a PF, but they won't give up the only viable NBA pg on their entire roster.
@Etane:
"A company only release this type of PR/message when they know there is an issue that they need to defend/whitewash/distort."
And what issue would that be? That they are planning on making Patrick Beverly their starting PG when Beverly could barely handle summer league play?
What issue did Morey address? I don't think Morey said anything about Bev.
Delete@Etane:
DeleteI mentioned Beverly because he is the only thing that Morey could be trying to defend/whitewash/distort that is relevant to Lin. You are free to propose others if you like.
i will take the words presented ockets/morey PR over your intepretation of it.
DeleteStephen A Smith interview on 790 this today: http://www.sports790.com/player/?station=KBME-AM&program_name=podcast&program_id=OtherStuff.xml&mid=23454155
ReplyDeleteTony @dsgruntled_goat
@awexler summary of what he said on Lin?
Adam Wexler @awexler
@dsgruntled_goat it'll be up on podcast via FB soon, but he said he needs to do his part, make sure his teammates have confidence in him
Although still kind of biased, SAS changed his positions by a lot.
DeleteI like when he described Jeremy embarrassing Felton at MSG and the other Knicks looking at him like "what's wrong with you"
DeleteFunny how the interview started with Dwight Howard leaving the Lakers ... but by the end it was all about Jeremy Lin :).
Deletethe hate on dwight on houston rocket facebook fanpage is already starting.
ReplyDeleteHOHs?
Deletewhat's wrong with these rockets fans?
DeleteHopefully this will end all of speculations. If the rockets want to win it now they must give the ball to jeremy. Nothing more nothing less. Circus is over for harden so it's time for him to wait the ball from jeremy's hands like Ray allen waited for rondo. I hope jeremy will have a stockton season with few points but tons of assists ... We'll see if this is the end of the story
ReplyDeleteJohn Stockton in his prime scored 17 ppg and shot over 51% from the floor. (One season he shot almost 60%). I am a huge fan of Jeremy Lin, but he has quite a way's to go before he reaches Stockton's level.
DeleteJeremy will NOT have a Stockton like season with this team. If that is what you are hoping for, u might as well just not watch any games.
Deletewhat is wrong with hoping Lin will have a Stockton type season?
DeleteYou rather he have a chalmer type season?
He could do that...if he were the primary ballhandler.
DeleteHis "role model" for this year should be Chauncey Billups during his Pistons Days.
@zxcvb:
DeleteI don't know about that. The Pistons didn't have a true PG in those years. Billups and Rip Hamilton were both combo guards. Kind of like how the Rockets didn't have a true PG when they won those 2 titles but two combo guards (Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell) backed up by combo guard Sam Cassell, and they also had forwards Mario Elie and Robert Horry do a lot of ball-handling and passing too.
The bottom line is that having Howard on the team means that the Harden and Parsons iso-ball show is gone. They will still get their iso opportunities of course, but the offense will have to fundamentally change to accommodate Howard. The Rockets are going to go from being the worst team in the NBA in terms of low post scoring (3.5 a game) to being at least a middling one. They won't be one of the better ones because A) they still don't have a PF and B) their swingmen and guards aren't low post scorers.
It still won't be Linsanity, but it will look at lot like a traditional NBA offense.
U guys can hope all u want. I hope to win the next powerball jackpot but it doesn't mean it will happen.
DeleteBut if u look at the probabilities, with Lin not having the ball in his hand and running the team like Stockton did, u really think the chances are realistic that Lin will have an all star season? Mchhale and harden will all of a sudden defer everything to Lin? Lets not kid ourselves. I'm actually expecting a chalmers like season and its obviously NOT because I think Lin can't play.
well i still hope that lin will have a stockton type of season.
Deletestill crossing fingers about that trade. yes, still hoping.
@Solidz75:
Delete"with Lin not having the ball in his hand and running the team like Stockton did"
I am not convinced that Lin isn't going to have the ball in his hands running the team. I think that Lin's role is going to increase over time as he adds to his offensive game and his coaches become more sure of his ability.
"The Pistons didn't have a true PG in those years. Billups and Rip Hamilton were both combo guards."
DeleteRight. That's exactly my point. Lin hasn't and won't be used as a pure PG in Houston. Harden and Lin will both be combo guards with Harden in the Hamilton role and Jeremy in the Billups role.
Unknown .. Other than just a big hope, what makes u think Jeremy will have a bigger role?
DeleteUnless this coaching staff had a big revelation watching the tapes, I don't see how Lin's role increasing in the upcoming season.
The piston championship team had everyone playing as a team. No true superstars. No clear hierarchy.
Morey has made it clear who will run this team / the superstars. U can't compare the Detroit team to this team. The interplanetary dynamics will be vastly different.
Interpersonal .. I think my autocorrect likes the beastie boys...
Delete@Solidz
Delete1) Jeremy's shooting improved as the season went on and he got 100% healthy. He'll have more respect and touches as a result next year if he continues that.
2) Dwight wants more low-post touches and he needs a real PG to throw him proper entry-feeds (which are harder than they look). Harden can run the pick and roll, but he's not a true PG.
So yeah, his role will be bigger, even if it's far from the role Jeremy can play and should play, IMO.
Again, you guys are using Linfan logic to predict how the rox will use him.
DeleteYes, I agree with all off you. I don't need to hear again and sgain about how Lin can be more effective with a center who is much more polished than asik in executing an offense. Logic dictates that Lin should thrive with d12.
My pessimism fundamentslly arses fom my lack of confidence in this organization's respect or Lin's game as a pg and playmaker. I mean how many times was Lin pulled from the game inexplicably last year when we all thought he was playing well? How many times did we see Lin relegated to spot up shooter not even touching the ball even once during an offensuve possession ( this in an offensive scheme that prides in having everyone involved in the offense?). What has transpired in the off season thus far to believe that Lin will be more involved except some empty words from the pr firm?
People here seem to equate my pessimism for next year with my lack of confidence in Lin as a player. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, my belief in him as a player and knowing that this team will continue to show an utter lack of faith in him is what really ticks me off.
Without Dwight, Lin and Harden's skillset often overlap.
DeleteHence his reduced role.
But with Dwight, they need someone to feed him in the low post.
Harden doesn't do that. His playmaking is limited to the PnR and skip pass.
As for crunch time when they probably won't go to Dwight, Jeremy will play if he keeps shooting 38+% from 3.
Yes, zxcvb, this crunch time problem needs to be solved. Not sure if Hack-a-Dwight can be fixed by Dwight in the short run, so coaching has to do better with crunch time. Not sure now this is going to work.
DeleteJeremy spotted in LA practicing 3's
ReplyDeletehttps://vine.co/v/hZnmJ21KpvV
That's not NBA 3s......am I right? and that distance is considered lest valuable to shoot a J to Rox.
DeleteScrew Morey. Midrange Js are so important to playoff success and crunch time.
DeleteGood teams know how to pack the paint AND run you off the 3pt line. MJ, Kobe, Tony Parker...all great midrange Js.
@Brent Yen:
DeleteOne of the rare times when I agree with zxcvb. Let Harden and Parsons shoot the 3 point shots. Howard being on the team will open up a lot of space on the floor. Lin can use that space to hit mid-range jumpers, which are much higher percentage than 3 point shots. Also, mid-range jumpers create short rebounds that Howard can suck up like a vacuum cleaner instead of long rebounds that create fast breaks for other teams. When Morey sees Lin scoring 16 ppg at 50% from the floor, he won't complain about the lack of 3 pointers.
Yes, those are NBA 3's, and that corner shot is perhaps the most valuable to the Rockets because it's the closest outlet pass for Dwight Howard in the low post.
DeleteNo it's not. He's inside the three point line. He is practicing the least statistically efficient shot in the NBA. He needs to take one step back.
DeleteDefenders open up the driving lane when they respect your mid range jumper.
DeleteDid u guys see granttland's shooting chart of harden last year. Almost everything by the rim or outside the arc. Almost nothing in between. This is moreyball. Lin will be discouraged to take the mud range shots (he's always done a good job with those).
DeleteBut to be effective in moreyball, u need to able to make threes consistently. If the teams can respect Lin's jthrees, it will widely open up Lin's game given his ability to penetrate. It's threes or busy in Morey's system.
@Unknown, yes I know that, I was simply asking if that line is the NBA 3 or not. lol....
Delete@KHuang:
ReplyDelete"Lin will bottle up his own man, but Lin will get blamed when Harden and Beverley play their turnstile defense. Then Howard will get pissed at Lin."
With all due respect KHuang, when has this ever happened in Howard's career? For all the bashing that Howard gets now, people forget that for the vast majority of his career he gave his coach and his teammates no problems and was one of the most liked players in the NBA. Howard's problems with his coaches and teammates started when he injured his back and he started getting pressured to play through the injury. It got really bad when they started spreading rumors that Howard wasn't REALLY injured but was just unhappy with coach, his role on the team, other players, etc.
Now I dislike Howard because of his off-the-court issues and because of the way that he choked at the free throw line in the NBA Finals (though it wasn't as epic as Nick Anderson's doing the same in the Finals against - ironically - Houston in the 90s ... no one remembers it because back then Shaquille O'Neal used to get blamed for all of the Magic's failures just like Howard is now). But people who act as if he has always been this problem child who doesn't get along with his teammates and gets into it with coaches are pretending as if the last 2 seasons are his entire career. They aren't. The guy was reacting to being pressured to get out there and help carry 2 bad teams despite having real back trouble. And though no one wants to admit it, Howard was 100% right about the Magic. Even with the players that they got back from the trade, the Magic had the worst record in the NBA (20-62) despite playing in the weakest division in the weakest conference. Imagine if they had played in the Rockets division, where everyone but the Pelicans finished at least .500. They probably don't surpass 12 wins. Yet people criticize Howard for calling his former teammates and organization what they were and not wanting to further waste his body and career sticking around trying to carry them? And then there was the situation with the Lakers ... they willing to carry along the pretense that the over the hill gang was still contending for a title when everyone knew they weren't, and they wanted Howard to get out there and do the dirty work for them under the basket and on defense - bad back and all - to keep the sham going. Now keep in mind: Howard never asked to be traded to the Lakers. As a matter of fact he never really asked to be traded at all. Orlando decided to trade him, they chose the destination and they even screwed that up, as their record and salary cap status indicates. And as for the Lakers? You have 38 year old Steve Nash ripping Howard when he himself has exchanged teams 4 times, has the same number of titles that Howard has (0) and at this point in his career needs a guy like that to cover for his defensive issues. The Lakers only let nearly 34 year old Artest/World Peace go because Howard isn't coming back. And soon to be 35 Kobe Bryant announced that he wants to play 4 more years but with no reduction in salary, minutes or role. Then there was 33 year old in-decline Pau Gasol. That situation was going to fail and Howard was going to get blamed. And Bryant talking about how he was going to teach Howard how to be a champion. Please. Bryant never won squat without a great team around him. Let Bryant go to Orlando and teach those guys how to be winners.
As long as Lin A) passes Howard the ball, B) scores when Howard kicks it back out to him and C) doesn't publicly pressure Howard to play when hurt or leak "off-the-record" stuff to the media suggesting that Howard's injuries aren't that bad then Lin and Howard will get along fine.
As long as Howard is willing to pick and roll. Nash said Howard wasn't willing.
Delete"He didn't seem like he really wanted to do a pick-and-roll offense, maybe because he had run one in Orlando for so long and he wanted to get in the post more," Nash said during his radio interview.
Etane:
DeleteFirst off, Howard had no problem playing pick and roll for years with Jameer Nelson. Also, a column on Yahoo Sports came out and said that Nash was lying. Howard's best games came when Nash was healthy and he and Nash played together: he scored 20 ppg during that stretch.
I'll take Nash's words over that of your Yahoo column's.
DeleteI will take the statistics that showed Howard scoring more points with Nash than without over Nash's words. I will also take my years of watching Howard play with guys in Orlando that are nowhere near as good as Lin over Nash's words.
DeleteNash is ripping Howard because Nash knows that his last shot at winning a title just skipped town. Not that they were going to actually win a title anyway, but in Nash's mind they at least had a shot. But Nash has a lot of nerve because Nash forced the Suns to trade him last year, and before then ditched the Mavs for the Suns. Howard by contrast never demanded a trade from Orlando. Because he didn't, he didn't owe the Lakers - or Nash - a thing.
Honestly don't give a crap who's right. But my feeling is Dwight now has a lot of pressure to succeed. People will mock him to kingdom come if his team doesnt make it to at least the second tound of playoffs. He will do whatever necessary to succeed ... pnr or not.
Deletei'll exclude your interpretation of nash's quote that you claimed he lied about. i mean it's your character over his.
Deletesolidz, mchale may pin the tail on any donkey he chooses just like last year and the PR machine will take over with sportscasters and articles explaining why lin caused rocket man to crash and burn.
DeleteVery disappointed in Nash's statements. I always thought he was a classy guy with a sense of fairness.Howard seems very happy to be in Houston. I hope he does bring this team together. I hope he reaches out to Lin especially, because Howard knows what it is like to be hated by the media and fans and always under the microscope. Hopefully Howard will put a leash on Mchale when it comes to lin, because it seems that whatever Howard says goes.BTW anybody else disgusted with Parson?
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DeleteEtane, IMO, Lin has been so marginalized by everyone, the media, the team, the rocket fans, they will no longer be able to pin any failures on him. He will not play enough of an important role.
DeleteAn apt anology would be blaming chalmers for aMiami loss. Yup, there I said it. Lin's career trajectory is taking the shape of Chalmer's career. Thank morey.. the architect.
What? People hate Lin 4 no reason. Never compare how Lin be treated with DH. DH got his coach fired.
Deletelooks like Lin and Asik are staying.
ReplyDeletequote from Dwight "Omer might not really see the total big picture right now and I totally understand,” Howard said. “He’s a young guy and he wants to really be respected. I would tell him when I see him, ‘You’ve done a great job on this team. I’m going to help you and this team get better.’ He’s a big piece to us winning a championship if we’re going to make that run. Him and Jeremy Lin will be very good playing with me. I’m going to do whatever I can to make those guys’ lives better. I realize how much they mean to this team.”
Thats correct, both Lin and Asik are staying.
DeleteRockets' Daryl Morey Says Dwight Howard and James Harden Want Lin, Asik to Stay
Harden's time in Houston last year makes it easy to understand why he'd want Asik and Lin to return. The big man played terrific defense and did some stellar work on the boards, two things that made Harden's job much easier. Lin, who didn't have a particularly strong statistical season, still played extremely hard and displayed the kind of unselfishness that big-time scorers like Harden always appreciate.
The Rockets have shown over the past few years that they're willing to trade just about anybody, so don't be surprised if the team's stance on Lin and Asik changes abruptly. For now, though, the stars have spoken.
WTF yet another brain damaged idiot masquerading as a writer: "didn't have a particularly strong statistical season" - context like coming back from an injury just is too much to think about...
DeleteHere is how Lin can increase his stats without being overtly disruptive to the team. Last season he purposely fed Asik with inside balls which were fumbled. Lin was blamed for sending Asik bounce passes which the 7 footer had to reach down. Harden got openly annoyed when Asik fumbled his passes. This year Lin has to feed Howard, not Asik.
ReplyDeleteLast season when Harden just let his man go past him, Lin sometimes stood in front of the player to take the charging foul. This season he should reduce those because they are physically dangerous.
Lin got blamed for poor defence. Maybe he should copy Bev. If he's going to be blamed, don't waste energy on playing tough defence but do some flashy blocks now and then. However, I'm not sure about this tactic.
Naw, I love Lin's relentless defense.
DeleteOpponents constantly tried to break Lin 1 on 1. He turned back opponents and rarely was beaten off the dribble.
The reason Lin played, in my opinion, was defense. Though the Rockets coaches likely felt that Lin was an inadequate defender, the truth is that Lin was put back into games to recapture lost momentum. More often than not, poor defense by Bev and especially Harden was the reason why the Rockets lost. Not even Lin could singlehandedly stop an entire team by himself.
I find Lin just as fascinating to watch on defense as he is on offense. I feel that he is the best "2 way" guard in the entire NBA.
even the doubter like Red94 said Lin is an above average defender. That's new...lol
DeleteHe's an outstanding defender. The stats gets skewed because:
Delete1) He gets "burned" on 3s by "overhelping." Most of the time, though, he's right to overhelp because the Rockets have such piss-poor one-on-one defense.
2) Typical NBA Ref BS. Lin and other "non-stars" get whistled for breathing on opposing players while "stars" are allowed to push, hack and punch all they want.
The fact that Lebron went two weeks without a foul is just hilarious. That's like a pitcher going a four starts without having a single pitch called a ball.
I did enjoy watching Lin playing tough courageous defence. He was given the job of double teaming a forward sometimes and then he had to run back to his man trying the 3 pointer. Others then blamed him for leaving his man alone. I'd recommend that he not do it so much, or do it slower because it does not contribute to his stats and takes too much energy.
DeleteWe'll see if Howard has the ability to defend top forwards without Lin and others having to help with a lot of double teaming.
ReplyDeleteDwight Howard: Asik is a big piece to a championship
Dwight Howard might not have replaced Daryl Morey as Rockets general manager, despite Morey’s claim that Howard and James Harden had demoted him to their assistant, but Howard did have strong feelings about the Rockets keeping the Rockets’ previous starting center, Omer Asik.
He’s a big piece to us winning a championship if we’re going to make that run. Him and Jeremy Lin will be very good playing with me. I’m going to do whatever I can to make those guys’ lives better. I realize how much they mean to this team.”
Somehow I don't find this joke on reducing Morey as assistant gm funny. Everyone know that Morey WANTS to trade Lin&Asik. Actually it is kind of funny they put this story out. Really?
DeleteIt was just an indirect way of saying, "Sorry Jeremy, "I" failed to dump you, please do not mad at me when u play next season"
DeleteI echo your sentiments.
Deletelol it's sad, I think with all of those trade rumors and what not, i would imagine their chemistry to be really weird w/the rest, it's like they were not wanted and now after failing to trade them or not, it's like they're trying to awkwardly make everything seem like they're actually wanted on the team. like they're valuable assets for them to win. i find it a little sad, the damage is already done and now they have Howard and Harden deciding if Lin and Asik should go or stay? pathetic, it's funny how much can happen in a year, when did Lin and Asik's career's fate rely on these 2?
DeleteI just wish that this team would show some faith in Lin as they have shown Chandler this off season. I mean Lin has shown enough flashes last year to warrant this type of support.
ReplyDeleteThey could totally make Lin-harden- d12 work. But I just get the sense they have given up on him after one season, when he was coming off an injury. They are sticking with him for now because they don't have any choice.
And they love parsons when he hasn't shown anything to suggest that his ceiling is high as Lin's. it's like this team just ignores all the great things Lin has done.
There are 2 ball handlers in Harden and Parsons for next season. Let's hope Lin shoots 42% from 3.
DeleteYou are spot on. Damage control by the Rox hasn't been very effective and convincing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a huge difference from last year's offseason to this year's -- from the face of the franchise last year to this year's the organisation had to tweet(on a demoted position to downplay his role in trading Jeremy?) to publicly talking about looking for an upgrade. And the most funny part is that Harden had the say in keeping Jeremy on the roster? How sad.
i find that Morey's words sounds a little lame. after all the trade talks, he tries to make things better by saying they're wanted on the team. they're valuable blah blah blah, even though Harden says Lin and Asik is important, his actions on the court seems to differ, if he cared enough, then why the hell would he iso so much? if he cared why don't he just be a SG not a combo guard? it would make things a heck of a lot easier if everyone did their job or do what they're good at instead of being an all around player? he probably don't respect Lin enough because he has played w/Westbrook enough to not respect Lin's game. Besides Harden seems perfectly fine being the main ball handler, this is such BS.
ReplyDeleteAbout Asik, i honestly think that it's a huge slap in the face for him to be demoted, i just really think that they should just trade him, if he doesn't want to play then he doesn't, why are they forcing him? most likely because they want him to really back Howard up. He left the bulls to have a fresh start and he did, now he's back to where he started? i can see how he's pissed about it.
w.e they can stick it, i'm really fed up w/ how these team and org seems to view and treat Lin and Asik, I'm pretty darn sure these 2 will bolt when their contract is up.....
Can't put all the blame on Harden...might just be execution of McFail's game plan.
DeleteLife is never meant to be easy and nothing worth having in this life comes easy ....this is especially the case for Lin. Whatever happened behind the scene will only fuel him to work harder. But I'm so glad the trade talk is over!
ReplyDeleteWhy the negativity or doubting? We have plenty of time to do that when the season starts. Now lets just be happy for Lin that he gets to play with the best center and wish him the best ! I truly believe with every up and down, you learn lessons that make you strong!! Time to move on guys!!
For me, I'm just happy I now get to see Lin play in the Taiwan game!! US$530 a ticket will be well spent!!
What happened to LAL with *the best center* where the rest of their roster are not bad at all last season? Is Howard overrated?
DeleteHoward was described as the 'best center' by his agent. Problems with Magic coach and Kobe and poorer stats give Howard a chance to redeem himself.
Delete@always_lin, love that your ticket will be worth it! Only about a month and more away.
DeleteYeah, the negativity is tough to bear. Can't that be managed internally? I mean, it's not like rose colored glasses are needed to see how good things can be for Lin. His stats and his youtubes, plus his summer work ethic and dropping 45 pts for fun instead of tweeting for credit. That's a quiet strength I love.
It's for now stable in that Lin will be in LA, press is coming out that Lin and Asik are important, and PFV at CNM has a really good read on the situation. Rox had to go all out for Howard, and now that they have him with a read that D12 values Lin and Asik, they want to bring the "family" closer. And as for LA mini-camp, Lin himself talked about it at the end of the season, saying that he and Harden are organizing that in "Cali". I remember noting then, what an odd way to say it, but Jeremy must have picked up some TX accent, because no CA native calls CA Cali, nor do we ever say Frisco. Finally, when any one of us gets a $25m business over 3 years, with an entourage, that business team is probably pretty smart. Why second guess them so much? They are very active protecting JLin's interests, and if not, then I'm sure Lin's family will advise they be upgraded. Look at Joe's tweet that via reposted last thread. They aren't stupid, so why keep talking like the Lins are? And would Volvo let their investment get crushed? PR teams are working with Lin now, it's true.
Anyway, check out the youtubes of Lin Alley Oops and that vid of Howard and Lin in 2010 in Taiwan, where they line up for press photos with the whole Lin family. Some lady tells him, that's your name, Dwight Lin. "Wo xing Lin de". "I'm part Chinese. My cousin's got a Chinese mother." D12 says it more than twice in English and Chinese and not with too bad an accent. Finally, someone said he's a Christian too, so Lin now has his own Fields prayer buddy, maybe. Jeremy was never going to hang with Harden after 1am, so now the team has more cohesion.
Fingers crossed ... no offense, but I hope people here can embrace and enjoy the goodness of Lin. His military hangout vibe got totally swamped in all the fear-talk. Manage your own fears for Lin. It's tough when people get too emo on little things. Be happy that McHale is now 'assistant coach' along with Morey, and Parsons is 'toast' as Solidz pointed out. Trust me, Fields is way better than Parsons. To that discussion, Fields went to Stanford, where it's like the mecca for a PA boy. Stanford campus is like a country club, and Lin/Fields share that place as roots, plus their fait and Linsanity. I wouldn't think Fields and Lin will 'lose friends to the business'.
So maybe Dwight and Lin can be friends. Here's to new friends!
DeleteI like you JoeTeam.
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ReplyDeleteI don't think Lin will play like mario chalmers. Chalmers got Wade and james and even Bosh can't barely get a touch. Parsons is nothing without jeremy. He's just a role player who shoot 3s... Spurs got Leonard who shoot 3s and defend pretty well.
ReplyDeleteNo one knows what will happen next year. Celtics tried hard to ship Rondo in previous years and now they're claiming he's the man on whom they want rebuild; pop wanted Kidd as pg in spite of tony parker, and parker was snubbed at first by popovich cause he thought he wasn't a NBA player and played very hard on him, now he labels tony parker as the best pg in the league.
I pretty much think Lin and harden could co exist like parker and Ginobili... Parker is pretty much like Lin and Ginobili is like harden. It's all on mchale's hands to figure it out ... Now we'll see if Mchale just hates Lin or wanted to play hard on him just to see if he could build on him.
Time will tell. Anyway jeremy got 2 years left on his contract... He's not stuck in houston
Well, if morey has any trace of honor, this is what this Moonface should think at this point.
ReplyDeleteAlright, I finally got my number target on my team. I fucked over a lot of players to get to this point.
I tried to fuck over lin and asik but hell no will snyone give me back something substantial in return. Now it looks like I'm stuck with him at this point. Alright, maybe this is god's calling that I need to stop being this asshole liar and try to make something of this situation. It was my call to sign Lin so maybe I should live up to it like a man and give this kid an honest try. He's a good kid, has no ego, and did everything we asked him to do last year at the expense of his own play. He did have some great games for us, and he did improve as the season went on.
U know what. That is what I'll do. Let me see what this kid can do - instead of trying so hard to get rid of him. I mean I'm getting stressed out. Look at my face, I'm a fucking fat mess.
This is the way morey is thinking, including about himself. He is stuck so give the kid am honest try and an honest effort to make this work.