ClutchFans Game Thread: Spurs @ Rockets 12/10/2012

That's like McHale forcing Asik to be a 3 point shooter and saying there's nothing wrong with him learning to diversify his game.

 

That's a bit extreme. A point guard needs to shoot.

I haven't been crazy about the coaching, but during the off-season Lin was working on catch-and-shoot, ballhandling, his left hand. It is a legitimate weakness of his.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Rockets guard James Harden practicing today; should be able to return from sprained ankle tomorrow vs. Wizards.</p>&mdash; Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/status/278578009227788289" data-datetime="2012-12-11T19:12:27+00:00">December 11, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

This myth has to die.

Lin isn't penetrating or handling as much because he's not assertive and he's being shut out by defenses.

Douglas, Delfino, Parsons, and even Cook have gone heroball without being pulled by the coaches. This suggests they're more liberal than we believe.

This game Lin's shooting drew out his defender which opened up the court for him. This allowed some Linsanity to be shown. However, take note the Spurs had a high number of turners which Lin made them pay for. So it wasn't all Linsanity, he can be effective in other ways.

In the 4Q and OT the Spurs adjusted by having Green give Lin some room but not completely leaving him at the perimeter. The idea of hedge at the FT line and Lin will be denied has worked for opponents so far this season.

Hedge and denied. That's what has been stopping Lin's drives, not the coaches.

 

So much for the Texas rivalry games. I am not a happy Rockets fan right now. I guess this last game I shouldn't be so mad without Harden. I think they still lose with Harden, though, cause then Lin doesn't have a breakout game. These last 3 games have been brutal, though. Damn. It's going to take a while to simmer me down now. We are in urgent need of any kind of win right now. McHale comes back and we promptly go into losing mode. McHale already feels sad and this isn't helping.

 

Interesting post... what could Lin do differently?

 

Tokenism. Just saying it for the cameras.

 

So where's the highlights of Lins 38 points??

 

Rondo can't shoot or hit free throws but he's still considered elite.
Rubio can't hit the side of a barn with his shot but everyone is on his nuts anointing him elite.
John Wall shot 7% from 3-point land last season but is still talked about as a top PG.
Kyrie Irving was rated as the worst defender in the NBA by Synergy but he's in MVP talks.

Almost all players not named Lebron have weaknesses, but apparently if your name is Jeremy Lin they get magnified 100x and brought up constantly to marginalize or discredit you.

 

How true and unfair.

 

After this game, I still believe Mook has the potential to be the 2nd best scorer on this team. He's just so fluid with his shot now. Hopefully he starts chipping away at PPat's minutes

 

Some people think Rondo is severely overrated and an immature jerk incapable of leading, who got lucky to be on a team with KG and PP. Rubio -- "fancy passes and nothing more." Many people use the dreaded B word with Wall, and you aren't the first person to notice Irving's atrocious defense.

Everyone's got haters and fans. The only difference is, some Lin fans have a persecution complex.

Lin will be fine. It just takes time. He gets more respect all the time. Yes, there are haters, but I don't see nearly as much talk about his defense, turnovers, left hand, etc. He's proven himself a solid defender, he's reduced turnovers, now he needs to show he can be consistent and that he can improve off ball.

 

Yeah, sympathy for Jeremy Lin is all the vogue in the NBA, and it's always been that way. There definitely haven't been any guys who've unnecessarily taken cheap shots at him. You know, there definitely haven't been guys like J.R. Smith, Deron Williams, Jerry Stackhouse, Carmelo Anthony...

/sarcasm

 

Two thoughts stick with me after last night's thriller at the Toyota Center...

Omer Asik. A little jumper with 37 seconds left in regulation, which sends us into OT. It was a beautiful thing to behold. Wow.

Jeremy Lin calling off the PnR with regulation time ticking down to nothing. Reminds me of him looking to coach D' Antoni in that game last year against the Raptors, looking for permission go ISO on the last shot of regulation time. He hits the game winning 3, and his swagger hits the highlight reels. What is all this stuff about Lin's humility?

He should feel bad that his decision at the end of yesterday's game didn't go the way he had fantasized in his mind. When humble Lin is on the court, he's weak. When Lin with the killer instinct is playing, it's exciting. But, he has to deliver the goods if he's going to put himself in clutch situations.

Oh, and back to Asik. Wow.

 

After all that, those were the only TWO thoughts that stuck with you? Nothing about Lin's 38 points, or his outstanding battle with Duncan on that rebound...only that turnover?

I mean Lin fans only love his good points, but on the other extreme, can't you give the guy some credit?

 

Legit second guess. Maybe he should run PnR, maybe should pass, maybe..., maybe..., maybe the the game would end.

 

Absolutely, he had an awesome game and showed us what he's capable of when he lets loose his killer instinct. We had some exciting basketball last night. But, when you hold the ball in the dying seconds, call off a play to go iso, I hear you saying, "hey look at me, I'm going to be a hero", then I want to see you knock down that shot. It's not like I'm saying that he can't p!ss in the tall weeds with the big dogs.

 

Well I can't disagree with you that he really messed up that last play.
Still, I like that mentality from him, and I want to see him do it again and again.

I think though that maybe your definition of humble is probably as different as there are people. To me, being humble means not tooting your own horn, and giving credit to teammates, and accepting responsibility for your actions. It doesn't mean not taking the big shot, or letting others look down on you or step all over you.

I guess what I'm saying is that you don't fight through all the obstacles that Lin had to to get this far in the NBA without having a serious backbone, and a fierce competitive spirit. Somewhere in his mind, I'm sure he believes he is a damn good player, or he wouldn't have tried so hard to make it to the NBA.

 

He messed up.

He made a mistake calling off the screen.

And now he can learn from it.

 

Yes, those two scenarios are exactly the same...

A perimeter player should work as much as possible to expand their game. As much as Kobe is hated, he has worked tirelessly to expand his game to not only be a complete offensive threat but to prolong his career. Players that solely rely on speed and athleticism eventually break down and find their way out of the league because they have no other way of contributing or they have career ending injuries.

While he's not shooting 3s there's a reason why Asik is not the complete offensive dud that many presumed he would be. He is "diversifying" his game to the best of his ability which is what the staff is asking of him.

That being said, asking Jeremy to become merely a spot up corner 3 point shooter is not helping him diversify his game. I'd rather Lin become a pg like Andre Miller who can control the pace of a game, shoot the pull up, set up his teammates and even post up smaller points. But it takes time to truly hone those skills into a complete package. Good thing he's still young. Him and Harden have a while to grow together and I'm sure they'll be just fine in the future.