I didn't say you hate him. I just said that using manu as an example of why Lin should be the 6th man is disingenuous. Not every player flourishes in the 6th man position like manu did. Even Harden who was 6MOY in OKC wasn't truly content being a 6th man same goes for JR Smith. There is absolutely no guarantee that Lin would be a great 6th man like manu was. And also, Harden is going to be on the court playing big minutes so there will always be a battle for the ball with Lin even if he comes off the bench. I have said that 100 times now but it needs repeating.
It sucks even more that "the Hate" actually happened. (during playoffs) And people like that GlenRice guy above do exist. Hating is way toned down now but denial isn't that good.
To be fair, I think our interior defense grew by leaps and bounds with the addition of Howard. A lot of those points would be negated with better defense at the rim. I would accept those stats as applicable if they were accumulated with this season's lineup.
You're actually not being fair here. If Bev was a great defensive player having Asik should be good enough. Very few point guards in the league get the luxury of having a twin towers in the middle to make up for their mistakes. If Bev getting burned is not applicable, then Lin getting burned last year shouldn't be either. But of course, that's not the case. Both are applicable.
$25 million contract. If Lin moves to the bench and doesn't get utilized as a supersub, I really find no reason to keep Lin around. And I'm not saying Lin deserves more PT because of his salary (although personal I do think he does because of talent) but you really are letting cap and roster space go to waste. Furthermore I just think it's fair to the player if you're not going to use him, move him. And why risk turning off future free agents.
This. Defense is harder to rate than offense, so people have to go by the eye test, which is subject to huge bias, intentional or subconscious. At one point, Lin last year was rated one of the top defenders in the NBA. No joke. Remember that there were those that thought Tony Douglas was a better defender than Lin, which is not true. "Activity" does not equal effectiveness. I'm not saying that Lin as a massively better defender than Beverly, but we should stop discounting Lin as a mediocre or poor defender. Lin's defense has always been ahead of his offense throughout his career, even though he gets attention for his offense (as with almost all NBA players other than defensive specialists).
Most of Bev. match-up is bench player, he didn't care the foul trouble and not on scouting report. If he starts, his stat won't be the same. Lin's stat in NYK is at all-star level, partly due to small sample size. http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/47791/ Isolation plays are where Lin excels. He scored the third most points per play of the 91 players with at least 75 isolation plays last season, trailing only Chris Paul and James Harden. Of the 102 players who attempted at least 90 jumpers off the dribble, only Stephen Curry and Steve Nash shot a higher field goal percentage than Lin.
Synergy had Lin very slightly ahead in overal defensive PPP. So I would say that Beverley is not better than Lin in overall defense.
The funny thing is, Lin is a better defender than people give him credit for, and Beverley is a better playmaker than people give him credit for. Bev and Lin could change roles (with Bev leading the second unit) and the team would be fine. It's just that some people have a preference for a player starting, often with some pretty vague justifications.
Let's not fight over PRESEASON stats. You know it doesn't say much when George Hill leads the assists category. And Reggie Jackson's stats is amongst top 5 PG of the preseason.
Lin need to bring back his mid-range jumper. 2011/12 -> 2012/13 At Rim .52>.637 3 to <10 ft .423>.314 10 to <16 ft .516>.227 16 ft to <3-pt .456>.411 Giving up mid range jumper is a stupid idea. It makes the offense predictable.
The justification only appears vague to those who don't realize that the goal is to have the most effective and optimal PG fit next to James Harden, our #1 offensive option. And yes, Beverley, in this instance is the "ideal fit" next to Harden.
I disagree with this whole coaches no better attitude. There are some really stupid NBA coaches out there. Not saying that McHale & co fall under that category just saying that coaches don't always no better & that they are human just like the rest of us subject to there own biases etc.
Didn't we beat the Warriors with Lin leading the team because Harden was hurt or was that LAC with Chris Paul. Anyway, Lin led the team and did well against Curry and Paul last year. Should't you go with success? What's the saying - Don't change horses mid stream.
