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[FOX]Olajuwon: Dwight Howard, Jeremy Lin 'combination is very deadly'

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by eomor131, Sep 18, 2013.

  1. The Cat

    The Cat Contributing Member

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    Same. I think Lin is a very good player, when healthy. But in addition to his burst, Jeremy's best assets are his strength and ability to finish around the basket -- both of which are far above average for his position. They would also make him a viable post option, in theory, as Dream said. Unfortunately, he takes quite a pounding on those drives... and it remains to be seen if he can make it the majority of 82 games + an additional 10-20 playoffs. He hasn't the last two years. Not saying he can't, but it's definitely a valid question.
     
  2. Jetfuel

    Jetfuel Member

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    The Dream has spoken! Can't wait for the new season. It looks like those reports of Harden and Howard being very keen to have Lin on the team weren't just exaggerations by Morey trying to pump up Lin's value for the inevitable trade. Sounds like Howard knows that Lin can get him the ball in good areas and practicing together in Aspen would have helped cement that.

    But hey, if Howard can make Lin look good and get his value up for a trade at the deadline to get a strong PF, all while winning for the Rockets, that's not a bad thing either.

    Maybe there will be a choice to make then about whether the team really needs Lin to start or whether Beverly will be good enough to do the job if a good PF is brought in and Jeremy needs to be traded to make way, but it would be nice for the Rockets to have that choice.
     
  3. Jetfuel

    Jetfuel Member

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    I think in fairness, his first season playing major minutes all of a sudden for the Knicks when he was only getting blow out minutes up to that point, and then Dantoni rode him REALLY hard + the pounding he was taking, it was to be expected.

    Last season was unlucky, but I think he missed out in not having a bit of rest near the end of the season like Harden and Chandler got.

    Hopefully this time, everyone will have lighter minutes as we finish games earlier with more blowouts and we'll be in such a strong position come the end of the reg season that coach will be able to afford resting Lin as well prior to the playoffs.
     
  4. tinywang

    tinywang Contributing Member

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    Dmorey on Jeremey Lin per Reddit ama


    It is amazing to me that all the time I encounter people feeling negative about Jeremy's season with us. I have chalked this up to:
    -- he started off slow, mostly do to getting 100% back from injury
    -- very high, unrealistic expectations after his time in New York
    -- had a rough ending in the playoffs, again due to injury
    -- people generally remember starts & ends more than anything else
    -- people generally compare things to their expectations when forming opinions versus look at the big picture
    Last year was Jeremy's 1st full year in the league. Essentially his rookie year. If last season would have been his rookie year and he never would have played in New York, right now people would be appropriately talking about him incessantly as one of the top young rookie stars in the league. He was the starting point guard on a playoff team in West at age 24!!! Don't get me started on this. Too late...
     
  5. dragician

    dragician Member

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    TO is deadly too.
     
  6. KlutchQT

    KlutchQT Contributing Member

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    Annnnnnnnnnd we're off. :rolleyes:
     
  7. KlutchQT

    KlutchQT Contributing Member

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    THIS.


    And it goes for LOHs and LOFs. The whole thing is tired, and I'm incredibly sick of people purporting to be "Rockets fans" and then devoting all of their energy to degrading one of our players -- be it Lin or Beverley. If that's what gets you off, okay. But don't call yourself a Rockets fan, because you aren't.
     
    1 person likes this.
  8. FoOLiSh_AzN

    FoOLiSh_AzN Member

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    yeah Lin might be overpaid but people on this forum getting mad at LIN for taking 8m? if you wanna play the blame game, why don't people blame Morey for signing 8m a year? oh yeah, Morey is god here, can't say anything bad about him.

    Is Lin 8x better than Bev? No, he is not, but he is still a better point guard than Bev. He could run an offense better bev, a better shooter, and taller & bigger in size. But I do love Bev's defense and toughness.
     
  9. saleem

    saleem Contributing Member

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    I am not speaking for Karolik. The playoffs will be more physical. I think Jeremy can handle it. He needs to get a bit stronger,that's all.
     
  10. conquistador#11

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    Dream going to be on with MT! in 30 minutes,yo!
     
  11. Jpripper88

    Jpripper88 Member

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    Sigh...no, that isn't what he is saying at all.
     
  12. Firebomb525

    Firebomb525 Member

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    I think Lin and Beverely will be one of the best PG duos in the league.
    Bev brings that toughness, that hustle, and that defensive intensity we all love to see. Lin is the floor general, the pinpoint passer and maestro of the P&R.

    I love having them both on this team and am very happy with both of them. Let them work on their weaknesses (which I know they are) and we will be fine. Have a Smith/Cassell dynamic or, for a more recent example, Brooks/Lowry
     
  13. Bigsupervise

    Bigsupervise Member

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    ---Who cares how much Lin makes? Lin has earned that money by having numerous big games in the league. Beverly has not, he is a backup energy guard off the bench. The Rockets need as much talent as possible to beat the Heat so trading away the 3rd or 4th most talented guy on the team because the 9th most talented guy is cheaper is ridiculous.
     
  14. CasaDolce

    CasaDolce Rookie

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    "Olajuwon pointed out to Lin 'If you catch those little guys in the game that guard you, your advantage should be in the post."

    Nate Robinson faints :grin:
     
  15. mdrowe00

    mdrowe00 Member

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    Well, if Hakeem Olajuawon is to be believed...
    ..ther Rockets should be hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy in downtown H-town next season, no problem!:cool:

    But in all seriousness...

    ...if there is going to be ONE immediate, positive impact (aside from the obvious) from Dwight Howard's acquisition a few weeks ago...

    ...I think that will be seen in the play of Jeremy Lin next season, barring any truly unfortunate and unforseen circumstances.

    I tend to agree with Daryl Morey, on average, about the largely negative assessments of Jeremy Lin's play for the team last season. The most significant factor in Lin's (some might say underachieving or underproducing) play was the 11th hour acquisition of James Harden. As the season stood before that deal happened, the Rockets were going to play the game, offensively, largely through Lin's skillset. The adjustment to the level of expectation for success that Harden brought almost immediately curtailed everyone's expectations and forced everyone's roles to adjust.

    That seemed to affect no two people on the squad more profoundly than Lin and Kevin McHale.

    It would be hard for me to determine if McHale was just going to be hard on his starting point guard regardless of the situation, or if, as I suspect, a coach will do whatever he has to to win the next game in front of him...and gifted a revelatory talent like Harden made choosing the "win now" option easiser for him.

    Harden was more likely to make a winning play in the late stages of games (theoretically) than Lin was, because of the larger sample size that Harden had given everybody from his time in Okahoma City. As raucous as Lin's rise was in New York, it was still largely limited in scope. It's not that the hyperbole was unwarranted...just a bit premature. "Proven" and "unproven" still factor a great deal into a coach's decision-making, on average.

    The league is particularly point-guard friendly now. That doesn't automatically mean that you hand the offensive reins over to the first point guard you run across, but generally, I would have liked for the responsibilities of both Harden and Lin to become a bit more traditional, even with the roster still fairly undecided.

    Where Howard will, in my opinion, pay instant dividends is in the decision to let Jeremy Lin be the point guard for the Rockets (and by default, the playmaker/decision-maker), and let James Harden be the scoring wing.

    In a perfect world (or a half-court setting, whichever comes first), I would rather see a Dwight Howard/Jeremy Lin pick-and roll on the strong side of the court, and James Harden on the weak-side of the court. Offensive balance would begin to be served.

    Oftentimes, with a talent like Harden, the overwhelming temptation is to give him the ball and let him decide what to do with it, almost to the exclusion of everthing else. And that's especially easy to do when he is unquestionably your best offensive player.

    That hasn't changed of course, despite Howard's arrival. Harden's offensive versatility is precisely why ball-handling and decision-making are not at a high priority for him on this team. As the third cog in the Oklahoma City wheel, he often took the role that Russell Westbrook left him whenever Westbrook would sit. With the Rockets, Harden isn't going to be needed to do that as often as some of us might suspect, if that responsibility belongs first to Lin.

    For all the proffering of Howard's "improvement" and "potential" (if such things can even exist for a player in his 10th year in the league), Howard will not be much more offensively than what he has always been, even at his 2009 peak. What I hope Howard becomes is more consistent offensively (and that would mean, to me, dramatically improving his free-throw percentage), which would almost by default help the rest of the team settle in around him and focus on what they might do best offensively (either shooting or slashing).

    Howard can't be the offensive player that Hakeem was for more than the obvious reasons. Howard is still "raw" as a post option, and doesn't make especially good decisions with the basketball as a passer. Howard's deisre for "more touches" (something he harped on incessantly in Orlando) will have to be mitigated for the time being. And pick-and-roll baskeball with him is the best way to do that, I think.

    Again, Harden doesn't need to be accommodated offensively, He's going to "get his", as we used to say, so touches for him aren't at a premium. Howard will need to be involved offensively, bacause his greatest strengths are his mobility and athleticism. A good point guard in pick-and-roll situations, with Howard's ability to finish those plays...or at least draw inordinate amounts of attention as he rolls to the basket...will be able to flourish if he can make good decisions. That is one aspect of Lin's play that is a bit overlooked, if only because here in Houston we didn't get to see it often.

    As critical as I may sound of Howard (because he's as good a big man as you're likely to find in the NBA for the next several seasons), he's going to be pivotal in the Rockets' rise. He's kind of the ballast between Lin and Harden that the team needed in order to find some way to keep the both of them on the court and not relegate Lin to a bystander and suspect perimeter shooter more often than would be good.

    And Hakeem's a homer anyway...
    ...he's SUPPOSED to be a LOF...
    ...right;)?
     
  16. rockbox

    rockbox Around before clutchcity.com

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    I'm really excited about this team and Lin. I haven't been this excited about the team since Barkley.
     
  17. tomato123

    tomato123 Rookie

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    Salty Dragic fans

     
  18. arjun

    arjun Member

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    its so awesoem to have hakeem back as part of the organization. it just seems right.
     
  19. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    Jeremy is now blessed by Clutch City. The Greatest Immortal City in Basketball History.

    Dream exorcised all that Knicks Crap that out of his system (cause Knicks crap sucks )
    and now Jeremy can just be about team and city.

    Clutch City.
     
    1 person likes this.
  20. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    "Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon, in his new role with the Houston Rockets as the team's player development specialist, is very impressed with what point guard Jeremy Lin brings to the table."

    Two things jumped out at me from this quote. One, I finally heard from Dream's own lips what his position is with the Rockets (he has a position with the Rockets!!!), which has me very, very excited (thanks, Les!), and two, he has a very high opinion of Jeremy, and sees him as a major contributor this season in more ways than some of us might have imagined before The Man spoke.

    I'm trippin' out about this season's potential, folks. Pray for luck with the "i" word. It's the only thing that could keep us from the Western Conference Finals, in my humble opinion.
     

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