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

He at least halfway made up for it by stripping Timmy D on the Spurs' last play.

Honestly, even if Lin scored, I would've bet that Neal guy or Ginobili to sink a 3 to tie or to win.

 

No, he's not penetrating enough because he's not getting the screens he used to get back in NY. I've said this before but even CP3 said that getting screens is HUGE for penetration. If it was D'antoni or some other coach, they would make other players set screens for Lin. Sadly, its Mchale and he doesnt know what he's doing.

 

Well said and can't agree more. Lin needs to learn how to play off ball with more efficiency. He has improved a lot in defense.

Nevertheless, Lin's strength is his ability to read the defense, so he has to be the main ball distributor, not a spot up shooter. Otherwise he's no better than Douglas. Lin's game is truly fun to watch when he dare to penetrate and able to finish.

 

Forgive him, he just can not think too much, it is all for lin's own good. LOL

 

re-watched the game tonight... damn, the Spurs are really the best... can't help admiring their team and their ball movement..

Tony Parker is a class act... his comment on Lin before the game might have gave Lin some confidence (if Lin ever read comments pre-game).

 

He has explained in interviews why he waived off the other guys in order to iso in the Toronto game-winner. He said that he wanted to clear room in the lane and that if the screeners came in, their guys would pack the paint and he would get doubled on a drive. Because he waived the guys away, the threat of him driving into the cleared lane forced Calderon to back off, which gave him the space he took advantage of for the game-winner. His iso's scores were tops in the league last year. So it's not lack of humility, but situational awareness that caused him to waive off the screens and iso in Toronto.

Unfortunately, this time around, he underestimated the defensive intensity of Green and got the ball poked away, but it doesn't necessarily mean he made the wrong call. Calling for a screen from Asik would have meant Asik's man could help double him, and passing to Asik to finish could be a risky options since Asik isn't always a reliable finisher.

He's young and he'll learn from this. The lesson is to pay more attention to the defender, so that he won't get the ball poked away the next time. Not all of them will be as much of a defender as Green, and not all of them will be as obliging as Calderon. This is a good learning experience for his growth as the Rocket's PG going forward. He's now experienced both possibilities in the same situation with Green and Calderon.

These are the kind of end game crunchtime scenarios he needs to experience and learn from, the type of experiences that he was denied when the coaching pulled him out and benched him for Douglas to end games, thus hindering Lin's learning curve. There's no substitute for experience.

But what it does mean is that not calling for a screen wasn't necessarily a wrong call. It could well have gone bad even if he did ask for a screen. His rationale is sound, and it wasn't because of lack of humility.

I'm not excusing what happened, but it's a learning experience. The type that can only be gotten by being in a game during crunch time situations in the end. Good for his growth, good for the future of the Rockets.

 

Just watched the game over again...Tim Duncan is a class act. After the foul he pulled Lin up and gave him a nice pat on the back.

 

NBA TV is replaying this game right now-Previously recorded.. How ironic that we can't watch the Rockets live but a recorded from the previous night, it's all fine and dandy???

 

Yeah, Duncan is a classy guy. In their preseason collision, Duncan grabbed onto Lin's jersey (almost as trying to reduce the impact of Lin hitting the floor) and actually stayed with Lin to make sure he was okay.

 

Maybe cos Duncan knew David Robinson would call him up and yell at him if he hurt Lin.
Cos we all know David Robinson is Linsane! :grin:

 

LOL, that's right, The Admiral did say he's a huge fan of Lin.

Nice one! :grin:

 

Response

I agree.

 

Replay...NBA tv in a few minutes