Barkley believes in Lin, must account for something http://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/809628&usatref=sportsmod?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|p
One of his better games was the Pacers back to back. Or the Bulls game or even the Bucks game. Or the sixers game under woodson was nice as well. He had a bunch of really solid games. The kid can play.
I think I'll point toward the 76ers game where he just could not get his game going and had to attack the rim for foul shots was one of the most defining moments for me. That desire to win and killer instinct ~ just the way he elevated under pressure, and the game after the heat when he dropped 19pts and 13 assists - rebounding from a terrible game and stepping up to the plate. Every player has bad games ~ I think the defensive commentary in part has to do with only select members of the knicks. I've watched and at times been a part of it - pointing out the efforts or sometimes lack of effort w/ 2 players only. Commentary later by Melo and other teammates only confirmed what tape review already had discovered. If you look at the initial rise the skeleton crew minus melo and amare all hustled and came out of the woodwork. Their efforts - and everyone associated with Lin on that team that busted their butts earned, Landry a sweet $20m contract w/ Toronto; Jeffries a great contract he was looking for (far beyond a veterans minimum); and Novak finally was recognized and given a 15 million dollar contract. Chandler of course already had a mega contract - and melo amare are max cats. I have no doubt in my mind that the Houston Rockets will come out as a team and hustle as a team and work together as a team - I understand your concerns but there is no one like Melo or Amare on the Rockets. Its just not going to be even close. I'm super excited to watch Donatas, White, Chandler Parsons, Lamb and the others whom remain on the roster at the beginng of the regular season. I can just tell by their refreshing attitudes and how they've spoken out and/or performed in the past and during summer league.
Artis Gilmore is in the Hall of Fame. He was drafted in the seventh round, 117th overall in 1971. Someone like him would have gone undrafted this year. Dan Issel is another Hall of Famer. He was drafted in the eighth round, 122nd overall in 1970. Bill Laimbeer, 4-time all-star, was drafted in the 3rd round, 65th overall. Mark Eaton made the all-star game in 1989. He was drafted in the 4th round, 72nd overall in 1982. Mario Elie was drafted in the 7th round, 160th overall in 1985. Allen Leavell was drafted in the 5th round, 104th overall in 1979. Neither of them were all-stars, nor are they in the Hall of Fame. But as former Rockets they just had to be included in this list of underdogs. None of the people mentioned above, had they been young players eligible for the draft this year, would have been picked. So draft position is not necessarily an indication of talent. Either Lin can play, or he can't. His draft position is irrelevant.
JJ Barea was undrafted. He is now an NBA Champion and was a pivotal piece of the Mavericks success against the heat.
PG position is stacked. Conservatively, he'll be a top 10 PG in a few years, if he's not there already; optimistically, sky is the limit. I think he'll be a top 5 PG in his prime. Right now, it's probably like this: 1) Derrick Rose TIE 1) CP3 3) Rondo 4) Deron Williams 5) Westbrook TIE 5) Tony Parker 7) Nash 8) Kyrie Irving TIE 8) Ricky Rubio 10) Steph Curry 11) Jeremy Lin TIE 11) Ty Lawson 12) John Wall 13) Brandon Jennings In 2-3 years, i could see it looking something like this: 1) Derrick Rose TIE 1) CP3 3) Rondo 4) Westbrook 5) Deron Williams 6) Tony Parker 7) Ricky Rubio 8) Kyrie Irving 9) Jeremy Lin 10) Steph Curry 11) Ty Lawson 12) John Wall 13) Brandon Jennings If Lin is 20/8 next year, i'd put him already ahead of Kyrie and Rubio.
Rubio's stats in this year is not as good as Lin's. (Very low FG% around .350, slightly better TO/Assist ratio but less PPG). Lin had some really good clutch shots over the 28 games. I wouldnt rate Lin behind Rubio or Wall but definitely not before Jennings nor Lawson.
I put Rubio ahead of Lin just because of his passing. He has that Rondo-esque aura, and the T-Wolves have even more pieces this year. I think Lin is already better than Wall in many areas. Plus he's made John Wall just look plain silly in their head to head matchups already. Ty Lawson has that "it" factor. I think that he could certainly be a star, but I put him behind Lin because he's undersized. Also, I personally think Lin has the better all-around game. Lawson does have just as much upside as Lin, if not more, I think. Jennings. No. Just no. He's a score first PG even more than Westbrook and DRose, and he's really inefficient in doing it (41%). In my book, Lin is much better.
I, too, think Lin's game is quite unique and has an interesting upside. Lin tends to be score first PG however. I remember him taking almost 20 shots in some of the games. That's never something a Pass-First PG would do. I hope Lin will develop his passing mentality because his lob passes and bounce passes are really good in some of his games. He has the ability to do it. It just has to be more consistent. A good passing ability will open up the lane even more for him to take the drive to basket. To be honest with you, I still think Dragic should rate higher than Lin at this point alone with Jennings and Lawson for what they bring to the games consistently. But Lin will surpass them. It's just a matter of "How soon?"
Yah it's very tough. The PG position is just so stacked. No other way to put it. Dragic certainly belongs in the conversation. He's wildly underrated, and has always played well as a starter. I think you are right; right now, he probably is higher than Lin. I find Lin to be a gifted scorer, but on the other hand, I find he does look to find others before his own shot. For Jennings, I think part of it is they have never had a reliable offense, so he was always a bedrock scorer for them. It'll be interesting how Monta and Jennings get along in the back court next year, since both like to be the primary offensive weapon.
can't wait for bit more excitement in the TOyota Center <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/npmM8SexRow" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
If I get to choose PG position between Lin and the rest of PGs listed with the same talents around them, I wouldn't mind taking Lin over others. I feel its like knowing what everyone else can do but still unsure what Lin's ceiling is. We know he can't go left and has turnovers. I think it's a common case for most young good players. Looking at Westbrooks rookie stats, and Rondo's rookie stats, I have reasons to believe that Lin could develop his game like the rest of the elite guards. Lin may have received more hypes than he deserved due to his ethnicity but some of the criticisms to him IMHO is unjustified, especially for a young player. It is like telling people that by looking at Rubio's poor shooting ability or Irving's high turners, those young kids wont flourish in the future because of those flaws. Young players develop and learn. Especially those ones with drive to win. I certainly think Lin has a lot to prove everybody wrong; isnt it something he has been doing since high school days?
I agree. I think he will be an elite guard. The hype for him goes both ways. He'll always be in the spotlight and under the microscope. He'll always have doubters and critics. He'll just have to adjust. As a minority in the NBA, i believe he'll always have to play better, be more accomplished, and be that much better of a person, just to get the same amount credit as any one else. This will always be the case. Rubio has only 35% shooting. Deron's rookie year he had only 10PPG, while essentially being a starter. Dwayne Wade came into the league with an extremely high TO rate. But somehow for Lin, I believe he'll always have to perform out of this world, just to get the same cred. Nature of the beast, I guess.
I am surprised you tied the two rookies, Rubio with Kyle. in a head and head poll, Kyle will win every single time. For future selections, you need to extrapolate their progress. I dont expect Rose (torn ACL and prone to injuries) to be the same player as his MVP year. There is nowhere to go but down for Rose CP3 and Deron since they all peaked already. Ty, Kyle, Curry, Jenny, Westbrook will move up that ladder instead of staying about the same. In 2-3 years, Parker will be an aging PG playing with a younger roster. By then the top PG will be between Rondo, Westbrook, CP3, and possible Kyle. 2nd tier will be Rose, Deron, Rubio, Curry, Ty, Jenning, and Lin. 1. Westbrook 2. CP3 2. Rondo 4. Kyle 5. Ty 6. Rose 7. Curry 8. Jenning 9. Lin 10 Deron 11. Rubio 12. Parker I know the future list is debatable, but the truth is, no one can be certain. Just ask Lin!
The few appearances he made as a Rocket had me posting that he was a "keeper." Largely, because of the "it" factor. He flashed an explosive first step and he just seemed very confident. I was mega upset when we cut him. I saw several of his NY games and he was just phenomenal. I still have some reservations, was that the "perfect storm?" Maybe, but it could be a preview of even greater attractions.
If we look at his Adjusted PER, he is already the 7th best PG in the league. He's going to be a good one. http://hoopdata.com/advancedstats.aspx
