Ever since Beverly went out with a broken hand and Lin became a starter, I've noticed that Lin has been playing by far the best defense of his career. His offense has regressed and he is not aggressive as he was earlier in the season, but his perimeter defense is without a doubt the best on the team, it's not close at this point. I don't think it's a co-incidence, I think Lin is actively lobbying for his starting job with an increased focus on defense to the detriment of his offense. What do you think?
Of course Lin should start. It's as clear as how the Twin Tower experiment was doomed to fail. But no matter how well Lin plays, our douche bag of a coach has got it in for him. Lin will never start over Bev while McHale is the coach and will continue to be under utilized and utilized incorrect. Best for everyone if we just trade Lin.
He's always been a capable defender, he just gambles a lot. He likes to help on defense and get the steal instead of sticking to his own man. Normally leading to easy 3 or penetration.
Brooks is the better candidate to start IMO, Lin is playing very inconsistently with many average or even bad performances since bev went out Lin is a more willing passer though, so he should fit better but I don't think he is demonstrating starting qualities at this point
Lin should start, depending on the matchup. Either way, Lin, Beverley, and Brooks need to watch old film on Kenny Smith/Sam Cassell/Scott Brooks in '94 and emulate that.
I don't see Lin is playing very inconsistently like you said. Lin is for sure a starting quality point guard that can start in any team in this league.
I think he has outperformed Beverley.... Barely. If he actually hit his shots it wouldn't be close. I think who starts doesn't matter until Mchale either becomes a better coach , not likely or players give more effort on defense and start trusting each other on offense where the latter is more likely
All our perimeter players do that. At this point, I'm certain that is what the coach told them to do. Lin has been great on defense. He just needs to find his 3s, then he should be a lock in starting line up. Important part is he has cut down his TOs. He still makes a few bone head mistakes but it wasn't as bad as before, mostly due to he is less forced to set up his teammates.
He happens to be right. Yet another thread for aggrieved Lin fans to vent. Even after he got torched last night.
The bench has no scoring or leadership. Keep him on the bench because starting wont determine anything
In which world is holding your matchup to 35% shooting "torched". But nevermind, i'm an aggrieved Lin fan, so facts dont matter.
Let me have some of that good new year stuff. Only in the minds of the puffed up would 6/17 for 17 points be considered torched. Try 7/10 for 14 points......if the former is considered torching then the latter would mean death?
didn't see him getting torched. not good defense though. i would say average defense. slightly above average first half, slightly below average second half. Lin was running into multiple screens all night. and Boogie sets a pretty solid screen. it wasn't like IT was blowing by Lin (with the exception of a few possessions) the same way Jimmer was blowing by AB (on multiple occasions).
Lin's been playing well all season. His offense didn't regress, if anything he picked up where he left off before his 3 week knee/back injury. I don't think he's actively seeking his former starting job (although being eminently suitable for it). Once Bev returns, Lin will likely be 6th man again. Regardless, the decision isn't his, it's McHale's. Even if the coaching staff wanted Bev to come off the bench, they wouldn't be comfortable doing it. His ability to help the second unit is very limited. McHale likes Bev since he brings "energy" and "pop" (lol) but unfortunately there isn't much more than that.
Hope less Harden and more Bev/Lin combo when Bev comes back. While Lin may be undersized to guard some 2s at least Bev and Lin really bust their butts on defense. Bev/Lin combo shows team work on offense too. Reduce both Harden's minutes and the teams dependence on him and that may mean Bev, Lin and others not always giving him the ball when he demands and going through Dwight or Parsons. Brooks tend to dribble on his own and try to make his own thing happen and not look to always give it to Harden. I kind of like that about him. Also Brooks should get some minutes, no more DNPs from him.
There is really no case to be made. The Rockets seems to be the only team that would start Beverly instead of Lin so obviously they have some other reason aside from just skill. If AB was younger then I would agree.
