[NBA Hangtime Blog] Is it the start, or not, of real Linsanity?

I don't think Linsanity was a fluke: a guy doesn't perform like that for 20 games in a row just by accident. Linsanity was the result of having the right player inside the right set of circumstances. Put Lin--right now--inside a lineup of NBA scrubs and role players...guys who can finish at the basket and hit open threes, let him run the show, have his confidence running high, and...voila, you have a 30+ point/10 assist night just like Lin did against the Spurs. Okay, so maybe he won't play like that every game but he certainly will up his level of play when he is allowed to run the show. I think Lin with Asik, DMo, Garcia and Casspi (and possibly Bev) would be absolutely nasty: that unit would destroy any other second unit in the league. Nice article.

 

This conveniently ignores the fact that he started the season still recovering from injury. His post ASB splits are much different.

Ah, the soft bigotry of low expectations.

 

Lin should be 6th man. its the only way to show people what he can do. when the bench starts playing better team ball than the starters, people will start to realize the real value of a guy like lin...

 

Lin plays good with both groups, the bench and the starters, the problem is that Bev is not so effective with the bench.

Sure this might be true, but why don't they mention that Lin also play very good with the starters. I hope Lin gets to play with the bench and the starters and limiting Bev playing with the bench and more with the starters.

 

In the Pelicans game the starting unit with Lin running the point was like a well-oiled machine: ball movement, body movement, 3 or 4 passes and then an easy bucket or wide open shot. Then Bev and the second unit came in and everything changed: the Pelicans came back. Yes, the starters need Jeremy too.

 

But against the Pacers, our starting lineup also did well. So this would seem to suggest than its the bench that needs Jeremy more than the starters (though, of course, can't really draw any strong conclusion from a few preseason games).

 

The PG who runs the best half court offense should be the starter whoever that is

 

Doesn't matter if the Lin-lead bench goes on a 20-0 run, people will just say, "That's easy, they're playing against the other team's bench scrubs. They still can't compete against a team's starting lineup."

 

Man. Why even bother posting if you can't draw conclusions from small sample size in the preseason?

Having seen the performance of the first team with JLin as 6th man, and without having seen Asik at all this year, I conclude we will win 70 games, and JLin or Caspi will be 6th man of the year. And Parsons will join Howard and Harden as allstars.

We will crush opposing teams, see them driven before us, and to hear the lamentations of their, um, cheerleaders.

A blind man could see it. In fact, the whole blindness thing helps.

 

I will be glad when people get over the Linsanity thing.

 

Has Lin played 1 good playoff game yet?

 

We have DH12. You have to have a guard who can run a half court offense effectively with a player like Dwight. Howard is a lethal weapon in the half court. Teams know what the Rockets like to do from last year. So they are definitely going to try and slow us down now. Last year if they forced us to play in the half court, they would just defend our back court & dare our front court to beat us. Now with DH12 in the front court & our back court the same we are a lot more lethal in the half court. Therefore the PG who runs the best half court offense will start.

 

No. What does that matter?

 

Setting aside critique of his game (IMO he gets pumped up way too high by his fans, and gets held to crazy standards by his critics), Lin hasn't played many games at all, let alone healthy. He had the knee injury in New York, then the chest thing. His playoff experience is 4 games, 1 1/2 injury free.

 

My thoughts exactly - why interject that into what's currently a more potent and playoff-worthy team.

 

Being 6th man might just be the best thing for the team and Lin. He still deserves more minutes than Bev though.

 

Lin works harder and is better at getting the ball to Howard. He missed an alley oop against the pelicans that he will get that down soon enough. There is no question Bev is the better on the ball defender. but that is not needed as much with Howard in there.

Honestly there is an argument for starting and playing Lin off the bench but the reality we haven't seen enough to know which option is better. It might not be till december before we really know.