Good job Rookie, exposing your LOF tendencies in your first post of this turrible thread. Just turrible.
Starting to feel a bit sorry for Lin. Cool guy who just wants to play in the NBA but the hype & THAT contract has pretty much put the spotlight & a target on an average player who still has alot of deficiencies in his game. I could see him becoming a serviceable Lowry/Gogi/Conley type player in 2-3 years with patience but the feel-good story is pretty much over since he got paid. Only real problem with Lin is the fact he spent a month promoting his brand in Asia when he should have been working on his weaknesses throughout the summer. Even got a Team USA invite to practice with the best players in the World which he bizarrely rejected to attend the ESPY's or whatever. (Might be wrong on this) Unless he's really just a marketing ploy to fill Les' pockets then I could see getting rid of two Top 15 PG's for a work-in-progress in Lin, eventually cost Morey his job.
Noting that this is a preseason where young players are supposed to make mistakes and try to learn from them, and also noting that we should wait until JLin plays at least around 25 regular games, my guess at this point would be that he will be an above average NBA player if he can develop a solid jumper. Otherwise, because most teams and opposing players would be keyed on him, his score will be down but that should present a better opportunity to make assists If JLin can show an outside shooting threat. Otherwise, they are going to give him open jump shots and play off him and then try to cut passing lanes. This also means other Rockets players have to realize that they can take advantage of this and make open shots. I expect JLin to have an average stats of around 12 to 14 points per game, 9 assists and around 3 turnovers and 2 steals per game. But I do think it's not fair or wise to judge him on several preseason games. Lastly, I think JLin played ok during the first two preseason games, even though his shots were not working. I can tell you now that he is not going to be making as many driving to the basket shots without getting slammed. Yes, it's true that his fame precedes his skills at this point, but all JLin wanted to do was play basketball without being under microscope, but the nature of media and sports fans who either want a hero or a villain will not allow this. I don't feel sorry for JLin who already is set for life financially, but I do feel sorry for him that he will feel a lot of pressure whether he wants to play for God or not. Unfortunately, he is still in the real world which is populated by people who want to see him fail. However, keep in mind that JLin never wanted this much fame, but I think he understands that he has to rise up and meet the challenge. Given his character and past challenges he met, I am confident that he will give it one hell of try. I am rooting for JLin to succeed, and if he fails, I will feel sad, because I like to see good guys like JLin, Durant and D Rose do well.
You are wrong on this on so many levels. And your comment that he shouldn't have a life is absurd considering the fact that everyone Rocket players, coaches, former teammates, former coaches, current coaches, media personality have commented on how hard of a worker he is. This is a re-curing theme I see amongst a lot of fans to NBA players. These guys have lives to. Frequently I see fans tweeting players who are active on twitter to stop tweeting and focus on your game. That is just bull ****. The majority of these players spend 5-6 hours a day working on there craft. Relax with that nonsense. And that feel good story stuff was bull. I like Lin the good guard all that "Linsanity" stuff is pointless noise.
i feel like this topic has been beaten to a pulp already so why do we keep bringing it up after every other preseason game? is jeremy lin a superstar player? no. is he jeremy lin a franchise cornerstone? more than likely not. with that being said, i do think he can be more than serviceable and is well worth the money that the Rockets have invested in him. jeremy lin was brought into the fold because frankly the organization understands that the team is more than likely another 3-5 years from being able to obtain "contender" status and will be able to generate revenue DESPITE what is expected to be a less-than-stellar win-loss record at the end of the season. simply put, if you aren't the lakers, heat, or the thunder, there isn't a point at throwing gargantuan amounts at second-rate stars that will have running around in circles much like the hawks and grizzlies. if you can't win many games, you might as well make some money and make sure your bottom-line profit is in the green. it's no secret that the rockets have been struggling with attendance and ratings and the addition of jeremy lin is exactly what the rockets needed. in other words, the move was probably more so a business move than it was for basketball reasons. this isn't to take anything away from jeremy lin the basketball player, but we lost depth at the PG position (losing Dragic and Lowry) to pay more for a similar caliber basketball talent and there really is only one way to justify the additional expense -- it's business. lowry and dragic wouldn't be able to generate the buzz and revenue that Lin could and if we had kept both of those guys only to see similar basketball returns year after year as the team's revenues and attendance continue it's downward spiral, what's in it for the team's investors? jeremy lin is a marketing juggernaut and a "superstar" in the business sense. it makes perfect sense for the rockets to invest in jeremy lin. however, jeremy lin is more than likely a "stopgap" before the team finds it's real franchise cornerstone.
To "cooliobob" You do make a pretty good point, even though I think JLin will turn out to be more than serviceable.
Go back to the Knicks board. He doesn't need you feeling sorry for him and there was a reason why he didn't practice with the Team USA which I'm pretty sure you know when you even know he attended the ESPYs.
He didn't play with Team USA because he didn't have a contract in place so why risk injury before securing a paycheque? It was a smart career/business move. How will he turn out with the Rockets? I cannot say only after only 3 preseason games. We've seen that he's displayed good floor generalship but also the bad habits of the past which causes turnovers. His shooting hasn't been the sharpest either so he still has some work to do. I agree that his Chinese tour might have slowed down his offseason development so hopefully he will use this preseason to get back into the groove. I also think that because of being over-worked last year he chilling a little bit right now, maybe a bit too much for coach McHale's liking lol.
How come we can't edit our posts? I forgot to add that I think he will be above average, maybe not star level this year but above average.
In the entire history of the league, not a single player has ever recovered from a few bad pre-season games to go on to a productive NBA career. Not one. It has never happened. At this point, we should just cut our losses and dump Lin for a late 2nd-round pick, and maybe a couple hundred towels to use in the locker room.
Lin won't be a star, but he'll be a solid piece. This kid only started 30 games in his career, and he's not 100% healthy. Let's give him some time.
LOl @ this. More like there's no difference between a star player and cornerstone. I sense that the OP is a Lin hater. He poses this question after a poor showing by Lin and leaves out above average. How can there not be something between average and star player? Just LOL. If you think above average means the same as average I don't know what to say.
