[ClutchFans] Jeremy Lin after Rockets 101-89 win over Celtics

Jeremy lin after Rockets 101-89 win over Celtics

- Would coach dare to bench a player who owner would like to see to success for half of the game
- Does Les really love Lin and want Lin be a Rocket and give an offer understanding that Knick will match up to a billion.
- May be Rocket just want to screw up the cap space of Knicks and now the owner take it personal.

 

Lin needs to move better WITHOUT the ball.

Then we will see LinINSANITY.

 

Agreed. The whole team actually needs to move MORE on offense. There are just way too much iso'ing in McHale's offense.

 

This seems like a good time to re-watch this video:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2WDK6NCsxzo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Jeremy lin after Rockets 101-89 win over Celtics

Why watch the game? 101-89. yeah. Rocket won! Won!

 

Response

You can't control what the coaches will do, but you just have to keep taking shots.

 

Not being a Houston area resident, this was the first time I was able to catch a live game on TV so far. I knew from the numbers that Jeremy's role on the offense had been greatly reduced from last season, and reading the forums had informed me that Harden was the team's "primary ball handler." But seeing what that meant in real life painted a much clearer picture.

I haven't seen many teams use their PG less than the current Rockets. I'm not even talking about shooting or having plays called for him. Jeremy doesn't even get to take the ball up court after many rebounds or inbounds. It went straight to Harden on many of those plays, or even to Parsons.

Jeremy didn't exactly play that well either, but he wasn't that far off from playing decently. The difference between 2-6 (33%) and 3-6 (50%) shooting is only one shot. Which still counts of course, he has to start making those extra shots. He's just not that bad given his very limited usage.

I saw some of the same mistakes that he committed last years as well. One of Jeremy's turnovers came from a bad across the court pass during a fast break, which ended up in the hands of the Celtics. Jeremy had another turnover in the paint when he tried to hand it off in traffic instead of just shooting it. He also missed a couple of inside shots as well, when he went for a tear drop or fadeaway after penetrating but facing additional defense. I like the aggression he has in driving toward the hoop - he just needs to maintain that aggression and take the layup himself, leaning forward instead of away from the basket.

The game wasn't all bad for him. Jeremy came alive after a quiet start and started picking apart the Celtic defense in the second quarter with his passing, racking up 7 assists (all while going to his right, as the commentators made sure to point out). What I found funny was that at that point in the game, Jeremy had done the same thing Rondo had done: dish a lot of assists while missing the shots he did take. In fact, Rondo had a lot more misses as well at that point. All the commentators praised what Rondo was doing, while criticizing Lin's performance compared to what he was doing last year. Of course Rondo has been playing better for his career, year, and by the end of that game. Just talking about wht was going on in the first half.

The skills are still there. The team should give him more of a chance, and Jeremy needs to step up for himself. Both in demanding the ball, and earning it with his performance on the court.

 

How "aggressive" can you be when you don't get to bring the ball up the court (standard PG duty), and your teammates tend to pass to everyone else but you?

I believe Synergy stats rated Jeremy as one of the very best iso players last season. Also, "pick-and-roll" is hardly a special play. It's actually a bread and butter for many teams.

 

I don't think it's fair to blame Harden's arrival for Lin's reduced role. Remember that even in the pre-season, reporters were questioning McHale about why Lin was just passing off the ball at half-court.

I think that even if Harden weren't on the Rockets, we'd see Lin having to hand off to somebody else. Kevin Martin? Jeremy Lamb?

There's absolutely no evidence to suggest that McHale would've let Lin run the show even if Harden remained with the Thunder or went to another team. It seems that the coaching staff made an early decision to design an offense that didn't cater to Lin's strengths.

 

Over 41 games last seaso, Rubio was a 34% 3pt shooter, with a putrid 0.357 overall FG%, 0.476 TS%, and 0.222 TO%. All worse than Jeremy this season so far. What Rubio did do better was dish lots of assists.

 

I don't think it's Harden either. The system seems designed to operate without using the PG much. I mean really, not even getting the ball on the inbounds?

It's not a bad offensive system; the Rockets are an above average rated offense this year. It's just not good for Jeremy personally.

 

When all is said and done...

A Lin led Rockets team without Harden almost beat the Spurs in overtime...

A Harden led Rockets team got blown out by the Spurs, and sitting at 0.500... (not shabby of course)

Not saying Lin > Harden or anything, but I think that 38-7 game alone deserves some more experiments with Lin handling the ball, instead of setting him as a shooter.

McHale said he's definitely going to get Lin the ball more after that game, but it seemed like he only tried for a couple minutes in the WAS game and gave up.

 

Everything you said is what I have been saying. But people keep saying Lin needs to be more aggressive or play with more swagger. I have been saying for a while now that the Rockets aren't making simple adjustments to put him in a position to be successful & more aggressive.

The answer to the bolded part is that in this system Harden is the PG not Lin.

Just a few thoughts.

 

And play elite defense.

 

The ball still runs through him often on offense and the asts shows that. Just because he doesn't bring the ball up every time doesn't mean he can't be more aggressive or play with more swagger. Take some open shots, drive and look to score more often.

 

You are free to root for whatever you want, but you can surely understand that fans of the team would rather not read your whining about Lin after the team wins a big game.

 

According to the "veterans" on this board, you're a LOF.

 

But you have to understand you can't let a non-franchise player overshadow franchise player, that's business 101.

 

As long as Lin fans do not put Lin over the team and keep such thoughts to themselves, I am fine with them. Otherwise, they can go throw themselves off a cliff.

 

I don't buy it. Lin is passing the ball to Harden at the halfway line because that is what the coaches want. We both want the same thing. For Lin to be able to play his game. You say the blame is on Lin and I'm telling you the coaches have him on a short leash.

As for your comments about Lin vs TD earlier. Lin IS much better than TD and every single advanced statistic this season proves it. We've seen these clueless coaches repeatedly talk about putting TD in for his 'better defense' yet it has been demonstrated quite categorically, with stats, how Lin is one of the best defenders on the team, AND with the eye test, just look at the players he's blocked, Lebron, Rose, Westbrook, Rondo. How many of these guys has TD managed to block? Or Harden? Or Parsons?

Lin is fast, athletic and smart, and he has the game. He just needs coaches that actually believe in him and will let him play without benching him every two seconds.

He could easily have gotten a double-double this game had he played in the fourth. He was also benched when close to a triple-double vs Portland in OT.