I don't like McHale at all but Lin is an average PG at best. Lin would never have been here if Harden got traded to Rox sooner last summer. Les Alexander was trying to ride the Linsanity gravy train and hope for the best before Harden fell in our laps. Lin showed last night he wasn't ready for prime time and has been shrinking for the last few games under the pressure. The starting PG position is too crucial to have someone who plays like he is totally outclassed and doesn't belong on the court at times. Even though the Rox have a lot of money wrapped up in Lin they still need to continue to find a better option for PG moving forward. I love Beverly but he is great off the bench, however if Lin continues to suck like this Beverly needs to start for the time being.
Yes, basketballwise, Lin has developed skills and finished his first full season healthily; Media wise, Coach never fuels the hype so that Lin could play in a less intense environment.
Lin had a few possessions last night that looked REALLY bad, I was surprised they gave him as many minutes as they did with Beverly playing Westbrook so well despite the fact that Westbrook looks like the Hulk next to Beverly. Once moment last night that really pissed McHale (and probably a lot of fans) off last night was Lin turning the ball over on a fast break followed by him stupidly gambling on a steal against Durant, who blew by him for 2 easy points. These are basic basketball decisions- You MUST get something on a 2-1 fast break and you CANNOT gamble on a steal vs. Durant and leave him a clear path to the basket. Poor shooting is one thing, carelessness with the ball and on defense is another. There is no amount of "coaching up" that McHale could have done to prevent these poor decisions...this is basic basketball stuff and it was kind of surprising because Lin seems like a smart enough player to not have these brain farts.
In reply to OP, trust has to be earned especially when you are dealing with old school folks. As good as Ginobili was, Pop didn't trust him immediately. In fact, Pop hated Ginobili's flashy style. As time went by, Pop began to understand how special Ginobili was and made exception to allow Ginobili's style of play. All that said, was Lin's confidence hurt? Definitely. Could Mchale have done things differently and made Lin more confident? Sure. But hey, every relationship takes time to grow. And Mchale has warmed to Lin; I am happy with the development.
I feel really sorry for Rox fans. Last year Morey collected all the chips for Dwight but failed. This failed attempt put Rockets in a messed-up situation. No matter Morey believed Lin could carry the team or he just wanted Lin to help sell tickets after he messe up, now Rockets have Harden who can serve both purposes. So, Lin is no longer needed here. Maybe, I'm not so sure, maybe it's better to have certain change.
Jeremy Lin played like a 3rd string guard last nite. That shouldn't be on Mchale, it really on Daryl Morey for giving him that contract for non basketball reasons
I think you bring up an extremely valid point. Not only for Lin, but for McHale's development of players in general. It's extremely disappointing that this thread has turned into nothing more than pot shots. Since this thread is Lin specific, I'll just stick to him. I think McHale (and I think he was quoted earlier in the season) that he thinks Lin is still somewhat of a "rookie", which is pretty much true. I mean, before Houston, he had only notched around 30 starts in his career. Not exactly thrown in the fire this year, but not exactly established veteran. That being said, if you look at mpg, and the other statistics of some of the best pg's in the league, the numbers are very comparable (with Lin actually producing bettter numbers than guys like Nash, Parker, and Westbrook in their 2nd years. That should speak highly of Lin's upside. In fact, it probably took Nash about 4-5 full seasons to fully get established. Sure, putting up numbers are fantastic, but no one would trade Kemba Walkers numbers or Lillard's numbers this year for their team's respective records. So points 1 and 2 are a bit contradictory, but I feel he finds a good balance between keeping up his stats and trying to win games. It's also important to note that he's won everywhere he's gone (hs, college, knicks, rockets) which would speak greatly of his "winning" intangible. I really don't want to get into a subjective debate about intangibles but the guy is a flat out winner because he knows what it takes to win. Back to my original point. McHale is giving Lin a longer leash than half the fans on clutchfans, and if history serves any justice, these Lin haters would've probably traded Nash, Parker, Westbrook, and Jason Kidd early in their careers too. I think it terms of development, McHale has done a marginal job. I think his distribution (not total) minutes for Lin was bad, but it seems that was mostly from his poor rotations and matchups. I think Asik got left out in the dust a few times and it's bad to see they haven't whittled down the PF position from 4 to 2. To be honest TJ/Motie/Smith/TRob, none of them stood out and now you've "wasted" a year figuring out whose going to win that job for next year. etc etc...I could go on
I don't think there is a freer offense in which you can run w.e show you want in the league right now. Thats on Lin.
i think lin, and the teams kryptonite is the dreaded half court offense. and if our bigs can't out rebound the spaniard ibaka and the angry man, then there will be little transition.
this is pretty much a troll comment, since you already know the facts but just to refresh your memory... how much of "developing" did you expect him to do last summer after having knee surgery? it's a fact that he was still recovering from knee surgery even during the first half of the year. morey and the coaches said as much. even his own coach said they weren't able to do as much on the court because of the surgery.
agreed. it's one thing to be critical of your team in a constructive way that generates thought provoking discussion. It's another to be a troll about it. That's why this board is turning to garbage.
Lin hasn't gotten worse, in fact he has gotten much better facts & common sense back this up. And every NBA player goes overseas. KD, CP3, Melo Kobe all do work abroad. Lin has been an above average PG this season & has played up to his average NBA salary saying otherwise is just false. Good lord Damian hasn't played in one playoff game. Lets relax on the HOFer talk. What makes you think a younger PG with less minutes under his belt would have performed better in the post season against Westbrook? Did you watch the OKC vs Portland game this year? Damian was very meh as he should be considering he is young.
You wouldnt trade Lin for Lillard? If not then no post you ever make from now on should be taken seriously. And i like Lin and wish him all the best, but lillard is on a differnt level entirely.
Meh, Lin v chris paul...no brainer I would probably take lillard, but it's not not-debatable. If Lillard doesn't fall into a sophomore slump and Lin stays at the mean, then the scales would tip.
Also apparently Chris Finch is the guy that works the most with PGs so OP should be asking do you like how Chris developed Lin.
