Jeremy Lin says he's OK with being Rockets' 6th Man

Once again, Lin shows he's vastly more mature then his fan base. I think he'll do great for us in the 6th man role

 

There's so many pros and cons. I can't decide on which one would be better overall for us.

 

Of course you can't have a Lin thread without partisan bickering, but I've honestly thought this was best for him and the team.

His skill set clearly clashes with Harden's, not that he can't play with Harden, but his most valuable skill is the ability to get to the rim. We will need that skill for the 10-15 minutes Harden sits.

He's still gonna get the same 20-30 mins he was getting last year, but I can almost guarantee his per 36 numbers are gonna be spectacular this year. I could even see his numbers close to his NY numbers on a per minute basis.

This is gonna work really well.

 

I'm a Lin fan, I just want to see him play and get his minutes. Which I think he definitely will. Not so sure about 6th man of the year. What kind of stats would he have to put up for that? He will have to score quite a bit. I think the assists part won't be a problem.

His 3 point shooting will be fine this year if he's done that much practice in the gym. Looking forward to the season...

 

What are the cons - there's not many that I can think of.

 

If he is ok with it, why are so many of his fans upset?

DD

 

fans are worrying about his minutes and is the ball actually in his hand when he plays.

if not, this is demoting and marginalized.

 

More like 20-25 against good teams.
He aint playing in the 4th.

 

Coaches make a decision. They certainly take their responsibility. We will see. Whichever way they choose is certainly for the good of this team. Not just one way or the other. However it dose reflect these coaches performance.

 

well potential cons....not saying it would happen
1) these star PG's ie Derrick Rose, Deron Williams dominate regardless, and the Rockets lose punch on the offensive end.
2) less easy baskets for Dwight and others because Bev is not as great a distributor
3) Harden having to do more, don't really see him as a physical specimen, can his body handle the extra load with 1 less creator out there.

Not trying to be negative, but just some potential cons off the top of my head. I'm still hoping to see an end of game lineup of D12/Parsons/Harden/Lin/Bev.

 

First of all, if the team is winning and playing good it doesn`t matter how many minutes any player plays. Second of all, it is all up to Lin how many minutes he plays. If he plays well, he will play a lot. Now he will actually have the ball in his hands a lot, because he will play when Harden is on the bench. He can now do, what he does best.

This move should actually help Lin by letting him play to his strengths with the ball in his hands. If he is as good as LOFs think, then he will play starter minutes coming of the bench (I actually believe that as well). If not it is demoting because his play doesn`t demand more playing time.

 

He should play in the 4th. That's when he gets going.

 

This is better for Lin, he'll still get big minutes and his usage rate will increase.

 

Looking at the last 5 winners...

JR Smith 12-13

18 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 42% FG, 33.5 mpg

James Harden 11-12

16.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.7 apg, 49% FG, 31.4 mpg

Lamar Odom 10-11

14.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 3 apg, 53% FG, 32.5 mpg

Jamal Crawford 09-10

18 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3 apg, 45% FG, 31.1 mpg

Jason Terry 08-09

19.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.4 apg, 46% FG, 33.7 mpg​

Last year Lin's numbers were:

13.4 ppg, 3 rpg, 6.1 apg, 44% FG, 32.2 mpg​

So if he plays the same amount of minutes (don't know if that will happen) and improves a bit in his effeciency (will probably happen), I could certainly see him being in the running for 6th man of the year.

 

Is anyone really surprised by this? The writing has been on the wall since the end of last season. What's interesting is whether Lin is more tradeable as a lethal 6th man? I would think so, especially to a team with a starting point guard who is firmly entrenched in their rotation.

 

No, I totally get what you are saying. for the Cons, but there might not be as troubling.

If Lin started on the first unit, I see him more as a distributor there anyway, so there won't be as much scoring from him, though he would be a threat.

There will possibly less easy baskets for Dwight - but Harden is a great PNR player and he gets quite a bit of assists too so he can fill that role. Although I STILL have not seen many Dwight and Lin PNR which I am dying to see how they play together to see what can happen...

And yes, I can see Harden still doing a lot...my guess is Dwight will always be doubled, leaving Harden to iso + drive, or kick it out. In the end he still has to work - but maybe not as hard, with dwight drawing a defender away from him.

I think Lin will still finish most games TBH - depending on match up and how the game is going. The Bev, Lin, Parsons, Dwight and Harden Lineup is too sick lol.