I know, another Lin Thread !?! Well this one is from an unbiased observer that has mainly been very skeptical of Lin especially considering we had the opportunity to keep Dragic. I just want to point out that he is pretty much the player I thought he'd be these last 10 games. It is nice to see some improvement and I do appreciate how he attacks the basket but he still needs a mid range game, and must figure out how to finish at the basket. With that said lets take a look at his stats the last 10 games. SPLITS GP MPG FG% RPG APG BLKPG STPG PFPG PPG Last 10 Games 10 30.1 .481 3.1 5.4 0.5 1.3 2.6 13.4 If you compare these stats to Goran Dragic's you will see that they are very similar. I always wanted Goran to stay, but i assumed that Lin would be just a tad below Goran......it seems that this has been the case the last 10 games. What is especially impressive is his FG%. If he continues to show aggression and attack the basket, good things will happen. This backcourt should be destroying opposing defenses. Who knows why he had such a slow start, but we can all agree that he has played much better over the past 10 games which in my opinion is a big enough sample size to conclude that he is progressing.
I haven't seen Lin ice those knees in a game in at least 3 weeks. Maybe the chicks he picks up at the galleria ice them for him at home, who knows.
YOUNG PLAYERS GETTING BETTER? THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!!! Seriously though, it's really nice to see Lin assert himself a little more. Today is a big game. Harden is not gonna be able to carry the offense. Lin is gonna have to step up.
It took Chris Paul about a full NBA season to fully recover from meniscus surgery. He really didn't play well until the 2nd season after his surgery. I knew it would be a while before Lin fully regains his explosiveness. Looks like Lin is rounding into form and getting over his surgery about now. I think his knee still hasn't fully recovered to before surgery status, and it will probably be next season he fully comes back.
This very well could be a contributing factor. I also think it just takes time for a young player to get adjusted to a new offense, and figure out his role.
Actually if you compare Lin at the start of the season to the last 4 games or so, he looks significantly faster...like he did last year. Maybe it was a bit of rust + the knee issue. Hopefully his mid to long range shooting % also comes back to a decent level....although, admittedly, it wasn't that great to begin with
I think he'll continue to progress.. Team is young and he could use some offensive big man help. He's also recovering from a meniscus tear which cp3 also took awhile to recover from as well
From my observation, JLin really hasn't taken too many mid-range shots. I think the Rox offense philosophy is to try to only take the most efficient shots, which are in the paint or beyond the arc. That's why JLin looked passive, because he was passing up the open mid-range shots. I also think his knee and conditioning are just coming in to form because in preseason without Harden, he couldn't get in the paint at all. JLin is not a spot up shooter and is better taking his shot off the dribble. Hopefully he won't make that Asia tour next summer and work on his catch and shoot.
It's simple... We've seen a more aggressive Lin in these last few games, and it's lead to the production we were expecting prior to the season. I'm sure his surgery recovery is further along as well and that's a big factor, but ultimately, in my eyes, it's simply because Lin is playing more like Lin wants to play.
The coaches are letting him play, his knee is getting better, he's trusting his knee more, and his family is with him. Doesn't matter though, one bad game and someone will bump the "... is a joke" thread.
I think the main reason is he's still recovering from the knee surgery. Actually in an interview he had a couple of days ago(can't remember which day, but definitely in December), he said his knee still not 100% yet and he still couldn't do some moves he was able to do before the injury. It took cp3 a whole season to fully recover. Let's give Lin some more time.
I think the main reason for his slow start is his knee. For the last few games, I did not notice any icing during the game. May be it is healing and regaining its strength!
lin still has a lot to learn. especially his jump shot. but it's just a learning process .the more he plays and gains more experience, the better he'll get. it's nice to see him become more aggressive now. hope he keeps doing that.
If Lin is aggressive and attacks the basketball he his a solid player. When he is being complacent is when he is liability for this team. As long as he stays aggressive we will be good.