[NBA Hangtime Blog] Is it the start, or not, of real Linsanity?

Not the greatest of articles.

Posted with an agenda. The two camps on this forum post articles favouring their point of view.

Regardless, not a very well written article either.

Beverly is a great player. His hidden upside is his ability to scare and injure opponent PG's. Make him conquer CP3 and Parker next, knock out a few other guards hehe. Jokes.

Beverly should let himself be himself and, most importantly, not try to be more than the excellent defender he is. He has proved he can be a starter, but shouldn't try strive for anything more, he has NOTHING to prove, he is a great player and can do so much.

Lin should let himself be himself and, most importantly, not try to be more than the excellent offensive facilitator he is. He has proved he can be a starter, but shouldn't try strive for anything more, he has NOTHING to prove, he is a great player and can do so much.

See what happened there?

 

Has Kevin Love?

 

I don't know what stats Lin can/will achieve with the Rockets this year, nor do I care (unless it is disastrous), but my opinion and I think most people would agree with me on this, is that Lin is a better player now than he was during the Linsanity days.

Better 3 pt shot, better handles, better left handle, better passer, better on fast breaks both driving and outlet passes, better defender, more experienced, still good finisher at the rim, better decision making and less turnovers.

And with Dwight and 3 pt shooters all over the roster, the 'fit' of playing Lin with both the starters and second unit is great. For both PnRs and and passes to three point shooters.

And the way Beverley is playing, and how Harden has picked up his D and looking a step faster than last year, I think what ultimately happens is the back-up SG becomes Lin's role on top of starting PG, Beverley squeezes in more minutes, Garcia squeezes in more minutes at back-up SF than SG, and Cassipi squeezes in more minutes at back-up stretch 4 than 3, and only one of DMo/TJones gets to play much and so far it's like DMo.

Basically McHale wants to play stretch 4 for some minutes, and wants to play twin towers for minutes, and wants to play Beverley for his D more, and with The way Lin's playing it's going to be pretty hard keeping him off the floor, so basically I think the PF position will be squeezed so the better players get their minutes.

It's a good problem to have.

And it's better for Lin to be in this position than to put up meaningless Linsanity stats on a no contender.

As the season goes on, and as the rotation settles, I think most people here will be happy with the outcome. Unless you're predicting TJones to be the breakout player the year. Sorry [CBL Rookie].

 

I'm sold on lin coming off the bench for 31 minutes, harden only playing 37 and letting lin do his own thing during those 11 minutes that harden rests.

To me, it's never been about scoring for lin. With his explosive first step and competent mid range game, he could always find a way to hit 44% if he took 16 shots, which is around 7 made baskets for 15 points a game. Add around 3 more from Fts.

That comes out to 18 points 7 assists if he had the freedom. and that freedom comes from the bench and then mixing it over with the starters. How many pgs average 18 7 and 2 robberies a game? those 11 minutes solo would make a huge difference.

What I want to see from lin is to remain confident and take the shot.
"what is the worst thing that could happen to me, they're going to trade me?"
Big Shot bob


And with how popular this team is going to be, I expect harden/howard/parsons/ lin to get an extra visit to the FT line per player That's the way the NBA is. It sucked when we didn't have any stars but we're back!

 

I too am on board with the Lin off the bench idea, but only as a means of getting both Lin and Harden to get going. Using the Spurs model, if the Rockets find a way to mimic Manu's effectiveness for Lin, the Rockets can get the best from both guards. Just like there is zero reason not to have either Dwight or Asik on the floor at any given period of time, there is zero reason to have both Harden and Lin off the floor as well. I mentioned this last year as a key to success. Lin really is a "2 guard" playing in the body of a big PG. This effectiveness was really seen when he was playing along side with Aaron Brooks. Lin played more off the ball and was slashing, attacking the rim, and didnt have to worry about balancing ball possession with a guy like Harden.

Also, it should be clearly evident that Beverley isnt a guy that can run the offense. He is a terrific ball defender, and a serviceable open shooter. But he is not a playmaker. By combining Harden with Beverley, the Rockets can maximize the value of each of these guards.

Lin is a rhythm player, and his confidence is solely based on how he starts games off. If he is in a slump, he plays with tentativeness and really hinders his play. If Lin can play with reckless abandon without fear of letting shots fly and just being a natural playmaker, he really may just find a niche for his bball talents. By the time the game is on the line, having Manu and Parker on the floor makes sense. They have each had a chance to play as a playmaker so teams really cant stop both of them. I see this as a possible avenue the Rockets should be able to take advantage of.

Who knows what is the best answer, but it is very clear that both Jeremy and Patrick have made this decision hard. In my honest opinion, I think Mchale rolls with Jeremy at the start of the season, just giving him the reigns. And if things just dont work out well, this will be the first spot he will switch around. Go Rockets!! This is gonna be a very awesome season.

 

9 man rotation Lineup arrangement:
1st Quarter/3rd Quarter:
Howard: first 8 minutes Asik last 4 minutes
Parsons: first 8 minutes Garcia/Caspi: last 4 miinutes
TJones: first 7 minutes DMo last 5 minutes
Harden: first 9 minutes Lin: last 3 minutes
Beverly: first 12 minutes

2nd Quarter/4th Quarter:
Asik: first 4 minutes; Dwight last 8 minutes
Garcia/Caspi: first 6 minutes; Parsons last 6 minutes
DMo: First 5 minutes; TJones last 7 minutes
Beverly: first 3 minutes; Harden last 9 minutes
Lin: 12 minutes

Total minutes:
Howard:32 min
Asik: 16 min
Parsons: 28 min
TJones: 28 min
Garcia/Caspi: 20 min
Dmo: 20 min
Harden: 36 min
Lin: 30 min
Beverly: 30 min

 

You can't just completely ignore defense. In no way does that make any kind of sense.

 

Beverly isn't a starting caliber PG imho just yet.

He is best served to come off the bench and be a spark plug.

Lin is better and should be the starter.