If Jason Kidd and Lowrey could develop a consistent jumper, so can Lin. The question is can he justify his minutes while he is developing his jumpshot.
That is not all you look for in playmaking. Harden had 4 iso that he either took jump shots or drive in to the lane in the 4th quarter that were ill-advised. Playmaking is not just looking at what you did, but what you should've done and what you shouldn't have done.. Harden is a bigger threat than Lin when he gets into the middle of the lane, so the defense will help/collapse leading to better opportunties (even if split second) for passing out for 3pt shots. But a big part of playmaking is to know when the opportunity is not there and to pass it off, or come back out and reset the offense, or make the pass that leads to another pass for a better shot. It is also knowing who to get the ball to, how to keep a hot hand hot, and how to get the balls to players that need some touches to keep them involved. Like Magic Johnson said, you got to know when to run, and when to slow down and let the big man catch some breath. You also gotta manage the shot clock better so that you're not forced into iso shots, or forced into having only 1 option left eg by running 4 seconds of the clock down unnecessary on the last play of the game against Miami thereby signalling a contested 3pt jump shot. And you got to know when to playmake, and when to let others do it. You've got to know when to run the plays from the playbook, and when to take what the defense gives you. You've got to know what is a higher probability move (shot, pass, etc) at all times. You also got to know which spots the players like to get the ball at, how high/low they would like to catch it in motion for a shot, and know what isn't a strength of the player (eg lob alleyoop to Asik is a no-no, at this stage). Harden is not superior to Lin as a playmaker.
of course he can with his work ethic, but it won't happen overnight...it make take many nights, 400 of them even.
i think he'll eventually be decent but i still think he should have the ball in his hands more and have harden get free before working the defense as opposed to walking from halfcourt and try to force something knowing the d is going to focus on him.
Why should he have to justify his minutes if he isn't given the chance to play like a PG? Why don't you tell Asik to play as PF then ask him to justify his minutes till he develops a midrange jumper.
Sure he can, sometimes I think people forget that tonight will be the 71st game that Lin has played in. He has never been in a steady environment give him a chance to get used to his team and his role. I'm not saying for sure that he will be a success but I think the odds are good that he will be but he needs time to develop just like any other player in the NBA.
If you still haven't figured it out by now, let me tell you: Lin will not be used as his days in NY because of Harden is on the team. It is sad for him, but he will have to adjust his games to fit in with Harden. That is what the coaching stuff is doing. Unless he can prove he's better than Harden at playmaking, which is a big NO by many, including the coaching stuff.
Well at current rate, he doesn't have a choice. Rox are clearly in favor of giving harden at least half of the ball handling role so in order for him to contribute he needs to change his game and develop his spot up shooting.
What is more logical, sign a player to a 3 year contract and assume that he will be here for the remainder of the contract or assume that he will get traded sooner or later? Please take note that we have not even played 10 games yet.
Disagree. The purpose of a great coach is to put players in a position that they can be successful. You fit your system around the personell not the other way around. Right now we invested money into a promising young back court. Both our back court players are being affected by the coaching decision not just Lin. Harden is playing like Monta Ellis right now & Lin is acting like Derrick Fisher. it is so ugly & foolish.
7 games into the season, Lin is averaging 6-7 assists on incredibly low usage rate. Meanwhile, Harden is rocking as many assists as TO. Small sample size, but Lin is looking like the better play maker here. Also, the answer the question posed by this thread, yes, I think lin can develop to be a good spot up shooter. Dude is hitting something like 90% on free throws his last 20 or so games. His spotup 3pt% is actually an elite 38%. He obviously put work into his shot since his college years. His shots off the dribble are off, but that's not something that can't be fixed.
Let me see if I understand you correctly. You trust Harden with the ball more than Lin, even though Harden has had more than twice as many turnovers (23 vs 11) in the last five games, when ISO Beard was our offense. If we adjust for usage rate, Harden is still slightly worse than Lin (a turnover percentage of 17.58 vs 17.50 in the same games). In terms of actual playmaking, Lin is vastly better. In those games, Lin was able to make almost twice as many assists, 30 versus 18, in spite of having far less of the ball in the halfcourt. As far as I can see, the two starting guards are about evenly trustworthy with the ball. And Lin is overwhelmingly better a playmaker than the Beard -- it's not even close. When it comes to running an offense, your preference for Harden has no factual basis.
He can do it in practise, when he's warm and in rhythm, but firing off a 3 cold, in game is a different thing altogether <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EWJ458aYhF0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
You talking about established star players. JLin isn't one...yet. He's really just begun in his career in NBA. There is no saying if he can adapt with only 7 games in. Without Harden, it may be true that he doesn't have to adapt, but with Harden on the team, he has to adjust to fit in, or he WILL be traded.
