Well, the key word in your response is "gamble". I'm a big believer in playing the percentages. 100% of X vs undefinable percentage chance of X to me is a no brainer. It's why Harden vs Lamb was never a debate for me. You take 23 year old Harden 100% of the time, no matter what you think Lamb's up side is unless you genuinely think he'll be the next Michael Jordan or Kevin Durant. Of course, the Lin vs CP3 trade is conjecture. I really don't see CP3 leaving the Clippers. The Clippers are a legitimate contender and steam rolling the opposition. Even if they fall short in the play offs (quite possible considering how tough the West is with SAS/OKC and Memphis fighting it out), I just don't see CP3 walking on the Clippers to gamble on going to a potential contender in Houston. Similarly, I don't see the Clippers wanting to gamble with their core. They might tinker around the edges, but I think they would consider CP3 to be untouchable. The real question is whether there is a PG that is realistically available that would be worth trading Lin. I just don't see any out there when you look at a combination of Lin's up side PLUS his youth (can play for Houston for years) AND how cheap his contract is compared to what you'd have to pay for a premium PG. Our most likely scenario right now is Harden + Lin, then see what is available in free agency. Asik is great, but there are a handful of centers available this year that might tempt the Rockets FO. Parsons has been very good, but similarly there are potential PF's and SF's that would also tempt the Rockets FO. Right now, I suspect the FO considers Harden to be untouchable, and Lin might as well be untouchable simply because he's playing well enough to keep the FO happy and there aren't any real top tier PG's that are likely to be on the block this season. And given how well the Rockets are playing this year, I wouldn't be shocked if Morey stood pat and instead focused on getting a top tier PF. I don't think any of us know what the top end potential of this team will be... and it will be hard for Morey to not want to let it play out.
Chris Paul salary, 17.8 mil a year. Lin salary, 5 mil a year/8 mill for cap purpose. I really don't think this trade is realistic. It is like asking, do you sell your favorite car/house/collector's item for 3x the current market price. Most people would say yes in a heart beat.
Great post! If LeBron wants to, I have no doubt that he can easily lead the league in scoring. The difference between LeBron/Harden and Melo/Kobe is one understands the game and what it takes to win and the other doesnt. Low BBIQ = Kobe/Melo
Another masterful coaching job by McHale. Lakers came out hot and the Rockets were a little flat. It didn't take long for McHale to go to the bench and the Rockets weathered the storm. It's always a guessing game for any coach in regard to getting the right players in the game at the right time. McHale has definitely been pushing all the right buttons recently. Really happy to see Parsons make some shots last night, he looked really good. Happy to see Lin make a couple more three pointers. Three point shooting may not be his greatest strength, but he has to become at least average from long range. Once again our bench was great. Delfino, Patterson, and Douglas kept us in the game. And finally, Harden really is a Superstar, 31 points and 9 assists, just amazing stuff.
You're forgetting about chemistry. CP3 needs the ball in his hands, as a lot of PGs do, in order to be truly effective. If CP3 came here and Harden had to soley play off the ball, it could create chemistry issues and render Harden less effective offensively. If we were to split the ball handling between CP3 and Harden, that could also create problems for CP3. Would this throw his rythm off having to spot up for treys a lot more and having the ball out of his hands? Also, I think there comes a point when always embracing a statistical approach fails. The Lakers are a prime example of this. Going for the statistically proven player/s can wreck havoc on team chemistry. Sometimes, it's better to develop players based on their upside and go from there. I believe Lin is one of those players whose ceiling we will never know. Will he be better than Nash? Maybe. Will he be equally as good as or even better than CP3 someday? Maybe or maybe not. Only time will tell.
Sorry my friend. CP3 was drafted by NO because they had an abysmal 18-64 record. His first year, they finished 38-44. They won 20 more games by adding one rookie player - that is remarkable. By his 3rd year, he was making his teammates play better that David West (where is he now?) and himself played in the all star game. They finished 56-26 and took them as far as the WC semifinals. You then add up what the Clippers has been doing this year (destroying almost everybody), there are no question marks for this guy. When you talk about being competitive and hating to lose, the NBA scene is in agreement that Kobe and CP3 is head and shoulders above the other players. He is a fierce competitor and a true leader. Any GM who would refuse to trade Lin for CP3 will automatically lose their job the next day.
I'm not sure if someone already posted this in answer to the question of who has the most consecutive 25 point games. I could only find the following... Most consecutive 50+ point games -- 7 by Wilt Chamberlain from December 16-29, 1961 Most consecutive 40+ point games -- 14 by Wilt Chamberlain from December 8-30, 1961 and January 11-February 1, 1962 [6] Most consecutive 30+ point games -- 65 by Wilt Chamberlain from November 4, 1961-February 22, 1962 Most consecutive 20+ point games -- 126 by Wilt Chamberlain from October 19, 1961-January 19, 1963 Most consecutive 10+ point games -- 866 by Michael Jordan from March 25, 1986-December 26, 2001 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_regular_season_records
Rockets are scoring 120 something points per game. Maybe Lin is the Drew Brees? I'd like to think Montana because I'm here in SF. What i really mean is that Lin has the Montana effect, making a lot of his other scrub players look good. I mean, who remembers Freddie Solomon, Mike Wilson, and Newton Williams? Bet you guys don't know who they are unless you do a quick nfl reference dot com search. By the way, who's better than Montana? No QB was better than Montana...as of yet.
The only thing that is comparable is that the position of quarterback is similar to a point guard. Trying to compare a basketball player to a football player is dumb.
Lol. Nah just a few here and there. No biggy. I don't mind those long passes because the majority of times they work during transition plays. What I don't like are the out of control or lazy passes he sometimes makes, but I'm sure he'll learn as the season progresses.
the issue is would you trade lin + asik + parsons or ppat to match CP3's salary (otherwise there is no trade). answer to me is obviously no. however, for a theoretical discussion of a one to one trade of lin/cps, morey will be insane not to do it. from a value perspective you are paying $8m per year for a player that is worth $15m+ right now
If CP3 can play next to Jamal Crawford, he can play with anybody. If Harden can play next to Russell Westbrook, he can play with anybody.
