[ClutchFans] Rockets to begin season with Beverley, Asik as starters; Jeremy Lin off bench

I am still not convinced that Asik is going to pass the reality check of regular season games against quality opponents. Anybody will work against CHA of course. But we shall soon see.

 

We're going to find out. Sooner rather than later.

 

Bev seemingly fits better with the starting unit, and Lin being 6th man will keep the team effective for 48 minutes. Bev is a fine player, but there is no evidence to suggest that he beat Lin out in any way. He's never scored 17 points in a game, whereas Lin averaged over 17 in April. Even in the preseason with all the hype Bev was getting, Lin still averaged more points and assists with heavier defensive pressure. Bev brings defensive intensity and spot up shooting, two things you want playing alongside Harden, Howard, etc. And it's not a bad idea that they're doing it.

But I wouldn't say he beat out Lin. On mostly every other team Lin would be the obvious starter.

 

Finally.

He's got to play with Howard at some point. I don't care about units just that he plays significant minutes with Howard. Let's see what happens. One of Lin's big strengths is dribble-penetration and dishing to the big man or finding him at any point in the court with a no-look pass for an easy bucket or at least in a good position to go to work. I say over and over he has superior court vision, that's something that has to be exploited by any good team when you have a player that possesses that.

Also, I hear people talk of options. I don't think of Lin as a 3rd or 4th scoring option. I think of him as someone who can break down a defense with dribble penetration and either take the shot or if he finds someone with a better shot, get the ball to him which he'll do more often than not. So Harden can do it too. When Harden was at his best, and Lin playing aggressively and not tentatively last year, they both combined to do this well so Harden and Lin can play together if they are balanced about their approaches.

 

Well, if this is the case, it's only up to JLin himself to elevate his level of play. If you are not good enough, you are subject to those influences. You leave your destiny to others' hands.

 

I like this strategy....it's a lin lin situation!

 

I think this is a legit move. HOWEVER, I think Lin deserves to start a couple of games this season just to see how he's doing with the starting unless the coaching staffs have 0 faith in him. I mean overall, he started all regular season games last year and all of the sudden he is benched without a chance to show what he is capable of with this new lineup? I don't think it is quite fair consider he was doing really well in the preseason

 

Probably the same as it was in pre season. Never have a moment without Dwight and Asik on the court.

 

Dwight or Asik

 

The only people who can dictate their NBA careers are superstars and even then, they are still subject to outside influence.

 

Yeah. Huge mistake. $25M.

 

Whether this is a wise move remains to be seen: If Lin isn't the primary initiator on offense when Harden is on the bench, then I give this experiment until January before McHale is forced to make a change again. If Beverley/Casspi/Parsons/Garcia's head gets big while the Rockets run with the second unit with Lin, this is going to end really badly for McHale.

I do like the idea of the Howard-Asik lineup covering Beverley's terrible defense on screenplays though. Bev had looked so much easier to rub off on screens than Lin had this preseason, but teams hadn't figure this out yet to go to it consistently. Once Beverley has started a few games, scouting reports will change that and it will become a problem as teams look to exploit that. While the Rockets have the twin towers in there, that weakness is much diminished and Beverley will be free to dominate with his excellent iso defense. It's a good defensive fit.

 

Man just think about it, smh. if you are a starter that doesn't mean you can't play with bench players. Therefore either DHo or Asik is jlin's center.

 

This is about fit.

We are trying to win and if Lin coming off the bench in a sixth man role is the best way to do that, then so be it.

 

I remember that as well.

 

As a LOF this is why it bothers me. But to make things clear, I think it's better off for Lin and the Rockets for Lin to be the 6th man.

What pisses me off though is the media attention that this is going to get and how people will make a big deal about Lin not starting.

Who cares right? Well, as an asian american the reason why I do care is because Lin defies everything that is "asian". When Linsanity happened, half the people in the media didn't know how to react because basketball and asian americans never fit. It defied stereo type. Linsanity forced people to learn something about what it means to be asian american.

And if Lin doesn't pan out? It goes back to the status quo. And that pisses me off.

 

Damn! 26.5 hours til tipoff and I just can't get off Clutchfans!

 

They gotta adjust to us too. Plus he will likely be guarding the bigs and D12 will stick the 4's. For him on defense, nothing different from last year. only thing that will hurt is the nights we play stretch 4's like Dirk and Love that pull Dwight away from the basket. Other than that, business as usual.

 

Smart Asian doing all the hard grunt work that no one wants is nothing new... Jlin needs to learn the politics of NBA and start demanding more respect and playing time. Egos rule in the NBA and nice guys don't get credit...
McHale always seems to create PG controversy out of thin air. Watch next year, both JLin and PBev will be gone. Just like Lowry and Dragic... Unbelievable...

 

Going Harden in the paint!