Because they have one of the best squads in the league and they added a real coach in Doc Rivers. Our star power is probably equal to or greater than what the Clippers have, but they are deeper than us. Let's be honest... our bench is not in great shape. I can see arguments for either team having a better title shot, but I'd give the edge to the Clippers this year if I had to pick. I think our guys will need at least a year to reach their full potential.
If we had Ryan Anderson and a good back up center, I'd put us higher than the Clips, and probably #2 in the West, and #3 in the NBA. Too bad Asik can only probably fetch us Anderson outright right now....our backup center situation would suck, as Smith's D is piss poor
those wanting a point guard that just watches the others pound the ball and shoot the three when he is open are just asking for it. The ball will not move fluidly. We're at our best when the ball is moving. Don't know what more data has to be shown. stickyness is no bueno. Forget the current asian pg that wears 7, I'd be saying it if it were lowry or gogi. You need their ability to keep the flow on offense. It's an overlooked skillset and bev doesn't have it yet.
It's funny how Harden became what Lin was supposed to become before Harden arrived and Lin might become what Harden was before he arrived. Irony. Lin off the bench would essentially be the same as last season when McHale staggered their minutes together, though I found it odd that they reverted back to subbing them both out at the same time again later on in the season.
Lin's 3pt shot looked, to my untrained eye, a little better in that one pro-am game i watched on youtube. If he can get that shot more consistent, then we are set methinks at least until he gets traded mid-season for that third 'star'. Gotta raise his stock a bit i would think. It is just unfortunate that his salary is so big that it requires him to be traded along with asik. otherwise, he would be perfect at point or as sixth man. Shame really.
Question for you guys...what do you think is the minimum 3 point percentage Lin will have to shoot by the mid-season point in order to remain the starter, assuming the Rockets are hovering around 3rd-6th seed...cause if they're the 1st or 2nd seed, ain't no way they would break up the starting line up, and if they're the 7th or lower seed and everyone is healthy, heck, they probably would have pulled the plug on Lin regardless of how well he's shooting. I would have to say at least 35-36% under these conditions, even if he's wheeling and dealing with Howard...otherwise, it's 6th man city, unless Bev is shooting even worse.
And, to be honest, Harden needs to be averaging a couple less minutes per game if we want him to hold up long term. Having Lin in that role at 8M may be too much of a luxury, but right now he is the only one on the team who can really do it who is not named Harden.
What's pretty intriguing if we wait for the trade deadline mid season is what happens in Phoenix. With the Suns really high on Bledsoe and their coach suggesting that Goran be slid to the 2, it's conceivable that Gogi's bound to get disgruntled by December. But dumping Lin's 3rd year is gonna be tough... even if the cap hit is only 8mil.
Last year, Harden scored 1.04ppp on spot up opportunities (good ranking), 1.46ppp on cuts (elite ranking...Lebron was ranked #16 overall and his ppp was lower), and 1.12ppp on hand offs (elite ranking) per synergy...his average PPP was 1.01 and his ISO ppp was 0.93. Harden only spotted up 7.5% and Cut 1% of the time, but he was the focal point of the offense, so it would have been difficult to get those shots. However, with Dwight now in the fold, his spot up and other off the ball opportunities should go up...and seeing how he's more efficient at these shots than he is his ball-dominant shots, he should try to seek these off-the-ball shots more often...
Agreed. Good point. Lin as 6th man could relieve some of Harden's workload. I would like to try Lin as a 6th man because of his strengths. I don't want to bench him because of his weaknesses.
Here is what I don't get. Why is it that other players gets a pass on bashing but Lin gets bashed all day long? Take for example Andre Iguodala. His 2012-2013 stats are as follows: 13.0 ppg, 5.4 APG, 5.3 rpg, fg% .451 On the other hand, Lin's 2012-2013 stats are as follows: 13.4 ppg, 6.1 APG, 3.0 RPG. fg% .441. Points and assists are higher for Lin, rebounds go to Iggy, and fg%, Iggy has a small advantage. Yet people and the media believe that Iggy is an extremely important player, and can change the outcome of a team? So when Iggy gets a 4 year 48 million dollar deal, he's an important player while Lin needs to go to the bench all while the stats are nearly identical?!?!?!?!? Talk about irrational.
Lin as a 6th man could work out for the Rockets as he can be the catalyst for the 2nd unit. But Lin and Bev together on the 2nd unit can even be better. Lin, Bev, Garcia/Casspi, Smith and Asik/Howard (flux playing time) sounds like a good unit. The thing is, the best fit for the first team would be a John Paxson/Steve Kerr type of guard. Adequate ball handling skills but exceptional spot up shooting capability. Harden's game will really blossom even more and guards will not be able to double team Howard.
You know what else is funny....Harden is a really really good spot-up shooter too. Obviously there is no denying is abillity to play PG, but watching him play an entire season his catch-and-shoot is really good. not to mention I think in game 2 against OKC the majority of his points was like seven 3s drained. (someone correct me on this)
doc rivers is grossly overrated as a head coach. it was thibodeaux who was the mastermind of the last celtic team to win a championship. just like his son, grossly overrated.
You're only looking at their offensive production. Iggy is one of the premier defensive SG's in the league, that's what makes him more valuable.
I agree that Lin's contribution to the team's success is underrated, however Iggy is a top 3 perimeter defender, which raises his value immensely despite his lackluster offensive ability.
