There were definitely 2 or 3 plays tonight where I was like, "Wow" ... Lin stayed in front of Kyrie despite him going into shake-his-defender mode. One in particular, Lin stayed with him and then picked his pocket. I don't think he's a great defender, but he has done a pretty good job at times.
I like TD, he does play well with Lin and they both came from the same team so I think they are pretty good friends too.
I've grown to love Toney Douglas. He's practically money from the 3pt line and he plays very well with either Lin or Harden.
Part of the reason why I like his defense is that Lin actually TRIES to defend and not stand around. He has hustle and is very active. I remember tonight 2pat watched an offensive rebound go up and some guy came in and slammed it. Good job boxing out 2pat...
This makes sense to me as Lin is fairly big for a PG. Haters will say Lin gets "torched" by quick pgs, but it's just the reality that smaller players are quicker.
Every couple of games or so, he gets caught guarding nothing but air looking at the ball. He's got to eliminate that as well. but having watched Kyrie play d today, lol, that boy was lost at least 20 times last night!! lol. I love Kyrie, so supremely talented with the ball. I hope that bbiq, bball sense and, and solid defense comes to him soon. He's only like 21? 22?
Good job is an understatement. It was a flawless job. "Plays his left shoulder, forces Kobe to go baseline. Lin cuts him off then immediately plays his left shoulder as Bryant tries to spin away from the baseline. Kobe had picked up his dribble so Lin crowds him. Kobe tries to do an up-and-under jumper, but Lin played him so well that Kobe doesn't have any room and takes that ridiculously tough shot. Keep in mind this was against this year's Kobe...an offensive titan that has mastered how to get buckets with great timing and a vast array of moves."
Yeah, Cavs commentators actually mentioned Delfino used to play PG before he grew outsized for the position.
Seriously, how many players out there are able to provide what TDouglas provides, with scoring and defense, and also mesh well with both Lin and Harden? Also, without causing any problems in the locker room, being happy to come from the bench for several years to come (since Lin is young)? We definitely should keep Toney Douglas. About Lin's defense, his one on one defense against skillful players is very good. What was out of control at the beginning of the competition was his help defense, that was too aggressive and making him to bait open 3-pointers. Once he balanced that, he is ok now. However, the area where he still struggles is agains fast explosive guards, as Tony Parker, Lillard, and others. Perhaps due to his recovery from knee injury, he was not able to a quick lateral step to cut their first dribble. Expect to see it better by now.
Lin's defense is predicated on his fast lateral movement, quick hands, and timing. If you watch him guard taller shooters, he often times his jumps a split second earlier than the shooter which often disrupts the timing of their shot. His weaknesses on D stems from the inability to smoothly work through screens which is how savy pg's like Calderon burn him every time. Everyone also gets on him about his constant freelancing on D, but it's rare you see him get burned the entire game due to freelancing. As a matter of fact, his freelancing usually results in quite a few turnovers and rebounds. However with more experience, Lin will learn the tricks that veteran pg's use to slow down their defenders and improve his pick and roll defense. I believe he's on his way to becoming a premier defender in the league.
I'm sure he worked on it hard this offseason. This next offseason he needs to seriously work on that jumper...
