I don't usually say that.... but sky is the limit.... You don't have to be uberathletic to be a borderline allstar, however he is pretty athletic, skilled and runs a team well Now cut down on those nasty TOs will ya?
Borderline All-Star. I feel he's really unselfish and talented enough to make the right plays and with good pieces he's a worthy starting PG. He definitely won't be among the top tiers, but he'd be slightly above mid-tier with some elite-tier strengths. I thought the PnR he ran with Chandler and the decision making he made there was elite level, but with a different big it might not be the same.
Steve nash is a great athlete and ballhandler. His linear and horizontal quickness is top shelf. Stockton was the same way. Rodman was also a great athlete as well as a specialist in some sorts. To compare lin to any of these guys is foolish to me. Lin is a to machine much like francis. Francis was always a to machine and lin will be the same. What lin will have to do is get used to being the target and function. Its one thing with the story and its another to do it when people are expecting you. Remember flip murray subbing for ray allen? Remember when people were talking about getting rid of ray because flip was cheaper and better. Its one thing to play like a star for 2 weeks and its another to play like a star for 82 games. There is a reason he wasn't drafted and almost sent to the d-league. I think he will be solid,that's about it.
Although he might not be able to initially consistently match the phenomenal stretch he has with the Knicks, I'm confident he will continue to improve his overall game. A big concern to me is coaching and player mentoring. I really wonder what kind of quality help he'll get along those lines this year given the his specific needs. Who will be handling his growth as a guard and how well will they handle it? How is Kevin McHale at handling his non-big-men players? There are still a lot of questions about McHale and his staff. And once the season begins, what experienced players will be on the team to work with Lin?
Nash isn't as athletic as Lin. Nash, Kidd, Rondo all turn the ball over more than Lin does. But you are right he does have to cut them down. This notion that he can not fix that is absurd. He was scouted after the ASB and he still put up big numbers. This notion that he managed to ambush the league for 25 games is absurd. There was also a reason why he was not recruited by a top college out of High School to play basketball despite winning a top athletic award. The same award that Felton, Lawson and Kemba earned and that was because of his race. His race had something to do with him going undrafted, same with him going to Harvard and also him not being as good as he is now.
I believe he is ahead of Nash. This was asked on various forums during Linsanity as well on the internet. Or according to my spotty memory lol.
Just so you know but this was discussed over and over all over the internet and it was summary - systemic - board-wide racism. From the NBA to the NCAA to every school in Division 1 to every scout. He is an Asian American male. He didn't pass the eye-test.
Lin is already nearly as good as Goran. Lin is also 2 years younger and improving rapidly; for example, his FT went from 73% when he was in college to almost 80% in two years. Whereas Dragic will be 26 next season and is probably near his ceiling. The likelihood is that Lin will overtake Dragic, probably quite soon. True, Lin had 4.8 turnovers per 36 minutes last season, which is pretty high. However, Steve Nash had 4.2. Also remember that Lin had no training camp and almost zero practice time in what was basically his rookie year. He was forced to learn about his teammates on the fly, which is never good for a passer. You have to cut him some slack for that reason alone. Here are some college turnover numbers per 36 minutes: Lin 3.6 Nash 3.7 Kidd 4.4 As you can see, Lin's college turnovers are similar to those of some famous passers. I wouldn't be so quick to conclude that he will never improve. Agree with this.
I've been to some Big West basketball games and it is quite shocking that not ONE Division one school even offered him a scholarship. I'm not even talking about the Pac-10 - but small "mid-major" schools. Hard to believe not one would take a chance on the California player of the year. Heck a school like Butler probably would have beaten Duke that year if they had him.
huge upside. people keep saying 26 games is too small of a sample size to judge his game, yet we judge young college talent every year based on 20+ games. dude went 18/7, and he's 23. barring injuries, he'll get better, not worse.
I don't know if he is player of year in California (my memory is hazzy on that). But I do believe he was player of year in central California. If I am the president of Rice or UH, I would ask my basketball coach that is our 12th man really better than the best player in San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento? One can argue that Duke, Kentucky, or Michigan State had good reason to miss him. But seriously, how many school can claim their team can't use the best player in central California. He didn't become good all in a sudden (if he did, he probably had to resort to chemical enhance drug), he was always good. He is the perfect example of most people can't see past their own life experience. I am not talking about racism. I am talking about perception formed through one's life experience. Even now, even on this forum.
He got the same award that Kemba Walker, Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton received in HS. They all went to top colleges and were high draft picks. Lin when he came into the NBA to be honest wasn't that good. Or wasn't as good as he is now. He was less thick, and couldn't shoot very well. He worked hard on his craft to be honest during the off season and the lock out while other players got fat.
I am worried about his health. He already had arthritis. If he is healthy, then he will be an all-star. I am not quite sure he can handle the grind of a complete NBA season. I hope Rocket doctor monitor his minutes and might even take him out some back-to-back games.
actually his defense did improve dramatically as the season went on. the main problem with it was his tendency to leave his man to double down or go for steals.
This. From what I can tell from his games, he is a clearly a winner, a natural leader, make his teammates better, and got ice in his veins in the clutch. The opposite of Melo.
WTF - he had a meniscus tear... ie just like Blake did a few weeks back These can happen at any time, without warning, and are quite common.
By the way, I observed something I hope it wouldn't get people very concerned. He is like a math professor who can't add or subtract. He can't perform some most basic task of a point guard. He can't bring the ball up against strong defensive pressure. I am not talking about trapping defense or such. I am talking about he had trouble bring the ball over half court against one defender. Just like most people don't ask a math professor whether he can add or subtract, most NBA teams don't exploit this weakness. But I start to see a few team (like Miami) who start to notice this weakness later on. He has a pretty bad handle for a point guard. That is one of the reason for high turn-overs. He has great god given natural born point guard talent without some basic point guard skills. Again, the reason is because he couldn't get the chance to be point guard. He was a point guard in high school. But he was shunned by so many colleges. In Harvard, the coach wants to get the best 5 guys on the court, so he ask Jeremy to play his un-natural position (the shooting guard).
