Lin is the nicest player in the NBA so I don't expect nothing less. But at the same time this is a perfect example for taking kindness for weakness. You make the bed you lay in.
To add to this, in the few games Asik was actually playing well, McHale never hesitated to bench Howard when he sucked. Assuming the same quality in terms of backups, McHale's definitely an "equal opportunity bencher" so to speak. IF Asik ever comes back happy and healthy, I bet you'll see quite a few games where Howard gets ~25 minutes and Asik finishes the 4th. It really sucks that Lin apparently can't play SG. I think the Rockets staff wanted to play Lin as the backup SG to begin the year. And then Lin went ahead and made James Anderson look like Lebron James to scrap that idea like they did the twin towers. Hopefully Morey can find the Kyle Lowry or Goran Dragic of PGs at the deadline.
Couldn't agree more. I've said many times that Lin is the exact opposite of most of his fan base. I think he would be happy playing 15 minutes a game if it meant winning a championship or being a contender. He isn't a guy who wants to go to a garbage team and average 18 ppg while being a perennial loser
Benching Lin for the 4th quarter was unjustified, he's proven himself as a clutch 4th quarter player even after looking like complete garbage earlier in games. And Lin is on the level of Parsons, same just below star quality of Parsons and should at this point, in his second season with the team and putting up the types of performances he has, be on the floor in a close game especially against a team he does well against.
Yep because asik is a better defender & rebounder than Howard. Mchale knows if he's 100% he won't take a ya office Howard. Howard 7 rebound last night, parsons 11, jones 9, harden 7... Moreys "SUPERSTAR"
thanks for creating a separate thread. this is a good read. writer tries to be objective. it would have been difficult to find this by sifting thru other threads.
You can be serious? The guy has quit on his team and demanded a trade. Also, there isn't a gm in the league that wouldn't have signed Howard to the same contract Morey did if given the opportunity
It's not about being an opposite to his fan base. Fans aren't held to the same standards that players are, obviously.
One thing the article is wrong about is that he plays in a PNR offensive system. Lin does not get any screens at all to run PNR, so his assists are not there. It could be this article is based on last year. regardless, last year they ran a little more PNR (Greg smith, and harden actually screened more too), this year is pretty much just dump in post, swing ball around for a 3, or harden iso to create. pretty limited plays
On some level, Lin is just glad to be playing the NBA, especially given all he's been through. His dream came true, and he appreciates it more than anyone else. To him, it probably doesn't matter whether he plays 20 minutes or 45. Everyone already knows that he prefers to be a starter and also finish games in the 4th, but it's ultimately not his decision to make.
You watched his post game interview last night ? he seemed the most uncomfortable I've saw him, you could tell he was bothered but he stayed positive Hears Howard didn't want to talk to media, don't know if this is true
Morey makes sure he goes out and gets solid PGs 4 of them, 1. goes to Russia to get bev 2. gets brooks "rockets fan fav" back 3. Has a 2nd round pick ? Go & drafts another PG Canaan and speaks very highly of him but with the 2-3 all we have is Garcia you won't see harden or parsons playing less because they don't have solid backups, they don't have to worry about coming out the game because they don't have any competition, Lin & agent should see the trend
Asik is a better post defender,much better PnR defender,better positioning and he box out,Dwight is just more athletic and Blocks more shots but picks stupid Fouls,that is just me though.
rockets def want to ship lin and asik out. bev goes down and lin comes in like nothing happened. and now a whole quarter sitting him out making sure he doesn't get hurt before a trade
Although I'm somebody that's pushing for his contract to be traded, I give Lin a lot of credit for how he's handled coming off the bench. With Bev hurt, starting again should help his confidence a bit. Either way, props to the guy for not pulling an Asik.
