Rockets offense with Lin 'playmaking' out of PG position

Edit: Lin has 7.0 APG, not 7.3. Dragic has 7.0 and is one spot above Lin.

 

Wow... what a fail I am... Dragic 7.3 #11 in APG and Lin 7.0 #12 in APG. I'm too used to having the ability to edit my posts on forums.

 

Yea of course - agreed w/ all of the above. Of course I'd like to see Lin be the primary ball-handler and running the offense w/ screens set for him, etc. That's the best solution. I've said this elsewhere in GARM many times.

My point was - if that's not going to happen, and he's going to be used as a spot-up shooter more than 50% of the time. Then I'd rather have him come off the bench w/ 2nd unit. That's all im saying.

 

If Jeremy's usage stays at 18.8, then I want him to come off the bench and play with the second unit. This is the best way to maximize both him and Harden. Currently, the two are not able to co-exist sadly.

 

I doubt Lin would get in some beef with the valet .

However, he's beginning to look like Rafer.
What was the #1 complaint people had about him? it wasn't his passing skills.

 

That would be ok dude but the starting team might not agree with you since their scoring averages and shooting pct would all go down because they would not get the ball often when they were open.

 

This post was in reply to the suggestion of putting Lin on the second unit.

 

If he were shooting well the last two games, he would be playing at an all star level since his passing has been great. Unfortunately, his shot sucks balls right now.

 

Well, you could try that, but it wouldn't be good for the Rockets. I think the offense would stagnate terribly with Harden only on the floor trying to run the offense by himself. Lin also brings a lot to the defensive end of the game.

I think to say 'if we aren't going to utilise him properly then,' is a pointless argument to make, if you want the Rockets to do better.

I think the only argument we should make, that we can make persuasively and that we should make persistently is that we need to utilise Lin better, because that's what any team would want to do. Utilise their players to maximise their abilities while encouraging them to grow and develop.

As a side note, I remain skeptical that Lin would do better of the bench for himself or the rockets. I doubt a bone-headed coach like Sampson would give him more freedom or increase his USG.

 

Excessive knee jerk. 9 games in & they can't co-exist ignoring the fact that it took Wade & LBJ (two ball dominant players) an entire season to figure itself out. Let's have some patience. Things appear as if they are figuring themselves out over the last two games have some patience. This is a young team it won't happen over night.

 

Excellent point! It takes time to work out roles, etc.

 

Congrats on post #4 in 6 years!

In response to it... One problem with 'cranial' people, I think, is they tend to internalize almost everything and over-think things to death. The pressure of having to live up to the hype and his "overpaid" contract are probably clouding his mind when he's on the court. On a fast break in transition right after a steal or a rebound, when he's pushing the ball full speed ahead, we see flashes of the Linsanity from NY. He has no time to think, he just acts/reacts. But when the defense is set, and we run the half court offense, the hesitation and doubt blocks his flow. Some people here blame the coach for his lack of confidence, 3pt shot selection, lack of attacking the rim. All I have to say is that he has the ball a lot and can take it to the hole, at will, anytime; but he doesn't, because of this. Remember this from The Last Samurai?
(one of my fav movies...and Koyuki is so hot)
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u7N4UIrC8uY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Once he puts all the worry to the back of his mind, the fun will come back, his confidence with it; (and his doubters will still continue in denial)
just my opinion

 

Is there a way you can send your analysis to rockets? I know they are reading all different data, but apparently they didn't read the right one because they didnt use Lin correctly.

 

His shot does suck right now but the primary role of a point guard is to run the offense and find the open man. He is doing that well right now as well as steal the ball, rebound and make 90% of his free throws. Your point guard shoul NOT be the guy taking the most shots and scoring.

 

Sorry if my comments repeat what others have said. There are so many threads I can't keep up with them all. I just want to add a few pts.

Unless Lin's jumper starts to fall, the driving lanes are not going to open up for him. So his poor shooting is wrecking the most effective part of his game -- dribble penetration, whose value to the team cannot be overestimated. Penetration means not only more pts for him, especially the most efficient kind -- free throws -- but also put-backs by teammates in the paint, and even more opportunities to dish. On the bright side, this is just one part of his game that is missing right now. Once his J falls, then all aspects of his game will open up for him and his teammates.

Also, he was penetrating more in the Lakers game. It's just that their front court is ridiculous. It's trending upwards though. And his quickness seems to be closer to normal, like in that successful drive coming off the Harden pick and laying it up over Dwight.

Assists. 10 dimes is nice but more importantly it's the kind of assists he's pulling off that really matters: assists at the rim which are super efficient. Off the top of my head: getting in the paint and dishing to Asik for a dunk; getting in the paint and dishing to a cutting Parsons for a And1; dishing to Cole for a dunk. These are the best kind of assists -- much more meaningful than looking at the stat sheet. torocon has already pulled out the assist-type breakdown on 82games, so I don't see the need to pull up the numbers for this. Esp since it will inevitably mean comparing him to other PGs to make the pt, and I don't feel like getting into that.

Field goal attempts. Even if he makes 50% of ten shots, that's only like 10 pts a game, barely eeking double digit scoring. If measured in terms of FGA attempts, Lin is like the 4th scoring option, if even that. Less than 10 FGA per game is not going to cut it in terms of impacting games, and he's not going to shoot himself out of the slump anytime soon. I wish the coach would just greenlight him by saying 'I want you taking 15 shots/drives per game, and whatever happens, happens."

Lastly, a comment on ESPN's 'Usage Rate.' This stat gives no direct indication of how much a player touches the ball, how much he handles the ball, or how much he runs the offense. There are no public stats that measure that.

So what is Usage Rate? It ATTEMPTS to measure a player's use of possessions based on the very limited conventional boxscore stats -- which does NOT include touches, ball handling, running the offense. In this imperfect model, a possession is considered to be 'used' by Lin if it results in a field goal attempt, free throw attempt, assist, or turnover. If you are expecting Lin's Usage Rate stat to go up, the only way the number is going to really jump is if Lin shoots more (because his assist and TO rate is going to be fairly stable, so it's the FGA and FTA that will tilt the Usage Rate ultimately). Even if Lin suddenly handles the ball all the time and runs the offense by himself from now on, his Usage Rate will go up somewhat due to more assists but it will not really rise if he keeps his FGA around 10.

What's my pt? I just want to make clear that a higher Usage Rate does NOT mean Lin is necessarily getting more time and opportunities to run the offense -- which most of us agree is good for the team. If Lin's Usage Rate goes up, that means he is shooting/driving more -- which is a good thing -- but it's not the same thing as getting to play the PG more. Another way of saying this is: Usage Rate is a good measure of how much a spot-up shooter is getting USED for offense, but it is not a good measure of how much a PG is actually RUNNING the offense. Lin's transition from a being spot-up shooter to a full PG may correspond to a bump up in Usage Rate, but we really have to just watch the games to see this transition. Usage Rate is a problematic stat for PGs, especially a 'pass-first' PG, which seems to be the role Lin is trending towards right now, since he's not looking for his own shot.

 

Comment on your 2nd point. He doesnt average that many turnovers a game...only at 2.6....I'm not sure if you really mean lessen his turnovers, but rather how he turns the ball over. I'd rather see him turn the ball over making pass than driving it into a teammate (for example, not based off anything factual)

 

The Rockets desperately need a backup point guard. TD is obviously not the answer and Harden can't play 40+ minutes all season long. The only problem with getting a decent backup is that the coaching staff might play him over Lin (like the Portland OT game).

 

Lin is a pg ,his strength,and he is good at it, judging by the flow of the offence when he is handling the ball.By turning him into a shooting guard,his weakness,how is it going to benefit the team or any player? It's like trying to turn Shaq into a pf and LeBron into a center.Instead of trying to change the role of a player,they should maximised the player's strengh and minimised his weakness.It seems like they are doing the opposite.As for Lin's shooting i think it's mostly mental.It seems like during Linsaninity,when he shoots,he expect the ball to go in,but now ,he hopes he don't miss .His scoring will be back once he gets comfortable with his shooting.

 

SG is Lin's natural position.

 

The Rim is not a person