The Bench Unit Is Being Misused: A Must Read For Lin Fans! (With A Little Bit O' Statz & Lots O' Kno

Still too long.......still didn't read.

McHale still hates Lin.

Rockets still underutilizing him.

Lin still not responsible for own actions.

4.578 star thread. Maybe might think about glancing at again.

 

Well, Lin and Asik WERE our starters last year and did okay.

 

My point exactly. If they are starter quality like they think, why can't they dominate bench players? Sending two guys to the bench that started for us last year should be a clear advantage for us. Is having Harden and Parsons on the floor with them essential to their success? In Lin's case, it shouldn't be if he is a dynamic enough offensive player.

Therein lies the rub...you replace Lin with Harden and a lineup of Harden, Hamilton, Parsons, D. Mo and Asik doesn't look so bad suddenly right? Lin is the straw that stirs the drink. He is supposed to be James Harden Lite when he comes off the bench and he is not fulfilling his role adequately at the moment. He needs to play better. If he is a starter quality point guard, he should be absolutely feasting on backups.

 

"Stagger the lineups my ass" is very general, so I don't know if you are talking about Parsons (who is already staggered frequently), or the idea of including T. Jones in the "stagger". Staggering occurs all the time, so the idea is not that far fetched. Now, staggering of T. Jones has not really happened much, so making a more concerted effort there is what I'm thinking and talking about.

Anyway, yes, the bench is not cutting it right now, particularly offensively. Hopefully, Lin will come out of this funk by the time the playoffs come around. This team, as the starters are playing right now, along with a healthy/semi-motivated Asik and Lin playing like he has the majority of this season, is a legit championship contender.

 

Yep I read it that way too.

OP actually points out that Lin fits very well into the Rockets' system (as Harden lite) as evidenced by how well he performs with the starters when Harden is not on the floor.

The point about the bench personnel not executing the Rockets' system well was more about DMo and Asiik's weakness in finishing around the rim.
So the OP recommends considering running more PnRs or other plays more suited to bench personnel. At least that 's what I think he is saying.

 

That....that....actually makes sense

 

FWIW, I decide to check to see if Jeremy Lin performs well when he doesn't have scrubs around him.

Using nbawowy.com, inserting Jones, Howard, Parsons, and Lin on-court, the Rockets are a net +1.3 per 100 possessions. Rockets as a team is +5.8. I didn't put in SG into this equation because any SG that plays with Lin, whether it's Harden, Brooks, Beverley is enough of a 3pt threat to space the floor.

So it seems like the Rockets aren't that good with Lin even when he's not surrounded by our backups. And TBH, every team stat this year has looked bad for Lin and incredible for Beverley. Not even an essay can change what has transpired this year. Lin, after his hot start, has simply been mediocre to downright a "joke". The OP can theory ball and use vague concepts to make excuses all he wants, but it's no surprise the Rockets simply believe Lin is sucking. His minutes have dropped to typical backup numbers for a while now.

 

I don't think the OP was defending Lin's recent play or arguing that he is a better fit with starters.

The OP's post was ambiguous in some ways, and I could be wrong, but I thought it was pretty clear that all he was doing was suggesting a way to improve the bench

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BTW the example of Lin with the starters that the OP gave was not Lin replacing Harden but Lin replacing Bev. I slightly misspoke in my post earlier