<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Lots of ways 2look @<a href="https://twitter.com/start">start</a> of @<a href="https://twitter.com/jlin7">jlin7</a> career. Another1: only 7 plyrs since 90 have 8+ all-around gms of 20pts/5ast/2reb/2stl in 1st 45 starts</p>— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/dmorey/status/278747724424302592" data-datetime="2012-12-12T06:26:51+00:00">December 12, 2012</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>20pts/5ast/2reb/2stl in 1st 45 starts: @<a href="https://twitter.com/alleniverson">alleniverson</a>, @<a href="https://twitter.com/stevefranchise3">stevefranchise3</a>, @<a href="https://twitter.com/cp3">cp3</a>, @<a href="https://twitter.com/iam1cent">iam1cent</a>, @<a href="https://twitter.com/kingjames">kingjames</a>, DStoudamire, @<a href="https://twitter.com/jlin7">jlin7</a></p>— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/dmorey/status/278748582381772800" data-datetime="2012-12-12T06:30:15+00:00">December 12, 2012</a></blockquote>
That's why I included minutes actually. My numbers are what I think he could do if he was given 32 minutes a game. 12 and 6 is much more likely to be what he will actually do because the coaches will probably play him just 25 minutes.
He's averaging less than that with 32 min of playing time right now. I hope he can improve and I think he will since the season is still young and the chemistry is def not there yet.
I don't think he is a scrub at all. I don't really have specific numbers in mind as my expectations. I just know that history shows that the expectations you have set for him are highly unlikely to be met.
I understand. But I'm using my numbers as some sort of gauge in order to evaluate his performance on a per game basis. Yes, it's kinda arbitrary but we don't have to make it so complicated as long as we set a standard that we are happy with. If the critics of Lin bother putting down their own expectations for Lin, then we can see what they expect from him, instead of hearing them constantly tell everyone they want Dragic or Lowry back, while saying Lin isn't that good. At least if they said they wanted 25/10 from him on a regular basis, we can see where they are coming from... Right now he's about 11.5 pts and 6 asts. And this is coming off poor shooting and very low free throws attempts in his first 20 games. If he can get his shooting and aggression up, what's another 4.5 pts a game? He can probably get that knocking down a 3 pointer and going to the FT line. As for his assists, let's just hope Asik finishes!
He's averaging 32.8 mpg right now. Not an unreasonable number, but it's been all over the place with some very high minute games like the 42 last night, atlanta (40), OKC (41), etc and some very low minute games like Dallas (18), Lakers (20), and the first Spurs game (26). It would be nice if his play time stabilized a bit.
i'm just giving props to my boys. you know when snoop gave tupac props, that doesn't mean he was hating on the east coast, he was just giving props to the west coast.
Last 5 games vs SAS 42 mins vs DAL 18 mins vs SAS 26 mins vs LAL 20 mins vs UTA 34 mins So it's kinda roller coaster for the guy. My numbers are what I think he can get with 32 mins.
I'm not a critic of Lin, so let me try to explain Rockets fans. Any PG who is shooting poorly will get bashed here, unless they are Rondo...even still, Rondo would get bashed by people who expect PGs to be the most efficient, back-court shooter on the team and >40% from 3. This has to do with Rockets fans being beaten by John Stockton for many years. When Rockets fans criticize a player or coach, they often pine for the predecessor to return -- hence the Dragic/Lowry comments. This is common and probably should not be considered special treatment of Lin. This is so common in the history of this BBS that many people don't understand why this is considered Lin bashing any different than treatments of other Rockets players in the past -- especially with regard the tainted history of our PGs. Kenny Smith was criticized a lot, too. This is why you will also hear people here say defending Lin is getting overly protective and sensitive of a single player. As for answering your question, note I do not criticize Lin. I am thrilled with his defense. He is reminding me of Rafer Alston with less dribbling skills but better finishing skills. They are both good defenders with team-oriented PG mentalities who can have bad shooting slumps. But with Yao Ming, Rafer was mercilessly bashed for being a 35% 3pt shooter. Yao needed a PG to hit the open shot. Lin would probably get equal treatment in that regard, if matched with Yao Ming. I still thought Alston was overly criticized, because he was such a good ballhandler and defender. Not everyone can be perfect on a team. I would be thrilled if Lin can get his shooting efficiency up. That is hugely important if we get a dominant low post scorer, which Lin has never had. I don't care about his numbers. His stats will work itself out to match the system and team needs. On this team, he will not have a role like Rondo, since he is matched with a top 3 SG. His defense, rebounding, team mentality and assists are there. Efficiency and consistent aggressive play on offense is where his improvement lies on this team.
After last season I never thought I would see the day where fans are pleading for Lin to be more aggressive offensively. I laugh just thinking about it. The whole putting him in the corner asking him to be a spot up shooter really did a number on him mentally. Frankly I don't think playing with Harden made him passive because Lin was still aggressive with Melo who can be a major ball stopper (Harden isn't like that at all). It was mainly how he was used in the offense, off the ball vs on the ball, spot up shooter vs shooter off the dribble, getting to the FT line vs not getting to the FT line, coming off screens & picks vs not coming off screens & picks etc. If you feature Lin properly in the offense he will be aggressive with or without Harden. And him being aggressive means the team is successful.
It was pretty obvious to me that he lost a step from his injury. But he's getting it back. Why can't timidness be attributed to that ... maybe just a little? I write a long post to explain how the history of the Rockets is driving much of the criticism of Lin -- saying that it isn't all about him, it is about our history of PGs. Then you go and reply with a very tiresome repeat of the Harden vs Lin debate. I don't get it. You are WAAAAAY overly protective of the kid. The stuck-in-the-corner explanation is not even reality anymore. Him healing from injury is closer to reality than that. Him learning a new team; Harden learning a new team; is closer to reality than "he is only a spot up shooter." Look, Parsons has been aggressive all year. He also has a role as a spot up shooter. That's all we mean by we want to see aggression on a consistent basis. What is wrong with catching and driving. Manu Ginobili does that. You don't need constant PnRs to learn to be aggressive...you can catch the ball and drive like Parsons does, as well as run PnRs. Stop being so defensive. Back up and watch with a more objective eye. I am not criticizing Lin. Overall, this BBS is not criticizing him anymore than many previous PGs in Rockets history. He is certainly not be bashed as much as Rafer Alston, considering his poor shooting numbers. He will be fine. He's too diligent and too smart to not work through this.
Hey man, I did this for myself without any specific member in mind. Please don't take it personally for whatever reason. And if you don't care about his numbers, then more power to you. I just dislike reading posts that go something like: "If you think that Lin is so good, you're crazy and I can't take you seriously." or "This is nothing, so and so can do this as well, and you're dumb if you think Lin is that good. He's a flash in a pan." or our favorite "I'll take Dragic or Lowry over this fool any day." (LOL) Just a lot of fluff. It's hard to discuss if nobody even knows their standards or expectations. Maybe human psychology explains why they pine for the predecessors, but I would like to know what exactly they are pining for, and what they want from the new guy. Numbers may not tell the whole picture, such as whether someone is gay for a player, but at least it gives us a rudimentary idea. Like from my numbers, you can totally see I like Lin and I expect great things from him (No, I'm not gay for him :grin. True, I'm pretty Lin-specific at the moment, but we can always post up our expectations of Harden or Asik or Parsons. I'll have fun doing that as well.
^ Yeah, I get it. For me, it is hard to answer your question (i.e., my expectations of Lin in terms of numbers), because I'm not sure a coach would think that way either. It's hard for me, because it should depend upon the team dynamics. If he's a PG with Kevin Martin as SG, I'd expect different numbers. If he's a PG with Yao Ming as center, I'd expect different numbers. With Harden as a back court running mate, I expect different numbers. I'm looking for offensive efficiency and consistency in whatever he is asked to do. Everything else, he's solid.
"Giving credits when it's due" is fine, and I respect you as a poster to be consistent, but all these time the majority of Lin fans have simply been saying "look, we know Lin hasn't been playing well, but we have seen what he's capable of, so let's just have patience until he's over the slump!" It's easy for one to give out praise / critique after it's already happened, instead of looking deeper into finding out the how's and why's...
Lin's body isn't build for many consecutive games playing like this. The guy is falling like 5 times a game playing like this and don't expect him to play injury free. His kind of reckless driving doesn't have a very good body balance to avoid from falling.
This assessment tells me that you are watching bball correctly. I don't know if you've posted overly critical comments about Lin in the past, but if this post is along the lines of what you are saying, I agree almost completely with you. The fact that you are able to ascertain that Lin is an excellent defender, hence overcoming the completely false (and in my opinion deliberately slandering) mass media portrayal of Lin as a poor defender means that you are at least fairly and accurately assessing his performance. I agree (and have said throughout his career) that the biggest areas for Lin to improve are shooting and ballhandling/dribbling. We have already seen him take major strides in the latter area, and if the latest game is any indication, his shooting is well on its way to getting back to last year's form where he was generally acknowledged as the Knicks' second or third-best outside shooter and hopefully beyond.
