I am a LOF i am also concerned about his shooting blues . I think this game is the BIG turning point folks. Huge psychological hurdle for him, I don't want to Jinx it. But Asik slayed his old team Bulls , Lin the Knicks. NEXT HARDEN on OKC?
I don't hate Lin, but I feel signing him was a huge mistake. That being said, with Lowry upset and then out the door and Dragic standing stubborn about a player option, it's not like we had much of a choice. It could be worse... we could still be starting AB or Alston chucking side by side with Harden.
Sadly I think race has a lot to do with it. I don't understand why minorities hate other minorities. You'd think they would have empathy for each other.
The answer is very simple: Lin has not played well enough. Lin needs to shoot much better, period. There is just no other way around it. His game deteriorated from last year simply due to his inability to shoot. His poor shooting makes his attacking basket much more difficult thus less effective on offense and making plays for teammates. Unless Lin can shoot and score double digit and assist no less than 6 each game, he will never get respected by the fans regardless of how many rebounds/steals he makes. That's the cold reality. In NBA, you need to score. End of story.
Lots of other players aren't doing well. Lin gets way more heat than those guys. Honestly, the Lin fans play the race card too much. But race is a factor. Race was a factor Linsanity was so hyped. Race is a factor Lin got grilled because he's not shooting well. Again, people magnify his shooting woe to overshadow his overall game. He has been solid in all other aspects of the game. They just perpetuate the myths "he sucks" "he's garbage" "he's a joke" etc. Would you rather have Douglas as your starting PG and Machado backing him up?
Shut the **** up because you don't know what it feels like losing those two 2012er. It's like getting Budweiser after ordering Heineken.
Getting crap in a blue can after ordering crap in a green bottle? Not a good analogy man. How about, getting a Budweiser after ordering a Sierra Nevada Pale. Except Lin is nowhere near as bad as anything from Anheuser-Busch, and I'm not sure Dragic or Lowry are as good as a trusty SNP. Getting a Pabst Blue Ribbon after ordering a Sam Adams Boston Lager? Yeah, that sounds about right. Getting a mediocre beer after ordering an above average one.
This. And the LOF vs. LOH debates are pathetic and a poor reflection of Clutchfans.com. I wish it would stop but the ignorance is strong on both sides. Lin is a Rocket now so I support him. Every Rocket fan should too. And valid criticism does not mean lack of support. But veiled attempts at racism does not constitute valid criticism either, just hate, pure and simple. And I for one, am just sick of all the hate.
Here are the reasons as the way I see it (I am an Asian-American). 1. I do not believe a majority of Houston fans hate him at all. 2. There are a few black brothers fans who do not like the fact that a yellow brother is getting paid good money and getting a lot of publicity playing in NBA. But if a first black brother made it to NBA, the media would be the same way. 3. Lin's shooting has been terrible and needs to improve. I think Lin is a good passer and if given a chance to control the ball more, he would be able to find the right player to shoot. His D is not as bad as some people think (I agree Lin does not play a very "tight" style of D, so it looks as if Lin is not playing a tough D), although I disagree with many LOFs who think Lin plays an "excellent" D. I do agree that it might be worthwhile for Rockets to let Lin bring up the ball and control the ball, simply because I do not see Lin as having a good consistent shooting skills at this point, and the way Rockets is playing Lin is not taking advantage of his strengths. 4. His play for Rockets so far let people down who mistakenly believed that 2nd Linsanity would take place. However, if Lin can succeed (a big if) in improving his shooting, he can be 16 points/7 assists per game type of PG who makes a lot of positive contributions to Rockets. 5. Unreasonable statements by LOFs who predicted that Lin would be a 20 points/9 assists PG. I myself was called a "hater" and "troll" for saying I think Lin's average will at best be around 12 points/8 assists per game this season. I don't know why they cannot accept the fact that the Linsanity was due to a conflux of many factors that will probably never be repeated. I am not ready to predict a ceiling for Lin, but his shooting does not look very stable to me, and it's not very easy to become a good shooter. Conclusion: Lin has an upside to become 16 points/8 assists per game type of PG IF he can develop a more stable shooting. If he can develop other aspects of offensive game in addition to a stable shooting, Lin can become 18 points/9 assists PG. If Lin fails on both areas and continues the curent level of shooting, he will become a back-up PG. It may be wise for Rockets to allow Lin for at least few games to play as a primary ball handler/play-maker and see what he can do, rather than have Harden fill those roles. What I do know is that Lin can get all the players involved.
For some, racial prejudice could be a factor. But I think, more than that, its a resentment that he's getting publicity and money that was not earned solely by the level of his play. Of course, one could argue that had he been black maybe he would have been more highly recruited in college, maybe he would have been drafted higher in the draft, and maybe he would have gotten more opportunities to prove himself in his rookie season.
Response I see where you are going with this, but believe me, there are a lot of black NBA players who are getting paid big time for producing not that much. It's not that I disagree with you, but from a purely monetary perspective, I don't know if Lin is not worth what he got because unlike other "regular" NBA players, he adds something extra to the revenue stream. By the way, his level of play during the Linsanity period was damn high, but I do agree with anyone that says the sample number was too small. I disagree with any LOFs who keep on saying that Lin's play during the Linsanity period proves that Lin is a great player. No question Rockets took a chance on Lin, but from the bottom line perspective, Rockets might not be losing all that much money.
