Are you still spewing vomit about Machado?? I have already told you, Lin is still going to be the starter, which is really all you wanted to hear.
Douglas probably has the backup job now, but will lose it sometime in the season to Machado or get traded.
This aint about Lin, in fact this may be my first post ever regarding him...I dont care about Lin, he is decent and has room to grow. I like his size but his inability to use the left hand and his suspect Turnover disease are turn offs. This is about Machado and how much he doesnt deserve to be in the NBA.
In your last post, you provided these reasons for why Machado "sucks": 1. He is a 3rd string or camp cut at best 2. "too slow" 3. "no D" 4. Passing is unimportant 5. Championship teams don't have great passing PGs except Rondo 6. Rondo is better than Machado 7. Rondo has all NBA defensive honors 8. Rondo has been an all-star 9. It will be sad if he gets more than 10 minutes 6-8 are my personal favorites. Now answer me two questions: 1. Why do you think your view of Machado differs so greatly from Houston's professional scouts? 2. What will he need to do this season for you to admit it was a success for him?
Your being unfair to both players. Before you make any conclusive statements like Machado doesn't deserve to be in the NBA why don't we at least see what he can do in season. I think your wrong that he doesn't deserve to be in the NBA in fact, some beat writers were really impressed by Machado calling him a legit NBA PG. Tommy Beer @TommyBeer Machado is a legit NBA PG. Kid can play. Solid signing by the #Rockets. I was also impressed by him. I agree with you that his inability so score & weak defense will be problems. However he is still young & all those things can be improved upon, look at Lin he improved his athleticism & his shooting over the lock out. Also the Rockets aren't a championship team so having a point guard who can't score the ball isn't a problem. Plus Lin is the starter & he can score the ball as well as pass. In regards to Lin, the left hand thing is overblown, Manu & Harden are all dominant on one hand they manage to survive. Also, I take Lin's TO's any day considering all the other great things he brings to the position. Plus Rubio, Nash, Rondo, Kidd all turn the ball over more than him.
so instead of trimming our roster we added to it? so who is getting cut? or can we start training camp and pre season with more than 15 and wait to decide on who to cut?
The Rockets are at the max of 20 guys on there roster entering camp. 5 guys will have to be cut to get us down to 15.
Not to derail this thread but why are your biggest turnoffs the most irrelevant part of Lin's game? The lack of his left hand is due to a lack of skills, it is something that is crippling during the NBA season but also something totally correctable once the offseason began and you have 2-3 months to work on it. Just do drills everyday for a couple of months and presto! You can now use both hands. Lin already said working on his left hand was priority number 1, he won't be totally ambidextrous by once the season begins but there's no doubt there will be significant improvement. The turnovers are a product of D'Antoni's helter-skelter style and Lin's inexperience on the court. Dude was just a rookie and had like 2 months of meaningful minutes, give him some more time at the point and the TOs will decrease automatically. Regarding Machado I don't know why you're so down on the guy, he has shown some nice plays during the SL. Sure he has major holes on his game, but considering our other pg is Tony Douglas there's a good chance he'll be the 10 min backup on the squad.
FWIW, in a recent interview, Lin's shooting coach said that he thinks Lin's weaker facility with going left is not primarily because of his left-side handle, but because his explosiveness with his right leg (which is usually used to push off when going left) is not as good. From that diagnosis, I think that means he's having Lin not just work on his left-side handle but also on right-leg training. I'm going to bring up Rondo again because it's related to going left, and also bc there was that recent convo about Rondo. When Rondo goes left, he not only can finish with his left arm but can also jump off of the same side as the finishing arm (eg, jump with right leg and finish with right arm). This goes beyond just ambidexterity. It's unusual to be able to coordinate the finishing arm and the jumping leg so that they are both from the same side, especially if it's not your preferred jumping leg. The larger point I'm making is that going left isn't just about the handle but also about the finishing moves you have on that side, on top of the right-leg burst mentioned above.
Give credit to Machado and his agent, I frankly didn't think he'd get a partial deal at least not from the Rockets. He is a quality playmaker and if he can improve other aspects of his game, he will make for a great backup. Sadly I also see his signing as meaning they may try to do the two PGs on the floor thing again this season so someone is definitely getting screwed for playing time that is currently on the roster (probably a big man or one of our tweeners) when they go small ball.
goran and lin aren't that different. goran did not score a ton more points, assists or win a bunch more games than lin. SMH. people here act like we lost cp3. losing lowry kinda sucks.
You turned this from "Goran and Lowry vs Lin and Machado" into "Goran vs Lin". That's not the same thing. It IS sad. I still believe Goran > Lin anyways. But that's tanking - expect the worst and hope for the best!
Flynn was a mediocre rookie. But Machado was undrafted, not a first round pick. If we get anything out of him, it's a bonus.
I really don't see how anyone could be so sure that Goran is better than Lin. Lin is 2-3 years younger and he put up better numbers in a similar sample size as a starter. They're VERY similar players (even Lin said so when he was with the Rockets the first time) but I'd bet on Lin in the long term just because of age and physical attributes. On Machado, I see this as a great move. If he works out, then we have him for 3 years at the minimum. If he doesn't, then his unguaranteed contract is easily waived. I don't see any downside at all.
