(BEFORE tonight) PER 36 minutes: Kyle Lowry 2012 16.0 pt / 7.4 ast (5.1 rb / 1.7 stl / 18.9 PER) Jeremy Lin 2013 15.8 pt / 7.2 ast (6.7 rb / 1.9 stl / 18.7 PER) Goran Dragic 2012 15.9 pt / 7.2 ast (3.5 rb / 1.7 stl / 18.0 PER) Opinion: I think Dragic was the keeper. He was most athletic, played VERY well as a starter and wanted to play here. Lowry was the better player of all when his head was on good, but his head WASNT on good. Lin isnt as careful with the ball as them and as good or better in other playmaking capabilties. But he is showing he's in the same league of those guys doing it at a younger breakout age than when they established themselves Lin might not ever equal Linsanity again, but at the very least Lin adequately replaces what went out. He's not setting the world on fire, but he's not exactly being Moochie Norris, Toney Douglas, Smush Parker out there either. Lin is closer to Lowry and Dragic than Kevin Martin is to James Harden
If Lin ever matched the Linsanity numbers, he'd be the best PG in the league. It *may* be possible eventually, but folks have to stop using that as a measuring stick, especially on a team where he's going to eventually settle in as the #2 or #3 shooting option.
Many games have Lowry and Dragic under their belt? Relax for now, Lin hasn't even played one full season yet. He's just starting to get his speed back, and we know we can finish. If he averages something like 16 pts, 7 assists, 2 steals, in what is his second year, then we all should be very happy. Not only are those numbers more than realistic, but the same numbers Lowry was putting up last year when CF were quick to label him a "top 5 PG".
Right. I don't think people REALLY expect the HEIGHT of "Linsanity" to happen from here on out. Its like unrealistically expecting Brandon Jennings to have his rookie year 55 point game become A ROUTINE thing. I think its people want to have the BETTER PLAYER of the deal. Have the best player than the ones they let go. And people are saying it has to be Linsanity level to convincingly have the best of the bunch, simply cuz thats what they associate with Lin. Ironically, last year Dragic had a stretch run JUST AS GOOD as Lin's and he came back down to earth UNDERSTANDABLY by the community. Yet Lin is supposed to resurrect and maintain that level as the norm. Career minutes played: Lowry - 9703 Dragic - 5227 Lin - 1300 Right now Lin is average to good. But lets see what Lin does around the 3000-4000 mark right around when Lowry and Dragic began to show something.
Phoenix, led by Dragic, lost to the Powerhouse Magic, minus Jameer, led by superstar E'Twaun fking Moore making his 1st career start. Dragic: 35 minutes, 12 pts* (5/12), 8 ast (3to), 3 rb, 1 stl, (-14) E'Twaun fking Moore: 38 minutes, 15 pts (6/11), 5 ast (3 to), 3 rb, 3 stl, (+15) *Dragic only had 6 points until he started hoisting (stat padding) with about 2 minutes to go with the blowout well in hand.
Yeap, I saw the game too. Magic was up by 16 with 1.5 minutes to go and Dragic scored 6 to take him to 12 points. He can't get good shots for his guys and his defense allowed his guy to go off. Of, don't forget Scola. He played no defense tonight. Big Baby could do anything he wanted - drive or shot over Scola all game. Big Baby looked like Jordan out there.
That's funny. Because Lowry TORCHED Deron Williams last nite and destoyed Minnesota tonight. Lowry's playing like a elite point guard right now
I don't know how meaningful it is to compare the stats of two PGs playing for different teams, unless you're comparing with Chris Paul or Deron Williams, then everybody else sucks. The PGs have different roles on different teams. Even the same PG has different role playing against different teams. What's the purpose of putting up big numbers if he doesn't help his team win? Every time the PG puts up a shot, it's one shooting opportunity taken away from his teammates. Look at Westbrook. He often puts up more shots than Durant. Those shots could have been Durant's shots if Westbrook would pass instead. It's what the PG does to help his team wins that is important.
Let's not disparage one player just to prop up another player. Dragic didn't play well but he is still really talented & did well for the Rockets last year. Between his stretch of play, Lin's stretch of play & the Spurs last 20 games when they went undefeated that was a lot of fun basketball.
To be fair, he was signed strictly off the 25 game stretch he played last year. That's what management used as their measuring stick when they gave him 25 million
I posted this on the Lin's Scrutiny thread but am copying it here again: People who still talk about missing Lowry/Dragic are like the guy whose wife left him for another guy. Now he's got a new wife, and all he talks about was how he misses his ex, how well the ex is doing with the new guy, how pretty her new haircut is blah blah blah... We get it, we get it, your think ex is prettier, smarter, cooks better and does many other things better, but she's GONE. Get over it, and embrace your new wife. Give your new wife some love, because she's all you have now. If you start a new job and is doing a decent job, and all your boss is talking about is how he misses the person you replaced... what would you think?
No, Kmart & Jeremy Lamb landed us Harden. The pick was a throw in. Had we traded Scola we could've had the same pick.
A lot of the seemingly objective stat citation just talks around the emotional factor underlying much of this discussion -- it's just natural to be attached to players you've spent a lot of time watching. This is especially true when you have watched a player break out and followed his development; it's definitely something special to experience as a sports fan. I still hear people talking about Scola nostalgically even though his metrics for last season indicate that he was merely average (PER was 15.5; average is 15) or below average (WP48 was NEGATIVE .015; average is .100). Of course, we aren't talking about Scola here and he can't compare to Lowry/Dragic at this point in their careers, but the emotional component is the same. This emotional component of being a fan makes judgment biased on some level, but without this emotional attachment, you're simply not a fan. The Rox roster got completely exploded. It's no surprise that it's a messy thing transitioning to the 'New Age.'
Not quite that simple The question is did the organization make the right decision. If not, then we need to look at Morey and figure out if he's making basketball decisions or cashing in on our "cash cow". Accountability that's all
