Most people are more familiar with Dragic on this forum. Numbers show Lin is more athletic and was better last season. But let's move on and hope Lin recover well and get better in the future.
Lin needs to STOP being hesitant when attacking the rim, the majority of his drives to the basket he is in limbo on what he is going to do, and this is causing him to get in awkward situations that lead to an awkward shot, the only time he should pass in the paint if its the opportunity provides itself, when the opposing team's big comes and closes in on him.
His issue is the same as Patterson's last season - He's not fully recovered from the injury yet. When you don't have the legs to go through contact, you just don't or you'll be hurt again. Similarly for Asik, he just doesn't have the athleticism/strength (yet) to dunk in traffic no matter how fans scream at him. Let's be patient and either let them recover/develop or just figure out another way of playing.
If he's not fully recovered from meniscus surgery that should have taken 6 weeks to heal, then he's damaged goods.
He's not injured anymore, but it takes time to regain his full athletic ability. It's obvious Patterson can't jump or dunk like he's capable of last season, but he's not damaged goods. Lowry rushed back later last season and disappointed us , but he's back to form now. Both will be back to their peak conditioning and perform great again.
It does not necessarily mean he will, but improvement is a curve of diminishing returns. The bulk of most players' development takes place in their initial years. The younger and less experienced they are, the more they benefit from both coaching and reps. Corrections of form, review from tape, repetitions in training camp yield MUCH larger returns for players starting out than players who have been through those camps multiple times. Are there exceptions to that rule? Of course there are, but given 2 equally talented players, it's a given that the younger and less experienced player will improve MORE than the older and more experienced player. Now, if you want to argue that Dragic has more "base talent", then you're entitled to that opinion. Taking the position of devil's advocate, I would ask why did it take SO many seasons for him to have a break out year? He spent multiple years as a professional in the Euro leagues, multiple years on the Suns under the tutelage of one of the best PG's in history, in a PG friendly system, yet it is in his 8th year at a pro that he finally has a breakout season. It clearly wasn't due to lack of play time (he played more minutes in EVERY season he's been in the NBA than Lin has in his previous 2 years). It wasn't due to a non-friendly system (PHO is PG friendly). It wasn't due to the lack of mentors (it doesn't get any better than Steve Nash). Dragic is entering his prime years. I didn't say that he had reached his peak. The prime years for NBA players are typically 26-33. After that they have a physical decline due to the rigors of the sport. Sure, there are anomalies like Steve Nash (who was also a late bloomer). However, MOST players reach the bulk of their potential by the age of 26 or 27. Shooting is purely repetitions and shot selection. They improve mostly when players work on them. Novak for example shoots over 500 x 3 pointers per day, rain or shine. He works supremely hard at it, which is part of why he's great at it. There is a cieling of course, but even Lebron (who had a dramatic seasonal improvement) said that he improved because he not only decided to focus on it in the offseason as a specific goal (first time), but he made an active choice to shoot fewer 3 pointers, especially contested 3 pointers (shot selection). Lin has a well documented hard work ethic. If anything, the biggest complaint is the worry that he works TOO hard. He spends a tremendous amount of time improving on his weaknesses. His core skills will continue to improve because talent is only part of the equation, hard work is an equally large part. As for the "what if his knee blows out again" that's a specious argument. The recovery rate for the type of surgery that Lin underwent is well over 90% for professional athletes. IE, they reach full return to activity. Also, there is NO correlation between that type of surgery and incidence of reinjury. Unlike chronic conditions like loss of cartilage (Roy) or arthritic issues, once fixed it's fixed. It's like arguing that someone who breaks a bone is more likely to re-break that bone. There's no medical evidence for it whatsoever. I didn't say Dragic would NOT be improving over the next 2 years, just that his curve of improvement would likely be SMALLER than Lin's due to the amount of NBA minutes and number of NBA training camps that Dragic already has under his belt. Dragic has 4x the minutes of Lin in the NBA, and double the number of training camps. He also spent multiple years playing under the mentorship of Steve Nash... unlike Lin who walked into the league with Mike Bibby and Baron Davis (neither of who could play for much of the season), and who was learning "on the job" during a compressed season with minimal down time for practices. I've never said that either. I have no idea what Lin's maximum potential is, neither does anyone else. However, statistical analysis of players with similar performances over their first 25 starts tend to peg Lin's probably downside as "average", with a maximum upside in the all-star+ category. As for articles/links etc, I would love to pull up every article I've read regarding cartilage injury, meniscus tears and repair, statistical studies of player development, his athletic scores from BAM, etc, however it would take an inordinate amount of time and space. There's a tremendous amount of information out there (and not just in my posts). Feel free to avail yourself of it.
It's debatable that Dragic is playing at a better level right now and it's debatable that Dragic will have the better overall career. What's NOT debatable is buzz. Our goal for the next few years is to build a championship core and that requires getting a #1 or #2 option to run alongside Harden. Lin helps make Houston an attractive destination more than Dragic does. Furthermore, Lin's contract is up after 2014-15 which is probably about when our best window for a title will be (i.e. Lebron opts out, SAS/LAL/DAL get old, etc.). This means that we will have the flexibility to add another core player (whether Lin or not). Dragic's deal wouldn't give us that flexibility.
That's true, in Morey's interview the only franchise player on the team is Harden. The rest are assets, including Lin and Asik.
Yep, White is in big trouble. Morey went to bat for that kid and he's a mental case making Morey look stupid. Morey has no conscience trading away or waiving players he lose confidence in.
I already conceded the diminishing returns angle, not worth rehashing. Regarding the above, see the bolded portion to answer your own question. And to preempt you, no, Lin would not have gotten more minutes than Dragic did if he was Nash's backup. So a player's peak does not coincide with a player's prime? Do they reach it when they start declining? No. You're implying that Dragic will break down sooner than Lin. I don't think it matters for a team choosing between to two due to the fact that they are similar in age. In fact, Lin would raise more red flags due to his injury history. He can't shoot right now and he might not ever be able to shoot. Rondo has tremendous work ethic. So does Kidd. Yet every year they come back and still suck at shooting. You can get better at it with hard work but it is by no means a foregone conclusion. Dragic can shoot right now. He was better as a starter in almost every category. He only just started playing starter minutes. He may be further along than Lin but that does not mean that he's so close to his ceiling that there will be no significant improvement. You're perfectly willing to argue that Lin will develop a shot based on your own belief and yet attack the assertion that he might get injured again. There is some basis for my assertion that he could get injured again because his injury was a "chronic meniscal tear" which could lead to degeneration. It "usually occurs in persons over 40." Not very encouraging. You had an entire make believe portion on how we should pretend that Dragic does not improve for 2 years while Lin does. It makes for a good theoretical argument, but does not add much to the current argument. Save that gem for when you get a drink after work. LOL the effectiveness of a mentor is not hinged on how many minutes one plays. We can do away with that argument. Furthermore, who's arguing that Dragic is not more developed anyway? OK I agree. Where is this analysis? If you're going to make such a bold assertion, back it up. Oh ok. I'll just take your word for it then. In the end, Dragic is the more appealing PG. He has size, shooting, experience (both regular season and playoff), court awareness, toughness, and no injury history. He also had the benefit of playing with Nash. Lin is an electrifying player who needs the ball in his hands to excel. He has a reputation as a ball stopper and can't really shoot. He also had a chronic meniscus tear in the same season he started getting heavy minutes.
In reality, Dragic and Lin's production is extremely close. People just talking sht to make themselves look smart. Also, no games for Rockets for a couple of days. You're going to get this type of fantasy comparison.
My biggest problem with Lin is that sometimes he just seems to hide in the corner of the court. He has to realize that he has a realize that he has to score a lot for this team to win. Parsons and Asik are not even average at offense. Patterson is just average. For this team to win Lin has to shoulder the responsibility for the offense. Just taking one shot in a whole quarter is not going to cut it. Someone has to help this guy develop a mean streak. He starts playing more urgently in the 4th quarter but he has to be like this throughout the game. And he also can not pass an open shot when he knows that apart from Harden no one on this team is a reliable shooter.
Only 3 games, relax. Lin isn't going to kill team chemistry and it's up to the coach to give Lin the green light. Obviously, McHale has been going to Harden all game, every game. Lin has to play the beta and get the other guys involved in the offense. Harden is also a playmaker, it's his responsibility too.
Not entirely true. Dragic has shown to be the superior 3 point shooter, but last season Lin was more effective from mid-range shots, shooting 47.7% from 10ft to inside the 3pt line, versus Dragic's 37.0%. NY Times: How Good Will Lin Be? Jeremy Lin and Historical Comparisons
Have some class. He suffers from anxiety disorder. He isn't a "mental case" he has a mental health illness diagnosed by a medical professional. Read up on mental health issues before you start spouting out nonsense.
