My opinion is Sampson has been making mistakes with his coaching at the end of games. 1. Leaving Asik on the bench when he was needed to rebound FTs 2. Down by 3 points, wasted a timeout by not getting the right personnel on the floor and that prevented the ability to go for 2, foul, and get the ball back. 3. Questionable call benching Lin for all of the overtime for Tony Douglas. This is not a bias against Lin. This is a coach with no experience coaching NBA games making mistakes at the end of close games.
Yes but 2mins isn't much of a "try". Sampson stuck with the matchup he liked and it didn't work out simple as that.
we need to keep in mind, "scored on" can mean a lot of things. Yes Lillard scored on line with 19.6 or whatever left to get the lead up to 3, but watch the play folks. It's not like he crossed Lin over or made some backdoor cut for a lay up. He took a tough shot with a hand in his face....that's not bad defense. What could Douglas have done differently in that situation? Nothing. Furthermore, when you get picked off and a switch occurs, and Lillard hits a 3 over Parsons, is that scoring on Lin? "Well the same thing happened to DOuglas in OT so settle down Lin fans!!!" Nice retort, but if TD is going to defend Lillard the same way as Lin then why even have him in there? If you put TD in to defend Lillard then he's gotta play him differently. Tell him to fight over the pick, or deny Lillard the ball. If he's just gonna get picked off then what's the point? Then at that stage you're better off with Lin since he's a better rebounder and this team can't grab a big rebound to save their lives.
Lillard is a great player. I think many basketball fans can admit that much, even from a Rockets point of view. Lillard was heating up late in the game, picking up exactly where Batum left off. But even when I put on the the most objective Rockets fan "hat" I can find (and when watching Rockets games, that's what I try to be), I can't say I understand what Coach Sampson was doing. Perhaps this is where we differ. When Lillard scored over Lin with 17.9s remaining, that was well-contested shot by Lin. Everything I've seen points to Lillard being a young, gifted scorer. While Lillard was struggling through much of the game, putting TD, Parsons, Asik, or any other player on him would not have prevented that late game step-back jumper. Just as no one was going to stop Nicolas Batum that night. Perhaps this is why even the most objective Lin fans are confused, if not upset. Something is being attributed to "Lin's defense" when quite frankly, Lillard would have scored that on practically any one in the league not named Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, or Dwight Howard. The other part of the game was that Nicolas Batum was going off on us. Lin fans have not criticized other Rocket's players defense there. Why should we, as Rockets fans, be pointing the finger at Jeremy Lin?
I doubt it wasn't a bias... Any coach that seriously thinks TD is a better player than Lin to close out a game need to get his head checked...
I have no problem if Sampson thinks Douglas is the better defender. I don't feel any need to argue that. For me, it is entirely reasonable if he thinks it's better to sub in TD for a crucial defensive possession. However, the decision to bench Lin for the entire OT makes me mad as a Lin fan. That's just disrespectful. 5 minutes is a lot of game time, and for that amount of time you want to have your best players in there. Only reason you would put in TD over Lin is if you don't think there is any difference in their level of play.
You can't discount the eye test. Statistics can be manipulated and might not tell the entire story. That's why scouts go to games and watch it as well instead of just looking at stats. My eyes tell me TD is more of an aggressive on the ball defender and makes opponents work. He might not be the better overall defender but more useful in certain matchups hence that's what Samspon said.
What no one seems to have mentioned is the fact that this hurts Lin's morale not having the confidence of your coach to play clutch time. Lin right now lacks confidence in his game. He had a tough week, the air ball heard around the world, the complete disappearance against NO. Through 4 quarters of the Portland game he was slowly and surely building his confidence again. With Lin it is easy to tell on the court, he wears his emotions clearly on his face. He was smiling with assist number 10 to Parsons. We need a confident Lin on the court in order to start rebuilding his confidence in his shot. Sampson benching him as a starter with a double double destroyed 48 mins of confidence built. And to lose the game as well. Complete shot to the ego. Would any of us be surprised if Lin came out and played timid again tonight, having to worry about what he can and cannot do that may or may not result in his benching? Terrible coaching by Sampson.
Maybe sitting on the bench in overtime will motivate him to play better the next time he is on the floor.
That's the main reason why Lin's always been overlooked by the scouts. You just can't deny his race plays a big role when it comes to eye test. Sampson already threw out the comments like "he will need to defend the PGs that are bigger, stronger and quicker than him." Lin is 6'3 and 200. That's obviously pretty big and strong among all the PGs. But still, the eye test... What TD dose defensively is waving his arms around. It looks like he puts a lot pressure on the opponent, but it doesn't mean it is EFFECTIVE! What Lin does is actually to force a low % shot. His move might not be as flashy as TD's in your eyes, but there's a reason why his defensive stat is the 2nd best among our starters. Anyway TD's defense didn't work at all in OT, did it?
Then he's mentally weak if that's the case. Personally, I would be going in with mindset of wanting to prove my coach wrong. And I'm sure the best players in the League share that same thought.
The Houston rockets where 11 points 11 assists 3 TO's 2 blocks 1 steal 6 rebounds gets you benched in OT, happens.
Lin played tentatively at GSW because one mistake and the coach would pull him out. Players have said that D'Antoni gives them a lot of freedom and trust. He basically told Lin that he didn't care how many turnovers he got, as long as he played aggressively. I'm not blaming Sampson for having a different style than D'Antoni. But one is considerably the better coach than the other, that's all.
I think you're underestimating how tough Lin is mentally. While being benched during OT for Toney Douglas of all people might hurt, I don't think it's going to result in a downward spiral for him. Yes, Lin's confidence in his jumper is at an all time low right now, but I think in the end he's going to overcome everything. His work ethic and dedication is too great for him not to improve. It might take awhile, but I have confidence in him. I mean, that's how Linsanity started right? No one believed in him and he was determined to prove that he is worth something.
