You remember me, I was the reason Jeremy Lin was overpaid and not worth that "ridiculous" contract. I was the reason why it was a foregone conclusion that Lowry/Dragic are better. Well, I want you guys to meet my buddy, Arithmetic. And he just let me in on a secret: 25 games > 10 games. I remember at the beginning of last season when I felt the coaching staff was misusing some of the players, and not playing to their strengths. Shockingly, as the year progressed and the coaches got more familiar to brand new players they have never coached before, this problem alleviated itself. Some of that also had to do with players learning and adjusting to a new coaching philosophy. Funny how that works. Jeremy's current shooting struggles have to do with a lack of familiarity with the coaching staff. A lack of familiarity with his teammates. Resulting in him not playing to his strengths, leading to a dip in confidence. The good news is, its been 10 games. The coaches will figure out how to use their players. The players will figure out how to play with eachother. Jeremy will be fine. And the Rockets will be much better for it. By the way, I have another friend, Patience. But you wouldn't recognize him if he fell flat on your face.
How many accounts do you have? Cxbby and sample size?!?!? And you're probably arithmetic and patience as well. "Friends"... I bet. But seriously, 10 games is a short amount of time, but I have certainly not seen too much to be optimistic about YET. I'm not saying that Lin cannot be a sold PG, but he has a lot of work to do.
So confidence wasn't an issue in NY, where everything was magnified, but it is, now, here in Houston? Where expectations were lowered by the staff? Don't buy it. Why doesn't it happen with other players? His shot is broken, probably due to inconsistent release. He needs to fix it mechanically, not mentally. You can see him loft it up there, as oppose to actually shooting it.
It's funny. In the summer I'm begging for the GARM to pick up it's thread production. I'm willing to read almost any new one. Now during the season, I kind of miss the lack of new stupid threads being created. Grass is always greener, eh?
So his release wasn't an issue in NY, where he shot a higher % over a greater sample size, but it is now in Houston, after 10 games? Confidence isn't the entire issue. Like I said, a big part of it is playing to his strengths. Jeremy is not a spot up shooter, he hits a higher % off the dribble. As the coaching staff learns his game, and as Jeremy himself better assimilates with his teammates and Harden, he will take more types of shots that suit his strengths, and less of the shots that are to his weaknesses. His percentages will go up due to that, as well as a natural reversion to the mean.
yeah, then it will be "good thing it's only been 20 games" and then 30 and then 40 and then "oh, it's just the first season, give it time". Blah blah blah. Lin was a mistake. You same dudes fought the notion that Ariza was trash until he was traded. Get over it.
His shot does look like crap, but hasn't it always? Sometimes he gets hot and can string together some solid jumpers, but with improper form it's just fool's gold. It's hard for me to ever get excited about a guard with an odd looking jump shot. Spoiler
A smart and confident guy like Lin, who just experienced playing in NYC and Linsanity, lost his confidence playing in a more comfortable setting, where less was expected. A player coming back from a knee injury, who is set shooting more than before, is missing some bounce in his legs, so he unconsciously changes his release to compensate. Which is more likely?
CXbby: I like you to meet a friend of mine, "Got Lost." She is perfect fit for you. BTW, next time I visit NY, I will buy you a Stinky Tofu. It is highly recommended by Tinman. One of his favorite dish beside BBQ and Fried Chicken.
