ClutchFans Game Thread: Mavericks @ Rockets 12/8/2012

Hmm, it sounds like a fun and intriguing idea, having Jeremy Lin reunite with Mike D'antoni (and have Asik backing up Dwight?) But I just do not see it. Once these two are gone, who is going to rebound? And who will PG? And if Tony Douglas becomes the PG, is Scott Machado ready for the big show? There are just too many questions concerning the aforementioned scenario.

And Jeremy Lin's stats are not exactly awe-inspiring right now. And he has basically been made a de facto bench player / bench-warmer by the Rockets coaching staff. So I am not sure if Morey is the kind of trader that buys high and sells low. But if Jeremy Lin stays with the Rockets, he will probably not have much of a career after 3 years.

 

I think that a deal was already made and they don't want them to be injured to maintain their value. Here's a ridiculous idea: Why the hell does the coaching staff bench their 2 starters in the 4th quarter COMPLETELY? It made no sense whatsoever. It seems like they really want to bench Lin and Asik. 50 million dollars for bench players? Indications show really points to a trade.

 

29 assists yet it felt that there was a lack of ball movement.
I really loved how dallas used mayo, everybody touched the ball then back to him just like our "offense" in the first couple of games. I wish the coaching staff would have just kept to it, the whole concept of democratic basketball and not have changed their ideals a couple of games in.

 

I don't think Lin is going there to shoot. He's got Kobe. They've got Nash (if he's healthy). They got Dwight who just dunks it. Lin is going to be the quarterback, like he was supposed to be here in Houston. Apparently, houston doesn't like playmakers. Lin's passes, to me, are actually better than Nash's. It's a perfect fit. Rockets gets the traditional big man in Gasol, (remember Yao? Olajuwon? Malone?), Morey wanted Gasol before too. Lakers don't need another shooter in Lin. They need a quarterback, which is Lin's strong points. With TD in Houston, it'll be simple, just give the ball to Harden, he'll iso, if it don't work, pass it to Gasol in the low post, or some variation of those moves.

I just think it's going to happen because benching Asik and Lin in the 4th quarter makes no sense whatsoever. If they're not trading him, is Mchale really going to do something this dumb or this disrespectful?

 

That's my point, de-facto bench player. They're testing Douglas out just to see how well he does. They were testing Aldrich too. Why would anyone want to play Aldrich over Asik? I think being mediocre is okay for Douglas, assuming a trade for Gasol happens. I mean, the real scorer is supposed to be Harden and Gasol (assuming the trade happens). They were using Jlin to dribble the ball half court and give it to Harden. I think TD can do that just fine. Lakers want a superb quarterback who sees the floor and finds the open man, which I think JLin is great at. Even better than Nash as far as passing is concerned. Nash of course is a better shooter. We'll see. It makes so much sense though, because as I said, why the hell do you bench your 2 starters for the ENTIRE 4th quarter?

 

Wow.
All this and Lin still can't beat him out for crucial minutes?
What does that say about Lin then?

As you continue to pile on about Tony Douglas you unwittingly denigrate Jeremy Lin in the process.
Because if Lin was as talented as some of us believe he is surely he could beat out a scrub like you say TD is, especially in crunch time, right?

Or is this just the latest in a long line of conspiracies designed to undermine JLin's NBA career?

 

Wow...I mean...just Wow

 

When was the last time you saw Nash make a full court pass as accurately as Lin? And Nash is gone now, injury prone, probably something more serious. Besides, wouldn't you want this trade to happen? I mean, you sound so LOF.

 

Correction, I mean LOH

 

Exactly, McHale's coaching style is a puzzle wrapped in a riddle wrapped in an enigma. You can still debate whether it was a good idea to basically start Tony Douglas. But to bench Greg Smith and play Aldrich?

 

McHale planned before the game to play TD starters minutes hence pulling Lin after 6 minutes even though he was playing well and then leaving him out until the 3rd quarter. That was BS about Toney playing such great defense they left him in. The comeback in the 2nd quarter was mainly due to Mayo not playing for a lot of it and Harden getting very hot and scoring 30 by halftime. Lin started and played well and stayed in the whole 3rd quarter. Then according to plan they played TD the whole 4th quarter. I have no idea what they are trying to do.

 

All it says about Lin is that he currently can't space the floor as well as Douglas does (due to his shooting struggle). Both TD & Delfino created space for Harden (notice how even with his 3-11 shooting, Delfino still drew defender out to the 3pt line). TD wasn't on the floor to play PG; Harden was.

I TOTALLY agree Lin's shooting is subpar right now. But there's no denying Lin is better at PG/playmaking than TD. I mean, I'm sure you remember those preseason games where everyone was wanting Machado over Doughlas, right?

 

We'll see if a trade comes thru. I think there will.

 

Maybe but he did hit his first two 3 pointers. If they were coaching based on the game rather than a pre-determuined plan they would't have benched him for so long.

 

Maybe there won't be a trade now that their experiment has failed....

 

I was thinking the same thing too. I don't know. I just speculate on this. If they wanted Gasol (Which morey did), they certainly didn't have Gasol in the lineup to do their experiment.

 

He did, but the defense didn't adjust. Lin has yet to do it consistently enough to draw the defense out to the perimeter. Mavs even played zone D in 3Q. And because the defense stayed in the paint, Lin wasn't as successful attacking the rim (esp. w/o a reliable screen/roll partner).

I'm furious to see him benched too, but I'm guessing the coaches took a gamble by having Delfino/Douglas space the floor for Harden to attack the rim. Not smart IMO, esp. when they were playing Harden 45+min.

When Lin finds his shots back, I'm sure all will be well.

 

I think their experiment had to do with seeing if they needed Asik and Lin.

 

Could be. Big fail though. I would be so curious what's going to happen on Monday.

 

McHale didn't say anything about spacing the floor in is post-game interview. He said there was a lack of ball movement and stagnaton in the 4th quarter. Gee maybe that had something to do with your starting PG on the bench. He also specifically said that TD was in there for defense. I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you on the spacing the floor theory. Harden has had plenty of big scoring nights with Lin playing alongside him. I will agree that Delfino helps to space the floor.