Maybe, but I don't even think Lin has sucked. Overall, he's handled the ball well, and stepped up at times with his drives, and PnR's. There has been some inconsistency with the PnR's, and he definitely needs to work on his shooting. But I like what Lin has done for the most part, and believe that he's working on the rest of the game. I think once the team has some more experience and time to gel Lin will be valuable.
Oh he has definitely sucked so far this year. Sure there are some positive things that you can take away from the way his played but overall they aren't enough to say that he hasn't sucked this year. Still room and time to improve though.
I did, and none of what you wrote was even remotely true nor objective. If Lin gets 39/9/7 in a game we lost, are you going to make a thread saying Lin relegates everyone else to a 3 point shooter? Harden has the worse treatment on this board, all from a loud group of individuals whose love for a certain player transcends the need for success of this team. This team needs adjustment, this team makes a lot of rookie mistakes. That's the process all young teams go through. We became the youngest team over the course of one off-season, and right now we are hovering around .500. Look at teams like the Wizards, or the Kings, or the Raptors, and then look at the Rockets. Look how far ahead we are, and look how little time we took to get there. And all some of you want to do is trash on the best player on this team to make your favorite player look better. I always supported Lin, and always wanted him to succeed even when he was on the Knicks. But some of you Lin fans make it near impossible for me to support him, not because I don't want to, but because I end up defending other players from your blame games.
Why argue with these guys. The op joined when Lin bcame a Rocket. Its obvious he has a very limited knowledge of basketball but a whole lotta love for Lin.
First they blame it now Melo, now they turn on Harden I guess Lin just can't play well next to an all star honestly there won't be another time where Lin handles the ball as much as he did during Linsanity for the rest of his career so he better learn to play well as a role player.
Rep for this and yep. The team is doing just fine, going through growing pains but before the season how many people had this team 9-10? Last year they started terribly and this year they have had a rough schedule. A lot of us are getting tired of this mess. Coaches are called racist, people believe the coaches are out to ruin Lin to 'Prove they were right in cutting him' and all kinda of conspiracy theories and now they are starting to blame Harden for supposedly holding back Lin. Some of them are good members though and I don't blame them for following their favorite player...but the blame game on everything else on Lin has to stop. Lin isn't blaming Harden or the coaches, he's blaming himself and working hard to get better.
I never understand one thing, you root for certain player based on his/her fan base? not based on the player's performance or characteristic? or as a person? or being a role model for kids?
Defense Why does everything have to boil down into a Lin argument? Houston's biggest problem is their D. It's TERRIBLE! Harden is the leader of the team so he needs to lead by example. I'm NOT saying Harden is to blame for the loss or that he's not an amazing player. I'm just saying that he and the entire team need to work on the D. Last night Mayo waltzed into the paint in crunch time for a lay-up. That can NOT happen, ever. Plus the coaches need to diversify the offense. Harden's amazing, but do you think we can beat a team in a 7 game playoff series with this iso-ball/4 3-point shooter offense? Have you ever seen an offense that set so few screens and had so few people going to the basket off the ball? Good NBA coaches and teams can adjust to simple offenses really quickly. I just hope the Rockets staff figure it out before things really get bad.
I think Harden and Lin are both doing their best. No way to play Harden 45 minutes and expect great O and D. It is obvious the coaching is to blame. I'm sure both are just following orders. They are team players. I suspect there are trolls blaming Harden to try to make Lin look bad.
This is James Hardens team. The ball runs through him.Other role players like Parsons, Asik and others are playing just fine with him.
Alex L, DDuna, AKIM, XCLEE and the rest of these trolls are destroying the board with their vile anti-harden dribble.
If the Rockets don't think Lin can play we'll with Harden they should ship Lin out. I don't think Lin is playing to his potential but he is improving. He question is will the improvement be significant or quick enough.
No, I don't think they could win a 7 game playoff series. That being said, I don't think this team can win a 7 game playoff series this season, no matter how they play - they are too young, inexperienced and are simply not good enough yet. What we need is someone who can take the load off of Harden - preferably a low post scorer that you can just dump the ball to and good things happen. Right now, we lack people who can get their own shot. Lin can create shots for others, yes. But since his shot is not falling, people are playing off him and taking away his drive and thus taking away his biggest strength. Parsons, Patterson, Douglas, Delfino and Cook are best when they get an open shot or a pass that let's them drive by their opponent - but they struggle when their man is set. Could our offense be better? Hell yes! But not by as much as you might think. Give the ball to Harden is our best chance, followed by a drive by Lin - but to be able to compete we need that second "star" that can take the scoring load. Could our defense be better? Hell yes times two! But that, for a big part, is a coaching issue. The talent is there, the mentality is not.
Lin isnt going anywhere. Atleast not this season and possibly for the next two years. he key is to bring in another allstar to lighten the load of expectations on Lin and Harden. If we bring in another star, this will allow the focus to go off Lin so people dont expect him to produce unrealistic numbers that he clearly is not capeable of putting forward. This season is a steep learning curve for everyone and especially Lin to learn his weaknesses and work on them to have a better career from here on.
I disagree. The way the team runs when the ball is in his hands has been good. I like his control of the game most of the time. Like I said there's still room for improvement, and I expect we will see it. If he stands still then he shouldn't be the pg.
Hmm, this post should have been a new thread almost just so everyone can get a glimpse. I don't understand some people's expectations for this team. Some of you behave as if we're poised for some type of championship run when you ought to be somewhat pleased with the overall record of the team. This team is going thru growing pains that will last into early next season as Morey spends the rest of the cap space he's got and continues to tweak.
