[ClutchFans] Jeremy Lin after playing just 18 minutes vs. Mavericks

i agree about toney/lin, just saying TD is always on the floor with delfino, because of that his +/- probably looks a bit better

 

Correct. Which was why I understood the decision, but they still underrated Lin.

 

That was just another sign of business being a hinderance to the potential talent the team could have had at the time.

 

It wasn't business.

We desperately needed a center, cutting Lin opened up room for Dalembert. If I recall correctly Morey was desperately trying to make trades so that we could keep Lin AND sign Dalembert, but he couldn't get an offer. Although I'm not sure if this part is my memory being fuzzy.

Either way, Lin wasn't cut because we were saving money, or because we didn't think he was good.

In fact, Lin being cut was an indirect result of David Stern vetoing the Rockets trade. A trade that would have sent Dragic and Scola to Lakers in return for Pau Gasol. When then would have freed up room for us to sign Lin.

 

but you are asserting that they are willfully not playing Lin because they don't want to admit they were wrong. And you are asserting that if Lin was given more minutes, we'd have more success. So you are basically saying that the Rockets' coaches are putting their own ego above the team's success. To me that makes no sense. Coaches want to win to save their jobs. I think coaches would rather admit they were wrong and win, than be stubborn and lose. You are trying to rationalize why coaches aren't playing Lin, and you are reaching. Saying that the coaches don't want to admit they were wrong is a really sad and desperate attempt to ignore the reality ...that Jeremy Lin isn't playing much because he's not contributing much when he IS playing. Another way to put it: he's just not very good. That's why he's playing limited minutes. There's no mystery here. There's no conspiracy theory. Can you call a spade a spade? Or do you have to make up an explanation to feel better?

 

When Lin got yanked after 6 minutes into the 1st quarter he was the only Rocket playing well.

If you don't believe me look at the replay.

 

Keeping Flynn was a business move if everyone keeps saying they kept Flynn because of his contract. I feel like Rockets fans are making bs excuses for making the mistake of keeping Jonny Flynn.

 

I don't really now the exact reason they're limiting his playing time. I do know they're making a mistake.

 

What you are saying about coaches is true but also simplistic and a bit naive. Coaches get more credit if they win their way and with their personnel. If they win the owners way they would no longer have credibility for their personnel and rotation decisions.

 

Check out their +/- stats on nba.com and you'll see why. I wasn't pulling it out of thin air when I said Harden played better with Douglas than with Lin.

I like Lin and am a HUGE fan of his, but there's no denying that he is struggling now and has the 2nd lowest +/- stats right now (-36). Yes, Lin is a MUCH better PG than Douglas, but with Harden in the line-up, Douglas doesn't have to worry about playmaking.

I don't like it any more than you do, but it is what it is. Lin needs to get his shots back first. A PG simply can't be effective without a respectable perimeter shot (unless you are Rondo, of course).

 

"putting their own ego above team's success?" Dude, that happens all the time. First NBA is a monopoly, if you look bad, it's more difficult to notice. Second, it has happened before. Look at Bob Cousy getting rid of Oscar Robertson in the Kansas City NBA team. Forgot what the name was for that team, but that team eventually became the Sacramento Kings. We know what happened to Oscar Robertson after that.

 

So what do you suggest we do with Flynn?

Magically make his contract disappear so it doesn't affect our cap or roster room?

 

Put Lin with a great pick and roll 4/5 and you'd be in business. But we don't have that. And he thinks/defers too much when playing next to an All Star talent.

Still, playing him 18 minutes = wtf?

 

I don't think the +/- stats are always a reliable statistic. For example in the first 6 minutes of the Dallas game Lin was playing well but the team was behind by around 14 giving him a -14 stat. Also you are comparing just 2 players but the important thing is how the whole team is doing. Also when TD is in it's usually against the other teams bench.

 

Well, here are the stats so far:

Harden+TD+Delfino (+36)
Harden+Lin+Delfino (+33)

Harden+TD (+18)
Harden+Lin (-34)

FWIW I think Harden+Lin is posting such low +/- because 1) Lin's subpar shooting 2) both need the ball in their hands to be effective. Things definitely will look different once Lin gets his shots back, but this is where they stand now.

 

That's not how +/- is calculated. Say Rox is down by 20 when Lin enters, but only down by 10 when Lin leaves the court, he gets a +10. In other words, the score improves by 10 when he's on the court.

Having said that, I agree stats can only tell you so much, but they don't lie either. And no, TD didn't always play against the bench. In several games (Portland OT, Mavs, Lakers, etc.) he played against opposing starters.

Again, no knock on Lin. Read my previous post and you can see I'm a huge fan of Lin. But being a fan doesn't make me blind to the stats and facts. I believe he'll improve but am merely pointing out where things are as of today.

 

What's more likely, that the coaches aren't playing Lin because they formerly cut him and still don't believe he's good enough to play lots of minutes in our rotation, or because Lin has not played well when given the opportunity and Tony Douglas has?

 

I AGREE WITH THIS

 

My biggest question is, Why won't he attack the rim in transition like he was attacking in preseason?

Sure, he wasn't all that great in preseason, but atleast he was being aggressive and failing. Now he is failing and blending, which is FAR worse.

 

+/- isn't that simple. There's a lot of "noise" that needs to be filtered out from raw +/- numbers. For example, you could also say that when Harden is in with Lin, they are going up against starters and when he's in with Douglas they are going up against bench players.

This blog (courtesy of Durvasa) gives a pretty good explanation.

http://godismyjudgeok.com/DStats/2011/nba-stats/a-review-of-adjusted-plusminus-and-stabilization/