The Return of the Look A great piece from Jason Friedman. I wasn't going to make a thread regarding this piece. Since there is already a lot of threads about Lin. But, Friedman wrote a very intellectual piece. So why not? He also included interviews of the players and the coach.
I think that goal will be surpass once Lin plays lights out. A game winner from him would turn the garm upside down.
Remember when Sampson said Lin needs to work on his left hand & that they were finding it difficult to run plays for him because of this weakness. And myself & Mike Lu & Torocan & a few other people said that is stupid you can still run plays for him catering to his dominant hand. Mike Dantoni did it last year & Lin was successful despite players striving to force him to his left. See what McHale said. Jeremy can get to his right hand on the left side and James can get to his left hand on the right side, so you can do a lot on both sides where both guys get to play to their strong hand when they’re driving. We’ve got to get better at some areas and put in some stuff that will allow both guys to play better.
Jeremy Lin and James Harden could be deadly if use properly. Both of the guys are capable of putting 30+ points a game. That is why I agree with what Friedman said. Let Lin handle the ball since Harden is the better player.
I think the coaching staff making Harden play PG is admitting that they don't have the first clue about how to play Harden off the ball, so they have to literally hand the ball to him at midcourt. Not at all impressed by the coaching staff's offensive strategy. Lin would be more than happy never to take a shot and have Harden score 40 a game by starting the possession with Lin and then properly getting Harden to his sweet spot so that he can either take a shot without dribbling or with a pump fake and one or two dribbles.
Very strange thing Sampson said. No, I don't think he's racist lol, but I didn't understand his thinking at all, still don't.
I have always said that they need to get Harden moving more. They should share PG duties, mainly because Harden is a combo-guard that's just what he is. When they let him constantly dribble to the halfcourt the defense just completely hones in on him. I hope the coaches get this figured out.They both are very effective with the ball but Harden can drain open shots...Harden should still get a lot of usage and be the focal point but if this game shows anything it should be that Lin's a really good player that also needs to have a little care and attention.
Pretty much. Said this from the very beginning. Neither player is capable of creating every single offensive possession for the team. Lin isn't Tony Parker. Harden isn't LBJ. But the coaching staff are trying to make him into LBJ and it is infuriating.The coaches are asking him to do way to much out there. He cant be expected to be the primary option, create every play & defend playing 40 minutes a game. Let both of them share the playmaking duties with the advantage to Lin. And have harden cut to the rim a lot more & play off the ball as the spot up shooter. The offense can run through James doesn't mean it has to start with James.
The one thing about the coaching staff that has given me hope is right after the Dallas game, McHale said the same thing. That they rely too much on Harden so there is hope. At least they realize it has been a problem. I am eager to see how this works out when Harden comes back to see what they do. Hopefully, we'll see more of the first two games where both played well and seem to mesh just fine then.
I wish one day they could figure it out. On the side note, I guess Lin is fine after rolling his ankle? Harden sat because of his injury. I do not want Harden nor Lin out in the Wizards game. We might actually lose.
In the past half decade in Boston, Paul Pierce would occasionally handle the ball when Rondo was indisposed, much like Harden would, and he would always play significantly worse than when Rondo handled the ball. The combination of having to do ball-handing, scoring, and defense wore him out, much like it seems to do to Harden. I can almost say for a fact if Lin was the primary ball-handler Harden would improve in all other aspects.
I agree. The thing is that the coaches are learning about these guys just like the players are learning about each other. It will take time. There has been so much roster turnover with McHale's leave of absence, Harden trade, new players. young players, inexperienced players, coach still learning etc. The fact that McHale has admitted that Lin needs the ball in his hands more & that they have been relying way to much on Harden is a positive sign in the right direction. Hopefully he lives up to it. A lot of coaches say the right things & don't act. McHales rotations are frustrating as hell though. My goodness they drive me up a wall.
Perhaps its infuriating and i would like Lin to dominate ball but perhaps Harden will develop into LBJ...just give him some time i am sure harden will tremendously improve..isobeard wasnt good for this team short term but perhaps long term it will provide him with a lot of improvement..
I'm glad something positive came out of the Harden injury. I feel the coaching staff, just like anyone else, tend to be short sighted at times at making the better short term decision over long term decision. They may want to experiment different things, but end up choosing the "safe" option at the end because it's their job on the line. Hopefully the Rockets staff can take a step back and see how they can mix and mesh our talent optimally. Sure, the Harden trade right before the season surely changed a lot of things, but they're paid the big bucks to sort things out.
McHale's idea of having Lin on the left wing to go right, and Harden on the right wing to go left -- guess what? This actually happened in the first two games of the season precisely BEFORE the coaches intervened! When those two first felt out the the situation for themselves, they naturally settled into this -- with both Harden and Lin at the top. Then the coaches intervene and after exiling Lin the corner, they come back to what they players already did before coaching. Ironic isn't it? Ah, the value of coaching.
