I have never seen lin play like that in NY, probably that is coach's game plan- let harden be the primary ball handler. Lin's task is behind the line to open space for harden. When nobody guard lin for the spacing, then bench lin for TD to do the same and open lane for harden. Coach to blame.
I agree with you. If harden doesnt change a bit, I would think kevin martin is a good fit for lin, they would have better records together than harden. It is obvious when harden had the ball, other players just watch him play. It is different when lin has the ball. Lin simply made every one involved. Our coach made mistakes a lots. Bench lin even when he played well, time arrangement for players, which coach called time out to kill his own player's momentum? BTW, I am not bashing any player. Something has to change for better.
This is true - however the difference is, when Lin had the ball, he used picks more ISO'd less, and made good passing decisions. Harden, it seems like he would ISO, and either drive to draw foul, or hesitation, step back J
Kevin Martin would have been a great fit - all he does is stand in a corner and shoot, which he does really well. Having harden, it complicates things and coaches have to figure out how to use them both. To be honest, it will have to be like wade and lebron - one will have to obviously defer, but Wade still is able to take a lot of shots per game
I think that's the whole root of the problem: McHale probably wasn't happy when the Rockets' management implicitly blamed the coaching staff for cutting Lin last season (though Morey did man up and blame himself too). There might be some kind of snobbery element too. Players from the Ivy League aren't supposed to compete with players from REAL basketball schools. In a fantastically bizarre situation, the kid from Harvard is being treated like the lower-class ghetto kid who's crashed the country club party.
I get it, Lin immune of criticism. People cant be objective and give proper critique of his game like ANY other player in the league, otherwise theyre ignorantly labeled 'haters'. I can call LOF's nuthuggers but that would sound equally as remedial
You could park Harden in the corner and let him shoot open shots - and he will be great at doing that. The thing just is: he can do a lot more and better than anyone else on the team. It really shouldn`t be that hard to figure out. Just run plays with Harden as the primary ball handler and other plays with Lin as the primary ball handler - both needs to be able to hit open shots when the other one is driving and passing the ball out. Depending on who has the better match up and who has a better day, that guy gets the ball more often. At the end of the game, give the ball to the player that`s hot. Harden has no problem with giving the ball to the PG, as we`ve seen for years in OKC - and he hits his open shots. At the same time, you want to cash in on his strength as a playmaker. Sharing the load and the responsibility should also mean, that both players stay fresh and can work more on the defensive side. So everybody wins... I really don`t know, why that is so hard and McHales offensive playbook seemingly only has 2 plays (iso and pick and roll) with a few variations here and there...
This pretty much. And adding on to this it would be wise for McHale to position Lin on the left wing driving to his right & Harden on the right wing driving to his left. This was how the offense ran in the first two games. Unfortunately they had to go away from it for multiple reasons. It would be wise to go back to this. Also Rockets haven't had a lot of playing time to implement new stuff as well. It is a process.
I've never heard or see any implications that management laid any of the blame on the coaching staff for letting Lin go. It was a move designed to allow flexibility to trade for a star player like Harden. Rockets coaching staff didn't have time to accurately judge Lin. Everything I've heard from Morey is that he took the "blame" and that there was no way to predict how good Lin would become.
That might be true if they were teeny bopper middle school girls.. but this is the NBA. Mchale has won 3 championships as a player and wants nothing more than to win as a coach. Same thing with Morey. These are ADULT professionals, and these petty things you mention do not have any effect on how they do their jobs, when they all have the same desire- to win. Your perception reflects your age and the way you view things, more than what their reality is. Please stop portraying Lin like he sees himself as a victim being singled out, you are doing him a huge disservice.
One interesting thing I noticed about this Rockets team's play so far this season. The Rockets played, arguably, two of their best games at the beginning of the season, the circumstance was that the team just played with their feel, because Harden had never played with any of his teammates before. After those two game, the coaches announced that they would install more plays, so the team would play better. We all know what that got the Rockets to. Last game was completely freelance game, especially after 1st qtr. And the team played good enough to almost beat the Spurs. I'm not saying the coaches are bad, but it does make you wonder.
Lin scores 38 for the Knicks against the Lakers and the world erupts. Lin scores 38 for the Rockets against the Spurs and the world doesn't notice.
This has something to do with NY being the media center, but has more to do with the expectation. Scoring 38 with the Knicks while been a bench player & paid minimum $$ vs. NBA starting PG & paid millions$$.
I think that's the crucial point. If in that last possession of regulation, he drained a trey (as he looking to do) or made a pass to one of our shooters who came off a screen (the play I wish was run for that possession) and Douglas/Parsons drained a trey, THEN I think the world would have erupted. For sure the big market impact of NYC vs. Houston makes a difference in terms of media reception, but so does the win vs. loss.
It had more to do with the loss. Had the rockets won and better yet had Lin hit the winning shot, I dare say it would have beaten out MNF as the headline on ESPN.
I'll say it for you, mchale is full of it, the coaches are bad and rather than owning up to HIS Need to do a better job, he blames players and their decision making. Please. Mchale said that our defense has slipped in his absence but doesn't actually do anything to rectify it..... Yeah sure....
