Okay. Caught up with the thread. Alright Lin fans, bring it, so I can stick my foot up your asses. Who wants to get in line first?
I'll be real with you guys. I dislike Toney Douglas. I wished we kept Shaun Livingston instead. I would have been fine with Lin starting and Livingston coming off the bench. And if Livingston needed to close out the game, totally fine with me, long as pick up W's.
What game were you watching? Lin finished 7 assits in the first half and defended Rondo pretty well. Rondo actually exploded after TD checked in. TD didn't do anything special until the final 3-4 mins. All TD did was hitting couple of shots and ZERO assist. However, McHale said the reason he wanted to go with TD was that TD was playing so good...Did McHale foresee the future or something?? It's ridiculous that the coaching staff have more faith and trust in TD than in Lin, even after the Spurs game. I couldn't understand this at all. The only reason I can think of is that TD is just a better fit with Harden.
No, Toney Douglas is playing point guard. I'm saying I'd prefer to keep Livingston over Douglas. Normally, your best play making guard will handle the ball in late game winning play situations. You'll typically see your Lebrons and Kobes bring the ball up to make plays happen.
Jeremy Lin's performance and how he is handled is really nothing different than that of most young players who are still learning the NBA game. He is getting more attention because of his circumstances-- the fame and $ earned during the "Linsantiy" period in NY. As 2nd/3rd year players (Lin is in the 3rd season but is in his 2nd season of actually getting minutes), many players who go on to have successful careers are still playing limited roles/minutes and coaches would go to more experienced, even if less talented, players during "crunch time." This was true for Chuck Hayes, Brad Miller, Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic, Carl Landry, just to name former Rockets. This kind of stuff often happens with players who are not high draft picks and did not begin their careers with horrible teams (who would just throw their young players, especially high draft picks, out there to play). Lin is famous and got a $25M contract because his contract expired right after his breakout performance, but he is not different than many of these other guys in his career arc.
Shaun also makes no sense on this team. Harden is the "PG" & they want somebody to play off him who can shoot & defend. The ideal player would be Courtney Lee for example. Or you know who would be great Goran Dragic. He would be the perfect fit next to Harden lol. I always thought Goran was more of a SG than a PG. Lin unfortunately isn't a SG. He needs to play on the ball & facilitate the offense. Just a few thoughts.
Maybe they valued someone who actually hits shots. And maybe McHale was referring to TD's consistency per game?
No not really. Both Lin & Dragic are excellent PNR ball handlers. Lin would definitely love to be able to shoot as well as Dragic though. But Lin is a better passer than Goran & also runs an offense better. Lin is also a way better defender. Just a few thoughts.
Defender, sure, but this isn't really that big a deal for PGs, considering the amount of switching. Offense? No. Goran runs the offense just as well. Lin has fancier passes but, in the whole scheme of things related to winning a game, Goran's as effective.
So you are saying McHale doesn't value defense that shuts down the opposing star player or assists and facilitating the flow of th offense? Well now that you put it that way, it makes sense why Lin was benched.
This is a really good post. Lin has been playing average which is pretty much his salary. I honestly think he would play better if he was playing his natural position but unfortunately the coaching staff likes Harden as the PG & Lin as the SG. So what do I know. Just a few thoughts. If you say so. Some suns fans would disagree about Gorans ability to run an offense & make others better. So would Marcin Gortat. Just a few thoughts
