I said this in the main Lin thread, but I'm moving this here: That author seemed to have missed an important distinction in Lin's shooting percentages: his shooting percentage when used as the primary option (off the dribble) and his shooting percentage as a secondary or spot up option. Lin is a much better off the dribble shooter so, naturally, being forced to spot up for most of his shots will make him appear like a bad shooter when he really isn't, but it all still goes back to the issue of being misused by the coaches.
The problem with that argument is that he has been shooting terribly from the paint as well. His whole offensive game in terms of scoring is in a funk. He seems to take a bunch of awkward hanging shots in the paint. Not quite floaters, not quite layups. To me, it pretty much comes down to his ability to improve his 3 point shot. As soon as that's solid, defenders have to close out on him, making him even deadlier off the dribble.
I don't think Lin's 3-point shooting is as bad as people make it out to be. He started the season with a broken jumper which brings down his average but he's getting better as the season progresses. The Spurs game he made 4-5 + 2 long 2's with a toe barely on the line that could easily have been 3's. Game before that against Dallas he was 2-3. Last 5 games he's 8-14 from long range. Not saying he's a great shooter from that distance by any means but I think he's shown he can knock them down from that range, he's simply inconsistent at this point. On an unrelated note...how does John Wall shoot 7% from three last season yet still gets mention as a top PG? That's just mind-bogglingly dismal from beyond the arc lol
I've never been a fan of Jeremy Lin. Im still wondering why downgraded at PG. Lowrey is better in almost every way.
I think it's worth bringing Lin off the bench. If nothing else they need to make sure that he's out on the floor whenever Harden is sitting down.
I agree 100%. Why can't players play to their strength for the betterment of the team rather than fighting over the "creator" role? It's not the fault of players. They are merely maximizing their respective value in a perverse system created by David Stern and his Superstar marketing strategy. It helped NBA to gain market share by endearing fans to 'superstars' but at the same time destroyed the team aspect of the game. Say goodbye to flex or Princeton offense, say hello to spread the court and one on one playground basketball or at best the mundane pick and roll.
Small Sample. Ridiculous analysis. If Lin was 30 and Harden 31 and we were seeing these struggles, I'd agree - bring Lin off the Bench. But you are talking guys who have what - less than 40 starts each in their entire NBA careers????? ESPN and many others need to chill for a year at least.
Sad. Just like the "anonymous scout" ESPN used like a week ago to say Lin was just a backup. How you like Lin now, ESPN? LOL
Or they could just let Lin play his natural position. Let him run the offense more & have Harden play off the ball more as a SG, cuts, spot up shooting etc. If you have Lin come off the bench opposing teams would easily shut down Harden if he is the only guy out there who can create for others. The entire threat of having Lin & Harden out there is you have two guys who can make others better. In his post from the 16th http://hoopscritic.com/
I was browsing the Knicks forums. Some want Lin for Felton. Since some here are "anyone but Lin" advocates, they might pursue that trade. Some Rox fans, they don't know what they have. They don't deserve Lin.
I think Lin and Harden are learning to coexist, though it may take them awhile to figure everything out. The Knicks game shows that the ability to play together is there. There will be some bumps along the way, but it won't be solved by splitting them up and playing Lin off the bench.
or the could keep trying to make Lin learn how to make an open jump shot and improve his game so he can be a more complete player.
If Lin had the ball in his hands more he would be able to take shots he is really good at, jumpers off the dribble as opposed to the shots he is poor at, spot ups. Also, fixing a jump shot in season is a foolish attempt. You can fix a jumper in the off season easily. Lin needs to improve his ability to orchestrate an offense (his PG skills). You can't practice running an offense by yourself in the off season but you can fix a jumper. Seems like common sense to me. Just a few thoughts.
that article uses statistics erroneously. the sample size is too small to be of any significance. secondly, if Lin came off the bench he would seldom play because Harden is playing 40+ minutes a game. When Harden came off the bench in OKC, he was averaging more or about the same minutes as Lin is as a starter.....go figure.
