Well, he's been the primary ball handler and the team has overachievd. I'd say we're best with him playing to his strengths.
Obviously he wasn't doing enough in practice to earn a regular rotation spot. Coaches aren't looking to lose games D'Antoni's system always is offense related and that's it. Many a player has succeeded there only to underperform elsewhere. Look at Amare and Marion. He's also been called a racist and an idiot by Lin fans on this board. Are you going to gloss over that?
I forgot which coach said this, but players play well when they play true to themselves; that those who know who they are, what they can do, and how they do it are the ones with successful careers in the NBA. And of course, the players who can do many things well, or like LBJ everything great, then they are superstars. Delfino jacks up 3's, Novak spots up for the catch and shoot, and Lin does not catch and shoot. If you play to your weaknesses, then guess what, you're just going to weaken your team, which is what is happening. But I am beginning to see adjustments.
I don't think we will see any improvement in his shot until next season tbh. Kind of how parsons improved. Part of line struggles are definitely aggression, but I think they need to balance out the usage rate of the backcourt. I think Westbrook and Durant are at 30 % and 27% percent respectively while harden and Lin are at 28% and 19%. Hardens shouldn't necessarily go down, but Lins certainly should. They are the two most dynamic players ( at this point at least ). When both of them are on, the rockets are a tough match for anyone. During the winning streak they were both playing really well and, for wherever reason, Lin seemed to be a large part/focus of the offense which makes the team so much better. Imo at least. I think the free throws ( and this probably ties into aggression but I would say also how he is utilized ) are where he is really hurting. His attempts are WAY down from last year.
McHale looked at the films of the Rockets when they were winning and then played Lin as the primary ball handler the last 2 games. The whole team including Harden played better and they won. Guess McHale finally realized what wins and what doesn't. Duhhh maybe I should play my PG as PG....
It doesn't look like there are actually Lin ONLY haters on this board besides the creepy trollers, but there are many members, you included I am assuming, who may be labelled Lin haters, which basically constitutes as the consistent and continual bashing using the negatives while overlooking the positives.
That literally applies for every single player on this team now, and has always applied for every single player on this team before the arrival of Lin. Who doesn't consistently bash Patterson for his lack of rebounding? Or Harden's poor defense? Or Asik's terrible offense? Or Delfino's tendencies to go crazy? It just so happens that Lin has a legion of groupies, who overreact to any tiny bit of criticism. They trash the boards and spew all kinds of crap in retaliation, and then claim the LOHs are equally or completely responsible for lowering the quality of the board. Everyone who even has half a brain knows "LOH" doesn't really exist. A ton of people hate the Rockets, but why is it that that this board is still dominated by Rocket fans and not "Rocket haters". Sure, some people are sad enough that they would actually register on this board and say only negatives about Lin, but to assume that a large number of people would do that? Get real.
You talk like going on 3 years with multiple teams is a good thing somehow should accelerate progress. It's fair to say you can't treat it as his rookie year, but it is fair to consider it his 2nd year. It's much easier for Yao to adjust since basketball was already his full-time job. He wasn't trying to get a degree at Harvard while playing basketball at the same time. Sure the CBA sucks, but Yao is still playing with pros. He already had an Olympic games under his belt, FIBA experience etc. A dude raised to be an athlete and play ball since he was little kid had an easier time transitioning to the NBA than a kid with no professional, international experience, who had to get a Harvard degree along the way too??? NO WAY!!! YOu also have to look at minutes played. If Lin played 29 minutes a game his first 2 years in the league he'd be much further along.
Yeah, coaches are never wrong about players, especially one as "racially unique" as Lin. D'Antoni's system does maximize the strengths of certain types of players, but those players have got to have those strengths in the first place. How come TD and Shumpert never broke out under D'Antoni? Furthermore, Lin played well enough under Woodson. Don't try to bring up LOFs to hide behind the fact that Sampson too rightfully thinks of Lin as a rookie. But what does an NBA coach know? He's no King1!
If you spend a lot of time criticizing rockets players then why are you a rockets fan? Not a good fan don't you think?
I'm just saying this is one season and see if he improves then you can judge him accordingly. To be honest no one gives a **** how you feel about the forums. ITS AN ONLINE FORUM! What do expect? It's bound to happen, just grow up and ignore the outrageous stuff. You are not forced to read certain forums or post.
My concern with Lin is he's getting his best work in now. He will have a ton of media and sponsor obligations in the offseason. I think that affected him this year. I'm not thrilled with all of our offensive sets, but I think Lin has to make this happen himself if it's there. Harden obviously goes iso a ton, but he does pass the ball and Lin gets a solid amount of touches. I can't imagine McHale telling him not to go to the basket. We both know the jumper isn't falling, so why not change things up? He's got in the lane a lot last season. It's not like he has a low basketball iQ. I do see what you're saying on usage but like we discussed before I think he's going to struggle to play off Harden unless he changes his game up (for now). I agree with this but it's more because Lin was being assertive. He's just not attacking the basket or the paint. Defenders are fading off him and daring him to shoot. It also takes away his first step.
You don't need my permission for anything and you well know that. There's nothing wrong with who you are. To me your open about your feelings. I don't agree with them, but that doesn't matter to you. You may not agree with mine, so we're good. As a fan of the Rockets I'll still be here when you're gone, just like the YOFs who left when Yao was no longer relevant. As a Lin fan you're only renting this place temporarily until Lin finds his next team, if he doesn't stay a Rocket for life. If you're still here after Lin is gone I, among many others, will welcome you as a Rockets fan. Till then you a who you are and some will look at you thru the prism of your Lin fanaticism, rather than your Rockets fanaticism. Team above individuals is where respect is earned here.
Perhaps the answer may be derived in human nature. We see it in politics do we not? The more right a party will go, then the more left the other will go. We have always been about binaries; left and right, black and white, action and reaction. And if an action is considerably strong, then guess what, so, too, will the reaction. The hate you speak of for other players exist, but I am sure you will concede to the notion that the hate for Lin also exists, hence the continual threads on Lin, e.g., "Jeremy lin is a joke," Jeremy Rin," "is Lin the worst starting PG in the league," Lin's Scrutiny," "How Jlin needs to improve." Yes, there are negative threads on 2pat, Morris, Harden, etc, but not as much as Lin.
I don't really think anyone came to this board just to hate on lin. LOH's are usually just people that came to troll LOFs, so I guess they should be called LOFH instead? Although these acronyms are getting annoying
No. According to some veterans here, 'if you can't adapt to what is required of you at your position, you simply suck'. So Paul Gasol sucks and he is simply not a good player to begin with because he can't adapt to what is required of him now, to shoot 3s.
And yes, Asik's offense is bad, but that doesn't make him the worst center does it? And yes, Delfino tends to go Jordan mode but fails, that doesn't make him a bad 2/3 does it?
