Clippers are 4-6 in their last ten games, Bledsoe has been awful as a starting PG for them. He posted impressive numbers in the loss against Boston but he can't run an offense. He lit up Lin when he played the Rockets but the defensive strategy was to go under screens against him and he just happened to get red hot hitting his mid-range jumpers to start. He's something like ~15% for the season from mid-range. Importantly though, he looks like an absolute stud in the Clippers system when he's backing up CP3, he looks like an elite sixth-man type like Ginobili, Terry, JJ Barea who can come off and give energy but aren't very good when starting due to their deficiencies and extensive gameplanning against them to expose them. He has low BBIQ and can't control the tempo of the game or run an offense. Let the infatuation with him on this board go to rest, he's a freak athlete but not a championship caliber PG.
He's young and just took over for arguably the best PG in the league. That's a lot of pressure, especially when it's a top-tier contending team. Not only that, Bledsoe inherited a team full of absolute knuckleheads (except Hill) that only CP3 is really capable of bringing together as a team on the floor. Not at all surprised that Bledsoe is struggling a bit, but really he's doing a pretty good job overall under those circumstances.
No doubt. He is better than Nash, Stockton, Williams, and cp3. He has one championship. They have 0. He also has NCAA tittle. Maybe he'll be HOF'er
It depends on a lot of factors. If the team is constructed around the two stars model that Morey envisions, ideally we would have a low-post scorer at the PF/ C position. Historically elite championship teams have had a dominant inside presence and ball-dominant wing scorer that is larger like Harden. Usually you would surround them with role-players so ideally you would want your PG to just be a 3 and D type of guy. In this case, I don't see Lin being particularly valuable to the team unless he can develop an exceptional 3 point shot. The NBA has changed though, and I like to see the Spurs as a kind of bellwether test. You can see that the league has an influx of talented scoring PGs and most elite teams have one at the PG position, and the Spurs offensive lynch-pin has become Tony Parker. Lin isn't as talented as Westbrook or Parker though, but the potential is there. If we were going with a more guard-centric offense than Lin would be a good fit but only as a third option like a Jason Terry, JJ Barea, Manu Ginobili. It's hard to evaluate because the Rockets are a young team, and they aren't actually running many offensive sets, and further, McHale's offense prefers to marginalise the role of the PG as a spot-up shooter while the offense is initiated through the wings while Lin is rubbish as an off-guard, has a bad jump-shot and his bread and butter is PNRs. So something will have to give. TLDR I could see Lin as being a championship caliber guard if he was a 3rd or 4th option in a guard dominant offense but it's too early to tell, and Lin would have to sort out his Jekyl and Hyde game.
Some team will pay him 10 mil. plus to be their starting PG when he hits free agency, that's for sure.
Well, it really depends on the type of player he will grow into. But Bledsoe doesn't have the playmaking ability of a great starting PG but his athleticism and skills still make him an important type of player. It really depends on the type of players he's playing with. Certain team he wouldn't be a good fit and certain teams he is.
Reminds me of Jamal Crawford, who took about 9 seasons to finally accept his best role was off the bench instead of as a starter. Bledsoe would do well to follow Manu's example, but at this point in his career, maximizing his earnings is more important than winning. He will get paid more this summer as a projected starter than as a 6th man.
His role off the bench was to score and somewhat create for others. 4-6 games isn't enough to really grow into a starting PG's position.
I agree with your assessment. I see Lin as a third guard, like when Sleepy Floyd / Cassell backed-up Kenny and Vernon.
Point guards that win titles lately - Fisher, Chalmers, Rondo as a rookie, Kidd as an old man, etc... you just need a player to play a role from that spot. Bledsoe does exactly that.
you guys are forgeting tony parke. Also to put ginobili on the same sentence as bledsoe or jamal crawford is kinda insulting. The guy is a olimpic, euroleague and nba champion...
Ginobili is one of the best offensive players in his era, starters or sixth man. Don't group him with guys like Terry or Crawford, please.
Interesting. Tony Parker helped lead the Spurs to a title in 2007 (with Ginobili/Duncan). Before that you'd have to go back to Isiah Thomas and his back-to-backs for a PG that led his team to a title.
Rondo was in his 2nd year, though he still wasn't what he is today. He was certainly considered that team's weak link.