Lin played great tonight. He took it right at Curry, crossed Curry over constantly. He knew Curry's got the bad ankles and he just torched him over and over. Curry was totally gassed at halftime. You guys keep complaining about him but: 1. He's extremely smart. 2. He's an extremely hard worker. 3. He's extremely aggressive 4. He's extremely talented with a great handle and change of direction. 5. He'll simply wear down 80% of the point guards in this league if they have to dog him on the ball. 6. He keeps his dribble in traffic, very similar to Steve Nash. 7. He's totally unselfish, only wants to win. 8. He works off the court like nobody else, studying video and talking the game constantly. This team is so much better when the ball moves and Lin is the primary ball mover. Harden is the superior scorer. Harden is a great, great player. But when Harden initiates from the top and uses the pick and Lin is standing on the wing spotting up, we are so much easier to defend than when Lin is operating, penetrating and moving the basketball all over the court. Harden is a straight line guy. He's going to the hole and that's it. He's either going to shoot the layup or wind down the clock and throw the ball out for at best one more pass and shot. Once again, great, great player. But this team is so much better when Lin is initiating because Lin is a pure point guard. Lin has a better handle, is more patient, probes repeatedly, and he's a better passer than Harden. There are only 5 point guards in the NBA that I would consider trading Lin for right now: Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Damian Lillard(younger and on rookie deal), Kyrie Irving, and Deron Williams. That's it. There may be a few point guards that could be considered better than Lin but no other point guards have Lin's combination of drive, intelligence, and already established basketball tools. People are clamoring for Bledsoe. Nice player. Would love to have him. But not at the expense of Lin. Rondo? Great player. Great entertainer. Love to watch his trickery. But you know what? Rondo is too controlling. His play causes his teammates to stand around and wait to receive the pass so they can fire up a lazy jumper. Not Lin. Lin looks to score the ball, whether that is by taking it in and finishing himself until the D responds and he can get his teammates layups, dunks, and wide open 3-balls or by simply using his court vision to find guys cutting backdoor like he did tonight. I wouldn't trade Lin for Rondo and his contract and attitude right now. No, not a LOF. Just able to recognize when a guy has the "it" factor. Lin has "it".
There should be more on that list. Probably 5-10 more. Lin is having an average season, but he has top 5 potential. Also Deron Williams is having a bad year. I wouldn't want him after seeing him this year. Got his coa
Man, if Lin could develop his 3pt shot and a reliable floater... He could very well become elite or almost-elite.
My post got got off for some reason...and I can't edit. Was gonna say... "Got his coach fired" I thought Avery Johnson was pretty good. Didn't really watch the nets. Not really sure why they sucked under him.
Honestly, right now, there are quite a few PGs that one should take in a fantasy (not Fantasy Basketball) draft over Lin. However, Deron Williams would not be one of them if I had the choice.
If he reaches Linsanity level, he's definitely an all star. But he hasn't shown he can reach CP3 numbers. So I doubt he will be in that level. However, they have similar qualities. Make their team mates better, which is the most important. But yea, go look at CP3 stats in New Orleans. The guy was on another level. Even Rondo wishes he was as good as CP3.
To be honest I see more CP3-like qualities in Lin than Kyrie Irving who many are claiming to be the next CP3. Obviously Kyrie is an amazing scoring talent but that is not what makes CP3 the best PG in the NBA. Chris Paul is SMART, controls the tempo of the game like no other, gets teammates involved/makes the right plays and is a good defender/ball thief. He's also extremely vocal with teammates. Lin has the same ability to control the tempo of the game, is also very smart and makes those around him better, and is also very vocal when given the keys to the PG spot. Kyrie has the shooting skill and handles of Paul but lacks the previously mentioned qualities. He is more like an elite shooting guard than a PG. I haven't seen him elevate the play of his teammates and he's averaging below 6 assists per game while dominating the ball. His defense is terrible and his work ethic is questionable as he's even admitted that he's not given his full effort in some games. All that aside I think Lin's ceiling will be more like a Tony Parker with much better defense and playmaking abilities.
Honestly Lin only needs to develop two more things, a consistent 3 pt shot say in the 37-40% range, and Iverson crossover since he has the quickness to do it. Those tools, plus his court vision and his elite first step, would elevate his game to another level
Kyrie is nothing like CP3 tbh so I never got the comparison. He is an amazing scorer and shooter and will be better than even a peak Paul in that regard but Paul is infinitely better as a playmaker and a leader. Kyrie also is a piss poor defender. Irving's effort should not be questioned. It is pretty clear he puts a lot of effort into polishing his offensive game. It has gotten even better than it was last season. He has an amazing feel for scoring. I think your selling Tony Parker extremely short. I think Lin's absolute ceiling is Tony Parker with better defense, a slightly better jump shot and similar playmaking abilities. Tony Parker will always be the better finisher and slasher though. His speed is underrated. He is even faster(faster not more explosive) than PGs like Rose and WB. His floater is unstoppable and he is an amazing finisher. Right now he is the 2nd best PG in the league and its not even debatable. Your selling Tony Parker short.
Hey roxxy if you're reading this I hope you've been watching the games lately, especially tonight. Apparently teams do in fact close out on Jeremy Lin when he's at the 3 point line. Who know? And even better, he's making them!
Whew... good thing Tony Parker said that he see's Jlin as a reflection of his younger self. Thats a positive upside for the Rockets
I doubt Lin will ever develop a killer crossover, his handle just isn't pure enough. We've seen him lose control of the ball too many times after fancy dribbling. For a guy with no lateral quickness and average handles, he's pretty amazing at getting to the rim, so as long as his jumpshot continues to get better, he'll be a very good player in this league.
Man great to see Lin burn it up, with his teammates. I got to say glad to see him improving. He did suck in the start of the season, maybe it was knee .... mental .... coaching ... luck . who cares when the present and future seems bright. Anyway lets go easy on the praise. Give it more games, great to see him dominate without doing those sducidal runs and getting knocked around.
LOL you are still on this! It makes sense to close out on a shooter when you go 5/8 from deep. Which was kind of my point from the begining. If you are shooting well it is harder to stop you. Greg Pop said this himself. If you are a poor shooter they will leave you wide open until you prove that you can consistently hit those shots. Bull & Clyde say this almost every game. Dont understand why you persist in arguing.
Considering he's newbish at the PG postion and hasn't started for a full season yet, I like what I see, even if his numbers are no where near his Linsanity streak. He will only improve. I wouldn't bet against his work ethics.
<br> Because you made some silly argument that people don't close out on Lin. Yet every damn game they do. And you still insist on saying they don't
