I think it is saying a lot about Lin's upside when he has an off night shooting and a seemingly hohum outing and still produces these numbers
well, haters gonna hate. trolls are trolling hard... like it or not, Lin will be a legend of this game. just support him, give him space and time.
time to win the hearts of the coaching staff. I said this last time and it rubbed some people the wrong way. But it's completely natural for the coaching staff to not be comfortable with a guy(lin) that was never their guy. Their guy was gogi and they probably questioned Daryl as to why he couldn't give gogi that player option. And if you think Mchale wouldn't be that stubborn,then you haven't been watching this staff since they got here.
Reading this really makes my heart go out to Lin. It is Bruce Lee all over again, but this time is the NBA. May he have success like Joseph in Egypt but not have to stay there for a whole life time. I trust God has a plan for Lin, higher and better than any human scheme can prevent or achieve.
Lin just has no room to develop under mchale Sampson. If he looks to score he is trying to be a "home run hitter" and needs to just hit "singles" (whatever the hell that is suppose to mean in basketball). If he looks to pass/facilitate first he gets pulled because of 2 pts in one half from your starting pg ain't going to cut it, and giving up open shots is itself "selfish"; you lose the confidence of your teammates who swing you the ball and the rock doesn't come back your way again (which was what was happening in the beginning of the season). Look mchale Sampson clearly have a bias against Lin, even if it isn't racial or conscious, it is at least subconscious and at least a component of that is related to Lin being cut by them the first go around... First impression is usually the strongest impression and the one that lasts. They still see him as a borderline D leaguer and really on par with TD and Beverly. I feel for Lin. He commits a TO or the opposing pg gets a bucket, and Sampson is slamming things on the floor in disgust like he did last night. Harden commits 7 TO and mchale is first in line post game to get his autograph.
It's not just them. It's endemic throughout the league. I truly think Sampson hates being forced to play Lin. It's quite obvious to me how disgusted he gets at Lin's lapses. I mean I shake my head once ins while as well but seeing the way he shakes his head in disgust all the time at Lin, at least every 2 games but rarely at other players turnovers or defensive lapses. I'm glad I'm not the only one to notice cuz I see Sampson on the sidelines just hating any mistake by Lin. Les has for to check them on that. And before everyone starts saying how crazy people get in defense of Lin. It's not that!!! I think McHale gas created and implemented a great offense and focused on all the right things. It's just two things, one is bad substitutions involving the overuse of Harden, underuse of Lin, pulling of Lin in the 4th, irregularity of minutes for Asik and Parsons, and two, seeming disregard for Lins abilities. It's not just cuz it's Lin! If he did that to Parsons and started saying stupid things about how Parsons can't be as good as today's game cuz and it was just one game, basically limiting/putting down your player, I'd be upset too. I'm just gonna say it straight up, Sampson doesn't like Lin as a basketball player much like some of the haters here and McHale doesn't know what he has in Lin cuz he just can't see it. Just my opinion.
reading McHale's comment again and again, i found it really interesting. he really meant Harden not Lin. when Harden tries home run and forces the issue, he turns into a TO machine. when he involves his teammates, he will have easy game.
McHale: Jeremy, why can't you be more like Harden-a? He score AND supastah Jeremy: Well if you like him so much, why don't you just coach him instead then? McHale: What? I am your coach Jeremy Jeremy: oh yeah, sorry I got you confused with my parents. McHale: It's ok...so I see your PER is 14.90, what happened to other .1?? Why you no get 15 PER? I hear Harden get 15 PER just when he wake up. Jeremy: sigh
I'm not a big fan of McHale as a coach, but I really don't see how he's "biased" against Jeremy. From what Jeremy has said in interviews, Linsanity was really hard on him. I think he's very self-conscious of his fame, his hype, and the criticism. It would be nice if the coach said, "You can be Linsanity again!" but maybe Jeremy doesn't flourish with that kind of encouragement and McHale knows that. Also, the coaches are helping him prolong his career. I believe he's capable of Linsanity numbers again (Spurs game shows that), but I don't think it's sustainable for his body, his health. It's also a very risky way to play -- Lin made a lot of mistakes during Linsanity -- which was fine for a depleted Knicks team with nothing to lose and jaded cynical fans in need of some excitement and joy, but not so appropriate for a developing team like Houston. They are helping Lin learn to be a better player. If he improves catch-and-shoot, left hand, turnovers, etc. he will be a good point guard who's serviceable to a lot of teams for a long time. And McHale isn't the only person who's said these things. Jason Kidd said Jeremy needed to find different gears, not just Linsanity gear, go go go.
To be honest, I don't have any problems with what McHale was quoted saying. In my opinion, McHale doesn't have that high an opinion of Lin, and Dragic was his first choice (in fact, McHale wasn't even there at the recruitment pitch for Lin ... no explanation was given) ... but that is all 'my opinion', and has nothing to do with what McHale was quoted saying. A coach can have a preference for the style of offense he believes in, and the Rockets do play better if we move the ball, keep turnovers down, etc. I think statistically, the outcome is better if a team continues to hit singles/doubles as opposed to home-runs. And yes, Lin is a home-run player. I think like it or not ... after Lin goes through this period of adjustment and building consistency, he will be much better for it. Nash had a lot of flash when he first came into the league, but he toned it down and brought enough consistency that he was given the starter reins over time ... and once that happened and he was consistent, he could start playing his more natural game. It is all a process. Some of us (especially the fans of Lin) may not like it ... but knowing Lin, I don't think he'll break because of it. He'll get better, like he always does. And then ... he'll really be a force. And a well-rounded one.
What I find encouraging about Lin is that throughout his high school and college bball career, he always got better each year. In Harvard as a freshman, he was pretty bad but his junior and senior years earned him ivy league first teams and he was clearly the best player on that team. Of course, the NBA is another animal altogether but with his work ethic and smarts he should be able to improve each year if he can stay healthy.
