For anyone interested in the ESPN article, Air Langhi posted it in another thread: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=7683920&postcount=1951
This will be the coming of our saviour D-mo, I have seen the other side of the valley, people, and I ask you to follow me and it is He who shall lead us towards the path glory. He only asks for our conviction for him in toil and in prayer and I have been told the prophecy. The message must be heard by the people, rejoiced by the people and upheld by the people, for the Truth will be set free upon this very day of our existence.
Here ya go Rest of the article... Spoiler Misleading month You remember November, right? President Barack Obama had just been re-elected, Manti Te'o was merely a linebacker in contention for the Heisman, and the Knicks were one of the NBA's best teams. Behind a flurry of 3-pointers and a smaller lineup with Carmelo Anthony at power forward, New York started the season 14-4. The Knicks capped that stretch with their second win over the Miami Heat and marked themselves as serious contenders in the Eastern Conference. New York's backcourt of Felton and fellow newcomer Jason Kidd played a major role in the fast start. Felton made 40 percent of his 3s in November while averaging 14.6 points and 6.7 assists. Kidd was even better beyond the arc at nearly 49 percent. As a team, the Knicks shot 41.6 percent from 3-point range, powering the league's best offensive rating in the month. Everyone said the shooting couldn't last, and it didn't. Since Dec. 1, New York has shot exactly the league average (35.8 percent) on 3-pointers. Felton, at 31.4 percent, has been even worse. The Knicks are still a very good offensive team, ranking sixth in points per possession from December onward, but not the juggernaut they once were. At the same time, as the chart shows, the Rockets were making the opposite transformation, with Lin as one of the leaders. As Houston has figured out how to utilize both Harden and Lin, the Rockets' offense has gone from solidly above average in November to elite. Lin's own statistics, as measured by wins above replacement, have seen a similar boost. Knicks finding their level The Knicks, it turns out, are who we thought they were. Since peaking at 14-4, they have consistently played at about a 45-win pace -- matching preseason expectations. Project that out through the rest of the schedule and New York figures to finish somewhere around 49 wins, which should be good for third in the East. Fears that the crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets will come back to win the Atlantic Division are probably overstated. While the Nets have climbed within two games in the standings, their point differential is barely better than .500, suggesting they're likely to regress somewhat the rest of the way. The same is true of the Atlanta Hawks, who sit fifth, leaving only the Chicago Bulls with a healthy Derrick Rose as a serious threat to the Knicks' top-three seed. Felton, it turns out, is also who we thought he was -- not quite as bad as he looked during his disastrous 2011-12 campaign in Portland, but not as good as he played during his first half-season in New York or the opening month this season. As much as Felton's playmaking and his ability to generate steals have helped the Knicks, he has had a tough time scoring efficiently since the 3s stopped falling. Felton is making just 42.4 percent of his 2-point attempts and has seen his true shooting percentage slip to 47.5 percent -- far worse than the league average of 53.2 percent. Moving beyond Linsanity For both the Knicks and Lin himself, Linsanity has become a distant memory. Gone are the headlines, the screaming fans and the incredible numbers Lin posted as the Knicks' go-to player last February. Instead of getting Linsanity, the Rockets ended up with Jeremy Lin, developing point guard. Playing next to Harden, Lin isn't the focal point of the Houston offense the way he was during the stretch that made him a household name. However, he has defied critics by showing the ability to thrive in that smaller role. In part, that's because of the adjustments made by the Rockets' coaching staff. It also reflects Lin's 3-point shooting regressing to the mean. After shooting 26.3 percent from downtown in November, Lin is at 34.4 percent since, making him something of a threat when opponents leave him open. The funny thing is Lin's 2012-13 stat line is relatively similar in many ways to what he did last year in New York. His effective field goal percentage, for example, is an identical .478. The difference in Lin's offense is entirely a matter of volume. He's down from using 28.1 percent of the Knicks' plays to 20 percent of Houston's, putting him precisely at the typical figure, and his assist rate has dropped by almost a third. Lin's overall performance, All-Star caliber in 2011-12's limited sample, is slightly below league average this season. That's a more sustainable level of play. Looking ahead Lin's ability to coexist with Harden, who doesn't use as many plays as Anthony but tends to dominate the ball to a greater extent, leads naturally to the question of whether Lin could have fit into an Anthony-centric offense at Madison Square Garden. There are advantages to Lin's current situation. Houston's fast pace, and the sheer number of pick-and-rolls the Rockets run as the basis of their offense, give him more opportunity to play in space than he might have had in New York. Still, it's not clear that Felton is any better fit for the Knicks than Lin would have been. According to mySynergySports.com, the two players have been about equally effective on spot-up opportunities, with Lin averaging 0.91 points per shot to Felton's 0.95. Surprisingly, Lin is a much more frequent spot-up shooter. We're also comparing these players as they are now, not as they will be at the end of the three-year contract Houston gave Lin. While Felton, 28, is likely to be about the same player at that point if not take a slight step backward, the 24-year-old Lin still has room to grow as an outside shooter and playmaker. The Knicks won the early rounds of the Lin versus Felton decision. If Lin already has pulled even, however, there may be no question who the better choice was in a couple of years.
Are we gonna play Garcia tonight? Can anyone educate me on this guy? I never followed the Kings, don't know what this guy can do, if he is better than Anderson. I thought Anderson was doing a decent job backing up Harden.
He's a veteran who used to be a solid defender and ball-handler, but I think he's declined in both respects. He's had some serious injuries so he's not really much of an athlete anymore when you also take into account his age (31). Add in his thin frame, and he's not much of a threat to drive. On the plus side, he's 6-7, a solid three point shooter, and generally makes good decisions with the ball. I have no idea whether he'll play or not.
I'd prefer if we gave Anderson those minutes. But Garcia's experience may bump Anderson out of the rotation unfortunately.
Garcia will play and will be better than Anderson. Garcia with the rockets will be a better player and he wasn't that bad in Sacramento. This season against Dallas he had a game where he hit 7 three pointers and scored 25 points on 9-16 field goal attempts. With the rockets he will fit in similar to how Delfino does... He will surprise lots on this board.
I'm thinking Morey got Garcia as an expiring contract, 6.7 million or something. So either he gets playing time and leaves next season, or they don't play him many minutes so his production is low, and try to re-sign him for less.
I hope the Rockets get off to a good start. Long lulls between games usually don't seem to help them much. I remember when Sampson took over the practices and the offense was completely out of sync after 3-4 days off. Hopefully they just let it flow!
I think he plays and provides bench help for late season push/playoffs. Then after that's done then the rockets are done because I agree he's being used as a expiring contract but he also can shoot that three really well.
Robinson will get minutes tonight. But no way Garcia plays unless we have injury/foul trouble. The only thing he really offers is 3-pt shooting, but he's behind both Anderson and Delfino even at that.
He used to be a pretty good "3-D" player, but he hasn't been the same since his injury two years back. Garcia Pre-Injury: Poor Man's Prime Shane Battier Garcia Post-Injury: Poor Man's Current Raja Bell
We'll see both Lin and Robison at the corners! Way to exploit their offensive gifts by McFail....:grin:
Lin: 18 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 TOs...McFail pulls him out to avoid a double double. Harden: 30 points and 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 TOs Rockets win by double digits.:grin:
