nahh our players are mentally tough. they taste their own blood for god's sake. martin is no longer on the team, that guy was mentally weak. our players love playing for each other.
This is because the Rockets has no true PG except Lin. W/O Lin, Harden has no choice by ISO. With Lin in, Harden can just stand outside draw a defender out while Lin is working. Harden is like Lin, he can direct other players while Lin is controlling the ball. But as good as Harden is, he cannot do everything.
It is indefensible that McHale sat Lin the in the 4 quarter, and frustrating to think McHale might be around to mess things up for two more seasons. You never play your backup the last 15 minutes of a meaningful game unless: a) your starter is injured or having a very bad game (and not always even then as Harden has had bad games and then turned it on in the fourth), orb) you are in the process of changing starters. McHale is randomness personified; he's not "in the process" of anything.I think Lin should be the starting PG. He plays well on defense, and gives the greatest contribution to the offense (his offense + increased offense from rest of team + reduced defensive efficiency of the opponent.) Lin should play the fourth to gain valuable experience for future games; playing in crunch time helps performance in all games, not to mention preparing for the playoffs. But I'm okay with McHale saying "I'm the coach and I say Beverley is better." Fine, then start him. It will help Beverely's game to know he is first option and is expected to be the leader. And it will help the rest of the team as well. Lin and Beverley's styles are very different. The team needs to know how their PG is going to be playing in crunch time, so they are ready to adjust their game accordingly. Having a different starter and closer causes all sorts of problems: lowers the efficiency of both players as their role is unclear, causes the rest of the team to have less confidence in both since neither is "the man", and disrupts effectiveness of team play in crunch time. With the confusion at PG the team resorts to Harden-ISO which, while amazing in small amounts, is not effective over long periods of the game.
The coach behaves like he has something to prove whenever he can afford. Therefore after a blowout win he always regresses back and attempts to deliver the same result his way. Often this starts a losing stretch.
He is. Asik, double double in 23 minutes and he is rewarded to rest the whole 4th quarter. Lin, 12 points for 5/10 shooting (15 if you count the 3), 3 assist in 24 minutes. He is also rewarded by rest the entire 4.
BS. I'm neither a LOF or a LOH but he's an average coach. Sure, it sounds like players like to play for him but I would replace him in a heart beat for a guy like McMillan (Reeko brought him up). Small ball all last season with Scola and Patteron was infuriating. Benching Lin and Asik for no good reason doesn't make him an awesome coach. An awesome coach knows when to put his starters back in. There's nothing wrong with playing bench players for extended minutes but this 50/50 split is just stupid. Small ball ain't gonna win you ish but some style points. The Heat got away with it with Battier at the 4 but they have some dude named Lebron.
Do you credit the coach with wins too? Or only losses? The Rockets have a winning record. Try to enjoy it. This is a fun season!
I think it's obvious now McHale has issues with Lin, and it's obvious that Harden's style is in conflict with any pass-first/distributor type PG. I don't think Harden/Lin/McHale will ever mesh well. Better trade Lin for a more compatible piece while the stock is high, and it might be a win-win for both Rox and Lin. I can totally see him flourish in a traditional distributor type of PG role with one or two very good shooters and a strong center.
Lin reminds me more of a hybrid Tony Parker/Steve Nash. He slashes like Tony and distribute like Nash, but he will never shoot like Billups.
he's streaky like biillups but i made the comparison based on how billups always had talent but kept bouncing around until someone actually appreciated what he brings on the floor and boom he's a championship caliber starting point guard. I just hope the rockets are to Lin what the Pistons where to chauncey.
Harden is the star so the offense is going to run more in his style like all teams with stars do however that being said, this team has done well to cater to all the players strengths, not just Harden. It seems like most Lin fans want the entire offense to run entirely Jeremy's style which just will not work. I think Jeremy meshes fine with Harden. And also if someone starts demanding a trade, it will look like Lin is difficult to work with and adapt to different play styles and working with others. I don't think that there is necessarily a problem as the Lin fans seem to make it but it seems like that is what a lot of his fans seem to feel as there is always SOMETHING from LOFs. I wonder if that is what Parsons was referencing to when he was on Rocketscast and noted about how Jeremy has a huge fanbase that expect a lot and how thats unfair to Jeremy, makes you wonder how much of this was told in confidence to Parsons by Jeremy. Its sad that his fans could be the ones causing him the most stress over everyone.
