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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR3NhE8fBs8 :grin: Why the hell is a Toronto and Cleveland game in Toronto so packed?! lol
JLin is one of the most frustrating Rockets ever! He shows flashes of what hes capable of a bunch, but he seems so lethargic this year, and seems to not have that killer instinct he had last year. Last year he had swagger, confidence and wasn't timid at all, he seemed to really care about every play and every possession. (Example of Lin against Dallas last year) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBlZVjdUgNY Now I feel like we are watching a different player despite the exact same skillset. Its like he got so famous, didnt like it, and he decided to just do whatever it takes to get away from the spotlight. Even if it means just patrolling the perimeter and not looking for his own shot at all. I still love watching Lin, but was expecting more aggression this year.
Nothing wrong with what McHale is saying. Lin just needs time to learn walking the fine line between being aggressive and playing out of control.
That is the typical homerun play that McHale hates. McHale would be yelling to Lowry: move the ball, move the ball!.
what are you talking about brah? looks like our offense with harden in the final minutes of a close game only difference is that it was a mid range jumpshot
Did you not read/watch McHale's interviews? He hates "sticky ball" "home run"plays. McHale wants simple plays not home run plays, he often talks about and yells "moving the ball, moving the ball". Harden ignores that sometimes and just does his one-on-one and oftentimes makes it. Plus Harden is a superstar so McHale doesn't or can't say much. But he sure said he doesn't want Lin to make home run plays. Lowry is not a superstar. So if he were still on this team, I'm pretty sure McHale would be on his back if he tried to make homerun plays. Did you forget this?
I disagree and this is why. You can say the exact same thing about Steve Nash. Watched the game today and Nash is totally wasted on that team because the thing that he is best at he is not even given the opportunity to use. he creates for others because he can create for himself. But Kobe never allows him to. Still when Nash is on the court and Kobe is sitting Nash's brilliance comes out again. The same thing is happening to Lin with Harden on the floor. he gets less oportunities because harden has the ball alot. The same thing happened to Lin when Carmelo returned. When Lin was allowed to be the leader he excelled. Take that away and he can not be that same type of player. Now all of that being said would you really want Nash with the ball more than Kobe, especially how he is playing now. And would you want Lin to not yield or defer to Harden. What else do you want him to do? Yes there may be a few times when he should took the action on himself but clearly the coaching staff wants him to look for Harden and clearly Harden has the greenlight when to create for himself. I am not even saying this is a bad thing. Harden has gotten us to where we are and he deserves that right to be the playmaker and he is more of a passer than Kobe but he certainly does take the role of playmaker at times and in those times Lin is just waiting around the arc. Many times Harden brings the ball up himself stripping Jeremy of his duties even more. There in lies the dilemna and unless Lin transforms into CP3 he will defer to Harden. Harden is better because of it. He doesn't have to defer to Westbrook. Also I would add Lin right now is much better than the Lin after Melo returned. But there is only one ball and until they allow 2 balls on the court at the same time Lin will not be the Carmelo-Less Knicks Lin of last year.
Old Man Rock- most of lin's inconsistent play comes from his inconsistent shot. When his shot is off, teams play him diferent. Since his shot has been off a lot, that's why his play is up and down. What you're not giving the nba coaches credit for is adjustments. Last year, when the really good teams zeroed in on him, he struggled a bit. Until his shot becomes consistent, he's going to always be a rolercoaster.
Good Post and I definitely agree with everything you wrote. It is obvious that our best chances to win lay with Harden having a high usage %, and dominating the ball. That I get. I suppose my beef is more with the lineups, I feel like there shouldn't be much if any time where either Lin or Harden are not on the court, slightly staggered minutes could greatly benefit the team as they have a pretty similar skill set (though Harden is ALOT better obviously.) I also think its ludicrous that Lin is often benched in the 4th quarter, he proved he can be quite clutch last year.
Couldn't agree more. Some Lin fans want Lin to be traded to the Lakers so he has more freedom under D'Antoni. If Nash doesn't get ball from Kobe and doesn't get much chance to make plays for his teammates, it would be even worse for Lin. Of all the ball dominant superstars, Harden is one of the least selfish. Lin is lucky to have Harden who often remembers to give the ball to Lin. Other than having to share the ball with Harden, to make things worse for Lin, Parson and even Delfino are also handling the ball somewhat and making plays, thus stripping Lin of his duties even more. Our offense is basically a free-flowing, moving the ball, PG by committee style. In this offense, there is no way Lin gets to control the ball and control the play-making for the team. So expecting Linsanity to repeat on this team is not realistic, not because he has no ability but more because of our offense system and personnel. As long as Lin is here, he has to learn to play off the ball, mainly catch and shoot 3 pointers. Whether Lin can make consistent 3s will decide his performance and even his career on this team.
Excellent analysis and would rep if I could. I have always been of the opinion that Lin is a bad fit next to Harden and should be traded. This is not a knock on Lin's ability because (much to the chagrins of trolls) it's clear that the guy has got talent. It's just that having two ball dominant guards whose duties will often overlap creates a dilemma that can't be resolved without the performance of one of the guards suffering. Morey seem to believe that he can actually build on such a back-court, but he is wrong or can't admit that prying Lin away from the Knicks has proved to be a useless move. If even COTY candidate McSuccess can't make this backcourt click, what chance have his lesser peers of doing so?
So what if Harden gets injured? Why trade Lin? He is deferring to Harden which hurts his stats but the team is doing well and he contributes with defense, rebounding and some scoring. Do you really think another starting PG would put up with handing the ball off to Harden? It probably would be better for Lin's career if he were traded but not for the Rockets.
