[ClutchFans] Jeremy Lin, James Harden, Chandler Parsons after 100-91 loss to Pacers

When you consider usage factors Lin is not anymore turnover prone than Beverley is.


There are questions about McHale's rotations coming even from the front office as per an insider. It's not about Lin really. It's about McHale and how he substitutes and chooses his matchups.

The whole starting unit had problems last night. Every since we traded PPat and inserted DMo into the starting lineup they've struggled. Most of that is due to the fact that DMo is a very poor defensive player right now. We've basically taken a step back to take a couple steps forward. I was hoping this switch (which most of us could see coming way back) would take place sooner and that PPat would have been traded sooner to allow this team time to gel with DMo and others manning the 4 spot. But alas we are steaming down the stretch with chemistry issues that will only be solved with large amounts of playing time on the court and improvement from a young player (DMo) that hasn't been given a chance up until now.

The problem on this team is not Lin. The problem is our 4 spot is inexperienced and defensively challenged. The chain reaction goes from there. And that is why there are questions about McHale's rotations.

Why isn't McHale running with Bev/Lin/Harden/Asik/Parsons when the starting unit comes up short? Why didn't he bench DMo for Beverley and try the lineup above instead of ditching DMo for another rookie (TRob) and the slide continuing to start the game? If Beverley is so good and is eating into Lin's minutes and he's the guy we need in crunch time to defend and not turn the ball over then why not plug him in with the first substitution in the first quarter? Mchale can't answer those questions because he's not thinking that way. His mind is not illuminated to the idea of using Bev and Lin in the backcourt together and moving Harden to the 3. He's too stuck on Lin and Beverley solely at the point. He's too stuck on Harden at the 2. And he's too stuck on Parsons/Delfino being his only "small ball" options at the forward slots.

If Harden/Asik/Parsons/Lin are your four best players....and they are...then who is the fifth best player? You could make a very good argument that depending on matchups Beverley could be the fifth best player at times. As an earlier poster stated, if Delfino is not red hot from the perimeter, if he's missing his shot then he's a big liability out there. Beverley on more than a few nights has been the fifth best player for us. So, the question really is why isn't McHale throwing out his best 5 when that 5 includes Beverley, Lin, Harden, Parsons, Asik?

 

Good that a couple of people made an inflammatory, non-supported assumption on an internet message board that no one on the coaching staff or front office will read? What world do you live in?

 

You sound like he can do whatever he wants to do and coach has no gameplan at all.

 

Then, wouldn't it be good to sit Lin entire 1st to get him "warm up"

 

Isn't that what a lot of you guys have been saying???

And again, what's the worst that can happen?

 

nice job

 

Furthermore,

Last night Indy's bigs scored 46 points on on 29 shots and went 14 for 17 from the free throw line and 29 boards. That's a very efficient and productive stat line. The rest of their team, the perimeter guys, scored 54 points on 49 shots (not nearly as efficient) and 10 for 11 from the free throw line with 15 assists. Most of those assists were right into the paint to Hibbert and Hansbrough for layups/dunks/and 1s.

By contrast our bigs scored 36 points on 27 shots and went 10 for 13 from the free throw line with 30 boards. So our bigs played them even on the glass but our bigs could not stop their bigs offensively.

The rest of the contrast is Harden/Parsons/Motie/Parsons went a combined 13 for 46 from the field including 4 for 16 from distance. That's 28%/25% from our outside shooters.

To think for a moment that this game hinged on Lin's performance is absurd. Lin wasn't the one defending the bigs in the paint and he wasn't the one hoisting up all those bricks. You may be able to make an argument that if he would have stayed in there he would have had 8 turnovers. But the counter argument is there and you can't answer it. So what. Look what we got instead. So instead of Lin's turnovers we had a brick party......and lost anyways. And once again, one of our 4 best player rode the pine.

You gotta go with who brung you. Lin should have been in there.

 

do you think he was being passive last night against the indy?

 

He was during the last 5 minutes at least. What say you?

 

Furthermore....

if you are actually going to go with two rookies playing major rotation minutes in DMo and TRob who are both terribly inexperienced and making mistake after mistake defensively and costing us buckets then you might as well go with the point guard that is your starter that needs further developing.

Furthermore if you are going to pull guys for playing badly and you aren't going to show favoritism so you pull the young point guard who is at worst your fourth best player...then when are you going to pull your best player who is shooting 25% and when are you going to pull your second or third best player who is shooting 30%?

I hate to admit it and I really don't want to talk about it and I hate acknowledging that the LOFs have a point...but they do have a point.

McHale doesn't throw Parsons and Harden under the bus like that. Lin's A/TO ratio is superior to Harden's. We all know when Harden's turnovers rise above 4 that we are most likely losing the game, yet he is never pulled when he is piling them up. Parsons can shoot blanks for a week and he's still getting 40+. Same thing with Delfino. Clank clank clank...keep running him out there. And I'm okay with that. They are our best players. There's no doubt about it. Lin should be treated the same. You find a way to make adjustments on the court. That's the way it is with young players. They've got to learn and grow by playing together through the rough patches. We've been saying that all year. Lin should be out there.

 

well, definitely not in the 1st and 3rd quarter... and in those last 5 minutes, harden had one or two defensive rebounds, and greg smith passed him the ball after his defensive rebound.harden just wasn't looking to pass. can't blame lin for stuff like that.

 

Unfortunately Jeremy Lin is still a rookie in McHale's eyes, so they manage his substitutions same as Dmo's or other rookies even as starter. This is stubbornness and not smart but we can expect that to change next season

 

What is English

 

mchale doesn't want ball to be sticky in anyone's hands. he wants lin to initiate the offense and pass off to harden or parsons as soon as he crosses the road rather than poke around. he wants harden/parsons to make quick decisions and attack and if nothing is there to move the ball.

problem is, if lin is being stagnant and not playing within the offense, mchale has another option in bev. but when harden is being sticky with the ball, mchale really has not choice but to keep him in there because subbing in anyone else would be too much of a drop off from harden.

this is not a fact.. just a theory.

 

I actually think he did it just to punk Lin off (no front office back office comment will convince me otherwise). Sorry, the fact that he was trying to cover his ass, implies he actually was worried about something. If he actually cared, he would had taken Harden out when he was 4 or 19. "Superstar" is privilege, not a right.

Putting Lin in with 4 minutes left is a statement (not covering your own ass). It's insinuating that you are a bench dude and this is Harden's team, don't try this Linsanity stuff. There something really weird going on with the Harden-Lin connection. After Lin's third 20+ point game, they asked Harden in an interview if Lin is the next best option because he was starting to play at a close Linsanity 1 level. Harden quickly downplayed it and said it was everyone was an option, sidestepping the answer. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, until he shot 4-19 and was still bricking his way through. Yeah, "everyone else is an option". Sure buddy.

Honestly, I'm not even going to front, I never cared for the Rockets until Lin was traded. I follow other teams just as closely. A word of advise, if you want loyalty from new fans, you treat them with some "similarity".

Sorry front office, I call your bluff until I see otherwise. Yeah DMo, is the guy that is causing Lin to sit. Riiiight.

 

Actually, I've been critical of all the starters. It's just most of the threads are about Lin, so I talk about Lin the most.

 

I'm a Lin fan and was a Knicks fan and now probably a so called Rockets fan - was at the game on Sunday vs Spurs all the way from Boston.. he played like pure garbage in the first half.. Lin is in a damn if you do and damn if you don't scenario.. Its no win for him.. so why even bother scrutinizing everything? If he played aggressive and jacked up 30 shots and hit 10... he still went 10/30 and would get chewed out. He clicked with Asik last night when they started to pick and roll.. but gets thrown out of his rhythm.. face it.. Mchale wants to win but he still hasn't figured out what his weapons can do because they are all inconsistent(aside from Harden but he is wearing down)

He already got his paycheck.. let the other players making league min to earn their keep and if the Rockets fall down this year.. then blame it on Mchale for misusing his talent

 

What is punctuation?

 

Their strategy is simple - harden on the floor at all times. so hide him on defense when he's on the floor, and if you ask him to guard the opposing team's 3, then you're asking for him to get into foul trouble, which would limit his time on the floor.

 

That's called being a teammate and being professional. Calling Lin the second best would have offended Parsons, Asik, and his other teammates.