Can we have a serious discussion about Jeremy Lin?

My problem with Lin is that he does not consistently impact the game in any one facet. He's a subpar jump-shooter, arguably the worst of any perimeter player on the roster, and he has shown little to no growth as a decision-maker, partly because he's so predictable -- he cannot attack left, rarely looks to create for himself, even when glaring opportunities arise, and while he may be considered "quick," he does not have that explosive first step required to blow by defenders off the dribble (the opponent is almost always in his hip pocket when he drives right, forcing him to either jack up that high-arching, off-balance, low % fadeaway or look to kick the ball back out to the perimeter, essentially resetting the offense and forcing Harden, and occasionally Parsons, to force the action late in the clock).

Jeremy's highs are very high, and his lows tend to be very low. When he's struggling mightily, the Rockets quickly find themselves in a double-digit hole. He's way too inconsistent. With Bev, McHale knows what to expect. He's a hyperactive defender and superb rebounding guard, and he consistently brings it in those departments. Lin tends to take too many risks defensively or gets caught sagging in the paint on a cross-court kick, leaving his man wide-freaking-open (see the Fisher corner trey in the 1st half tonight; Harden's also guilty of this). He's an OK defender, nothing more.

Frankly, I don't see the upside. Most "stars" are fairly confident in their abilities. Mentally, Lin's one of the weakest players I've ever seen in the NBA. He's timid, indecisive, hesitant... whatever you wanna call it. And most troubling, he seems to have become even more unsure of himself as the season has progressed. He needs to drastically improve his jumper and dribbling skills, and establish a handful of go-to moves. He's limited, and he'd probably be the first to tell you that behind closed doors. The fear of not playing up to that $25,000,000 contract is eating at his conscience.

All in all, he's one of the most likeable guys on the team, but he's not a starting-caliber PG, in my opinion. Someone mentioned he'd be best suited playing a Jarrett Jack-type role off the bench, and I tend to agree. I want what is best for the Rockets. This LOF-LOH drama has ruined the GARM. As fans, we tend to overrate our favorite team's players, but we're overly critical of them, too. If Lin was on the 8th-seeded Bucks in the EC, and had 13 points, 8 assists, and 7 turnovers in 70 minutes of action over the course of 3 playoff losses as the starting PG we'd likely be ripping him to shreds. Small sample size? Yes. But, wasn't Linsanity a fairly small sample size? Like I said, the highs are sky high, and the lows are in the gutter with this kid. He's certainly not worth the money Dork Elvis committed to pay him over the next few years, but as we all know, there were ulterior motives behind his signing.

For now, he's a Rocket, so he's one of the good guys. But, PG must be addressed this offseason, and I think the discussion begins with moving Lin to the bench.

 

he's consistently inconsistent

 

Could've sworn Harden was 3-10 at some point in the first half. Was I hearing Van Gundy wrong?

 

welcome to the real world. You're franchise player is supposed to win you the game when they dont they take the fall, especially when the 2 turnovers are in the last 2 minutes. Dont forget the 10-15 ft shooting.

Again if you're ok with your superstar playing 3.5 quarters then good for you...I want mine to be there for the last half quarter, if not, well that's not the kinda superstar that wins, maybe that's what Harden is.

 

decent post but my man you seriously think Harden's a better defender than Lin is?

 

I wish I could tell you what kind of player Jeremy Lin is and is going to be because that knowledge would make my life as a Lin fan 100x less frustrating. If I could just look at his mediocre stats and conclude, “hey, this guy is an average PG much like 15 other starting 1’s in this league” then I could be done following the guy and I’d be just be wishing him a nice career. But I can’t.

The guy’s too freaking volatile. One night I’m watching this kid streak down the court faster than John Wall while cutting up the opposing defense like only the best PG’s can. The other I’m watching him look literally like the worst player I’ve ever seen play on an NBA court. When he’s on, he can make an NBA offense look like poetry in motion. When he’s off, I’m screaming for him to get off the floor.



What might be the most frustrating about it all is that his bad traits seem so easily correctable. You can WORK and IMPROVE upon poor handles. You can WORK on and IMPROVE your shot. You can WORK on and IMPROVE your explosiveness so you’re not stuck in the lane after your drive with nowhere to go. You can IMPROVE your decision making so you’re not making silly-ass turnovers that lead to easy buckets for the other team.

This playoff series has been a disaster for Jeremy -- he’s looked horrible out there. But I’m willing to give him one more season to prove he’s not just some incredibly streaky player. For the first time in two years he’ll be healthy in the offseason, which means he can finally focus on shoring up his many weaknesses. If he can’t improve after all of that though I’ll have to accept that he is what he is.

 

it makes sense if you don't think about it

 

That, is in some peoples mind, the best type of prospect. While he is wildly inconsistent, he has major potential and could become a great player if he fixes his weaknesses. However, if he doesn't he will be much of the same, and not many teams will want that type of inconsistency as their starting PG.

 

I don't agree with this. Beginning of the season he was still figuring stuff out with his knee injury. And you bring up the nationally televised Miami game, what about the game against Kobe & the Lakers, or the Mavs game? Or even the game against Rose. Even this year in the games without Harden where expectations were high Lin averaged good numbers. He is young he is going to have highs & lows. Everyone is trying to psychoanalyze when the easiest answer is youth & inexperience.

 

Huh?

I said Harden's just as guilty as Lin of sagging off his man on the back-side, leaving a shooter open for an uncontested look at the hoop. It happened many times tonight.

 

Couldn't type all the words out but I guess I didn't have. Can't rep anymore but if I could this post would deff. get it.

 

You said Lin was the worst perimeter defender on the floor.

 

Sorry Wood I read that wrong. My fault.

 

What the hell are you talking about?

 

One thing I'll always praise him about is his attitude. Wish he could teach Harden.

 

A little regular season promise and everyone here wants a Miami Heat-like superteam.

Let's trade everybody so we can have a starting line-up of Howard, Love, Parson, Harden, and Paul! Actually, let's chuck that 2nd round trash Parsons out of there once we snag LeBron in 2014.

 

dont blame his teammates for today. Durant got 63 points from his teammates. Meanwhile Rocket players outside of Harden scored 71

everyone's freaking salary is inflated....barring a minimum contract or a kid still in a rookie deal. WHo did you want the rockets to sign? If they were smart they could've easily picked up kenyon martin before the knicks did.

The bottom line is Durant was horrendous in the 2nd half, but he hit the big shot when he needed to. And Harden threw the ball away at the other end.