[Chron] Rockets’ oft-criticized Lin promises improvement

Hear hear! Thanks, Texnificent, you just proved my points or rants. Whatever.

 

Really. And with that, I bow out of your thread, OP.

 

Sports fans are all the same. They always deify the backup... Until he actually starts for a significant period of time. This happens every season in hockey with goalies (e.g. Luongo vs. Schneider). And the backup almost always, surprisingly, turns out not to be Jesus Christ but a regular screw-up like the former starter.

 

It's not that he's some 20-year old kid coming out of college, but this is the first time he's been fully integrated into a team that actually has a plan for him.

 

I agree. I noticed on CF that not just back-ups but 3rd stringers like Brooks and D-Mo get a lot of love and their one or two game performances get blown out of proportion.

I think sports fans in are in love with the idea of POTENTIAL. They would love nothing more than to see an underdog succeed and flourish, eventually becoming a star. We all witnessed that with Linsanity last year. This love of the underdog can distort fan's perceptions of players.

 

Here are pictures of Chandler and Jeremy at the Drake on Cinco de Mayo.

 

Their outfit choices for going clubbing makes me smh

 

Chandler, what were you thinking?

Jeremy in camo is a different style for him. Maybe, he's watching too much Duck Dynasty since they're a Christian family.

 

They do like each other dont they

 

This article here sums up Lin's performance for the season
http://www.latinospost.com/articles...g-down-2012-13-nba-season-houston-rockets.htm

 

Westbrook called... He wants his shirts back...

 

Thanks, I like the article.

Didn't know Latinos Post could be so basketball savvy. Better writing than a lot of the NBA media. But Rockets finished 8th seed and NOT 7th as reported lol.

 

DWade borrowed it.

 

Why didn't they coordinate?

Matching outfits would have been cute.

 

You're ridiculous. Throughout the season there were times he said that he needed to improve and he did; he improved throughout the entire season. Maybe you were expecting Linsanity numbers, if so, then you're delusional and crazier than I thought.

 

From another thread....

Clutchfans never ceases to amaze me.

The last time I think I posted anything of significance was in support of AB when he was being bashed and busted up by so many on here, before he was traded to Phoenix.

I guess (to some degree) I can understand the frustration over LOF's calling out Harden or McHale. ('cause if you can't play for McHale, you can't play for the majority of NBA coaches...and even though Harden can drive us crazy with turnovers and his reaching on D, he's by far our best player)

Maybe that causes some to become LOH's, I don't know.

But, the degree of "hate" and criticism Lin gets from some is just beyond ridiculous.

Does he make you scream at the TV when he gets in the lane and pulls up his dribble, then tries some absurd shot or extremely difficult pass "back out" 'cause he's got nowhere to go? DEFINITELY. Without question. No doubt.

Still, if a guy in his first full year of playing signifigant minutes, while learning a new system, learning to play alongside a star player, trying to play the way his coach wants him to play, is able to improve the way Lin did throughout the year, I'll take my chances with him continuing to grow and develop.

This has nothing to do with on court production, but how many players in today's NBA will take the time to go into AN ASSISTANT COACH'S office (McHale was out at the time) after air-balling a three against Miami at crunch time and APOLOGIZE and say "Sorry coach, I'll hit it next time"....? Not many.

While it wasn't the exact same situation, the next two times he was needed in crunch time (vs Portland and OKC) he delivered down the stretch big time - and hit two clutch threes in the win vs. OKC. It's hard not to pull for or like a guy like that.

I was one of the guys defending the team when Linsanity was happening and so many people (especially on here) were non-stop talking about how we could have had him, what a dumb move, etc. I expected the league to "catch up" to him and he'd "come down", and completely understood why the decision to let him go was made.

But, once he became a Rocket (again), it's time to support the guy and pull for him - and why would you not? Great kid.

Yes, I know that has nothing to do with performance on the court. OK, let's look at that for a minute.

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First 44 games of the season - Rockets go 22-22 (.500). Lin is shooting .423 from the field, .279 on threes, .775 at the line... he's averaging 3.8 boards a game, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 3.0 turnovers and 12.0 points per game.

Over the final 38 games (46% of an NBA season), the Rockets go 23-15 (.605, which would equate to a 50 win season). Lin shoots .461 from the field, .398 on threes, .795 from the line... his rebounds drop to 2.2, assists rise to 6.2, steals drop to 1.3, turnovers dip to 2.8 and his scoring increases to 15.0 ppg.

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I'm not saying the guy is Chris Paul, but would you take a PG shooting 46% from the floor and 40% from downtown, while averaging 15 ppg, 6.2 asts, even with the 2.8 turnovers? I think most of us would... (and we DID... for nearly the entire second half of the season!)

I don't get it. The guy raises the level of play down the stretch of the season, the team plays well and makes the playoffs... and he gets crucified like a Tebow or Romo.

Don't think it had anything to do with the schedule - look up the stats - he played much better against playoff and .500+ teams than he did against sub .500 teams (for some reason).

I don't have the date of the video, but I believe Lin's decrease in rebounds (and steals) started around the time McHale was talking to the media about "court balance" and when the PG is rebounding, your likely now in a bad position (after being questioned about Bev's offensive rebound rate). It's almost like you could see him trying to adjust his game to more of what McHale wanted - rebounds and steals decreased as he tried to play more responsibly.

Going forward, we can only hope he's able to continue to improve as he DID this season while finding that medium between playing too cautiously and staying aggressive with his help defense, where he has shown the ability to thrive.

Was what happened in the playoffs frustrating and disappointing? Extremely. No doubt. Big time.

He was playing fine in game one 'til the two turnovers late in the first half, then it snowballed. He played well in the first half of game two and after the injury was a shell of himself and shouldn't have been out there.

The amount of "hate" towards players on this site is often brutal. The knee-jerking is comical. If you support the TEAM, support the players... at all times. I'd love to log on and read stuff like "Man, Smith has got to pick his game up" or "Lin's played like crap these last two games".... But, we don't get that.... we get "Damn Greg Smith sucks!" or "Maybe we won't have to worry about Lin after this season"...lol. Smh.... Really?

 

Great post Htown.

 

Thank you HTown5933 for taking the time to express your thoughts in such a logical and thorough manner.

When Lin was asked about the hate he received from NYK fans for going to Houston, he said, "I WILL ALWAYS HAVE HATERS".

Even if Lin has a 17/8 season with 2TO and shooting a 40% clip from 3, he will have haters.

I think its unavoidable, some people need to hate on others as an outlet for their own problems and insecurities.

We can only hope that the great M.Gaye was right when he said, "LOVE WILL CONQUER HATE".

 

HTown.....well said.

 

"This past week Jeremy had a chance to visit Las Americas Newcomer School and spend time with students from PAIR - Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees." ~ Jeremy Lin Foundation