That's nonsense. The myth created here that Lin was forced to defer is tierd and old. Most of the time Lin had the ball to initiate the offense but he would look straight away to pass it and really that was his job. But at certain stages he would make one to many passes and that's what annoyed some. Especially when he had an open lane or shot.
It's not like I'm following what other people are saying on here. I haven't really been on clutchfans until the offseason started (I don't know why, but I'm on dreamshake during the season and clutchfans during the offseason). Just from what I saw from all 82 games last season, I noticed him dribbling up to half court and deliberately passing it off and head straight to the corner. If you have league pass or old games from last season, just see for yourself. Obviously I'm not saying it was ALL the time, but it certainly happened enough to call it the norm.
But the Heat had a much tougher time trying to have two super stars play similar positions. I think a superstar big man and wing player is a much more natural fit and easier to work with. The Heat win due to overwhelming talent from their superstars. Their games don't particularly compliment each other, though.
Not true. It was clear to me that Lin was following specific instructions in assessing the opponents defense and if nothing is obvious to pass it off and get it into Hardens hands instead of looking to create for himself. And people criticized him for that as if he was being a non-factor when in fact he was doing his job. Nothing wrong with that strategy but I wouldn't mind telling Lin to create on his own at times a bit more. Lin only tried to create when Harden passed it off again and you know what happened when Harden sat. Lin played the same way, passing it off to promote ball movement BUT looked to initiate the offense a bit more. Just my opinion of course.
Except for the fact that Harden wore down badly in the last third of the season, or even earlier. I'm not convinced mchale and sampson are the right coaches for this team, for several reasons: 1. over-utilization of harden, under-utilization of lin 2. an unwillingness to trust talented young players, in particular TJ. 3. an enormous over-reliance on the 3 ball. It would be nice to see morey go after the premier talent in the coaching ranks, namely phil jackson, with the same ardor and intensity he has pursued great players (harden, howard, lebron).
There is no doubt that the coaching staff wanted (even demanded) that lin play a relatively conservative role in the offense. They seem to have bought into the notion that jeremy's TO's are far more detrimental than his offensive contributions (being a ball dominant creator) were beneficial. They definitely wanted lin to stand behind the arc and take 3's, but were not thrilled to see him penetrate and attack. The coaches are of the philosophy that lin fit into THEIR system, rather than trying to allow him to play to his strengths. Who knows what this season will bring.
I'm so glad Harden wasn't injured last season. He is integral, nay, the only reason, for our success Jokes aside, I'm slowly raising my expectations for this team. Was thinking, initially, to make the WCF would be awesome, but all this talk....is it really a case of overselling ourselves? Making our fans expect too much? Have we set the bar too high? (Not that its a bad thing to set the bar high) I have always fully supported the idea of Harden and Lin working in tandem. Look at those first few games of last season, with Lin and Harden putting up some huge back-court numbers. Harden 25p/7a, Lin 18p/9a, Dwight 21p/10r. I'm calling it.
In terms of defensive coverages, everything is in Lin's favour. Last year on the P n Roll and just in general, defenses would forget Asik and crowd around Lin and even when Lin would (sometimes unbelievably) get the dish to Asik, there were several instances when Asik couldn't finish where someone like Howard would. Defenses are gonna worry about the roll man this time, Harden's gonna attract double teams before he can call for a pick. This also opens up thing for Parsons but I really feel like Lin will benefit tremendously in the current scenario especially in the assists column. I say 16pt 7 assists this season.
IMO, most of Lin's struggles when attacking last year came from the fact that he was not good outside the paint. Teams played him for the jumpshot and he bricked most of them. In contrast during Linsanity he was money with his jumpshot. With a healthy offseason, is Lin's jumper back? I truly hope so. If his jumper is anything near his Knicks days, he'll be able to attack quite easily because defense will have to respect his shot like they do with Harden's.
I've looked at every game several times over the off season, especially with an eye on the pg position and I disagree. I'm not saying that he was effective when he found himself alone up top, just that he most definitely was not bricking his mid range jumpers as much as you seem to remember. Actually, I may prefer him to be bricking those shots, but in reality, when they went under (usually they didnt), he looked to penetrate more and pass off rather than take the shot. And you're right, he shot those in NY, and the Lakers game is probably the best example as they go under against all newbies that are good at penetrating, ala Rondo and Rubio, to see if they can shoot and he nailed them. In Houston, he stunk up the mid range game in the first 10-15 games, then as if either a) he was instructed not to shoot the mid-range or b) he lost complete confidence in his touch, he avoided it bringing my blood pressure up, lol. Hopefully, he shoots those with confidence and more importantly, buries them. But, if he did that, then we would have a penetrating, 3pt shooting, mid range busting, speedy pg with size and excellent court vision who is still young and raw, and I doubt he can put his game together so quickly. Maybe one more year, if he is to achieve it at all. I believe in him but IMO next year we will go only as far as Harden can complete his game and also on how Dwight gels with Harden and Lin. If Lin could hit a reliable mid range shot, continues his 3 pt shooting improvement and still penetrate as he has been, that's our third (possibly 4th if Parsons keeps it up) star right there. And knocking Lebrun off the mountain-top is only a matter of time.
