I think McHale should give Bev a few "trial" starts towards the end of the preseason

Lin prolly starts, but who plays the fourth quarter prolly is decided on a game by game basis. Both above average IMO

 

I would be shocked and frankly disappointed if Lin is still the starter in April

 

Prepare to be shocked and disappointed then. Unless Lin is traded, he will be the starter. Bev will get his minutes though

 

There's no harm in letting Bev play a couple exhibition games. But in the end Lin will start. Casspi and Jones and Garcia should provide the offense we need off the bench. If you saw the preseason game, Lin and Harden were working together, and Lin and Harden were working together with Dwight. If Lin makes his open shots in the regular season, and keeps his TOs (he had four in the game yesterday) down he should remain a starter.

 

Lin is better offensively, so I do think bev should start, because Lin would have a better spark off the bench. Beverly needs to guard the opposing teams point guard.

 

I think that Beverley is good enough to be the starter, but I really liked the Lin-Dwight connection in the first preseason game. If you watch Dwight's highlight's from that game (someone posted them on this board earlier), Dwight got some very easy buckets from Lin's feeds -- in fact, I think each of Lin's assists led to Howard buckets. This is something Beverley can't really do to the extent that Lin does.

 

Response

Man, Linsanity happened only because Lin was given a great deal of usage. Let's say Harden is injured (which I don't want it to happen), Linsanity might re-occur.

 

Ok guys noticed something else new guys ? Its harden his d is pretty decent now. U know why? Its because he is back to sging again , not having to iniatate the offence . He is still getting his points.

 

Response

With Dwight on board, Rockets need good assists more than ever.

 

Response

I would be shocked and frankly disappointed if Bev is a starter in April.

 

Care to put a wager on that?

 

I wouldnt be against this at all, if only to have even more confirmation that JLin starting is whats best for the team imo.

If Bevs started;

-Harden would be the exclusive playmaker. Opponents would pressure him harder to give the ball up because of this. Would Bevs be able to take over? By his own admission, Lin is the better playmaker between them.
-Would being the main playmaker and SG take a toll on Harden's defense?
-Could Bevs really keep up that suffocating defense in starter minutes, in the long run?
-Could he stay of foul trouble?

I dont know, I think right now he's great being that big spark from the bench.

 

I'll wager this, if by beginning of April Bev is the starter, and Lin is not hurt or traded, I'll put 100 bucks in the tip jar. Same from you?

We can get a mod the verify, its for a good cause anyways...

 

You sure that's the only reason and not the fact that Harden worked on his conditioning or Howard's defensive presence allowed Harden to play more aggressive near the perimeter?

 

what he said

 

I aint got that type of money how about $20

 

Sure that'll work.

 

agreed conditioning should help us through the season. But didn't u watch the game? I was surprised that Lin was actually initiating the offence. In fact the first 3 which Harden got see what how the team opens new orleans.
Team work bro. we shouldn't ever abuse iso harden. :grin:
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i am witness to this!:grin: good cause! gentleman's wager.

 

I depise most LOF's, and I know I'm sounding like one atm, but I honestly thought that the Lin/Harden backcourt looked far superior to the Bev/Harden backcourt last game. The offense with Lin at the point of attack looked nearly flawless - Dwight was consistently being fed deep in the post, Harden was playing with ungodly efficiency (nothing from him looked forced), and ball movement seemed very crisp. In fact, I recall two of Lin's passes resulting in open dunks for both Harden and Dwight. His defense was very solid as well.

Beverley played tremendous defense on Holiday, but the offense didn't look nearly as smooth with him running point. I honestly thought that Harden's individual brilliance alone (thank god for the Beard) saved the team's offense from being downright ugly during that stretch.

That being said, the sample size is too small to be making any firm conclusions. I'm excited to see how this plays out.