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

Exactly.

 

I didn't say to stash Bev, he'll probably get more minutes if he plays well. I'm saying that Lin was brought in to start and paid to be the starter. Let him have that chance to succeed or fail.

 

I didn't say anything about his mental toughness, but why put more pressure on it. I'm saying why don't he have that freedom to play and see how he does, why the extra pressure for what?

 

Agree. Bev is fantastic off the bench providing instant ball pressure defence. But that style of defence you have to be lucky. One wrong move, the ref will be calling foul on the defender if there Is any body or hand contact. As a starter, if you pile up 2 fouls in a hurry, you sit, and now the team who has been practicing with you as the starter will have to adjust to the sub which can mess up team chemistry. Not that Lin cannot come in a sub for Bev. He has been a starter and know the moves of other starters. But it will still disrupt the team chemistry to a certain degree when you starting pg sits for quite a bit of time.

 

Take Lin and Bev out of the equation, if you can.

Assume I have Player A, who was brought in to start. I have Player B, who plays the same position as Player A -- but it was understood that Player B would be coming off the bench, as Player A was always the implied starter. According to your logic, if Player B begins to show flashes of strong potential, the coach should not consider having Player A and Player B compete for the starting spot -- all because Player A was the one originally brought in to start, and making him compete (1) is unfair, and (2) will likely dash his confidence.

Again, I'm speaking in generalities, not saying that I think Bev > Lin or that Lin > Bev. In GENERAL, the notion that a player shouldn't have to defend his starting spot just because he was brought in as a starter is very, very strange to me in the world of professional sports, where competition and merit are king.

 

as an asset, knowing that someone else breathing down his neck and is after his job. This should light a fire under his ass.

 

"pressure turns coal into diamond."

pressure is what competitive sports are all about. do you believe Lin is he only player who is in this situation? please, this goes for all sports, Lin is not in some cocoon where he's a special case.

 

I said Lin has to play well. I didn't say he keeps it if he fails. But he should have that chance to do so. There are other teams that bring in players to be starter and something they succeed, sometimes not, but they are given that chance.

 

I still find it incredible anyone would champion themselves coming off the bench. People come off the bench because they're behind someone else in the depth chart. It's preposterous to think anyone who grew up playing organized ball would believe coming off the bench after being a starter is anything BUT a demotion. The only people stirring up controversy are the ones who fail to see the individual's competitive spirit notwithstanding the team mission. If all professional athletes always acted in the best interests of the TEAM, then I think it's fair to say Dwight would still be in LA and Howard would still be in Oklahoma. How would Houston like dem apples?

Lin and Bev both want the starting position despite the public camaraderie. At the end of today, the starting PG position remains Lin's to lose. He'll needs to regress back to his performance this time last year; he'll need to demonstrate his turnovers have not improved, his shot isn't falling AND his handle is shaky. Unless these things happens, all this ongoing commentary and analysis about who should start is fanatical vapor.

 

And just as a disclaimer, I don't mind Lin starting at all... I prefer Bev as a the spark of energy, change of tempo guy off the bench. I just don't get the no-competition-allowed thing, that's all.

 

Maybe they should eliminate 6th MOTY award....

 

In this day and age where mediocrity is constantly rewarded, I would be surprised.

 

Lin started all of last year. how is that not a chance?

 

Let me revise that KlutchQT:

6MOY is a deserved award for bench players who contribute throughout the season but the point I was trying to make is simple. We are taught at a very young age to be the best at what we do. And the basic fact is this: bench players, regardless of being 6th or 10th in the depth chart, all feel the same thing - someone thinks I'm not the best person for that particular position.

 

they should just have 3 awards.

the MVP, The Finals MVP, and The Champions.

if you aren't first, you're last.

 

i agree, i'm pretty sure guys would rather be one of the starting 5 for an 82 game haul+playoffs instead of winning some award as the 6th man.

 

And he did ok, what's your point? Because of that he's getting the start as far as we know, otherwise he would have been traded or openly demoted if he did poorly. Why shouldn't he continue having that chance till it's known that he will not get better or fit with the team.

 

No, I agree to an extent -- which is why I think competition is healthy and fair. I do think you have some guys who are happy to collect their checks and go home, though. (Likely not the guys who would end up in contention for 6th MOY.)

 

I am still seeing people using last season's situation as an argument.

If we didn't get Howard and with same rosters like last season, Bev should start.

Now we have Howard and Lin works well with him. Harden can focus on defense and offense. Beverley should remain as backup.

 

They are both good in their skill sets but they are not comparable. Bev is a top ball pressure defender, a play-it-safe less TO guy with less penetration & attack the rim tendency, which leads to less assists. He is not in the same calibre as a playmaker pg as Lin by his own admission. Lin has decent defence as reflected by his good steal and rebound numbers and he took a lot of charges in team defence. But his offensive skill is much more than Bev. He has great court vision and his playmaking skills make every one around him better. He penetrates and attacks the rim at random, creating havoc on opponent's defences and making team-mates open for easy shots which was what created Linsanity in NY by the way. Of course with more aggressiveness and taking chances on attacks, you commit more TO. This is the same for Westbrook and other all star guards who attack. Look at Harden's TO. That comes from his attacking style of play.