I think Lin fits well with both units. It's just that the bench may need him more. I'd like Lin to be 6th man but I think there is a very small chance of that actually happening. Bev today played 30 minutes and took 3 shots, made one. Hardly "starter-ish". Most of his passes were lobs into Howard in the post, where right now Howard is struggling, had two very bad games in a row. As good as the first unit is they're hardly at all running the PnR. One PnR today, that was it if I recall (Harden to Howard). They need Lin to run the PnR in the first unit to facilitate Howard.
This is where McHale need to figure during this preseason. So far we havent seen much utilization and effectiveness from DH
And the bench probably won't need Lin as much as Garcia and Asik start playing. The bench only played badly in the first game because important players like them weren't playing. Every game will be different so if the bench need help, Harden/Lin or other starters can come in to help them.
I think Howard wants to work on his post moves, so the best time to do so is in preseason, that's probably why not much PNRs.
Honestly, I think Jeremy Lin just played himself onto the bench. He keeps popping out stunning games on an irregular basis, but they aren't random lucky days. They are talent based. He needs to be put in a place where he can find out a way to bring that talent out at will instead of just waiting for it to happen... and with Harden & Howard on at the same time, he doesn't get that opportunity. If he can learn how to turn it on on a regular basis, he'd be our third allstar... if he can't he'll probably just finish out his contract. But it is worth it to give him every opportunity to figure it out. The only place for that on this team is off the bench.
The truth is this. The only reason why management and coaching staff are considering using Lin as 6th man, is not because he'll be Linsanity 2.0 or that because Beverly sets a defensive tone early etc., or even the fact that he is a good spot up shooter and meshes well with Harden in the backcourt -- Lin has proved he can be a good spot up shooter, his defense can be argued to be better than Beverly's from a team view point (he is a great help-defender, and anticipates passes, reads opponents defenses better, while Beverly is an elite-harrasing/individual defender), and Lin has also proved he can work well with Harden. The fact is, Lin may have to end up being 6th man, and ending games, because Beverly is not a floor-general. The second unit will stagnate in ball movement and will likely lose the lead / be unable to maintain a lead. This is not in anyway a bad remark/putting down the great and tested player that Beverly is, he is a vital part of our team and the Houston backcourt. But unless, Beverly can prove he can run an offense, he might have to be a starter, or ..be on the court when either Lin or Harden is. So its a case, of letting the "backup PG" (I use this term with caution because Bev could start elsewhere I think), having a starter position, because the backup isn't as good as the starter in play-making. Interesting article: http://houston.culturemap.com/news/...hale-doesnt-respect-rockets-difference-maker/ I think McHale has seen a little bit of the error in his timing, but that was a few days ago and we move on! He tried to make up for it today (or management/Stern may have told him otherwise) by letting Lin play freely. Hope this can add another view point to the discussion. tldr; Lin as 6th man, because Bev may not be able to run the 2nd unit as well. Time will tell.
Well you can't use the fact that beverly didn't score to factor in. Beverly isn't a scoring point guard. He CAN score, but when hes with the starting 5, his job isn't to put points on the board, its to move the ball, play good defense, and get the ball to our good shooters and stars which i think he can do. And we all know that lin needs the ball in his hand to be dominant, which is still going to be hard to do trying to co-exist with harden on the court especially once the regular season starts and harden gets that hunger to win. and saying second string i was referring to when they had little to none of their starters in.
I think he can score, but cannot play-make as well as other starting PGs. Hence, the 2nd unit will stagnate with him as PG. Hence, he may end up being our starter. Yes its a negative viewpoint, but a realistic one. Not about fit, not about defense, but more the stagnation in ball movement with Bev running the point. Bev is a proven starter-worthy PG for sure.
It doesn't really matter, we're a threat at the PG position. This team is going to be scary as hell, the future is bright and red!!
My only question is, since we're experimenting with lineups and stuff. Why not see how Lin does handling the ball to begin the play, instead of just passing it off to Harden? I think he's clearly shown he can make some nice passes, and it could work in some more passes to every possession, potentially creating more opportunities. Who knows what would actually happen, but it's the preseason. Obviously I'm not saying take it out of Harden's hands all the time.
Response Yeah, what happened to PnRs? Dwight isn't going to get a lot of points doing his less than stellar post moves.
i think people forget this is the preseason and time to work out any issues with moves, team cohesion and new players learning the plays. rockets are doing 100 times better than they were this time 2 years ago. i'm excited after watching the team this morning and will just enjoy the experience. surprised to see so much nit picking on the site but i guess that what makes this site so interesting you never know what you'll see.
Yeah, it's gonna be interesting to see how McHale plays this out. Lin definitely helps the offense run smoothly, but he's used more efficiently when he can actually hold the ball, an opportunity he only gets when running with the second unit.
Lin's play further confirmed he should be our 6th man. He needs freedom to wheel and deal out there. That's his game and he can only play that way without Harden.
If he played worse, people would still call for him to come off the bench and say he doesn't deserve to start.
No doubt, but why is that important? McHale praised Jeremy after the Taiwan game ,said something in the line off "this is the way he's been playing in practice". I'm pretty sure the coaching staff is just looking to maximize Lin's play
Why is that important? If you remember when Linsanity happened, most every sports journalist out there, most notably SAS, quickly concluded that Lin was nothing more than a marginal player... a bench player. So I think the reason why so many Lin fans continue to be vocal about this is that if it does come to pass, then all those sports journalists including SAS will be able to smuggly say that they were right.
Harden will play close to 40 minutes/game. It really won't matter if Lin starts or not...Harden will still always be there.
How is this the truth. Dont nobody in the media or fanbase know exactly whats going on. Coach McHale has not come out saying anything about Lin becoming the 6th man.
