Of course if the PG were not Lin but a stick figure your argument would be true. If the PG were another starting PG, I guess Asik would still do pretty well. Asik-Beverley lineups did very well last season. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2013/lineups/
"Making your teammate better" is the type of argument a person has to make when there's no actual argument to support a position. And while this can work 5 or 10 years ago, team stats like lineups, +/-(any version from simple to RAPM) can disprove such things. If you want to go intangibles, RAPM, which is basically +/- adjusted for lineups, has Howard at 6 last year. Harden at 12. Asik at 17. Lin at 118. Even if you don't believe RAPM is good judge of player, it is the ultimate "does the team play better when you're on the court" stat. And this shows that Asik affects team performance much more than anyone else on the Rockets besides Harden and Howard.
You do realize that the posters you're supporting are basically calling Asik's 17pts/14rbds performances against Miami "not dominant" and "not nearly as good as Lin's much better 11pts/4asts" performances, right? If people weren't dismissing Asik playing incredibly well last year against great competition, and by Morey's own admission 2nd best player on the team, why would anyone give a damn how Lin did against Miami?
As a player Beverly he has been lights out during Summer keague and Preseason and is entering his Prime. Importance of Chandler as a floor leader and is the glue that keeps Houston winning. Harden and Howard respect Chandler. Asik is 4th he is very consistent. Lin can look like a superstar on occasion.
This 5 are the Rockets core. I keep Asik,Lin,and Beverly unless Morey gets offer a superstar like LMA,Rondo,or Love.
These sorts of arguments render the poll useless. Poll is about opinion. If you guy can't accept each other opinions, then what the point of looking at the poll. I for one would not vote. Any player at any given night can be the best player or the worst player. The main thing is winning.
That is where the LOH or LOF comes into play. Who is right and who is wrong?? The arguments go on and on......
I agree with you that Asik is the best player, but not necessarily about the motivations. Remember that Parsons was ranked higher in ESPN's poll of experts. I think part of the problem is that Asik's contributions don't show up so much in a conventional box score. You're right about the money, though: Asik would get the highest free agent contract right now.
My first post said how I voted and why. My second post said <raspberry>. Don't really think the back and forth affected the poll results, though.
