The fact that you put "ideal fit" in quotes should give you an idea of how vague the concept really is.
I wonder what you mean by "all categories"? Here are some per-36 minute stats of all PGs in the preseason who played at least 50 minutes, ordered by GmScr statistic. Beverley did better in rebounds (esp. offensive rebounds), steals, and in limiting turnovers and fouls. Lin did better in scoring rate and assist rate and blocks. Code: [SIZE="1"] [B] Player Team GP Min MPG PTS RB AS ST TO BK PF TS% GmScr[/B] 1 rose,derrick chi 7 191 27.3 27.3 4.3 6.6 1.7 3.4 0.2 1.7 0.641 22.5 2 paul,chris lac 7 206 29.4 22.5 7.0 8.9 1.9 3.7 0.0 2.6 0.640 21.0 3 collison,darren lac 7 196 28.0 21.1 3.3 7.0 2.6 2.6 0.4 3.1 0.642 19.1 4 farmar,jordan lal 4 93 23.3 20.1 2.3 7.7 3.5 4.6 0.4 1.5 0.614 17.5 5 jackson,reggie okl 6 175 29.2 20.4 3.9 7.4 1.6 2.7 0.2 2.3 0.582 17.1 6 irving,kyrie cle 8 202 25.3 23.5 4.1 7.3 2.0 5.0 1.2 3.6 0.568 16.9 7 mills,patty san 6 92 15.3 21.9 4.7 4.3 2.7 2.0 1.2 2.3 0.524 16.6 8 lillard,damian por 7 197 28.1 25.9 3.8 4.8 1.1 4.6 0.5 3.5 0.570 15.8 9 barea,j.j. min 6 114 19.0 23.1 3.8 5.1 0.9 2.8 0.0 2.8 0.582 15.3 [B]10 beverley,patrick hou 7 169 24.1 13.6 5.8 5.1 2.8 1.7 0.2 3.6 0.638 15.0[/B] 11 thomas,isaiah sac 7 187 26.7 20.8 4.0 7.3 1.5 4.0 0.0 4.6 0.553 14.5 12 roberts,brian nor 7 169 24.1 17.5 3.2 5.8 1.5 2.1 0.0 2.8 0.613 14.3 13 curry,stephen gsw 7 188 26.9 21.4 4.0 6.3 1.7 2.7 0.4 3.8 0.503 14.1 [B]14 lin,jeremy hou 6 147 24.5 16.4 5.1 6.6 2.4 3.9 0.5 5.1 0.634 14.1[/B] 15 livingston,shaun bro 7 147 21.0 12.2 5.6 7.6 1.7 2.9 0.2 3.4 0.673 13.8 16 bynum,will det 6 175 29.2 15.8 2.7 8.8 1.2 3.5 0.0 2.7 0.606 13.7 17 fredette,jimmer sac 4 88 22.0 17.2 2.9 5.3 2.5 3.3 0.0 3.3 0.668 13.5 18 pargo,jannero cha 5 62 12.4 24.4 2.9 1.7 0.6 4.1 0.0 2.3 0.661 13.4 19 calderon,jose dal 4 105 26.3 14.4 1.4 5.5 1.4 1.4 0.3 1.4 0.635 13.2 20 bledsoe,eric pho 6 160 26.7 15.5 5.4 8.3 3.2 3.8 0.7 3.2 0.465 13.1 21 rubio,ricky min 6 138 23.0 12.3 5.2 7.8 3.9 3.4 0.3 3.1 0.512 13.0 22 sessions,ramon cha 8 170 21.3 14.6 3.6 7.8 1.5 3.2 0.4 1.7 0.516 12.6 23 ellis,monta dal 8 215 26.9 15.1 3.7 8.2 2.2 3.3 0.0 1.8 0.471 11.9 24 lawson,ty den 7 180 25.7 13.2 5.2 7.2 1.4 3.2 0.4 2.2 0.547 11.7 25 shved,alexey min 6 104 17.3 14.9 3.1 3.5 1.4 1.7 0.3 3.1 0.635 11.7 26 dragic,goran pho 5 106 21.2 18.0 3.4 6.8 1.4 5.4 0.0 4.4 0.607 11.3 27 parker,tony san 4 75 18.8 17.3 3.8 4.8 1.0 3.8 0.0 1.0 0.548 11.2 28 mccallum,ray sac 5 61 12.2 11.2 3.0 7.7 3.5 2.4 0.6 2.4 0.422 11.2 29 walker,kemba cha 8 226 28.3 16.1 4.3 4.9 1.8 2.2 0.6 2.5 0.456 11.2 30 ridnour,luke mil 6 136 22.7 13.8 3.4 6.1 0.8 2.1 0.3 4.2 0.595 10.9 31 hill,george ind 7 176 25.1 12.9 4.9 4.5 0.8 1.6 0.6 2.7 0.543 10.6 32 brown,shannon pho 4 60 15.0 16.2 4.8 1.8 1.2 1.2 0.6 1.2 0.446 10.5 33 lowry,kyle tor 7 142 20.3 13.2 4.6 7.1 1.0 4.3 0.8 2.8 0.555 10.4 34 watson,c.j. ind 8 157 19.6 14.9 4.4 3.4 1.1 3.2 0.5 3.0 0.631 10.4 35 burks,alec uta 8 192 24.0 16.5 3.9 4.1 1.7 1.9 0.2 3.8 0.450 10.4 36 bradley,avery bos 8 201 25.1 15.2 4.8 3.6 2.9 2.5 0.2 2.7 0.444 10.1 37 carter-williams phi 6 174 29.0 12.4 6.2 5.2 2.5 2.1 0.2 3.7 0.437 10.0 38 knight,brandon mil 5 112 22.4 15.1 6.1 5.1 1.3 2.9 0.3 2.9 0.458 9.8 39 holiday,jrue nor 8 214 26.8 15.8 3.9 8.2 2.2 6.2 0.2 3.9 0.517 9.8 40 teague,jeff atl 6 160 26.7 15.5 1.6 7.4 1.8 5.2 0.0 2.3 0.503 9.6 41 pressey,phil bos 6 113 18.8 9.2 5.1 7.6 2.2 3.5 0.3 4.8 0.505 9.4 42 nelson,jameer orl 4 83 20.8 12.1 3.0 9.1 0.9 2.6 0.0 3.0 0.432 9.4 43 vasquez,greivis sac 5 90 18.0 9.2 3.6 9.6 2.4 3.6 0.0 2.4 0.414 9.2 44 williams,mo por 6 162 27.0 16.7 3.6 7.3 1.3 6.2 0.0 3.3 0.518 9.1 45 wroten,tony phi 6 124 20.7 17.7 4.4 4.9 1.7 5.8 0.3 2.9 0.495 9.1 46 billups,chauncey det 2 60 30.0 13.2 1.2 6.0 0.6 2.4 0.0 1.2 0.541 8.9 47 brooks,aaron hou 6 77 12.8 15.0 4.2 4.7 0.5 2.8 0.5 4.7 0.524 8.8 48 bayless,jerryd mem 7 171 24.4 16.4 2.3 2.3 1.3 3.4 0.0 2.5 0.566 8.7 49 wall,john was 7 196 28.0 14.0 4.0 8.1 1.7 4.4 0.6 3.1 0.414 8.6 50 blake,steve lal 8 204 25.5 10.2 5.1 6.5 1.1 3.0 0.0 2.5 0.484 8.0 51 chalmers,mario mia 7 162 23.1 10.7 1.6 6.7 4.7 4.4 0.0 5.6 0.460 7.9 52 joseph,cory san 5 83 16.6 9.5 5.2 5.2 0.9 2.6 0.0 1.7 0.483 7.9 53 cole,norris mia 8 200 25.0 12.8 2.7 4.9 1.3 3.2 0.2 2.5 0.512 7.8 54 lucas,john uta 8 177 22.1 12.4 2.6 3.5 0.2 1.4 0.0 2.4 0.515 7.5 55 buycks,dwight tor 7 127 18.1 13.0 4.3 6.0 1.7 4.3 0.0 2.6 0.424 7.3 56 miller,andre den 7 102 14.6 10.9 3.2 6.0 0.7 2.5 0.0 5.3 0.510 7.2 57 udrih,beno nyk 6 141 23.5 12.8 3.6 6.6 0.8 4.1 0.3 3.6 0.485 7.2 58 conley,mike mem 6 145 24.2 14.4 1.7 2.7 1.5 2.2 0.0 4.2 0.481 7.1 59 mack,shelvin atl 4 60 15.0 9.0 6.0 6.0 3.0 4.8 0.6 3.6 0.460 7.1 60 taylor,tyshawn bro 4 83 20.8 16.9 0.0 5.2 0.9 5.2 0.0 2.2 0.498 6.9 61 felton,raymond nyk 4 83 20.8 9.1 4.8 6.9 0.0 1.7 0.9 2.2 0.389 6.8 62 maynor,eric was 6 126 21.0 6.9 2.9 7.7 3.1 2.9 0.3 2.0 0.313 6.7 63 jack,jarrett cle 4 65 16.3 10.0 3.9 9.4 0.6 4.4 0.0 3.9 0.422 6.5 64 neal,gary mil 4 84 21.0 15.4 1.7 3.4 0.9 5.1 0.0 2.1 0.533 5.8 65 prigioni,pablo nyk 6 98 16.3 4.8 3.3 3.7 2.9 1.5 0.0 2.2 0.409 5.8 66 robinson,nate den 5 104 20.8 10.7 3.8 6.6 0.7 2.4 0.0 2.1 0.364 5.7 67 fisher,derek okl 4 73 18.3 9.9 3.9 4.4 1.0 1.5 0.0 4.9 0.415 5.6 68 nash,steve lal 7 130 18.6 7.8 3.3 6.9 0.3 3.3 0.3 3.3 0.504 5.6 69 siva,peyton det 6 151 25.2 8.6 1.9 7.2 1.7 5.0 0.0 4.1 0.531 5.5 70 mekel,gal dal 8 181 22.6 9.7 4.2 7.8 0.8 5.2 0.2 3.2 0.417 5.0 71 teague,marquis chi 8 135 16.9 11.7 1.9 3.5 0.8 4.3 0.0 2.9 0.526 4.6 72 gutierrez,jorge bro 5 63 12.6 5.1 8.6 2.3 1.7 1.7 0.0 5.7 0.379 4.5 73 morris,darius phi 5 90 18.0 9.6 3.6 5.2 2.0 4.4 0.4 1.6 0.352 4.3 74 douglas,toney gsw 6 89 14.8 8.9 4.9 4.4 2.0 3.2 0.0 3.6 0.348 4.0 75 burke,trey uta 3 65 21.7 11.6 1.7 6.6 0.0 2.8 0.0 2.2 0.350 3.5 76 stone,julyan tor 6 81 13.5 2.7 6.2 3.1 2.2 1.3 0.4 4.0 0.253 3.2 77 foye,randy den 7 158 22.6 12.3 3.4 3.0 0.2 4.3 0.0 2.7 0.447 3.1 78 decolo,nando san 6 91 15.2 10.3 2.8 3.6 0.8 3.6 0.0 2.8 0.424 3.1 79 schroeder,dennis atl 5 119 23.8 12.1 2.7 5.1 0.9 5.7 0.0 3.6 0.412 2.3 80 augustin,d.j. tor 7 96 13.7 8.6 1.9 4.1 0.0 3.0 0.0 3.0 0.395 2.0 81 price,ronnie orl 3 60 20.0 6.0 4.2 5.4 1.8 4.8 0.0 5.4 0.283 0.3 82 machado,scott uta 6 70 11.7 4.1 3.6 6.2 1.5 5.1 0.0 5.1 0.208 -2.1[/SIZE]
It seems quite a few of the "Lin-should-start" people seem to think that he should start because he has better numbers than Beverley. I don't understand this. It's not some reward you get for putting up good numbers. It is about fit - who fits best where. It's almost as if lin not starting is an insult to him because he has slightly better stats than Bev. That is silly, and it has nothing to do with that. What matters is where each player can be best utilized for the team. I still think that Lin would be a perfect 6th man and could provide leadership and scoring for the 2nd unit, while Bev will complement Howard/Harden better, in large part because he doesn't require touches as Lin does to be effective. Who has better stats is completely irrelevant.
I trust that our coaches aren't stupid and they know the players better than us. Especially players whom we haven't seen play all that much, like Beverley. Everyone has biases, true, but especially fans. Coaches, foremost, need to win games because their job depends on it. A fan's "job" is to be entertained, which depends directly on seeing their favorite players get more minutes.
One thing that occurs to me is that regardless of whether Lin or Bev actually is a better call to start, the Rockets may have needed to go through this process (and continue to) in order for Lin to eventually get the job, just to persuade Harden that he needed to sacrifice some usage in order to have a better starting unit. I am not saying this will be the result; but that if it turns out to be the result; this process may have been necessary anyway. We will see soon enough in regular season games with teams who now will be scouting Bev a little bit more, how good he can be. I'm also interested to see if Harden can maintain enough energy to sustain his D when he is the primary/only playmaker on the floor. It could work. I will be rooting for Bev. Lin will do well in the second unit; he always has been able to elevate players' games. He might even enjoy it more. But for those looking for win-win solutions, this is a solution for this year, but don't count on it too much for down the line. Because long term I don't see Lin settling for a bench role. He's just too ambitious for that. Maybe that's why those Lin supporters who also love the Rockets have been upset by the benching decision.
True. But in order to win games now sometimes coaches disregard the players' welfare. Ex. D'Antoni with Lin, McHale with Harden, D'Antoni with Kobe. Just play them all the times, put the ball in their hands all the times. Fast way out instead of what's actually good.
Harden's production and efficiency dropped dramatically in the last third of last season. Why? Because he was forced, by mchale, to be the team's primary playmaker. This was when he wasn't even playing any defense. Now he's being asked to be a primary playmaker, primary scorer AND become an excellent defender? He couldn't last a full season as the primary playmaker WITHOUT playing defense, so there's little to no chance of him doing so while becoming an excellent defender. Something's got to give. Chances are, harden becomes less effective BOTH as a defender, scorer and playmaker. Beverley can't play balls to the wall defense over the course of a full season playing starter's minutes. If he tries to do so, his body will wear down and he'll increasingly place himself at the risk of injuries. He will ALSO bring himself and his teammates into multiple physical confrontations. Even in the preseason, opposing players were taking shots at him, both verbally and physically. Beverley is 185 lbs. Not exactly a classic enforcer's physique in the nba. This notion that Beverley/Harden are a perfect fit is a pipe dream. It's an invitation to grind their gears into metal shavings. How many starting PG's play defense like beverley does in short spurts over the course of an entire game and entire season? None. This delusional beverley nuthugging is a sad reaction to lin moreso than a thoughtful evaluation of beverley himself. Scott "The Answer" Machado
This happened last season with harden and the same will happen this season with beverley at his side. The thing is, mchale and his staff realized too late that harden was overworked and offloaded some of his duties to lin. Even so, harden's production dropped significantly. This team will have a good season but mchale is totally out of his element in trying to blend talent together. He doesn't have an answer, and likely never will.
using per 36 without having a full year, you can make a lot of backups look more efficient than harden even. As to 'slightly' better stats offensively by lin. 14 pts and 6 assists compared to 5 pts is not slightly. That's almost an 9 point difference. Who is stopping someone else from saying, well, lin can easily score 21 points to beverley's 14. it's just slightly 9 points after all.
Injury is correlated with fatigue and overwork. Harden being overworked will increase his chances of injury. On the bright side, he will get his nice stats and be in MVP talks.
needs: 1) no doubt offensive with harden, howard, and parsons is going to take care of itself. 2) defense was lacking last year. we need someone to be an "in your face defender". especially in beginning of games to set the tone 2) fully utilize our #1 option because he is that efficient 3) accurate 3 pt shooter to keep defense honest/spread the floor 4) minimize turnovers and eliminate indecisiveness - shooting is always better than turning the ball over
You beat me to it. Harden was obviously overworked, and he will be again this season. This increases his risk of injury, and likely decrease his efficiency and productivity. Common sense. As far as harden being a great playmaker, he averaged fewer than 6 assists and nearly 4 TO's per game. A terrible ratio of 1.5. Harden is far more turnover prone than lin.
Who the hell said harden should play 20 mpg? He's obviously going to play 35-38 mpg. But if you play that many minutes, AND are asked to be the team's lead playmaker AND scorer, you're going to have to work a lot harder than if he were to serve as one or the other. The harder he works, the more tired he will be. This increases his risk of injury. It's not the minutes per se, but what he's being asked to do during those minutes. Capiche?
1) Remains to be seen. Sample size is small. 2) I agree, defense was lacking last year. Not convinced we need an "in your face defender" expecially when we have a twin towers lineup. 3) Remains to be seen who is the more accurate 3 point shooter. Sample size is small for Bev and Lin shot better than Bev over the second half of last season when his knee was healthy. 4) Shooting is always better than a turnover is a silly myth. You have to look at the expected outcome of the play. For example, a shot may have 30% chance of going in, but a pass may have a 90% chance of completion. The expected outcome for the shot would be .66 points, but the pass .90 points. Too many confounding factors to definitely say "shooting is always better than a turnover".
get off the crack pipe. beverley will never be an enforcer. Seriously, this beverley as superman delusion is getting preposterous.
So then, ignore the stats, and ask yourself if the Harden/Howard combo is more effective with the ball in Lin's hands or Harden's. Talk about denial. You can't accept the fact that some people are so fed up with his fans (you) that they lash out at Lin on this forum just to get back at (you). You are also in denial that anyone would dare think Bev is better than Lin, that you have to rationalize it by accusing people of prejudice against Lin. But go on and keep telling yourself everyone hates him if that helps ease your psychosis. Some people in here have gone nuts. The possibility of being assigned to 2nd unit appears to hurt his fans' feelings way more than it would, his. I don't believe he is that selfish and egotistical. We'll see what the answer to this question is throughout the season. And till then, people should be allowed to have their own opinions without having to be accused of hatred by some pouty, foot stomping juvie like TJ.
