[ClutchFans] Rockets to begin season with Beverley, Asik as starters; Jeremy Lin off bench

Of course he can be slowed down. I've seen him sort of "contained" before. Heck, even LeBron and Durant have been slowed down before as well.

Question is: how are you going to "slow" him down, and who can do the job? Another question is: what are the chances of it happening - especially in the form he is in at the moment, surrounded by the team-mates he has, and with the majority of our team not playing defense in their game?

 

Seems obvious to me since Beverley starts and closes games. Also, I honestly don't even think in McHale's perspective there is a tipping point, statistically, where Jeremy would become the starter and closer. In other words, no matter how good Jeremy's stats are, he will not become the starter or closer. Simply, Jeremy is not part of the organizations long term plan. And I also think Jeremy knows this and is making the best of the situation - really, what else can he do?

 

Next time when the team is half healthy against the LA clippers (who was fully rested and on a roll) we can be more critical. For now cut the guys some slack from that game please. You guys are so hung up.

 

yes and lin did slow him down in 2 matchups last season. what is the point? are 3 guards of ours have mental lapses on defense. if you'd take off the distinct hatred of lin fans or whatever it is, you'd recognize that bev has trouble against average point guards as well.

 

payback time saturday for sure.

 

Really good defensive PGs can check Chris Paul. I've seen him do squat versus Tony Parker, Mike Conley, Ty Lawson, etc. Lin doesn't have to check Paul defensively, but he can learn to apply pressure and slow him down. These skills, he'll probably develop since he seems very motivated, defensively, this season.

My thing is, if you're going to keep track of a Lin-vs-Bev-whatever, it's silly to exclude Chris Paul's performances just because you didn't like the officiating. And then to get dismissive cause one don't like what they're hearing ...

Also, I'm a girl.

 

I agree Pumpedupkicks. And I agree about McHale not hating on Lin too. I think McHale'is trying his best to make the best decisions he can for the team. I don't know why exactly, but I am feeling good about McHale this year.

 

Tony Parker - team effort. Very good PnR defence. Plus coach will chew out anyone who doesn't give a crap.

Mike Conley - team effort. Very good PnR defence.

Ty Lawson - team effort. Very athletic folks too (well... at least back then).

I don't think cn0gd is even keeping track of Beverley's performances. He (or she?) was / is keeping track solely on Lin's performances. (feel free to correct me if I am wrong)

 

First, Im a girl, a she, not a he. And if you followed our discussion from the beginning all I said was if someone was going to be petty and keep track of Lin-vs-Bev and opposing guards scoring on them, then he needs to also include Chris Paul. I'm puzzled that pointing this out has some people so uptight they need to defend Lin's defensive honor. That's so silly.

 

Do you also love Chandler Parsons?

 

Agreed CP3 lit Curry up for 42 and made Curry have 11 turnovers

 

Yes, it was a Lin-Vs-Bev thing, which once again is silly. See post #1366 and my response in #1368 for original context.

 

While Curry put up 38 of his own. That game was a Curry/Paul shootout with little defense played on either side. Fun to watch, though.

 

I'm gonna be honest, and I've already posted this somewhere, I fangirl on Lin, Parsons, Casspi, and especially Garcia. I also fangirl on our enemies: Kawhi Leonard, Gordon Hayward, George Hill, Stephen Curry and especially Tony Parker. So I bring them up a lot when i make player comparisons. I hope some of you aren't disappointed. Sometimes there's no loyalty when it comes to fangirl-ing. :grin:

 

Apologies on the "he" part. I tend to presume that most posters on CF are male unless identified otherwise.

Re: Keeping track of Lin vs Bev and opposing guards.... if you are discussing about cn0gd, I think he was keeping track purely on Lin. As I mentioned earlier, feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Secondly, if folks really want to do a legit Lin vs Bev comparison, then it can only be done against guards that both Lin and Bev have faced in the same game. The only legitimate comparisons would be Kemba Walker and Damian Lillard. I'm not sure how including Chris Paul would add any value to any "Lin vs Bev" debate. Might add value to a pure "is Lin a good defensive point guard" debate, but honestly, the team defense and refereeing debacle in that Clippers game was so awful that that game "should" be considered an anomaly.

Finally, if there are posters defending Lin's defensive honour, it is probably because there are many folks here who look down upon him on the basis that he is an "average" defender. These posters are putting in the effort to debunk this "myth". On my part, I hope they do get to debunk it, because it means Jeremy Lin is (or has become) a good defender, and that can only be very positive for the team.

 

If you guys watch clippers game again, you will notice that the Rocket's rarely, actually almost never hedge on PnR defense, this is one of many reasons Chris Paul was able to do what he wanted to do. Team defense NEEDs to hedge on opponent's PnR, especially with Clippers. TBH Clippers were just more prepared than us, and Doc Rivers is a great coach. I think Chris Paul can be slowed, just need to put guards like Tony Allen who has bigger size and wider wing span who can have space in front of him while still able to contest his shot, let Chris Paul shoot instead of cutting in, and don't let Chris Paul shoot at his favorite spots, which from what I see are at the elbows.

 

These are two point guards that are going to be awfully awfully hard to defend.

Chris Paul has a superb mid range game / pull up jumper which he maximizes by curling off screens set by almost every team-mate of his. Curry has ridiculous range and accuracy... he was bombing in all the way from 28 feet. And he has one of the fastest shooting motions I have ever seen.

Honestly, there is almost no containing these type of guys. Best hope is to make them work as hard as possible, put as many different folks on them as possible throughout the game, have excellent team defense rotating on them when they come off screens, and find a way to burn them on the other end as well. But to say they can be straight up contained.... nah......

 

OK, saw it. My bad.

Well, *shrug* it is up to him as to how he wants to do his comparisons and the amount of weight we want to give to them (the comparisons). I just cheer for both players at the end of the day and hope they have a good game.

 

I just want to point out that it's not about Bev vs Lin anymore.

Bev has cemented himself as the starter and FINISHER of games. His ball handling, defense, and intangibles are too valuable to not have in the 4th quarter, when every possession is crucial.

There's a reason why when Bev, Lin, and Harden are in the game, that Bev brings the ball up the court. His handles are rock solid and rarely will he make a bad decision. That's what you need in the final minutes of games. That's why Bev is so important to this team, because he's essentially the best caretaker of the ball that we have.

Because of those points, Bev is going to finish every game this year. He's simply "safer" than Lin which is why McHale trusts him. Lin will also finish games, but not at the expense of Bev. It'll have to be on matchups.

 

Merely your opinion. Yet to be seen.