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

Literally, the only difference between this season and last season for Jeremy Lin is 34 minutes off the bench as opposed to from the starting lineup. It's not like Lin is not finishing games either. That's completely different to Asik.

If the starting job is really that important to Lin, then Morey would probably tell McHale start Lin just to make him happy.

 

Except for the fact that it hasn't been a miserable year for Lin like you said. In fact he not only took the hit for his team by playing with the bench for "basketball reasons", he also upped his game. Totally cool and classy move. Unlike some fans and LOHs who don't appreciate Lin and call him out for crying, when he actually never did.

 

Now that sounds believable. Thanks.

 

Bothered him enough where he thought about crying and not being able to sleep. Lin had accepted his fate, but rockets is in the process of losing a good basketball player.

 

Bev has had one off game since he came back from injury. We've won both games since dropping TT with him starting. Acting like our championship aspirations have evaporated because he plays 6 minutes at the start of the game before Jeremy comes in is an extreme reach.

 

1-10 3 Points vs Laker, 0-5 1 Point vs Toronto, or 2-6 5 Points vs NYK? So
which two of those you didn't considered as off games?

 

Let's not pretend Lin is happy with being 6th man. There's too many rumors and leaks to suggest otherwise. Nobody aspires to be 6th man of the year. Harden left the first chance he could to start. Lin has no loyalty to Houston like Manu has with Pop. He didn't decide to come here. NY scared off all the other offers with the "we will match anything" talk, then decided to back off in the last minute.

It's best for the team that Lin starts off the bench. He gets the same amount of minutes starting, but he gets 5+ minutes without Harden on the court. However, Lin is walking at the end of his contract if we don't trade him first. The only way I see different is if we win a championship or we figure out how to mesh Lin & Harden ala Wade & Lebron. However, I think Lebrons & Wades game are far beyond Harden & Lin when they came together.

 

Let's not pretend he was happy when moved to the bench. However, playing well and getting minutes is a cure for that. He is closing games consistently now too. This is mostly because of his improved play, but the reason doesn't really matter that much to the emotions.

If he continues to play well, get minutes, and close games he will continue to be happy. If he is traded, he is traded. But if he stays here, the question of his contract will be the same as for any other player in the NBA, and the Rockets will be the frontrunner to keep him if they want him.

 

He was 100% all-around awful vs Toronto, and I'll give you LA. I definitely don't put NY in that category, given the hustle plays that earned us extra possessions and forced NYK turnovers, despite his subpar shooting. As many people have already mentioned in this thread, Bev is a player whose contributions will not always be reflected in the box score. He's been a part of the recent collective shooting slump for sure (excepting Jeremy), but I think/hope getting back to full health will push him and the others back to normal percentages. And anyway, Bev has never been an offensive force -- something he acknowledges and has said he could stand to learn from Jeremy.

It's clear from your post history that you're a huge fan of Jeremy's and don't think much of Bev, which is fine. I don't think he is a superior PG to Jeremy by any means. But to act as though him starting is fatal to the Rockets' championship hopes is ridiculous, especially with Jeremy playing tons of minutes and closing games.

 

Lin did actually cry. That is a fact.

 

Let's just say... Lin's move to the bench shows that the organization probably wants Lin in their long-term plans (or at least wants to keep him until the end of his contract). Otherwise, he'd probably be in the starting line up being showcased for a trade.

I think you guys are analyzing too much into this. Jeremy's putting up amazing numbers. He's playing great. He's closing games. He's still playing 30-35 minutes a game. He's still advertised by the Rockets as a "starter" by all means (example: see Rockets Twitter when they ask for All-Star votes, and Rockets promos when they showcase Harden, Howard, Lin, and Parsons the most above all else). The only difference is he's not being announced in the starting line up at the beginning of games and he gets to sit there and calm down/mentally prepare himself for 6-8 minutes after the game starts.

For all intents and purposes, I think he's thriving pretty well. I'm sure if halfway through the season, coaches realize there are better "fits", they will make the adjustments (yes, I would like to think coaches are not completely oblivious). For the Lin fans, just be happy that Jeremy has shown considerable improvement over one off season, and is being rewarded right now with stats and playing time.

 

It was in one of the post game pressers by McHale during preseason. I really don't want to go through those pressers I don't have the time for that. You don't have to believe me and I don't really care enough to prove whether I am right or not. One of the other posters said they would vouch for me so its your choice what you want to believe.

No it wasn't that one. It wasn't ESPN that was a mistake on my part. It was another NY media outlet. Lin said in interviews that he wants to start and it was in one of the post practice interviews where he said he talked to his agent Once again not going to go through all the interviews or read past articles. i don't care enough to take the time out to look through everything.

 

You are being to harsh. Bev hasn't even started for a quarter of a season yet. Give him a few more games before we speak so definitively.

 

For what it's worth, I searched for "McHale" "Beverley" and "mistakes," and this is the only quote that comes up from preseason --

 

Per Game
<table width='800' class='inner1'><tr bgcolor="#FF9966"><td>#</td><td>Player</td><td>Team</td><td title='Games Played'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,gp,238_248' target='_blank'>G</a></td><td title='Minutes Per Game'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,mpg,238_248' target='_blank'>MPG</a></td><td title='Field Goal Percentage'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,fg,238_248' target='_blank'>FG%</a></td><td title='3 Points Field Goal Percentage'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,f3p,238_248' target='_blank'>3P%</a></td><td title='Free Throw Percentage'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,ft,238_248' target='_blank'>FT%</a></td><td title='Offensive Rebounds'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,off,238_248' target='_blank'>OFF</a></td><td title='Defensive Rebounds'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,def,238_248' target='_blank'>DEF</a></td><td title='Rebounds'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,rpg,238_248' target='_blank'>RPG</a></td><td title='Assists'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,apg,238_248' target='_blank'>APG</a></td><td title='Steals'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,spg,238_248' target='_blank'>SPG</a></td><td title='Blocks'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,bpg,238_248' target='_blank'>BPG</a></td><td title='Turnovers'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,turnover,238_248' target='_blank'>TO</a></td><td title='Personal Fouls'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,pf,238_248' target='_blank'>PF</a></td><td title='Efficiency Rating: (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK − ((FGA − FGM) + (FTA − FTM) + TO))'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,eff,238_248' target='_blank'>EFF</a></td><td title='Points'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,pg,ppg,238_248' target='_blank'>PPG</a></td></tr><tr onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>1</td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,player,248' target='_blank'>Jeremy Lin</a></td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td>11</td><td>33.8</td><td>52.8</td><td>44.4</td><td>79.4</td><td>0.2</td><td>2.6</td><td>2.8</td><td>4.9</td><td>1.4</td><td>0.5</td><td>3.5</td><td>2.6</td><td>17.73</td><td>18.2</td></tr><tr onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>2</td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,player,238' target='_blank'>Patrick Beverley</a></td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td>8</td><td>28.9</td><td>38.7</td><td>29.7</td><td>81.8</td><td>2.0</td><td>2.3</td><td>4.3</td><td>2.3</td><td>1.1</td><td>0.6</td><td>1.4</td><td>2.8</td><td>10.38</td><td>8.5</td></tr></table>

Per 36 Minutes
<table width='800' class='inner1'><tr bgcolor="#FF9966"><td>#</td><td>Player</td><td>Team</td><td title='Games Played'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,per36,gp,238_248' target='_blank'>G</a></td><td title='Offensive Rebounds'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,per36,p36off,238_248' target='_blank'>OFF</a></td><td title='Defensive Rebounds'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,per36,p36def,238_248' target='_blank'>DEF</a></td><td title='Rebounds'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,per36,p36reb,238_248' target='_blank'>REB</a></td><td title='Assists'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,per36,p36ast,238_248' target='_blank'>AST</a></td><td title='Steals'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,per36,p36stl,238_248' target='_blank'>STL</a></td><td title='Blocks'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,per36,p36blk,238_248' target='_blank'>BLK</a></td><td title='Turnovers'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,per36,p36to,238_248' target='_blank'>TO</a></td><td title='Personal Fouls'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,per36,p36pf,238_248' target='_blank'>PF</a></td><td title='Efficiency Rating: (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK − ((FGA − FGM) + (FTA − FTM) + TO))'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,per36,p36eff,238_248' target='_blank'>EFF</a></td><td title='Points'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,per36,p36pts,238_248' target='_blank'>PTS</a></td></tr><tr onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>1</td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,player,248' target='_blank'>Jeremy Lin</a></td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td>11</td><td>0.2</td><td>2.8</td><td>3.0</td><td>5.2</td><td>1.5</td><td>0.5</td><td>3.8</td><td>2.8</td><td>18.89</td><td>19.4</td></tr><tr onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>2</td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,player,238' target='_blank'>Patrick Beverley</a></td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td>8</td><td>2.5</td><td>2.8</td><td>5.3</td><td>2.8</td><td>1.4</td><td>0.8</td><td>1.7</td><td>3.4</td><td>12.94</td><td>10.6</td></tr></table>

Advance
<table width='800' class='inner1'><tr bgcolor="#FF9966"><td>#</td><td>Player</td><td>Team</td><td title='Games Played'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,advance,gp,238_248' target='_blank'>G</a></td><td title='Efficiency Rating: (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK − ((FGA − FGM) + (FTA − FTM) + TO))'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,advance,eff,238_248' target='_blank'>EFF</a></td><td title='Field Goals Attempted Per Game'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,advance,fgapg,238_248' target='_blank'>FGApg</a></td><td title='True Shooting Percentage'><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,compare,compare,advance,ts,238_248' target='_blank'>TS%</a></td></tr><tr onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>1</td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,player,248' target='_blank'>Jeremy Lin</a></td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td>11</td><td>17.73</td><td>11.2</td><td>0.663</td></tr><tr onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>2</td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,player,238' target='_blank'>Patrick Beverley</a></td><td><a href='http://ns.twhappy.com?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td>8</td><td>10.38</td><td>7.8</td><td>0.509</td></tr></table>

 

Can Harden and Lin co-exist?

from Knotswag of Reddit:

"I think they can, but each player has to give up a bit of their game. Lin had to do it all of last year but Harden was never asked to, and that was a huge source of frustration for a lot of Rockets fans. We knew what Lin was capable of, and it wasn't spot-up three-pointers in the corner, and yet they put him there and let Harden handle the ball.

I mean this coaching staff has been a joke for more than a season. I'm not saying us idiot armchair fans know more than they do, but at least these sort of basic strengths and weaknesses, they should at least be clear on that. Lin is ball-dominant, but rightfully so since he's an attacking PG. He is what he is. Harden is ball-dominant, but rightfully so since he's one of the best SGs in the game right now. They can co-exist but someone has to sacrifice, and last year they made Lin sacrifice all the way and it led to the kid having identity crises and being benched in favor of Beverly. Now the kid had adjusted his game, improved his 3-point shooting, and is lighting it up but they still don't know how to reel in Harden or use them both at the same time. If Iverson and Melo can play together, I don't see how the coaching staff can't at least make these guys work on some level."

 

If you are remembering the same interview I am, the question was specifically about defense where McHale said Beverley didn't make many mistakes.

Yes, he did say he talked to his agent, but my impression was not that he was calling up his agent because he was unhappy. It was just a guy he talks to about his basketball life on a fairly regular basis.

 

Harden is the franchise player, the core around which the rest of the team is constructed. If there is a situation that calls for him to compromise, or a role player to compromise -- the team will be asking the role player to do the compromising. It's not necessarily "fair," but it is what it is in a lot of organizations. If you can find a way to give Jeremy the freedom to create offensively and exploit his scoring potential without rocking the boat with your franchise player, you do that. For better or worse, I think keeping Harden and Dwight happy is a high front office priority.

The Spurs are one of the few teams that come to mind where I think these kinds of hierarchical issues may not come into play as much. I can't see either Harden or Dwight fitting into that system, and it's because it would require ego-stripping and 100% willingness to sacrifice and compromise, regardless of your position on the proverbial totem pole. I don't think there are a lot of guys in the league who are capable of it.

 

This isn't going to happen. McHale isn't high enough on Lin's game to ask that of Harden, Lin hasn't done enough in the NBA to demand that and McHale wouldn't even have the balls to do that. Now if Lin wins 6MOY then maybe he can start making demands that Harden compromise. But until then that isn't happening. Even Wade compromised for LBJ, LBJ didn't compromise for Wade who had a ring.

 

So you're saying Jeremy Lin will be playing for the Spurs in two years?

(I actually think that is a pretty likely landing place for him if he is not on the Rockets.)