From what I've seen of the Rockets so far, it seems that nobody wants to take that SG position when Harden's running the point. Think about it, they set up ISO for Harden, he can't make a break with 2-3 seconds left so he passes it out to the SG outside to shoot 3s. Provided that the SG may already be well guarded it would be near impossible to make shots with that kind of pressure every single time, not even Jordan could do it. Lin is really a slashing point guard who actually looks to pass than shoot. It is really a waste to make him sit in a corner waiting to shoot a last minute shot. Some guys make a living doing that with little game time (ie. Novak, Anderson, Korver etc) but that's not Lin. That said this is my lineup: SG - Harden - he doesn't have to think too much or use too much time to set up his shots, let him pick his spot and receive the ball. He needs to do what Reggie Miller did. He's a good enough 3 point shooter and can drive anytime and draw the foul at the last few seconds if need be (which he is the league's best at drawing fouls anyway). PF - Jones - Howard needs a wingman and Jones is it. These guys are not afraid to mix it up on the inside but are still mobile enough to shoot outside and open up the defense for the slashing guys. Jones reminds me of Jamal Mashburn, maybe even better. Regardless, he'll be guarding guys like Griffin, Randolph, West, Ibaka etc. He's got youth on his side and an outside game to open up the defense considerably. SF - Parsons - Not an inside presence but is dangerous outside. More than a match for the Carmelo Anthonys out there and a mismatch for a lot of defenders. My concern is that he gets hurt easily and so should not really be fighting an inside game. C - Howard - If Howard can improve his passing game (and free throws) he will become absolutely pivotal for this team. PG - Lin - One of the things I love about this guy is that he can run all day. He's not the energy bunny for 5 minutes like Bev is, he's too dangerous to be left alone and he excels at the PnR game. Lin just needs to play more out there so that he can herlp stabilise the offense.
No way Asik wants to play. He has firmly established he can be a 10-10 player demanding 14mil a year as a starter once his current contract expires. He is NOT going to be happy at 6-8 as a backup and gets paid later only at 8mil once his contract expires. Next year is his contract year. He wants to play a full year as a starter in his contract year. No in a million chance for him to lower his market value by playing as a backup. By playing as a backup, Lin has hurt his market value. He still has his contract year to recover, but I doubt he will recover his value though.
