Lin without a ball dominant teammate

Lol I bet Lin would be happier in L.A. and I would be happy to see him blow up there even though it would make Rockets look dumb.

 

And people call Harden ball dominate. You want Lin to play with Kobe?

 

Did I ever make that claim that time of possession was the same as running an offense? I was responding to the claims that Lin didn't get to handle the ball much and was only being used as a spot up shooter and 2 guard. Likewise the claim that Harden dominated the ball, that simply isn't true no matter how many times it is repeated.

Most of our possessions do go through Howard and Harden just as most of OKCs possessions go through Durant and Westbrook and Miami's though Lebron and Wade. That shouldn't be a surprise since most every team tries to maximize the useage of their best players. Would you disagree with the idea of utlilzing your best players as much as possible?

Just because Howard and Harden are the focus of our offense it doesn't mean that there are no opportunities for Lin which is how it is portrayed by many. Will Lin get as many opportunities as Howard and Harden? No, but that is to be expected because they are better players.

Lin is currently a solid player but he's not a great player. Yes he had a 25 game stretch in NY where he averaged 18.2 pts, 7.7 ast, .445 FG% and .343 3Pt%. Those are good numbers for a first year starter but that doesn't make him a star.

If everyone would just accept Lin for what he is, a good solid player, then I think many of the disagreements would go away. In my opinion, it's not really Lin that people dislike, it's the fact that a small group of people keep making outlandish claims that he's an elite player...should be an all-star...will he join the 50/40/90 club...better than Harden. I think most of the push back is aimed at that group not at Lin himself.

Let Lin be who he is not who you want him to be. He's a good guy and a good player. What's wrong with that? The ironic thing is that the small group of overzealous Lin fans who love Lin so much have actually done more harm to him than they have benefited him.

BTW much of my ramblings in this reply aren't directed directly at you specifically.

 

??? someone made a thread that he should start over harden....he got more votes than harden for the all star game...yet Harden is clearly the better player

there are many reasons why Lin has fans and people are enamored with him(faith, personality, etc.). i just pointed to the fact that one of those reasons involves his race, no matter how small or big a factor it plays its still a factor. Whats the big deal?

If there was a Colombian player in the NBA I would def root for him, but if he was a solid reserve I wouldn't be clamoring for him to start all the time like some fans do for Lin

 

Aelliot is killing it today. Very well said. It's all about realistic expectations and seeing the big picture. It sums up the entire Lin discussion nicely.

 

He's a solid player with an unexpectedly high ceiling. If people hadn't seen him playing on the ceiling, his life would be simpler and he'd make less money.

While the basketball gods issued Harden a jet-pack for extended high altitude play, Lin got a pogo stick. Here's hoping for an equipment upgrade.

 

1) I'm fairly certain that teams game planned for him last year, considering he played 82 games as a starter.

2) Lin would only be the #1 option on a very bad team. But, he also shouldn't be the 2nd or 3rd guy off the bench as he is now.

3) Are you calling Parsons a mediocre role players because Pop's plan managed to hold those him in check?

 

Kobe will retire soon. The reason I can see Lin in L.A. is because of his relationship with D'Antoni who he admitted he still keeps in touch with.

 

I'd definitely call him a role player albeit an important one. He's a great slasher, spot up shooter and can drive a little bit but he rarely beats his man without a screen, has a slow first step and can't really create on his own. However he's not the kind of guy you develop a team or offense around. When he's been keyed in on by opponents defense he has bad games. We've seen it before.

Luckily we normally have two stars that get the attention, allowing for our other pieces to flourish.

 

My impression is that early in the shot clock (i.e., from 24 secs to 18 secs), Lin handles the ball a lot of the time (for sake of argument, let's say 70% of time), dribbling the ball across half court. Although he does this as the primary ball handler when he's in the game, there's also a significant amount of time (30%) where someone else, whether it's Parsons, Harden, Beverley, or even Jones and Casspi, takes the inbounds and dribbles it across half court.

In the middle shot clock period (i.e., from 18 secs to 6 secs), Lin is no longer the primary handler. He'll pass it off to Harden or Parsons and then camps on the weak side three pt line.

So it's consistent to argue that Lin is not the primary ball handler (in the middle shot clock period) but that he is the primary ball handler early in the shot clock (though other people still try to be the PG during this period way too much).

I would prefer that he controls the ball much like Steve Nash, who seems to control the ball during the early and middle periods of the shot clock.

It's a VERY TINY minority that argues that Lin is some superstar. But it's a demonstrable fact that if given 35 min/game and not put next to a Harden/Melo/Kobe type, Lin will give you at 18 pts and 8 asts. These ARE all-star numbers.

ONE idiotic person made a claim that Lin could chase 50/40/90. This was a bull**** claim and I'm not sure why people go after this strawman. At best, Lin will be a 47/37/80 and that's still pretty good.

I don't remember anyone saying that Lin is better than Harden. This is another straw man argument.

If the Rockets were in first place, destroying teams, with Lin playing 15 minutes a game -- I don't think you'd hear Lin fans complaining, except maybe to say he should be traded to a team that could play him more.

It's the fact that the Rockets are currently a 1st round exit team, one of team's biggest criticisms is the "stickiness," and that Lin has shown that he can alleviate this problem.

 

Lets face it, if Lin was to create a list of coaches he liked playing for, D'Antoni would be higher on that list than McHale is. I'm not saying McHale is a bad coach, I just think certain systems fit certain players and D'Antoni's system is practically a point guard's dream while McHale's is not.

It's all about the pack and roll which the Rockets happen to run very little. Less than 13% of Rockets possessions are pick and rolls while more than 10% are isolations.

 

LOL... obviously you dont follow my posts. I said I'd like to see the stats, I didn't say I actually wanted to see it happen.

Lin as the #1 option offensively.... not on my team please.

-Any team can hold any player in check, its just a matter of what you are willing to give up to get that done. The Spurs gave up something to key in on Howard, and Parsons. That's why its so important that Jones and the PG to play better and more consistent the 2nd half of the season. Teams are going to continue to key in on Harden, Howard, and sometimes Parsons.... Its on Jones and the PG to make the other team pay.

 

the PG needs to handle the ball. he is supposed to be the floor general. i dont like the Point-Forward ****. it pissed me off, and disrupts team chemistry on the floor.

 

- Did Hakeem piss you off? The entire role of our PG back then was dump the ball as quickly as possible to Hakeem once the PG brings up the ball and then try to get open by moving around or slashing while he tried to make something happen.

- Did LBJ piss you off? I can guarantee he is the epitome of point forward on the Heat. I for one would love to have that here.

- Does Durant piss you off when he goes off for 40+ when he has the ball basically the entire game due to Westbrook being out?

A PG does NOT have to run point, contrary to the name. Roles change depending on who your ace or aces are.

 

hakeem was a different situation. he was the offense and a once in a lifetime player. hate to say it but harden isn't that, maybe he'll mature when he is 30.

Even scotty brooks admitted last season that having durant initiate the O all the time was not fair to Durant.

let the pg be the pg. the beauty of the harden Iso is that you can run it any time you want. So I don't see the big deal of playing DEMOCRATIC basketball and throw in some harden isos if we hit a rough spot. Both can and would work. Just need Mchale to lay down the law when balls get sticky. With the talent we Have, as you saw yesterday, we can afford benching anyone no matter the length of their facial hair.

 

So you truly believe that he could be the next face of the Lakers? I am just trying to wrap my head around this idiocy.

 

Bottom line is that when Lin is allowed to play his most preferred role (aka "Harden Lite"), he shines and his team is competitive.

Problem is that Harden is Harden Xtra and that's better than Harden Lite.

But the important takeaway is that Lin is a very good player and probably versatile and young enough to develop into one who can fit with Harden. If Monta Ellis can be reformed to be a productive and efficient player within a system, so can Lin.

 

So, basically, what you're saying is: The numbers are clear: Patrick Beverley deserves to start over Jeremy Lin