Lin, specifically, has definitely underwhelmed lately. He started the new year off well, but he is slumping hard. One thing I will say though, that guy gets brutalized in the paint and he never gets calls. I'm not ready to fly the racism flag, because the same happened to Lowry, but give the guy a break. He gets put down hard too. I'm not sure I remember seeing one player's head bounce off the floor so often.
I think this would help - may be in the minority - but Lin and Jones have something that Lin and DMo don't - a connection.
That second unit is hard to watch. They all stand around waiting for someone else to do something, no leadership. Lin should be the leader, but seems to have forgotten how to play basketball. Dribbling into the lane and jumping up to pass without knowing where he will pass seems to have become his signature move. Perhaps it is good that they are going through their funk now instead of later? Hopefully by playoff time Lin and the rest of them will have snapped out of the funk they are in.
The key is Ham isn't Parsons, not versatile enough to slash and finish. The bench needs a Parsons' type of guy. This is why we lose a lot of games when Parsons wasn't playing. There is no one on the 2nd unit can play Parsons' role in the system. Last night, when Parsons was running with the 2nd unit during the 2nd Q, we were playing great. We actually made a come back with the 2nd unit.
The bench is better defensively with the addition of Hamilton. If Lin were playing like Lin is supposed to play, this would not be an issue.
I have always thought that the main role of a second unit is a mix of pure role players designed to be substituted in for specific match-up situations and players able to hold down the fort so the starters can stay fresh. Right now I have not seen a single game where the second unit has played consistent good team defense (maybe because the bench lineup itself has not been consistent), only some sparks here and there. I am cautiously optimistic that with more playing time with each other things will get better. As for offense...Hamilton looks quite promising, hope he can be as effective as Delfino was.
this, im praying Lin goes back to his former self, it's pretty weird a player can slump this hard, it's like literally a difference player.
People miss this one thing about Asik. Last year he averaged only 10 points even though he played heavy minutes and we didn't really have another big man (PF or C) taking any shots. If he's coming off the bench don't expect more than a couple of buckets. His defense and rebounding is always solid.
Lin has been sucking. It's unfortunate, but again, shouldn't be surprising. He's never been a great shooter, and his attitude and confidence with becoming a bench player is affecting what he does best, driving it to the hole. His turnovers are the scariest part. Can't be that careless, especially when you're leading the bench and his style of play.
Although, Lin is playing like crap I'm not going to say bench him or anything like that. We are not going to go far in the Playoffs without him or a good bench for that matter. He can strengthen the bench immensely when he plays well. I'm a rockets fan, so, since this is the team we are going to war with in the postseason, I’m rooting for this team to do well; Lin included. Harden cannot play 48 minutes every playoff game. Also, its in the bigger picture that Lin plays well not only for himself but for his future in the NBA. Lin, get it together, it’s vital for the Houston Rockets.
It has been demonstrated twice this season on the front end of back to back blowout wins, the starters generally put in between 27-30 minutes each. The way the starters are playing, beating that pile of wet dishrag teams should not be difficult at 27-30 minutes each for the starters.
While I support the Brooks for Hamilton trade, I think the major problem with the second unit is the lack of a second ball-handler to take the pressure off of Lin. When Lin decides not to attack and passes to ANY of the other bench guys, none of them can create off of the dribble. If anything, I'd support playing Canaan with Lin in the second unit just to give us another creator and give proper rest to Parsons/Harden.
Oh man, That is soooooo true! It is also becoming a real problem that McHale needs to fix before the playoffs. I don't know what he is thinking by keeping Casspi and Garcia out of the picture right now. Casspi and Garcia were beating other teams second units easily in the beginning of the season and I think McHale should quickly go back to those lines. Maybe he is just trying to test things before he makes his final adjustments.
I'm doubtful of that trade. I think Brooks expertise was better for the Rockets than Hamiltons. Lin should concentrate totally in playmaking and just score when the opportunity comes around. He is not Harden and there's no need for another Harden in the second unit.
Lin at his best is good enough to run the 2nd unit, but until he gets that mojo back, one of Harden/Parsons needs to be in at all times. Hamilton seems to excel when he's the 2nd wing option, and playing with one of our two starting wings (and one of Bev/Lin) should help him in his ~20ish MPG. On days Jones has it going, he should play more with Asik, to give us a proven finisher up front. On days D-Mo is off, our frontcourt offensive production suffers when he plays long stretches with Asik. Beverley: 28 (24-32 depending on the matchup/how he and Lin are playing) Harden: 36 (34-38 depending on the game) Parsons: 36 (34-38 depending on the game) Jones: 30 (22-36 depending on the matchup/his play) Howard: 34 (30-38 depending on the game) - Lin: 24 (16-32 depending on his erratic play) Hamilton: 20 (16-24 depending on the game) Asik: 14 (10-18 depending on Dwight) Motiejunas: 14 (8-22 depending on his play/matchup/Jones) So basically, we have some versatility with minute distribution, night to night, and the coaches have the ability to find some lineups that hide our deficiencies. Harden and Parsons are the biggest "givens" in PT.
A good take, but with no back to backs in the playoffs, figure on a rotation of 8 players (counting under 10 minutes as a half a player). Lin (backing up Bev and Harden for 16 minutes a night) and Asik (backing up Dwight for 12 minutes a night) are absolutely required. D-Mo is probably also required to back up Jones for a minimum of 9 minutes a night. I could see Hamilton getting 8 backing up Parsons. Unless an injury intervenes is that what the Rockets are going into the playoffs with? I would not complain.
