Who should be our starting PG?

It's clearly a demotion, but one with a consolation prize (no NBA player fights for a 6th man role instead of a starting job). But he will handle it well bc he's a pro and a good guy. He may even florish. And if it's what Morey et al think is best for the team, we should just have some faith that a lot of numbers are telling the FO that this is the right way to go.

 

One thing is sure, Lin is gone in a year or two.

 

Morey, is that you?

 

Yup, this asset didn't work out.

 

Obvious is obvious. The coaches probably decided at the end of the playoffs LAST season, if not sooner. Mchale's 2 starting pg's comment was thoroughly disingenuous.

 

Lin will play 23-26 mpg, with most of that coming in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. He'll be playing few if any minutes at all in the 4th.

 

So will mchale and asik and dmo. And maybe tj as well as brooks.

 

Solid stats again.

Interesting results.

 

Anyone who thinks Beverly's defense is overrated should click the red x at the top right corner of their screen lol

 

dude got burned by Reggie Jackson in the playoffs.

 

Noted, Morey will also be fired in a year or 2

Les

 

If Harden is asked to play 38+ minutes every game, and in addition to being the primary ball-handler and playmaker, has to increase his defensive intensity, he will obviously be much more fatigued. It's pretty well documented that as athletes fatigue, their form deteriorates, their reaction times increase and they lose stability in their joints, putting them at much greater risk of injury, especially in their joints. In other words, hypothetically a fresh Harden might avoid an ankle sprain because his legs were fresh enough to keep his ankles from rolling or his reaction was quick enough to avoid stepping on someone's foot altogether.

 

Kobe's injury was partially attributed to D'Antoni playing him too much.

 

Overrated on this board. You can be overrated and still be a great defender - btw. not mutually exclusive.

 

This is true.

Going a step further, coaches of course get insight into lots of things that fans do not see, but there is one major ADVANTAGE that a true fan has that a coach does not: a true fan who wants only to win is not hamstrung by political issues or self interest in making decisions. In other words, in situations where a coach or GM is a bit insecure about his job or has alot on the line (which is just about everyone), he may want to make the safe decision instead of the statistically best decision. More specifically, if it is more "tried and true" to go with option A rather than option B, even if option B has a better chance of success, a coach may elect option A because choosing option B and then having option B fail may cost him his job. Choosing option A, even if it fails, may allow him to keep his job. In my opinion, I have a hard time believing that all Division I coaches and all GMs and were so blind, biased, incompetent and/or racist to pass on Lin twice. So, there must have been GMs that wanted to draft Lin, at the very least late in the second round, but decided not to do so because to draft someone with his background (education, race, etc.) and then have him fail would make that GM look worse than drafting a clearly worse player that at least had the "pedigree."

Going back to the present example, Bev might be the safe choice with which McHale and the other coaches are familiar (the young Fisher/Chalmers/Dennis Johnson/you-name-it). A flashy pedigree-less Lin who might fail (even if the percentage is small) could cost him his job if he is now expected to win a championship or at least go deep in the playoffs.

So the bottom line is that as someone who is breaking barriers, you'd better be WAY better than someone else to get your shot. And you've got to stay way better too if you don't want to get dropped. It's the same old story with which minorities are familiar (and hence likely why so many Asian Americans and women support him). Let's see if Lin is up to this latest challenge.

 

Good one. Lin has proved his doubters wrong so many times and has overcome so many of his weaknesses. Now is the time to become a vastly improved defender. You can do it!!! Fight through the dammed screens!!!

 

Do not think his defense is overrated. Think he is elite at man-to-man defense.

Do think he is quite overrated overall as a point guard though. As I have posted previously, he is the only guy who ALWAYS requires any one of Harden OR Lin to be on the court with him ALL THE TIME. He is not someone you want handling any unit as an actual playmaking point guard, period.

 

When I watch the two play this is what I see:

Jeremy Lin is a skilled offensive disruptor - meaning that he immediately tries to dribble into the lane and suddenly our offense is in motion and the defense is on its heals. And it generally results in either an easy basket (open cutter to the hoop, or open 3-pointer), OR it results in a turnover. Either way, it's the opposite of iso-ball -- it gets things moving, and often gets the team "clicking" offensively.

The combo of Lin off the bench +Casspi & Garcia provides the ability to generate some quick offense and score in bunches. The opposing team has their 2nd team on the floor and finds that they've already been hit with 3 triples and 2 fastbreaks.

Pat Beverly is a defensive disruptor - he really is a true hardnosed, annoying defender. Put him on anyone on the perimeter and that person will expend a significant amount of energy and attention in try to avoid PB. This is an effective strategy for limiting opposing guard contributions.

The combo of Bev + Asik, Howard, Parsons makes a truly intimidating, disruptive defensive line-up both in the paint and on the perimeter (not necessarily in terms of challenging shots, but perhaps moreso in terms of ball pressure). If Harden really does commit to being an excellent defender this could be some scary stuff. Offensively, the duo of Harden/Howard is already a nightmare for opposing defenses, and throw in Parson's savviness in cuts, fastbreaks, 3s.... jeez, it just seems so well-balanced both on O and on D.

What we saw in pre-season, Lin looked like a GREAT fit coming off the bench. The starting line-up looked indestructible and it happened to have Bev as a part of the mix.

 

mix it up. start lin for one month

 

this. says it all.