Should we look to Jeremy Lin to be our closer as opposed to James Harden?

The boy isnt afraid of the pressure, that's for sure. GG by Lin tonight.

 

Lin had a good game. Harden is the closer. Better or worse.

 

Outstanding hustle play by Motie.

I'm sure McHale only put him in the game to guard Diaw. He'd had a better time of that during the game than Jones - and it really worked out well with him getting that tip.

Lin did a great job filling in! We're lucky to have someone who can give us 'Harden lite' for a game or 2 on the odd occasion.

 

i definitely agree with the last part. but i think harden usually should be our closer, but whoever has the hot hand next. i understand your logic though. i just think if we are PLANNING on keeping core pieces they need to learn to trust each other, even in the clutch. i think it holds back these players progression, teammates get timid to shoot the ball when harden ISO's or if they know harden is about to ISO. i think this is good for harden in the long run, but bad for other core players on this team. but we dont know what is going on behind closed doors.

seems like morey wants a 3rd star, and until then we really only have a temporary core.

 

I won't say Lin should be the closer, but I think for the last play of the game the ball should start in Lin's hands. The Rockets are the least predictable in this situation and the winning shot can come from anybody. This puts a lot of pressure on the defense.

With the ball in Harden's hands the last play is more predictable (likely a step back 3 or a drive to draw a foul) and that reduces Harden's effectiveness.

 

I'm going to go a little against the grain here and say that Harden ISO is ok to close out periods or the game, but his internal clock needs to be a few seconds quicker. What I mean is he needs to pass out of his ISO maybe 3-4 seconds quicker than he is doing, so that we have a chance to make the extra pass instead of the guy that Harden passes to, needing to chuck it up right away. I see him holding the ball, or even before that dribbling out the clock a few seconds too long. Instead of dribbling it down to 7-8 seconds and then trying to make a move, he should make his move at around the 12 second mark and give his teammates a chance to make an extra pass, or give himself a little extra time to find the seam.

What frustrates me the most, and maybe the other folks here, is that Harden dribbles off too much time, and he doesn't give himself or his teammates a chance at a good look.

 

Without Harden, Lin becomes the main offensive option. The coaches have even said that much.

 

I think you mean the main facilitator. Howard and Jones were our #1 and #2 weapons tonight, and Howard and Parsons are 2nd and 3rd in scoring behind Harden, for the season.

 

Howard didn't do much offensively, the Spurs just fouled him for 4 minutes straight.

 

Btw, I think this poll is kind of silly. It just goes to show that Lin's fans will vote him up any opportunity they get. Put this poll in a general NBA forum or give these 2 options to any gm's, coaches or NBA analysts, and maybe, just maybe, 1 in 20 might choose Lin.

 

You're just assuming that everyone who voted yes is a Lin fan, despite the fact that time and again, people have expressed their intense dislike for highly predictable Harden hero ball.

 

Harden's got to be the closer, but it would be nice if McHale would give Lin significant minutes in the 4Q.

 

Problem is, when u let other rockets to be the closer, harden will sulk. Remember the game when parsons directing the play, but harden completely ignoring lin n parsons? I forgot which game.

 

It seems like your own personal bias is showing here.

 

1043 votes / 381 votes

The numbers are clear

 

People are ignoring the fact that you don't want a "closer," in basketball unless you have a VERY special player who can get a quality shot off EVERY TIME at the end of games. This is not baseball.

Despite Lebron James being the best player in the league by a wide margin, even he isn't the best "closer," in the game, and while Lebron has grown into a clutch performer in recent years, STILL, the Miami Heat do NOT simply just let Lebron shoot it every time in the crunch. They actually stick with their offensive system. WHY? Because having 5 options is virtually ALWAYS better than having just one.

And the exceptions to this rule? The best closer in the league? This title (Which is definitely not the norm) is reserved is Chris Paul, who IS a legitimate closer. WHY? Because 1.) He has a top 3 ballhandling abilities (meaning he can get a shot ANYWHERE on the court and 2.) HE HAS A GREAT MID-RANGE GAME. (Which means he has the ABILITY to hit a shot from ANYWHERE from the court.) With these two skills, it means he can dribble out of traps/double teams and get a QUALITY (No step back 3's, long contested 2's...) but QUALITY mid-range shots. (He usually takes 12-15 foot jumpers.) On top of this, when you factor in that hard drives at the rim (most likely heavily contested) are usually not called with fouls at the end of game, this makes the mobility to get around + hit mid-range shots even more important, and it is why TRUE CLOSERS are so rare, why Harden is NOT A CLOSER, and why even MOST SUPERSTARS IN THE LEAGUE DON'T EVEN HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE CLOSERS, while certain guys with handles + midrange games are actually very good in the clutch (Joe Johnson).

 

Harden first option, jLin alternate option.

 

nice post, CP3 is a beast.

 

Would probably be a lot more effective switching between Lin or Harden to start the ball up top then simply pass to the open man. If they can drive into the lane or make a decent shot then they should just go for it. Defenses tend to sag if they know there is a strong possibility of Lin or harden dishing it out to a Parsons or Dwight if their comitting the double team, maybe even triple team hard on the player.