I waited a while before even opening this thread. I knew what was going on in here. The thing is that as fans we have no idea what drives coaching staff decisions. Some possibilities include: 1: Lin suffered a minor tweak or some other thing like a pounding headache. 2: Morey input that he wanted to see crunch time without Lin. 3: Morey is currently putting team assessment as a priority, above winning a game here or there. The trade deadline is approaching. 4: The coaching staff was pleased how the lineup was performing at the end of the game. 5: The coaching staff, encumbered by the shear number of unknowns about the players, made a decision. We may never see that experiment again. 6: Players have to learn the system, but the coaches need to understand the players. Somewhere, probably in multiple places, all of this is being recorded and analyzed and re-analyzed. Rotations will be shifted, responsibilities will be adjusted, and the team will get slowly better. Just my 2 cents.
I think Sampson thought he had the best chance to win the game with Tony Douglas in the game. As a Knick fan, I still can't stop laughing at that. :grin:
i bet Lex is already blowing up daryl's phone wanting answers as to why no lin in overtime. thanks for that stat line. I was sure that my eyes weren't lying to me when I saw lin play great d all throughout the game.
Batum, those are great shots. Lillard, those are great shots. Sampson, you're a horrible coach First off, I agree Douglas is a slightly better one-on-one defender than Lin. But Lin does way more on the defensive end as part of a TEAM. Stat: Lin is 5th in steals in the entire league this year. Rockets got rid of their roster to make Lin one of the faces of the franchise. The kid is 24 years old, he has long-term potential. They are hoping that he will develop into a premier player. How is he going to do that on the bench during crunch time? Even if the Douglas held Lillard scoreless in OT and Rockets won the game, it is a short-term victory. Sampson is either incompetent, racist, or both. Either way, Rocket's management needs to reevaluate the coaching staff as they have done a great job with player selection.
I know its hard to hear but I think its time we as fans accept the possibility that Sampson might be r****ded.
Jrue Holiday last year did not have primary ball-handling duties as he had to share that with Iggy, and he posted up a 13 points/4 assists statline with 2 to. This year? He is the primary ball handler on the team and has 19 points/8assists with 5 to. I feel like if Lin was given primary ball handling duties, his stats would be so much better than it is right now.
I m dead serious I need to know if Sampson knows how stupid that was and if he knows that the fanbase are ticked off? I want to know if Morey is equally upset. There didn't seem to be any tough questions last night for him, no post game comments from Lin? From Morey? What's up with that? How do I lt Morey know that we're pissed?
Sigh. An emotional response. I think the most obvious answer is that any decision that Sampson makes fits into the overall framework of what the Rockets are trying to accomplish as an organization. If you think they give one second of thought to a crying fan base, you are wrong. But you can bet your bottom dollar that they have specific questions and strategies for getting answers. So this experiment just may be a small check box in their overall strategic plan, and one giant heartbreak for you. In order to reduce emotional pain either you or the Rockets organization is going to have to change. So get on with it.
Is there a reason why Lin was not in OT? He is the Rockets future PG and is still developing. Wouldn't it make sense for him to get OT crunch time experience?
And so do you really know that getting wins now is the Rockets highest priority? Or is their priority player development, installing the systems on offense and defense, ingraining a sense of team pride and companionship amongst the players , and winning games in the future? The over/under in Vegas is 35 wins. So no playoffs. And if that is the case why not take the long view and work on developing for the bright, bright future?
If you are developing players, do you develop Lin, the starting PG with the $25 mil contract signed for 3 years or Tony Douglas the backup PG?
To see if TD is an adequate backup PG in case Lin goes down? I cannot tell. Like every other fan the intentions of the FO and coaching staff are unknown to me. But the Rockets are developing into a really good NBA organization, so it certainly would not be beyond possibility that Morey needs to know if TD can keep the ship afloat if there is a Lin disaster.
LOL. Thanks. I have been a BB fan for 40 years, and I just accept that I am going to be confused about the organizations rational for its moves.
When it was reported that the Rockets were interested in him, all of a sudden Rick Adelman was too. That b*stard....
