ClutchFans Game Thread: Pistons @ Rockets 11/10/2012

$8m against cap is an average salary right now.would love it if he exceeds expectation tho.

 

Yes it is and those who think we overpaid didn't look at the facts. The salary is for an average PG. So far, I think he's been serviceable and deserving of his contract. People who are disappointed with his play either had unrealistic expectations or was hoping for Linsanity all over again. Or that they miss our previous PGs. On this note, can we give that a break already? They are gone, move on.

Anyway my point was, I don't think the coaches see him as one of their star players yet, the only star they see on the roster now is Harden. Lin still has a long way to go before he becomes a great PG and that is fine. I would love to see him develop into a star but he won't unless he improves in all aspects of his game, especially his shooting and finishing.

How long does it take for a shooting slump to end? Or is this the actual Lin we are seeing, with inconsistent finishing and a streaky jump shot? We'll see.

 

Actually, watching Lin play, the way he is playing right now, I think he would be very capable of putting up Linsanity numbers, but only if he was treated as the number 1 or at least 1b option and given complete freedom to play.

The situation right now is ludicrous. Coaches don't think he's a good player, clearly never wanted him in the first place so they reduce his ball handling and make him go stand at the corner as a spot up shooter to take threes.

How the EFF does anyone expect Lin to produce anything in that role, be it assists or points or whatever, I don't know. Still, being the complete professional he is, he doesn't complain and finds other ways to contribute by rebounding the hell out of the ball and making steals.

Then the clueless haters who were prejudiced against Lin to begin with jump on his back with 'see told you he was a d-leaguer.'

The fact that he is a good guy is hurting him right now. I can't imagine any other PG who was bought for this kind of money being happy with the way the coaches are treating him right now, but he just gets his head down and does his best for the team every time on the court within the limitations that these clueless coaches give him.

I was glad he had escaped Woodson when he came to the Rockets, but it looks like he has to face the same false presumptions about his quality as a player here as he did his entire playing career.

TBH that only makes me want to root for him even more to succeed to prove all these narrow minded people wrong and show them up.

 

It took Melo 30+ games last season, and he's one of the most talented scorers out there

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Love the identity we R developing on D. 4th best D in NBA so far. Our O has been getting good shots -- not falling yet but that will change</p>&mdash; Daryl Morey (@dmorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/dmorey/status/267516996852256768" data-datetime="2012-11-11T06:39:56+00:00">November 11, 2012</a></blockquote>
<script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

honestly guys, as a lin fan i can say that douglas does do one thing better than lin:

on the defensive end, i think douglas does a better job pestering the opposing PG and staying in front of him.

but everything else, lin is better at: managing the game, passing, shooting, and yes, even ball handling.

 

This is all Omer. Love the big guy.

 

it like lin, but please! stop helping on the post, guard your own man, especially on clutch moments!

 

Was Donuts in the game for just garbage time? I missed the second half...how to T Jones look also?

 

I think that is how the coaching staff wants it to be done. He has done this twice now & the staff has yet to correct him about it. Some coaches will live with a wide open 3 as long as some other guy isn't scoring in the paint. That seems to be McHale's mantra "protect the paint".

 

We were sending out the rookies.. Pistons are the worst team around..
of course TD got more playing time.. or the coach would be an idiot..
Harden still played more minutes - he is the face of the franchise.. and he also need more practice handling double teaming..

Just consider this a bonus practice match.
Why does everything must revolve around Lin?

 

This.

The average scoring rate at 3 point range is about 32%. There are very FEW knockdown shooters, and those percentages go down in all spots except the corner 3 and the top of the key.

Given a choice between a good shooter in the paint and giving up a potential 3 point shot, it's nearly always the best choice to dare the guy to sink the 3 unless the guy happens to be a knock down 3 point shooter like Novak, Kidd, Delfino, Harden, etc.

So yah, sometimes you get burned. Most of the time you don't. However, if you know the guy in the paint has a mismatch, doubling him at the risk of a 3 from a mediocre to sub-par 3 point shooter is not a bad defensive decision, regardless of the outcome.

 

Great post. The only thing I disagree with is the Woodson comment. I wanted him to stay with the Knicks because I though Woodson was coaching him the right way. Slowing him down and also trusting him in games where the star players were not playing well. Also, playing with Kidd would help him develop.

It's just sad to see how he is being used or developed on this team. As I said earlier, even rookie PG starters are allowed to play with more freedom and to develop their PG skills. However, since Harden has been playing pretty badly as the de facto PG, hopefully they will change things up. They might have been so awe by what Harden did the first two games, thinking they had another Lebron, that they decided to give the ball over to Harden. We'll see.

 

Yes, Woodson is a great coach. Looking forward to seeing what he does this season, though I will always hate James Dolan.

The Knicks just weren't a good situation for Lin -- way too much drama and toxic NY media. I have a feeling the FO felt HE was too much drama too.

But playing with Kidd would have been amazing for him. Instead Felton will benefit, and I just don't feel he has much upside left.

I wish Rockets would get a veteran PG to back up and mentor Lin (and Harden too).

 

He's right of course. Good defense is the product of consistent effort. Hot shooting is not.

I'm more impressed that the Rockets have been gutting it out and defending well in close losses to playoff teams, than I'd be if they played like crap on the defensive end of the floor and then won because of a flurry of Miracle Threes.

 

stop the nonsense

 

Let's not kid ourselves. If you cannot be faithful in small things, you can't expect to be handed over big things. If you are shooting 0.38FG% on mostly open looks, then how in the world do you expect the coaching staff to ask you to shoot more. He's had games of 1 for 11 during preseason and 2 for 9 during regular season. He's just not shooting well and he's had some pretty bad turnovers games. I guess what they said about D'Antoni's offense padding stats is correct. So far, Lin has looked nowhere like Linsanity.

 

I mean stop doing this. http://youtu.be/Pa22aJZOlIs?t=1m51s

 

But Harden is given free rein? He's been shooting terriblely and also turning the ball over a lot more than Lin. Lin had I think one, maybe two bad turnover game.

 

This is silly. It had nothing to do with MDA's offense & everything to do with the fact that Lin had a capable pnr finisher in Tyson Chandler. We do not have that in Houston. He also had Melo & Amare who the defense had to pay attention to, to spread the floor. Finally players were setting screens for him something that Patterson blatantly refused to do.

Second, MDA put Lin in a position to be succesful something that has yet to be done in Houston. Lin is NOT a good spot up shooter absolutely not. Everybody knows this. Both the eye test & numbers back this up so it is beyond me why they are putting him in the corner. When he gets the ball at the baseline he is supposed to run what a side pnr. That isn't his game. He needs to be at the top of the key so he can have space.

Right now the main offensive weapons on this team are easily Lin and Harden, and both of them rely almost entirely on pick and roll and good spacing to be effective primary options. The sad truth has been that Patterson and Asik have been pretty poor pick and roll partners. Patterson just can’t really do anything well other than pick and pop, and Asik can’t catch the ball lol. I love Asik btw despite this, Patt is just annoying.

The Rockets really need a big man who can set a pick and roll hard to the rim to draw attention. It’s too easy for teams to simply trap Harden/Lin or double him when they make a move.