[ClutchFans] The numbers are clear: Patrick Beverley deserves to start over Jeremy Lin

Not that I know of

 

I have to disagree. If you watched the game tonight, 1st quarter he was instructed to pass the ball to Bev and Parsons and let them initiate the offense while he sat in the corner. He only really began to heat up when Bev and Parsons were out and he got TJones and Casspi going in the second quarter.

He can only "play like this anytime he wants" when Harden, Parsons, and Bev are not in the game. In Mchale's offense, these guys will have priority over him.

 

And you know this for sure how?

As I already said, I have seen many games this season AND last season where he and Harden/Parsons played many minutes together and Lin still had a great game.

 

Rockets03: u got that right hahahaha

King1: then you need to find that movie soon, its awesome

 

Because when Parsons and Bev were in the game he passed to them and camped at the 3. Pretty clear after he does that 3 or 4 times straight that he is following coaching staff's gameplan. When they went out after playing terribly, he started to probe the Spurs defense and make plays.

I have also seen such games where he played together with Harden/Parsons and did well. In those games, he was able to share the ballhandling duties with them.

This year however, the coaching trend is for him to just sit in the corner while there is more emphasis on Bev initiating the offense.

 

I see your point, but disagree to some degree. It is clear that many times the coaches dictates how the team is going to play...i.e. who is bringing the ball up and how the offense will start. If the coaches make it clear that everytime Lin or Harden are on the court that they start and run the offense, it will be so. When they are on together, they share the duty. When they are on without the other, they should always initiate the offense.

Coaching sets the tone of the game, not the players...unless you are are superstar like Hakeem who demanded the ball even against the coaches wishes. If Jeremy were to act in that fashion, I don't even want to think about what would happen. He is not a superstar and doesn't have that leverage or right.

 

That's not true. With Harden in the game, the chances of Lin getting benched increase significantly. His minutes decrease dramatically, and he isn't allowed to be the primary ball handler.

The only reason Lin played 44 minutes tonight was because he was filling in for Harden completely. He did well was because the offense flowed freely through him. The wins are more satisfying since he plays team ball.

 

Quoted for truth. You can tell sometimes even after rebounds, that many of his teammates see him open but look to get the ball to Bev or Parsons instead; even though Jeremy is the best person to get the ball to in order to beat the defense before they set up.

Also, on breaks, you see people like Cassipi try to take it from behind half court instead of giving it up to Jeremy and allowing him to push it and get them an open layup. That's not smart basketball.

 

Lin is usually really careful in what he says about team dynamics; so last year I was surprised when I came across an interview where he talked about how at the start of last season, when Harden came on board, he had to change his style of play significantly to defer to Harden.

I am not saying that Lin can't be a hell of a lot more aggressive than he has been in the last few games before this one. But I don't think he has complete control over how aggressive he can be in a game either.

And at this point, I don't even necessarily think McHale is specifically telling Lin not to take over... it is just that a culture has been established where Lin is not the go to guy -- even off the bench. Can he take over the offense when

he calls for a pick, and noone responds?

players don't pass him the ball?

Harden, Howard, and Parsons are gunning for a large number of touches and points per game -- and don't seem happy when Lin handles the ball?

 

Too many egos. There was less of it last season.

 

If you truly want the HOUSTON ROCKETS to succeed, you will re-evaluate this statement. First, if Harden is to be our SG and not our PG, then he is the one that needs to play off the ball because by definition that is what a SG does. Unless you want him to be considered a ball hog like Kobe (he is not and may never be as good as Kobe was in his Prime), then he needs to learn to play with a PG that runs the offense a good part of the time. That doesn't mean that the offense can't ever be run through Harden, but him running the offense 85% of the time or more makes him the PG, not the SG.

Harden plays better, scores more points, has better efficiency and spends less energy on offense when Lin is allowed to run the offense the majority of the time, not all the time. This would allow Harden to have more energy for defense if it is stuck too and the coaches then begin to hold him accountable for defensive lapses.

 

If you think back to the 2 games without Sampson, they let Lin play PG - McHale said it was a conscious decision as a reaction against sticky ball that had cost us a couple games. They wanted to push the ball in transition more and so he said they put the ball in Jeremy's hands because he's 'really good at that'. This tells me that that is not their usual game plan because they had to make an adjustment for that to happen. I would love to believe that Lin is free to do this to some degree every game but either he is deferring too much, or he is doing exactly what the coaches want. It seems like it might be some of both.

 

Exactly. Plus it makes the Rockets offense less predictable. So they won't be able to gear up the defense on JH like the last two games with Memphis.

 

This isn't Lin's team and it will never be Lin's team.

 

I agree. It will be very interesting tomorrow night to see how the team's offense is run if Harden is not able to play again. I certainly prefer and hope that Harden does play first and foremost!

 

It is not Lin's team. It is not CP's team. It is not DH's team. It is not JH's team. It is not McHale's team. It is not even Morey's team. It is the Houston Rockets, Mr. Leslie Alexander's team. Now, play like a real team, play defense and win us some championships :grin:

 

No, this is Les' team clearly, he owns it. Lin should only be the starting PG and allowed to play his position to the best of his skills, because that is what is best for THE HOUSTON ROCKETS to win games!

Harden and Howard are our superstars. They should and will get the majority of shots, and attention from opposing teams and fans.

But make up your mind if you want Harden to be the PG or the SG. He is our best offensive player, but if you want him to play PG 85% of the time, then get us a SG on the team to play that position. Lin is not a SG.

 

Lol, we seem to think a lot alike.

 

Possibly, but what if Mchale says pass the ball to harden? but I agree, if Lin was allowed to attack or share the ball with Harden like that (similar to last year) might work. our 3 pt shootin gis still terrible though

 

for one night, can we just stop the Lin vs Bev vs Harden b****fest please