Lin is on the same level with guys like Dragic Rubio Kyrie Jrue & Conley. The three standouts of that category are Rubio Kyrie & Lin namely because they all played at exceptionally high levels last season when you factor in there age & inexperience quite tremendous what they did. All three have the highest upside & glaring weaknesses. Only time will tell who is the best player.
Lin basically learned to play in NBA on the job, he played most garbage time before the Celtics game, the game before the Nets game. This make you wonder how good can he be if he gets time to develop with his teammates.
I don't think Rondo destroyed Lin, Rondo put up great number, the game went to OT. Knicks came back on top in the 4th quater, if Paul didn't hit 3 at the end of the game, Knicks would win the game and Rondo's performance would be forgotten.
When Lin ran all over Wall, he had NO talent on his team. Same story against Rubio and Calderon. Stat and Melo were out. And Jeffries (one of their glue defenders) also got injured partway through. It wasn't even until game 8 that STAT came back (looking nothing like prime Stat), game 10 until Melo came back. JR Smith got added with ZERO practices in game 9. And Tyson was out for 2 games after the Dallas game with wrist issues after taking a hard hit. And then they had a coaching change at game 16, and Lin initially got injured around game 22 or 23. We're not really sure when, I suspect it was the 2nd Dallas game after he got sandwiched between Marion and Kidd and took a super hard landing. If anything, his performance went down after Melo got back and his playtime/usage and shots went down when Woodson became the coach. Ironically, one of the complaints about Lin was that he wouldn't have chemistry with a high volume scorer (Melo)... he sure seems okay working with Harden.
People always give the excuse that Irving and Wall don't have talent around them, I think that such a cop out excuse to give them on why their team didn't have a winning record. If they are such great PGs isn't it their job to maximize their team mates strengths. I think they are on par with Lin, perhaps more physically gifted, however Lin just runs the offense much better.
That Linsanity crew was not that talented. Landry Fields, Bill Walker, Jeffries, etc. Lin did have Shump, Tyson, and Novak, who are talented. It was good chemistry. Rubio is good; they had a winning record until he went out, so he had a positive impact. I'm not high on John Wall. I don't think he has the mental tools, but we'll see.
Yeah but Chalmers was just asked to defend Lin the whole game, not to worry about the offense at all. I think his coach told him that he didn't care if Chalmers got 0 points, just focus on defending Lin, the other stars will take care of the offense.
Interestingly, the "he can't go left" crowd has gone somewhere. We've had bunches of people here claim that he was so clearly afraid to go left that all the defender had to do was to play him right and that's why he "fell off" toward the end of last season. Some claimed he lost the ball everytime he tried to use his left hand! lol. I can't wait for the "Lin couldn't defend my grandmother" crowd to disappear as well. He is a plus defender anyway you slice it and though he does need work in several areas, he has great instincts and is far from what people perceive him as. The Lin is "slow" and "unathletic" crowd can go too. That's just bunk. And what about the "he's a scoring pg, not even a real pg" crowd! There were so many of them on this board, how come no one's saying that these days. I've just been reading through all the negative comments about the Lin throughout the other forums as well after a solid win and a good game and I just needed to vent. Sorry y'all.
Plus Melo and Stat purposely tanking, not even rotating during the game or following through Pringle's sets, leaving Lin completely exposed.
No need to apologize. Totally understand. Linsanity Houston version will return. Coming soon to all the home and away games!
I wish people would realize that Lin is being paid like a #3 or #4 option rather than a #1 or #2 option. Almost all the players on your list (except the ones still on their rookie deal) are making more than Lin. And the ones still on their rookie deals are likely going to command huge (i.e. max) contracts when their time comes (Jennings, Irving, etc.). Do you understand math? If you pay max-money to your PG you have less money to spend on other positions (i.e. for Harden, other max guy, etc). Lin is paid like a #3 or #4 guy which gives us room to put OTHER players in front of him (i.e. Harden and Max-Cap #2). Would it be awesome to have Pual, Harden, Durant, Lebron all on one team? Sure, but there's a salary cap. And you have to have deals like Lin's surrounding 1 or 2 max guys. If you look at the salaries across the league and the ridiculous extensions signed this year, the Lin signing looks like a massive STEAL. He gives you attention (which improves free agent acquisitions) AND gives you solid performances for a #3 or #4 guy. Hell, you could make a VERY good argument that Lin is better for a championship team than 1/2 the guys on your list. YOUR LIST Teague - debatable (rookie deal) Wall - debatable (rookie deal; probably get max later) Rondo (paid must $10M+, signed for ridiculously good deal right before he blew up) D-Will ($16M+) Holiday - debatable (just signed 4 year $41M, up to $46 (w/ 'reachable' incentives deal) Lowry - debatable, but I'll give it to you (only player paid LESS and might play better) Rose ($16M+) Irving (rookie deal; will get max later) Jennings - debatable (rookie deal; max later) Dragic - debatable (similar salary; better terms) Nash - now, but in 3 years? lol. Paul - ($16M+) Curry - debatable due to injury history, but talent ok (signed 4 year $44M extension) Mo Williams - seriously? any team in the NBA would take Mo for Lin in heartbeat Westbrook ($13M+ this year) Lillard - 1 good game; but sure (rookie deal) Rubio - (rookie deal) Lawson (4 year $48M extension) Parker ($12M+) <br>
Good catch, DudeWah. Lin was one of finalists. An interesting list: Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/california/post/_/id/631/jeremy-lin-and-the-2006-all-state-team
Numbers put up last year. Stats, advanced stats, vs stats. And btw, Lin got the best of all of them last year in terms of stats and head-to-head.
Nice post. JLin is just getting started, though. He's got a ton of game rust to work through. I was really enjoying his no-look dimes, man. Dude is legit.
Great question. In my opinion I still think Dragic has a lot to prove although most disagree. He only has 28 starts under his belt & he is now getting his chance at full time starter's minutes. He has been inconsistent much of his career. If you watched Rocket games you would have seen that last year the difference in his play as a back up to Lowry vs. as a starter for the Rockets. It will be interesting to see how he does in Pheonix running the show. Is he able to run a really good offense? Last year the Suns ranked 9 in offensive efficiency. Is he able to help lead his teams to wins? Often you see players putting up big numbers on weak teams but they never make the playoffs. As far as I am concerned winning is a lot more important than just having a nice stat line. He has a pretty decent roster surrounding him, much better than Lin & Kyrie do. In relation to Kyrie he had a great rookie season, historic in fact. However Kyrie is atrocious defensively. He is the DEFINITION of defensive liability. Both the eye test & statistics back this. On the offensive end he is amazing. A lot of people are confident that Kyrie will be a top 3-5 pg in two years time. I disagree. His defense needs to be better. I don't need a PG to be a defensive beat but at minimum he should be average & preferably a plus defender. Kyrie is a liability so as much as he helps his team with his passing & scoring he hurts his team on the defensive end. In relation to Rubio, he is a great defensive PG. That was the biggest contribution he gave to the Tims. MIN’s DefRtg was 100.7 w/ him (21-20 record), 108.3 w/o him (5-20 record). Offensively he is a work in progress. The Wolves were better offensively with him off the floor than with him on. Yes Rubio is a nice passer but he hurts his team because individually he is so poor offensively. If you were to take Nash's offense & Rubio's defense you would have the perfect PG. Rubio has one of the worst at-rim finishing percentages in the league & he has poor form on his 3 point shot & no long 2, to really speak of. Rubio's TS% is 47.6 & League average is 53%. In relation to Jrue Holiday. But aside from his very cute girl friend, Jrue is a work in progress. Holiday is alright. solid defender & sometimes his off ball defense gets a little shaky I think he could develop into one of the better defenders at his position over time. He is a legitimately awful finisher at the rim. not a very creative passer, nor very good at running offense. He ranks near the bottom of all starting point guards in drives to the rim, assists, free throws attempts, and generating close shots for his teammates. His weaknesses were clearly seen in the PO's last season. He is an above average 3 point shooter for his career though. Jrue is also really young however we have yet to see any signs of exceptional play for him in the same sense that we have seen with Lin, Kyrie & Rubio. We all know what Lin did last year & a little of what he brings to Houston. I prefer Kyrie Lin Rubio & Dragic over Jrue because all 4 have showed that they can play at an all star level for a small but not insignificant sample size. If I were to pick the 3 who I forecast to be stand outs in this league it would be Rubio Kyrie Lin in no particular order over Dragic just because they are younger & have less NBA experience & have shown flashes of an elite peak that very few players reach. Who will end up having the better career is totally up in the air. All three have glaring weaknesses but undeniable strengths. All 3 have had injuries as well which serves to equalize the playing field.
I'd take Kyrie over Lin all day everyday. I put Rubio and Lin on about the same footing and I would take Lin over the rest you listed. Your opinion is your opinion, but I don't think there is one GM in the league that wouldn't trade Lin for Kyrie straight up.
