You know...absolutely....nothing...about basketball from this post. Chandler's importance is so obvious thats its been beaten like a dead horse from everyone in the media to everyone on this board.
Well obviously skill and work ethic matter MORE than luck. I don't know if I (or the other poster) said otherwise. Another thing though is, as many players will constantly attest, practice and real games are very, very different beasts.
The whole over/under rated thing is very subjective. Someone can be both - depends on who is doing the "rating". He is one of the most important players on this team and on a rookie contract. I think we can just leave it at that.
Most people who want Lin traded think like clutch-overlap is bad. Not the case. Lin takes over when Harden is shooting cold or is injured.or has played too many minutes. When Harden and Lin are out of the game we are in bad shape.The few game that Harden was out last year Lin stepped up and I think we won 2 out of 3 with Lin at the Helm. In addition, Harden and Lin teamed up to knock off OKC last year. They complimented each other. If it could be done once why rule out that it can not happen on a consistent basis. Also, their is more to this overlap argument than meets the eye. Most Rocket fans who want Lin traded suggest Rondo and rumor had it CP3 was courted at one time. I know most fans salivated at the thought of getting CP3. Talk about overlap! All good PG's tend to be ball dominant. Lillard. Irving,Westbrook,CP3, Ricky Rubio, John Wall, Derrick Rose, Derrick Williams, Rondo,Curry,Parker. . So the overlap argument people are in reality saying that they want a PG that's not good. Strange!
Look at the majority of the guys you named, though. Westbrook, CP3, Rondo, Deron Williams (I assume that's who you mean), Tony Parker -- all of those guys are indisputably elite, perennial All-Star caliber PGs. Lin/Bev/AB are not. I guarantee that if any one of them came here, Harden would rightfully be directed to defer to them in a way he isn't being asked to defer right now.
Why harden only need to defer to someone is super than him? why can't he just play his role and let pg play pg role? That will open up his game and efficiency on long run.
I'm just speaking in terms of what the coaching staff would likely ask of him. The odds of him being asked to compromise for the sake of a PG who is more seasoned, more accomplished, and as or more talented than he is are just naturally greater than the odds of them asking him to compromise for any of the PGs currently on the roster. Just the way it is.
To be fair, Clutch never said that Overlap was bad. He was just pointing out that the lack of overlap for Parsons means that the immediate impact of Parsons being out is going to be more substantial than either Harden or Lin being out, or let's say Casspi vs Garcia, Dwight vs Asik, etc. Overlap is a necessity on any given team and is the ideal. Depth is always good as it gives the team efficiency for the entire 48 minutes at a position, and more importantly insurance against injury, illness, poor performance on a given night, disadvantageous match ups, and foul trouble. For example, Harden doesn't have to be injured or ill. Early foul trouble has a similar impact on the floor. Just as Dwight can be rendered ineffective by early fouls, so can Harden. This is all aside from the benefits of depth in terms of having flexibility in line ups. There are advantages to having Lin + Parsons + Harden on the floor simultaneously that you just don't get with Parsons + Harden + Bev/Brooks. Depth is like insurance. You don't appreciate how nice it is until you need it -- as we all saw with Parsons.
This^^ Lin is just happy to be here. He said so himself. He likes the comradere and feeling of being a part of team. He really isn't worried about his stats or role. He just wants to be here for the team an isn't he the team needs him to fill a spot he will. If the team needs him to step aside for a better fit he will. Have you heard ONE word of complaint from Lin? No. He is just fine with how things are. So whats the problem. He's always laughing and joking with the other players and even was playful with Mchale so there is obviously no hard feelings. Lin doesn't complain and does what he is asked and told to do. He really is the model teammate and team player. He's not complaining so why is everyone else?
Howard and Asik have overlap because they literally can't occupy the same space on the floor to do their jobs. Both offensively and defensively, they get in each others' way. The same isn't true for Harden and Lin. For one, they (nominally) play different positions. For two, there is only one ball at all times, and since they play a perimeter position they don't necessarily occupy the same space at the same time. For example, on a standard dribble drive the guy with the ball is going to "reserve" driving space to the lane while the guy without the ball is going to be spotting up at the three. If Asik were in the paint at the same time as Howard, it just gives his defender free reign to double-up Howard without the penalty of leaving his man open (there's no way for Howard to get Asik the ball in that case). I find it interesting that people who think that getting an upgrade at the PF starter position is more valuable than having Asik (or worse, both Asik and Lin) available on the bench. If you buy the same logic that Lin is a much better player (even if only offensively) than Beverley, but he provides the same "value" in the starter role because Harden dominates the ball, that exact same logic should apply to anyone who is our starting 4. Literally anyone can play that position as long as he can shoot the open 3 and grab rebounds, right? If that's the case, then why is there such a strong push for an "upgrade" at that position when we have a few guys (Jones, Casspi, even Garcia) who can fill that role when needed? The way he's rotated on the team, Lin is actually a combo guard and 6th man - he is the primary backup for Harden/Beverley, and he also takes significant minutes on the floor with both at the same time. Because the team generally prefers a smaller line-up, this means he still plays ~30 MPG. You can't replace him with someone else without getting a significant decrease in production by the team, because he actually allows the team to play the "small" lineup effectively. Brooks can't play that role because Beverley is already small for his position, and you can't have both guys guarding the opposing PG. With Asik, I think people are significantly discounting the value of the 15 MPG (or more) he could provide on a given night. There 48 minutes in an NBA game. If Asik averages just 15 MPG, that means he's playing more than 30% of the time. That's a huge amount of time over the course of the season. The drop-off from Asik, a Top 5 center, to D-Mo or Smith is huge. For such a large period of time, I would much rather have Asik significantly upgrading the 30% bench time and the extra insurance he provides should Howard get injured, than a marginal increase at the PF position.
Don't get so hung up on labels. SG, PG, SF, whatever. LaBron sometimes "plays" up to four positions in a game. He's not listed as a PF, but he can post up and rebound like one. He's not listed as a PG or SG, but he's often handling the ball and play making/distributing/scoring. There are many combo players out there that cannot be strictly defined by the position next to their name. Lin is like that too. I think he's more SG that PG, and Harden is more of a scoring PG than a true SG. But again, it's all much more loosely defined than in years past. Kinda like the political parties
Most elite player don't compromise their touches. Harden would be hard pressed to give up touches to any one of the players I mentioned.
Are we talking about the James Harden that was more than willing to come off the bench as the 3rd option behind Durant and Westbrook for the sake of a championship?
Not only were most people not defending Lin, Clyde Drexler called his three point shooting as abysmal for a point guard. How unkind to state that about any player when you are on TV.
Agree to disagree. I think he'd be a lot more willing to learn to play off the ball more often in favor of someone like Rondo (who has a championship under his belt, is easily a top 5 PG in the league, and has been in the league years longer than Harden has) than he would be to do it for any one of the PGs we have now. More importantly, I think the coaching staff would be a lot more likely to insist that he do it. There's a reason he's giving Dwight touches he might normally reserve for himself this season, and I doubt he'd be doing the same (or would be asked to do the same) for a Spencer Hawes or a Sam Dalembert.
I'm not talking about "most people," and I'm certainly not talking about Clyde Drexler lol. I'm talking about you. If 33% from 3 is unacceptable now (and I'm not saying it's not) -- I'm just curious to know if you complained about it when Lin was shooting it last season. Something leads me to believe you didn't, that's all.
another "Lin need to prove himself thread." If anyone simply erases the word "lin" in all his state this season, can anyone still bump the workd "this guy still need to prove himself?" But Lin needs to prove himself thread will never end.
That was when he was never a starter and never the face of a team as he is for the Rockets. What makes you think he was more than willing to come off the bench when he was at OKC. He had a contract that he couldn't break. When OKC did not recognize his worth by giving him a contract he wanted, he flew the coop. At this point, after he has played slightly over a year for the Rockets,do you see him as very unselfish. Bill Worrell asked Bullard why Harden will dribble the ball for ten to 12 second and then pass it to another player with 2 or three seconds left on the shot clock. Other announcers have mentioned it as well. Well we all know why he does it. Durant at least admitted that he will pass the ball if he has to take a forced shot just before the shot clock expires. He said he does not want to bring down his field goal percentage. Harden is a feeling human being he is king right now. Most kings do not give up the throne willingly.
