He basically means he couldn't handle all the pressure from the media and the fans. Since a lot of the fans cheered for him just for checking into the game instead of cheering for him when he actually does something in the game. He talks about it here: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VR7p-vmFp24" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Then there are people who think he's just a marketing ploy, including Warriors fans. Same thing happened when Sun Yue was on the Lakers.
Lin actually faced alot of backlash in GS due to his support. Many used this as an excuse to rip him to shreds, which I'm sure was no fun for him. Houston is actually a much better fit. More importantly, however, Lin has greatly improved his game, and the team is a better fit as well. The GS coach (Smart) basically instructed him not to take shots or run fastbreaks, so he repeatedly passed up open looks and slowed down the ball to try to follow his coach's orders and run set plays to give the ball to Ellis. Lin's awareness and game smarts are more than enough for him to make instinctive plays during the game, which is when he is at his best. For example, the way he pushed the ball up the court running the break in the last Spurs game, spacing the court for his teammates based on their positioning, and then timing a look-away dish at the right time showed his comfort level already. He is also excellent at the pick and role, either using the pick, splitting the defenders, or going away from it, as we saw when he repeatedly blew by the Spurs defenders. When he gets doubled, his passes are on the money. All he needs is minutes and a coach that doesn't scream at him to give the ball up every time he touches it.
Assuming Lin makes the roster, and that's a big "if" at this point, the hope is that the phenomenon that happened at Golden State doesn't repeat. http://blog.sfgate.com/warriors/2010/11/02/stop-cheering-for-jeremy-lin/ Then the forums became divided and divisive. http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2010/11/3/1791034/dont-cheer-for-jeremy-lin The Warriors sent Lin to the D-League to develop his game away from distractions and signed a very ordinary backup, Acie Law, in his place. When Lin returned, he still wasn't given a chance to play because of the crowd distraction. Finally he was waived even though the Warriors are clearly in a desperate situation at PG. Ironically, Ish Smith is probably their starting point guard and that shows you how much trouble they are in. Lin may not be the best athlete going, but his 5 minute stint in the preseason game shows he has a quality that many more talented players lack, he will compete hard. If the Rockets keep him, it is incumbent upon fans to give him a chance to develop and contribute. Asian fans must not over react when he's on the court, those that are biased should just shut up. If the guy can play, we'll soon know. If not, at least let it be known he had a fair shot.
And your point being? AB was an mip and a leading and proven scorer in the NBA had a bad year last year due to injury. While Ish is solid I'd take AB as a spark off the bench anyway of the week.
Flynn has far more upside, and how can we even judge him off 2 pre season games? His first year he played well in a triangle offense that didn't suit his game under a horrible coach and a pretty average organization. He's coming off major injury and is finally healthy. I'm not saying I don't like Lin I just think Flynn will end up being the better player, sure his dribbling down the clock has been annoying but Once he gets some confidence back he will be fine.
Quote: Originally Posted by rocketsfan4 View Post The Flynn supporters often seem to call Lin names or talk about pedigree or appearance instead of citing reasons for their support of Flynn. I believe that Lin should be on the team because of better defense, size, team play, awareness, rebounding, lack of playing time to show what he can do, etc. I just want the Rockets to win. If I have a precious possession on which I have to bet my life, I'd rather put the ball in Lin's hands. This is no disrespect to Flynn, who has upside, just that Lin has already shown me more positive and less negative in what little time he has played when you add up all of parts of what makes a team win. Lin is a keeper at PG (with a further bonus being that he can play SG and even SF given the right matchup, like he did in the final minutes against SA), and I think he would be an asset to any NBA team. I respect your opinion, but I have been watching Lin through preseason in GS last year, Reno, then back to GS last year. My point is actually the same as yours, that young players need PT in order to show what they can do. At least Flynn has seen an entire rookie year worth of PT and then an injury filled second year, but Lin has not even seen a rookie year worth of PT. The only minutes Lin played in GS, his coach did not want him making plays, under the assumption that if all of the plays went through the team's established star (Ellis), then even if they lost, the coach would be making the "right" decision to cover his butt. Unfortunately that didn't work for the coach because he got canned anyway. By the way, Lin was also hampered during the year by a shoulder injury. Bottom line, if Lin gets major minutes this year behind any decent coach (and indications are that McHale is definitely a decent coach who likes team play--the Celtics certainly played as a team in the 80's), then we will finally get to see what he can do, and I am certain it will be more than what Flynn has shown. Again, Flynn can and will improve, but my opinion is that Lin has substantially more upside, just that he has not been given a chance to show it.
I agree completely with your post. I would add that Lin is actually quite athletic, but that he only uses it when necessary. Many players can't wait to show their stuff (even after the whistle blows), but Lin does not showboat. If Lin beats you to the bucket, he will just lay it in. He can blow by defenders with quick crossovers, and I have seen great behind-the-back moves and spins from him when needed. Some of his college dunks (many untelevised) were described by spectators as the greatest dunks live that they had seen. For older Houston fans, think stylistically of Joe Dumars and a young Jason Kidd. Of course Lin is not there yet in terms of the overall game but his ceiling is high. Check out Lin's blocked shots and steals statistics throughout his college and pro career thus far, which are even more impressive considering the fact that he plays position and help defense at a top NBA level, thus not gambling and giving up easy layups and helping his teammates out. I have seen him repeatedly block 4's and 5's to help out his big men, take charges, and strip the ball from bigger players.
So why hasnt Lin been given PT at GS last year? Has to be a Reason for it? I mean Steph Curry went down alot last year and Minutes went to Reggie Williams who played well but he's now waived and in the Bobcats roster. Even then Law was higher in the pecking order so that says something to me. It's quite unfortunate cos regardless we have Lowry/Dragic and even TWill could probably play the point before Lin and Flynn. Will be interesting to see how this ends up.
Good and fair question. Law had a prior close friendship and relationship with Head Coach Smart, and Law frankly was better at showboating to the crowd on the offensive end (like yelling loudly on plays, waving his arms wildly, and "directing" traffic), even though arguably Lin was just as effective offensively, and Lin was clearly much stronger both defensively and on the boards. Law also had more NBA experience, so Smart probably assumed that if Law made a mistake, it would have less bearing on him as a head coach. Unfortunately Smart got canned anyway, and Law was quickly released, which showed that management ultimately correctly decided that Lin was a superior player with better upside. As for Williams, he was a good offensive player and played more of the off-guard spot. When Curry went down, the minutes went to Ellis shifting over to point with the remainder to Law, with Williams still the SG because Williams clearly did not have PG skills. Ultimately, Smart was paranoid about losing his job, causing him to play his starters way too many minutes (resulting in injuries as well), and whenever Lin missed a shot or made any "mistake," he was quickly yanked because Smart was afraid of looking bad by having a rookie in there. For anyone who has played ball, it is obvious that if you take one shot per game, you will never get into a rhythm. Lin finally got a few more minutes in the final game of the season, which resulted in a 12-5-5 effort. The only "mistake" that you can fault Lin is that he arguably listened too much to his head coach yelling at him not to shoot or run (if he had ignored him, he would've have done more, although perhaps he would've gotten yanked for insubordination, so it was really a no-win situation for him). What is more important than all of this is that Lin improved greatly through the season and even the summer and has a much improved shot (which Smart would've liked because Smart only valued offense; no Warriors played much defense other than Lin and Udoh, the other rookie). The bottom line is that Lin is fully ready to play and contribute for any team that values smart, team basketball.
One thing about Flynn is we are kind of bored with him. We have seen what he does during the other 2 years. Not a bad player, but more of a JJ Barea/Aaron Brooks type undersized scorer. Lin is still kind of shiny and new. Has a interesting combo of skills, not to mention background.
One more key reason for Lin's limited PT in GS is that management decided that he needed PT period, so he was sent to Reno to get it because it was clear that Coach Smart would never play any reserve, much less a rookie, major minutes. At Reno, Lin got to work on a few things on offense (his defense was already stellar) and get acclimated to the faster pro speed relative to college, and he frankly dominated D-League and put up excellent numbers even while playing team ball and never trying to play for numbers (unlike certain other players in D-League). In other words, Lin could easily have put up 30+ points a game and 8-10 assists if he wanted to, but he continued to play team ball, great defense (covering the opponent's best perimeter player), and winning basketball. He also played both the 1 and the 2 on offense because the team's next-best player was a 1, so he gave up many assists that way. Lin made the 1st team in the D-League Showcase nevertheless. Many people want to discount D-League play, but if you actually watch the games (they are all free on the internet, by the way, and you can still see them as they are recorded), you can definitely use them to assess player abilities and development. Lin and his fans all wanted to see him in the NBA during the season, but ultimately the D-League provided a chance for him to get game action and also for others to see him in action, as opposed to having him just ride the GS bench when the starters were getting 40-48 minutes per game (no joke, Ellis sometimes played all 48, and Curry did as well).
I agree completely. Flynn could of course improve, and I predict he does, but we have seen him for 2 years, or at least 1 full year and 1 injury-riddled year. Look at Flynn's game log and you will see how many minutes he repeatedly got. All we have seen of Lin is a few dominant moments, excellent athleticism, smarts, and upside, and we know he works his butt off (first in the gym, last out, always studying tape) and plays smart as heck and super team ball, not to mention D-League domination, 1st team (best 2 guards in D-League) in only a partial season there. I don't count 1 shot per game in Lin's "rookie" year in GS at all, as he really wasn't given a chance to play. It is clear to me that Lin's upside is substantially greater, and I would love for the Rockets to benefit instead of another team.
As Feigen reported, the Rockets did not make a roster cut today, holding upmthe signing of Sammy D to hold roster size at 15. Lin being the only non guaranteed contract, I'd imagine someone in management likes him, else it would be a easy decision to just let him go, it is the cheapest way.
Well and good. More athletic than he appears. Though considering the source of audience there, not like the Ivy Leaguers are seeing James White and Terrence Williams types going through their leagues
Agree, after observing Lin through his basketball career, my conclusion is that his heritage has been an obstacle for him, not a benefit for him. If you change his race, his road would've been much smoother.
