Given the addition of Dwight Howard, I think it would be interesting to discuss the idea of Harden returning to his 6th man role on the team. Harden is a premiere PNR player, but he actually thrives largely as a result of his own skill at finishing - he doesn't look to pass to the rolling big man so much as drive himself or pull off a step-back jumper. You could literally have anyone set the screen for Harden, and he would make it work. Similarly, you could just give the ball to him, space the floor, and he will still put up one of the highest offensive efficiencies in the game. Harden's assists largely come out of his own ability to score and collapse defenses (often frustratingly at the very end of the shot clock), which is great for perimeter shooters waiting for a feed but not so great for the big man who must back out of good shooting position in order to clear the lane. Lin, on the other hand, is a very good PNR player, but utilizes the big man option much more readily. Howard would be happy getting fed easy buckets (and would be rewarded for hard rolling) and we wouldn't be as reliant on one guy having the carry the entire load for the whole game. It would be pretty easy to see the team's offense not dropping off all that much if you keep the ball in Lin's hands to find the open man and you let him and Howard play the PNR all day. You don't need a fantastic shot-creating SG in that case, and could just have a guy like AB or Garcia spread the floor, spot up on the perimeter, and take open shots. If Harden can score at will even while playing with backup scrubs, and Lin and Howard still make a very good PNR tandem, wouldn't it make more sense to keep Lin & Howard together and stagger them with Harden? Especially when you consider that Asik would be playing primary backup to Howard, and we all know how much of a defensive anchor he is. Similarly, Beverley would be playing in for Lin, and he's such a "lockdown" defender on his man that he would help keep the defensive load off of Harden as well. (Or, you could, I dunno, put all the best players on the floor and give them a real training camp to figure out how to play together. Especially given you have the PF that is wide open that you still need to figure out as well.)
You must be a LOF that is trying to find every reason for Jeremy Lin to play with the starters because you are bitter about him coming off the bench. Harden/Howard Combo > Lin/Howard Combo
Playing Harden with the best players and not the scrubs will make it much easier for Harden, allowing his body to not go through as much turmoil thus extending his career. Harden is going to get his no matter what but the double teams he demands which Lin doesn't free's up our other star players such as Howard, also making things easier and extending his career. It doesn't matter who Lin plays with, he is always going to fall hard to the ground when going to the basket whether a star is on him, a scrub is on him or if no one at all is defending him.
lmao. I was just thinking about the same thing! Let harden go iso with the second unit, and let lin improve the rest of the starters' game!
The best part is that we actually won the game. I believe Lin fans should file a petition to Obama and the United Nations, because McHale trying out different lineup in pre-season is a crime against humanity, especially to Jeremy Lin, who is the perfect man and human. McHale, or McStalin?
