Stats don't lie, but the stats haven't been passing the eye test. I don't know what it is about Lin's play lately. We can chalk up some dropoff to the sore back; but I don't know when that problem began and how much it persists. But something's obviously going on between his ears. If he just plows straight ahead and within the flow of the offense, if he just takes it to the other team, he often has success. But when you can hear the gears turning upstairs---clack clack CLACK, clack clack CLACK---his game takes a steep dive. He's like some dude standing out in the field, frozen solid, murmuring strange sounds: Harden: "What'd he say?" Parsons: "I think he said, 'Oil can'." I seriously think Lin was believing (perhaps hoping) that a trade would go down at the deadline. Because his play has seemed to suffer before and after. His confidence is s***. A very Jekyl-and-Hyde young man on the court. We need him to be Early Season Jeremy, not "Coach-Doesn't-Trust-Me, Too-Bad-I-Crumble-Like-a-Cookie" Jeremy. Good Jeremy kicks "a". Bad Jeremy gets his "a" kicked.
The gravity of this fact just hit me, next year Jeremy Lin will probably be the most overpaid person in the world.
DWill has been better this season than Lin, but are you forgetting the first month of the season? DWill's bad November is very comparable to the bad spells for Lin, but DWill's average and good production spells are much better than Lin's. DWill is not a player that I think of when I hear consistent.
Who, besides Howard and Harden, has been consistent on this team? Bev has crap games, Parsons does too. Jones and DMo are going to be great players, but for now they aren't really the guys you can count on. We also have way too many roleplayers who seem to get worse as the season draws to a close. I think the reason Parsons plays so much is because Garcia and Casspi can't seem to hit jack. The reason we lose so much is because everyone(!) turns the ball over. There's a lot of problems in this team, and Lin is just as guilty as at least 5 other guys. He just seems to get hated on because he makes more than they do. ...and probably because of Linsanity games.
To clear up your confusion. DWill has been avg and very inconsistent for awhile now with horrible games in between. It's a good thing we didn't trade for him. Lin on his best day? Lin on his best day is 30/10. DWill >> JLin. But don't compare it to his best day. Terrible comparison.
Simply this. WTF know what's going on with him. He lost it sometime ago. Just hope he gets it back by the end of the regular season. Else, we are handicapped into the playoff with probably a 2nd round exit.
I just think it's sad that a critique of Mr. Lin results in a big grip of posters calling foul against Rockets fans. In all honesty, what do some of you expect? This is one of the first years, in a long damn time, that the Rockets are RELEVANT. Last year, we made the 8th seed (Don't get me started on why that happened ) but no one honestly expected us to knock out Kevin Durant. This year, we have 2 all-stars. James may be playing the best basketball of his career and Dwight seems revitalized and ready to redeem himself in Houston. With all of that being said, it's only natural that we discuss the problems the Rockets have at the point guard position. And...that's exactly what it is right now: a PROBLEM. Remember when Jacque Vaughn was the PG for the Spurs in 2007? Well, he holds the record for most consecutive field goals missed to start a season (22). He was on a CHAMPIONSHIP team and was brought in to take care of the ball and be a dependable guard. Because of his play, he received plenty of criticism. Did his play warrant it? Yes. Now, Jeremy's numbers are better, but good Lord, Jeremy is a better player than Jacque Vaughn was. However, his play warrants all the criticism he's received. Shoot, even Jeremy will tell you that he's not delivering on a Championship Contending team. The point is that Jeremy Lin is on a team that is competing for a championship. There is no more time for this "POTENTIAL." It's no longer mid-season. There are no more excuses. Kevin McHale isn't the Devil. The Rockets org. isn't racist. Jeremy is just flat out struggling, and this has been the case for a very long time. I am not a Kevin McHale fan, but I wouldn't blame him for playing Canaan more if he continues playing better than Jeremy. There isn't much time to let Jeremy "shoot" himself out of a funk or stop penetrating the lane and turning it over...that's happened all year. If you've ever coached, especially in a playoff-type game, you don't let your PG play like John Starks in the finals until the 4th quarter buzzer sounds. You put in a guy that has a hot hand so that your team can continue competing. Yes, you remain loyal to your starters, but that doesn't mean you let them suffer out there individually and bring the team down, too. Unless DM brings in a Mike James type, we have an issue at the PG spot until Bev comes back. James and Chandler will be doing much more ball handling than is necessary. God knows I want Jeremy to be the PG we thought he could be. He's got EVERY opportunity around him to be successful. He's got a guy named Dwight Howard/TJones/Omer for his favorite pick and roll. Oh yea, he has a devastating scorer in James to find for the open jumper, not to mention an underrated Chander Parsons that is no slouch either. The excuses have to stop. Get well soon, Jeremy.
If I was McHale right now I wouldn't be pulling the trigger just yet, but I would be more than willing to put a timeline on when I'd go ahead and make the switch if Lin and Harden continue to not work well together. I think people lose sight of the fact that Lin going to the bench had more to do with Lin & Harden than it did with Harden and Beverley. Canaan, while being a rookie with little experience "Seems" to have those necessary skills to be a complement to Harden (great shooter from 3, can keep the opposing PG in front of him on defense), while we know Lin and Harden go together like oil and water. Did anyone in San Antonio think for once that Danny Green in his first year with SAS was a better player than Manu? No because folks realized that Manu is at his best in that 6th man role, and they knew that Parker, & Duncan work better with a spot up shooter that could help provide space rather than someone who really needs the ball in their hands to create even though Manu was still a decent 3 point shooter. So I'm not ready to make the switch just yet, but I've seen enough of Harden and Lin together to tell you that its a marriage that just doesn't work on both ends, and I'd be pretty apprehensive to go too long with Lin starting here in the next couple games before making the switch.
Maybe more posts like this, instead of the usual 'Lin is a scrub, overpaid, he doesn't belong in the NBA' crap?
Great post of above and all true, Jlin -- Ball or Fall! Basketball is truly a confidence game, if you have none than your game is done! I'm still not sold on either Isiah or Jlin's defense, suspect at best!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Watching the definition of Linsanity, folks. Jeremy Lin picks up his dribble, jumps into trouble and expects a different (positive) result.</p>— Julia Alaniz (@juliaalaniz) <a href="https://twitter.com/juliaalaniz/statuses/450076069555490816">March 30, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It would serve JLin well to develop a good midrange game. It's obviously something that he would need to work on in the offseason and like others have mentioned, the Rockets don't have the time or patience at this point in the season for him to develop that asset right now. Never the less, most point guards in the league take a couple of years to adjust to that midrange game. Calvin Murphy has said several times that it's in a scoring PG's best interest to develop the equivalent of either a "stop and pop" shot or a floater or a combination of both. Very few players in this league at 6'3" can get all the way to the cup, take contact, and still consistently score. NBA bigs are generally not scrubs and people don't realize just how difficult it is to get a shot up in the paint and have it go in. I think IF Lin were to develop that midrange game, it would open up several other options for him and hopefully kill his nasty habit of picking up his dribble, jumping in mid-air and then frantically looking to pass the ball.
Is this a bad time to remind folks of this guy we probably never will see in a Rockets uniform? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h1Tl6KPlTM Uhh... why did Real Madrid have to be good this year? Mirotic, Fernandez, Rodriguez, Reyes.... yeah... Llull isn't coming here anytime soon.
With the prospect of Canaan being the backup PG next year, I don't think it hurts that much. I haven't read this whole thread, but has it been mentioned at how well Canaan draws fouls? He's like a mini Harden...draws fouls and shoots well.
If any moving body is better than Lin, then it says a lot about Rockets' decision to get him in the first place, not to mention paying him 15 million next year.
I really, really, really like Canaan's game. I think if he hits the weight room he'll be a real player for us come 2015. One thing that I can say gives some support to "start Canaan" sentiments is his ball control. Truly capable of handling the point, something Jeremy Lin is uh...well....Lin is just too quick for his own dribble, let's put it like that. Trying to avoid the stupid labels and keyboard wanking ClutchFans gets over the guy but he seriously has some terrible handles. I think he's lost the benefit of doubt with the refs because of it, he gets flatly hacked on drives, loses the ball and gets no call....because everyone has seen him leave the dang thing behind so often. Another pro-Canaan point, if you felt he was good enough to replace AB well...now's exactly the time to reiterate that point. On the other hand, team chemistry is a big deal and this is exactly NOT the time to be trying it out. Frankly, unless Canaan goes Canaan-sanity this discussion has no merit
