According to McHale in the press conference. Rest a little easier LOF's. I think this is a good idea to find out what works the best for the team. Personally, I thought Lin looked fantastic with the second unit, and the situation gives him a little more freedom to show off his skillset, rather than just being relegated to setup man and spot up shooter. Also, he didn't say for how long, but I assume he meant for the duration of the preseason. At that point, I'm sure they'll settle on a regular starter going forward.
Lin was def looking good to bring offense off the bench. Bev I think is better for the starting unit since he doesn't have to create offense and can just concentrate on defense
At first when someone stated that Lin should be a sixth man I was all against it. Then today when McHale changed the line up I was all in for it. I don't know why, but I guess i realized that Lin will be better as our sixth man. Lin brought his play making abilities and flashes of brilliance.
Harden did it 2 years ago, Ginobili did it for years, even going back Hondo did it for years. It's no sleight on the player, the starting lineup doesn't need Lin's skillset, the bench unit however does.
Anyone who is upset about this seriously needs to take a step back, take a deep breath, and think about how this affects the team and how this affects Jeremy Lin. The team likely benefits from having Lin's attacking mindset and ballhandling off the bench, as that was lacking last season. Lin gets the SAME AMOUNT OF MINUTES, but gets to be the primary ballhandler more frequently. Sounds like a win-win for the team and for fans of Lin.
McHale should have done this experiment last season. Lin works better with the second team. Beverly fits more of the starting role with our starting 5.
Why not experiment? It's the preseason. I have on more than a few occasions suggested Lin be the 6th man, even though I think he's better than Bev. He would get the usage % his fans think he ought to, and if it makes the team better, well, isn't that the point? Only way to find out if it makes us better or not is to try it. And that's a benefit of having a preseason.
I don't mind Lin comes off the bench, but if play making with the 2nd unit is the reason, I don't see why not stagger Lin and Harden's mins would be any different. Bev normally comes off the bench at 6min mark anyway. Just bring Lin back when Harden goes to rest and run with the 2nd unit. imo, McHale just likes Bev's play better than Lin. Not a good experiment for a team ready for championship run though, too much changing in the lineup will create uncertainties and confusion. Hope we settle in a fixed line up and rotation the last few games of the preseason.
This will allow him to get a better look at more player lineups, compared to if he just used the same starting 5 each time.
McHale pulled off the ultimate trolling act by playing Lin at all 5 positions in Taipei to show off Lin's versatility /s Anyway what McHale said make sense. You have two guards with very unique skill sets so you need to change your lineup depends on the circumstance.
Lin starting: Poor offense 2nd unit Bev starting: More Harden ISO and Howard post ups. Pick your poison.
