Why do you think Lin is afraid to shoot? Better yet, why do you think Sampson told him not to shoot? Lin is working within the system. He is the facilitator. That's what PGs are supposed to be doing. I'd rather Lin taking 3 good shots than forcing up 13 in-your-face shots.
I don't think you understand what happened. He was being double teamed you never force **** when you are being trapped particularly if the bigs are open which they were. He made the right decision passing to his open teammates. He is a ball dominant player asking him to move off the ball doesn't happen overnight. This offseason Lin trained to be the PG expecting that the ball would be in his hands most of the time. He never forsaw the Harden trade. There needs to be more balanced playmaking between Lin & Harden. If anything James is a lot better playing off the ball (he played with Russ after all) so he should be moving without it. I think Sampson is the type of coach that will live & die by his star player. The star player is Harden. But that doesn't make live & dieing by Harden best for the team. Hopefully Sampson realizes that soon enough of MacHale comes back & makes changes.
This thread is becoming nauseating. One of my few criticisms of Lin and I'm labeled a LOH. there should be a jeremylinmania.com site.
Shut up you dumb Jeremy Lin hater! Why can't you just get on your knees and worship Lin like the rest of us?
They are supposed to control the tempo and not pick up their dribble the instance they pass half court. While he should have looked for his shot more, that doesn't encompass the fact he was timid completely. A good PG is will be controlling the flow of the game and so momentum can be built. Rafer, while being a terrible shot was good at this.
I honestly suspect people under rate the value of intelligent passing. Shooting a contested shot or forcing a shot out of a double team is one of the lowest percentage shots you can attempt. Even elite shooters like Melo are routinely bashed for forcing shots out of double teams or consistently shooting contested jumpers when an open pass is available. It's nearly ALWAYS better to pass out when the shot clock has time. The ONLY time you should be taking heavily contested shots or trying to shoot out of a double team is when the clock has run down. While Hero PG scoring looks great on a box score, you are FAR more likely to shoot the team OUT of a game as turn the game around. And against the better teams (like OKC) it's a recipe for long rebounds which leads to easy transition buckets for fast teams like OKC. Lin's decision making wasn't flashy, but he made the correct decisions the VAST majority of the time. And that's what you want out of your PG. In the case of tonight's game, don't mistake a SMALL amount of space for room to shoot. OKC is long, athletic and crazy fast. What LOOKS like open space to shoot or drive is in actuality NOT open. Players like Ibaka, Durant and Westbrook can contest at the perimeter and STILL close fast enough to block a shot in the paint. What looks like an open shot or pass is just as likely to be blocked or fully contested by the time you release. Part of why Ibaka, Westbrook and Durant rack up so many blocks and forced turnovers is because many players constantly underestimate how long and fast they are. That Lin had only 3 TO's to his 8 assists says a LOT about how good Lin was at adjusting to OKC's speed and length.
You actually watched any game at all? You comment above certainly indicates otherwise. In the 15 games the Rockets played so far, Harden had about 1/3 bad games, and that's too much for a MAX player. On the other side, other than shot poorly, Lin has been solid in most of the games except maybe three. Do you even know basketball?
Yea, Rafer was one of my most hated rockets of all time, almost made me break my T.V once but he was good at keeping the flow and stopping eratic moments.
I am sure some sort of cross burning is involved. Please continue to post here. Your irrational posts are at least entertaining.
Yes, Lin should shoot more, but tonight's game is not the right time. Harden did tried to take more shots, and got blocked SIX times, that might be a record for a Rockets player got blocked in a single game. He got by his defender quite a few times, but there was always one or more shot blockers waiting under the basket, so he passed to the open guy. Had him forced his shots, he probably would end up like 5 for 15, that's just not smart basketball. Had some of those open shots made, he'd easily have 10+ assists today. The ugly result was expected, since OKC is just a much better team.
<br> Harden has played very poorly in about 4 games. Portland, Denver, Memphis, and tonight. I'm not gonna count the Jazz game in which he had the flu. I don't think you entirely understand how the max works under the new CBA. Just because he's getting the max is not saying that much. It's just that guys like Lebron and Carmelo would be getting paid way more than the max if the rules were different. <br> I like how you need a qualifier before saying "Lin has been solid." Newsflash, shooting is a part of basketball. I'd say Lin has played well in the Atlanta, Memphis, NY, and Toronto games. Aside from that I think he played pretty well against Detroit both times. <br> Do you even basketball, brah?
