Something had to have happened. It's hard to believe it was trade talks, but that is the most natural possibility, timing wise. Lin's had slumps, but right now he really looks like he has no heart to be on this team anymore. He's trying, but his heart is not in it. --- In case anyone missed it, FWIW, McHale's comments on Lin: "You have ebbs and flows,” McHale said. “We are going to need him to pick it up and play better, there is no question about that. And he will. He is working hard and I think he will find his rhythm. “Everybody does a little of this during the season. We need to get him on a high note again.”
I've watched Bill going back to the days when he and Murph called the games on HSE, and as much as I hate to admit it, I agree that he is harder on Lin than he is on the other players. I've seen several times where Lin and Harden make the same bounce pass into the post through the lane and he always makes a comment about the pass being bad when it's Lin. He also regularly will make a statement about an opposing player blowing by Lin when I rarely if ever hear him say the same about the other players on the team. Based on my viewing it seems apparent to me that Bill is not a fan of Jeremy.
Bill calls out Harden's defense all the time, and he always calls out Jones for not coming over to help on Dwight's man when Dwight goes for the blocks. Bill gets annoyed when the same player makes the same mistake over and over again, and he calls them out when they do that. He has nothing against Lin, he has something against his mistakes.
I don't believe thats 100% true. I have noticed Bill talking bad about Harden when he's on defense as well. Actually, Harden's attention to detail on defense is pretty horrid sometimes I'd be surprised if anyone kept it quiet during the game.
Bill isn't the most objective guy, sure. He's an absolute homer. But, if he comments on a guy's weaknesses often, it's probably because the guy's playing bad more often or not producing, at all. Harden has scoring to make up for his bad defense. Just admit Lin's been playing like absolute crap, LOFs, and that you've been behaving very badly here.
Lin has never publicly complained about his role(s) on this team. In fact, there has never even been dissenting information from within the team regarding Lin complaining about anything. So my man, Before you can assert and spew false information on a Rockets player, find a direct quote from Jeremy Lin himself where he complains and "acts like a wuss," before speaking down on not just a player, but a person. Up your respect.
Some of his passes the last couple of games have been horrible. Almost to the point where he is looking at the defender and just passes to him. I really feel that if he could play better then we could have a chance at a good run in the playoffs. He is moved no doubt in the summer and the only thing I'm left wondering is why are they having another Jeremy Lin bobblehead night? I would have gone with either Jones or Beverly.
I agree completely that Lin has been playing like crap and I'm anything but an LOF. I've been a Rocket fan going back to the Moses Malone days. Just being honest in what I have perceived regarding the comments Bill makes regarding Lin compared to the rest of the team.
I would also say that recently there isn't anything Bill or anyone else could have said that I wouldn't agree with concerning Lin's play. Like others I've debated if the Rockets would be better served giving Canaan Lin's minutes.
There's superstars and there's role players. Superstars need to score and get double teams role players need to take care of the ball and defend. Kenny smith as more criticized compared to dream
I agree with that. And I just used Harden in my original post because a specific play came to mind that was similar between he and Lin. I very well could be wrong, but at times it has seemed to me that Bill isn't a big fan of Jeremy. With that said, all of Bill's criticisms of Jeremy have been valid. I love Bill and have many a great memory of listening to he and Calvin during the championship years. I also know Bill loves the Rockets and only wants good things for them.
FWIW, Bill always comments when any player makes a dumb pass for a TO. He say's: Harden w/ the Lin pass. Beverley w/ the Lin pass. Lin w/ the Lin pass.
What Lin doesn't realize, it's better to shoot and miss the basket then trying to force a pass to unopen teammate.
What were his verbal scores again? Let's hope he's not one of these 800 math 500 verbal guys who are technical geniuses but otherwise pedestrian.
The status of my favorite players (James Harden, Jeremy Lin, and Patrick Beverley) is very different. Since leaving OKC, Harden is now a superstar. Beverley’s journey has been very difficult but he is the starting point guard on a championship contending team and will net him an annual salary in the neighborhood of $3-5 million. The future is very bright for Harden and Beverley. Lin’s future is uncertain. Linsanity was pure gold but his path has been rocky since then. The Knicks never offered him a contract, Melo did not want to play with him any more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/s...espite-on-the-court.html?ref=basketball&_r=0; and Morey’s poison pill essentially tied the hands of both Lin and The Rockets which negated any financial flexibility for the duration of his contract. Lin probably thought he'd continue living his dream as an NBA PG in Houston. But Harden, a more talented player and a budding superstar at the time was brought in and rightfully became the leader of the team. Lin deferred his dream of leading a team to an NBA championship but was comforted by the fact that he retained his position as a starting NBA PG. Then Howard, another bona fide superstar with superior talent, was signed. Whatever the reasons that prompted it (I don’t know them), Lin was relieved of his position as starting PG. A second lifelong dream, one that took years to realize, now also had to be deferred. Today, he is a role player on this team and trying to fit in. Even though his dream of an NBA championship is still alive I doubt his current role is how he envisioned that championship. Since Linsanity, his path has been fraught with difficulty (bad timing and blockbuster player acquisitions) and his difficulties now include a shooting slump. But he is not, as some think, killing this team. His defense, rebounding, and assists are fine. His offense is slumping hard but his current +/- for the 2013-14 season is +2 (nba.com), so his overall contribution, despite averaging three turnovers per game and frustrating Rocket fans all over the world, has been positive. Some seem to think that money trumps all; that if the pay is big enough it compensates all other aspects of our lives, including lifelong dreams. I don’t believe that. Money doesn’t compensate for a GM trying to trade you; feeling unwanted and uneeded hurts no matter how rich and it hurts just as much the third time round as it does the first. The best we can do is learn to cope and get on with it. Money provides security and material things but it can’t revive a deferred dream of being a PG and leading your team to an NBA championship (Lin’s dream). I use the phrase “deferred dream” as opposed to “impossible” because I don’t know the future. I don’t know if the Rockets will play in the NBA Final this season nor do I know if Harden or Beverely will be at full strength (illness and injuries happen). So it’s posible that Lin could realize his dream this season. But even if that doesn’t happen, I hope he finds peace and happiness wherever he ends up; the same kind of happiness that Beverely and Harden enjoy. He is not owed it nor do the Rockets owe him anything. I want these things for him because of the inspiration Linsanity brought me. He’s come a long way since hidden away on the bench in New York City and is financially secure but I want him at his best, as a productive member of this team, because it helps us win games, and, because it would be a tragedy if the final chapter of his NBA career takes him right back to the start of it.
Lins biggest problem is low bball IQ. You cannot teach a 25 yr old PG how to play the game. If it isn't there, it isn't there. The only way to use his skills properly is if you mold him into a gunner type. However, his cultural upbringing will make it very difficult to change his psyche to gunner mode.
