It's only high risk because of the time left on the clock. Lin makes that probably 90% of the time, but what if he's fouled with no call? What if he missed? What if he gets stripped? There are always things that can turn a sure thing into a miss. And with the time factor that's magnified tenfold. If this was a bet in Vegas, the smart money is on running the clock, at least a little.
It reminds me of that scene in Major League, "Nice ***ing catch Hayes, don't ever do it again." -Lou Brown.
can't blame a guy for being aggressive. if he made it then it's a spectacular play. but i do agree, in this case he should've pulled out and milk the clock or at least hit chandler to either hold on to the ball or shoot the wide open 3
So you're telling me that if Portland have you the lane and say here I'll give you 2 points and I get the ball back, you would say "nah is rather run the clock down and shoot a low percentage shot"? Because that's basically what happened. This is exactly like that Portland layup in game 2 when we had a defensive breakdown and they scored an easy layup on the other end. They didn't hold the ball even though they had a 4 pt lead and 35 sec left. Was that a bad decision on their end?
It can backfire and it has. Similarly, going for an early shot can work. I would like to think we would've won in regulation if Lin made the layup. But again, I'm a fan of playing the percentages. Lin's decision goes against that.
Nicely said...I'll also add that this is more akin to throwing an open short pass on 3rd down rather than a pass down field. If you catch the easy pass, first down and likely game over (or VERY difficult) You drop it or misfire and the clock stops. Lin misfired.
If that were what happened instead of what "basically" happened then sure. Bottom line the lane being available shouldn't even be a factor in this debate. When we got the ball we should have been aware that the best thing to do is milk the clock. Lin chose to push the ball instead. I think once he had made the decision to push and saw the available lane, I think he did the right thing. I just think at the time we got the ball, at that second, the safest and best play was to slow things down and milk the clock up 3 to where at the very worst the game is tied and we have the last shot.
Imagine the hate on Lin had we lost this game. Lin if you are reading better play it safe. Clutch doesnt need you be a hero. Leave it to harden and howard
I def see the point of milking clock in most scenario but it wasnt just any shot, but rather what was perceived as a gimme layup with plenty of time on the clock. Even if he had pulled up for open jumpshot, i would be more inclined to say it was dumb. Another thing, the rockets are not exactly known for being defensive juggernaut. Again using your football analogy, if you are giving back the ball to the seattle seahawks d, or the great pittsburgh d/bears d from back in the day, sure you can be conservative and pull it back. The rockets are more kurt warner's rams, for better or worse, their best defense is their offense.
...for some odd reason, many seem to be more obsessed with a mediocre PG off the bench who is basically on par (meeting expectations) so far in the playoffs rather than our #1 option who is struggling - quite odd anyhow, let's hope Harden steps up in one or two games like Howard has - we really need both of them playing well!
You're right. For some odd reason, LOF's are obsessed with Jeremy Lin. It's been that way for 3 years now!
Hoping more good than bad from Lin tonight. We know he's inconsistent as long as it swings to the non sucking plays
You know he's bad when everyone up in here sighs with relief every time he dribbles the ball without doing something really dumb or turning it over. Most the people I'm watching with are constantly screaming to get him off the floor... and they're ALL asian guys and girls (racists!). I'll bet his fanbase gets that same nauseous feeling knowing something bad is about to happen every time the ball touches his hands too! :grin: Great guy though!
