if Lin gets his 30-32 min per game coming off the bench, he's still running with the starters for the most part anyway. So unless his purpose is to provide an instant spark right off the bench, I dont see the point. But it could be positive in terms of getting in and immediately touching the ball, getting in the rhythm, and being in the flow by the time the starters return to play with him as opposed to maybe getting off to a slower start off the tip because he won't be touching the ball as much.
If Lin is the 6th man, that's kind of minutes he gets. It's not about the minutes, it's about his role on the team. What 6th man do you know that plays 20minutes? It's always close to 30 or more. In my estimation he's a competent starter....giving that guy "role player" status as opposed to starter of 6th man is a coaching blunder in my estimation. YOu disagree with any of that?
I think Lin can play up to his linsanity days in new York. On this team he has to defer to howard and hardin as a starter. Playing on the second unit he gets to direct the show, that's when he plays at his best.
Those bench players will not be in the game together for a long time. McHale will mix in the starters with these guys Sometimes you will see: Bev Harden Garcia DMo Asik Lin Bev Casspi Jones Howard those are a few examples
How do you know that off of two preseason game? How do you know he won't thrive with the starters? I thought he did fine when he started. I thought he help in Howard and Harden to be so efficient. Lin still thrived when the stars came back when he played with the Knicks.
I've seen more leadership qualities in Lin than I have in Beverley. But, granted, CSN is keeping my data-set small.
if it is the truth, do you think machale has no responsibility for whatever happened? he let lin start but gave no confidence. I am not sure what kind of coach you are trying to make machale look like. coaching is an art. knowing your player and treat them differently are fundamental to coaching. if you think lin's confidence is his only enemy instead of his bball skills and knowledge, it means you acknowledge lin is a good player and is capable of being a starter. then, as a coach, you should help him to build up his confidence and show your trust. you should point out his mistakes to help him to improve instead of benching him for a mistake and destroying his confidence. a part of coaching job is to help young players to reach their potential. c'mon, he is a rookie. he is fighting for a spot in NBA. I believe lin is good enough to be a starter on rox team. of course, machale knows more than I do. he has every right to make his decision on whether lin should start or not. whatever decision machale makes, machale should trust his own eyes and own beliefs. based on what you wrote, it looks like machale has no confidence on his own decision. it is not a good sign.
All other things being equal, it would of course be best for Lin to come off the bench, because the second unit could really use his playmaking. But I still think we don't know whether all other things are equal with Bev being the starter, rather than Lin. It may turn out to be true that the first unit is just as good, or the margin of difference is inconsequential enough that it makes sense for Lin to play 6th man, but we (and the coaches) can't know yet. All we know is that with the Bev playing with the starters: In Game 1, (Harden still played more a SG role) and the first unit was less effective. In Game 2 (Harden played more of a PG role) the first unit was very effective as a whole but they reverted to playing more of an iso style, and Dwights stats were down (although, I agree, that may be due to Hibbert -- so inconclusive results with regard to Dwight). Playing more of an iso style may be enough for this team to contend, but it is not a minor adjustment for them to make. Based on Chris Finch's interview with Jason Friedman of last week or so, the team is committed to a style of play that is much more about pace, and ball movement. Unselfishness and unpredictability were how he described its essence. And it's yet to be proven that that can work as well with Bev and Howard in the same unit. I'm not saying it can't work... Just that we don't know yet. ' (And one thing that drives me crazy is people assuming that what is good for Harden, will be good for Howard, when in fact it is quite likely that in many cases what is good for one will conflict with what is good for the other.) The other thing we know is that the Pacers did not play that well in Manila. That was to a degree due to Rockets' defense, but it was also likely due to it being the preseason, and other factors. I don't think Bev was inserted into the starting line up because Lin was not working out there. (See Ginobli and Harden OKC, for examples of that.) The reason the coaches decided to try Beverley at starter was because the second unit was hurting, and hurting badly. After Game 1, it became crystal clearer that it was an urgent priority, especially with Garcia/Asik being out. Working wth a group of players who have little familiarity with each other, Lin is and will always be gold. If it turns out that Howard (as well as Harden) can thrive with Bev at point. And if the bench doesn't improve enough when Garcia/Asik return, and it's clear that Lin is necessary, then yes Lin in the 6th man role might make sense. It would in any case make for some incredibly fun basketball to watch. But right now, it is too early to call.
Sorry, I should clarify. I didn't mean which one out of the two would you rather have. I meant if you had to predict how each would do their very next game, which one is the safer prediction? With Beverley you know what you will get every night, while Lin is much more of a crapshoot. I think coaches value consistency when it comes to starters. As for which player I would rather have, they are about equal today, but like I said, Lin's style of play/his strengths are much more conducive to expansion, so I would definitely choose him.
Also, I think we really need to revisit the idea of Lin's "fit" with Harden, given Howard's addition to the team. I mentioned this earlier in the Howard signed with the Rockets thread, but will mention it again briefly. A Robert Ayer paper out of the 2012 Sloan Analytics Conference (Daryl Morey's conference), evaluated synergies created by different player combinations. While the combination of Lin player type and Harden player type was found to have inconclusive synergies. It found a player type combination of Lin, Howard, and Harden player types, to have the highest synergy of all possible player type combinations. That is, this was the combination found to have the greatest likelihood of performing over expectations and having more wins. In fact, this combination out stripped all other combinations by a wide and striking margin. And, interestingly, the key example given by the author of the potential importance of such synergies was this same combination's effectiveness in the Dwight Howard led Orlando Magic team that reached the NBA finals. Of course, this is all theoretical, but it at least raises a question about whether last year's assumptions about player fit will apply this year.
incredible quote. i will need to read more into this paper by Robert Ayer. You can say they have the highest synergies, but let's put that into basketball terms. Why would all 3 together create the highest synergies?
I think the coaches look more at matchups more than anything else. Rather than the players themselves. If you look at last season, the only constants were literally no brainers. Parsons is a no brainer when you consider that the Rockets didn't have a legit PF and that he was clearly better than Delfino. At any position where there wasn't a clear cut "best player", the Rockets were fairly flexible in who they played.
It doesn't matter how you explain it. They won't get it. They are going to beat around the issue of what's better for the team. It's only about the minutes. Anyone who tells you different is lying to themselves.
Basically it is based on statistical analysis of combinations that have worked in the past. Here are the player types that correspond to Lin, Harden, and Howard. The paper also includes more stat info about each player type. Sorry, I can only respond briefly now. Cluster-7: attacking point guards; High scoring, high assist, high steals, high turnover point guards, who don’t shoot 3s Cluster-8: versatile, in the flow of an offense high scoring wings; Multi-faceted, high scoring wings, with high assists for their position and are great 3 point shooters Cluster 12: dominant center (Hakeem is an example of this; High scoring post players, high rebounds, high blocks
Hey iam, thanks for your comment. My first thought when I recalled the Ayer's paper after Dwight's signing was how happy Morey's geek heart must have been to imagine that this combination might actually be realized in Houston. : )
It's going to be a lot of drama this season I can tell you that off top, if rockets want to win a championship they key is to not trade Lin or asik and keep them happy. I have plenty of obvious reasons why that most basketball knowledgeable fans should ready know. Morey and mchale need not to get ahead of themselves
Just to be clear, I don't know if the 7-8-12 combination makes sense in Houston. There are so many factors to consider in terms of the lineup.
