Don't speak for all Lin fans when you're not one. It was the fact that the team was playing well together and winning in some dramatic ways. Lin putting up great numbers was just an added bonus out of him and his team mates playing team ball. I think Lin fans only bring up his high scoring to those who keep putting him down that he's not a good player.
Whether Jeremy was starting or not, him and Bev were going to split the PG minutes in half. Plus, I bet Jeremy will have the higher stats/48 mins as a 6th man than he will as a starter.
I do agree having him play off the bench in Manila gave him a chance to shine more, and maybe a way of looking at this (for those upset about the coaching decision ) is that it gave the team/coaches a chance to see how good Lin unleashed can be this year. So maybe even when he is starting, give him a little more freedom. For me, it's not about the minutes so much as who will have the time on the court with the other starters, and so develop the deep chemistry needed to win in crucial game situations in the playoffs.
Personally I'm not opposed to Lin leading the 2nd unit whenever it's on the court. Last year I actually thought that Lin should be on the floor whenever Harden was off the court simply due to the lack of play making in the 2nd unit. As for the reduction of minutes for Lin in terms of playing with the starting line up, I think the value of having Beverley on the starting 5 is going to depend heavily on the opposition. While Harden is an elite PnR player, he has historically shown to be more of a drive and kick or drive and shoot PG vs a drive and big man drop off player. While this yields tremendous dividends for perimeter shooters, unless Harden adjusts we may see a significant drop off in efficiency for Howard on the offensive end. Howard is one of the best PnR rollers in the game. On the flip side, his back to the basket post up play is pretty far from great. If the game becomes heavily reliant on just dropping the ball into Howard in the post, I'm not very optimistic about the results. Similarly, with Bev on the floor and Harden as the initiator, we run the risk of the offense becoming vulnerable to a "head of the snake" attack. In other words, heavily load up against Harden drives, force the Rockets to dump off to Howard in the post, and watch our offensive efficiency plummet. This likely won't be the result against mediocre or poor teams, but against the stronger defensive teams, or teams with elite perimeter defenders (like Iguodala or Butler) that can single cover Harden, I wouldn't be shocked if the substitution of Beverley into the starting line up would have disproportionate impacts. I don't think it will be nearly so simple as Lin as the 6th man vs not. In the end, I think the situation will have to dictate how often Beverley plays with the starters vs Lin.
Maybe you are saying this to make fans of Lin feel better, but I like Lin and I could care less about his stats, as compared to his chances of winning a championship with this incredibly likable and talented team, whatever the best role for him is.
I know many people have that opinion. But really, no, in my opinion, trading Lin is not in their minds. McHale handled the whole Manila thing maybe a bit clumsily, but the idea of experimenting with different line ups is a good one. It will improve their chances of winning a championship. Think how exciting that would be, as compared to the slightly less cachet or something Lin might suffer from not being a starter 100 percent of the time. This team has the chance to be special. I think they are just trying to figure out how best to maximize that potential. Lin's a crucial part of that. Short of a CP3 or someone like that suddenly wanting to play here, Lin is not going anywhere.
Remember CP3's toying with the Clippers (and expressing interest in coming to Houston) is the only reason the concept of trading Lin came up at all this offseason.
Response That's not true. Although he played inconsistently last year (due to many factors which I will not go into), there were many games where he played really well. What is true is that Lin is playing much, much better during this year's preseason than the last year's preseason.
And also I liked the Lin who played under Woodson, even though he wasn't putting up as great of stats as during Linsanity, he was playing much more controlled and also effective with the stars.
I agree, he had moments of looking fantastic last season too. I was just responding to a post that seemed to suggest that he needed to be a 6th man to really show his stuff. And, I do think, as we get a larger sample pool, it's going to become clear he put in a lot of work this offseason, and he is going to in general be better this year than last.
Response Right on point, as usual. Lin being the 6th man can turn out good for him and bad for the team, or good for him and the team. Let's see how this plays out. Hopefully, if things are not working well, coach Mac will change it back. That being said, I hope for close games, Lin will close out 4th quarters. If Rockets are leading comfortably, I think Bev should close out 4th quarter.
Harden never had a big man to dump the ball too. Ibaka has no low post moves and was the 4 option on that team during Harden's years in OKC.
Response One thing Lin is about is that he plays a team ball. I really think he enjoys making other players play well just as much, if not more, than scoring himself. I really enjoyed seeing the 2nd Unit playing well as a team, making extra passes. Frankly, if I were a 2nd Unit player, I rather play with Lin also, because when I run, he will find me. I am confident that no matter how he feels, he will give his all for the team. Let's see how things play out.
Lol no he wouldn't, but Jeremy Lin also isn't Steve Nash. Nash is one of the best shooting PG's in the league + best caretaker of the ball.
