Kelvin Sampson discusses the Rockets' growth on offense, the Jeremy Lin-James Harden

I can't believe those comments are coming from a reputable coach...really?
Lets see some numbers

Last year, Lin's AST rate was 26.8 and James Harden was 19.8.

This year, Lin's AST is 30.6 and James Harden is 14.2.

They both scored quite well off ISO possessions last year. Lin scored the third most points per play of the 91 players with at least 75 isolation plays last season, trailing only Chris Paul and James Harden

Based on above stats, Lin is at least as good as Harden when it comes to creating shots.

Btw Lin is 6"3 200lbs. The only players who weighs more than Lin among PGs are Raymond Felton, Deron Williams, Kyle Lowry and Greivis freaking Vasquez. If anything Lin is one of the biggest yet strongest PGs.

 

That would be insane if Morey sided with kelvin sampson over jeremy lin. No GM is that stupid.

Sampson is doing a great job of bluffing as if he isn't going anywhere. Perhaps that's enough to fool the organization?

 

Sampson will be on his way out

 

It is unfortunate but if they are not high on him then it may be best for both of them to part their ways.

 

Says who?

 

Send Lin to LA to back up Nash and eventually start after Nash retires. That is the best situation for Lin unless there is a coaching change here.

 

Was it just me or I read somewhere in an article that says that the coaching staff has never been high on Lin but it was the owner's decision to sign Lin?

 

It's just you.

 

Ok, thanks.

 

This is pretty key. It seems that all of this stuff here is what they are trying to do for Harden only instead of both. I see picks & screens being called for James but none for Jeremy. The last time I saw a pick set for Lin was the Hawks game. I remember Lin calling for a screen from Patterson & he refused. Yikes.

 

It's the equivalent of telling a Black kid who has a 4.3 GPA, a 2350 SAT, and 160 IQ that he's going to have to compete against smarter, more disciplined, and more intellectually creative students in college.

 

The white Jeremy Rin!

 

Even if they weren't high on Lin, you make do with what you've got, especially if your alternatives are Toney Douglas and Scott Machado.

Everybody knows what Lin is good at, but despite the great results from the first 2 games, the Rockets seem to want only Harden to succeed.

Maybe they're sucking up to him in hopes of getting some of his Olympic buddies to come over or something in the future.

 

Out of curiosity, I just googled who Sampson is. Apparently, he has some controversial in the past. Plus, he has never been a basketball player himself. I usually don't like someone who has never been a basketball player to be the NBA coach.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin_Sampson

 

I can understand saying there are quicker more athletic point guards but bigger and stronger?? Lin is probably bigger and stronger than most pgs. He's like 6'3" and 200 lbs. Sampson is blind or his perception of Lin is way off.

It's early but I can see it being either Mchale/Sampson goes or Lin goes. Will be interesting to see what ownership does.

 

I think Lin just needs to be more assertive and attack more. The coach will either bench him or be forced to accept it.

 

You LOFs are so emotional smh. No one in the coaching staff is a racist. Sampson is just stupid. He is not a racist. There were legitimate concerns about his defense last season which is why Sampson said that. There is no conspiracy here to deny Lin his fair share. A lot of you are making this board really hard to read now. Half of your posts are prayers for Lin to be traded to the Lakers. Other half consists of criticizing the coaching staff for deliberately trying to ruin Lin.

Everything will come good in the end. Lin will figure out his role on the team. You have to realize that even in the preseason Lin wasn't really looking for his shot that much. My guess is that he is trying to become more of a pass first point guard. If we were shooting better his assists number would be higher than what it is right now.

Again, there is no conspiracy here against Lin. It would be better if you all just support the Rockets instead of a player. Every time I read a post from someone who joined this year I expect to see the same nonsense and have almost started ignoring the posts based on the join date. The team is young. Lin is a smart and talented player. They will figure things out. If they don't, the coaches will not really last long.

 

Lin has a guaranteed contract now, so he's at least got some security.

 

The sporting world is rife with unquestioned racial myths, and it's laughably ignorant to suggest that Lin's race hasn't affected how people have viewed him.

 

I'd love it if someone started a thread with the topic. 'Fire Sampson or trade Lin,' because it's clear that the two are incompatible on this team.

Let's collate sampson's views about Lin.

1) Implies that he isn't fast or athletic enough to guard other PGs.

2) Implies that Lin's defence isn't that great.

3) States that TD is a better PG than Lin in some situations.

4) States that Lin doesn't have a good enough transition game to lead the rockets when it comes to offence.

5) Doesn't think Lin is a good enough playmaker to lead the offense when on the court with Harden.

What we SEE from the plays.

1) No screens set for Lin, no plays to help Lin do well, only for Harden.

2) Among the lowest USG for PGs in the league.

3) Reduced to spot up three point shooting.

4) TD allowed to handle the ball more than Lin.

Did I miss something?

It seems to me like Sampson's views on Lin (and perhaps Mchale's too) are not very different from LOH's we find on this forum and elsewhere. The SAS types who think he can't defend, can't shoot, is turnover prone, is not very athletic. I bet it was coaches and scouts like sampson who have been biased against him his entire career and never game him a chance. The same kind of people that decided his 25 games as a starter at NY are a small sample size but stopped giving him a chance to play after two games in Houston despite him doing well in both.

Either the coaching staff needs to be made to change their mindset or Lin should be traded. He doesn't need to be on a team where the coaches treat him like this.