Lin was very obviously under-utilized and probably mis-utilized. Harden was clearly over-utilized and wore down badly in the last 1/3 of the season. Lin will prove to be a far more effective and dangerous player this season now that he understands that this team is counting on him to knock down a lot of shots from behind the arc. There is simply no negative in adding another weapon to your game. HOWEVER: I do agree with you that coaches should recognize and coach to their player's strengths; we'll see if mchale can integrate the talents of lin and harden more effectively. To be honest, mchale envisions harden as the primary playmaker, and sees lin in a complementary role, similar to chalmers in miami. I don't see mchale as the ideal coach for this team. This team is now one with championship prospects. But he's been a successful coach for the rockets. He's kept this team at or above .500 in an incredibly competitive conference. I do think mgmt has an important decision to make in the offseason as to whether they bring mchale back, and who might replace him if they don't. I don't think it will be an easy or automatic decision or at least it shouldn't be.
Wall at the end of last season was amazing. The games I watched he had totally transformed himself into a selfless, accurate passer. Prior to that, I would frankly say that Lin was a superior player, but by the end of last season, Wall was up there with the best. The test will be how both progress this season.
Yeah, this coaching staff is hell-bent on turning everyone who plays 1/2/3 or 4 to become a 3 pt. specialist. The players don't really have a choice except to accept the game plan.
Didn't want to make a thread for it. <object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/4b9CfwG6Q4s?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/4b9CfwG6Q4s?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> whoever create a thread for this will get all the beetches
He isn't wasting his time practicing his three point shooting, that is a big part of his game which he did very good at during the last three months of the season. He should work on all aspects of his game but hitting the three is very important for him especially on this team.
It's just one guy. And he probably just had a brain fart. What's with all this "gotcha" type attitude around here? I'm super pumped. Thanks Clutch, please keep em coming.
It's not about Lin this year. It's about playing together for a championship, and Lin is going to be a big part of it whether standing in the corner or facilitating from the top of the 3pt line
Jumping higher? Of all the things deficiencies Lin has (albeit all young players have holes in their games) you're picking on his vertical?? Lin will become a lot more difficult to guard if he becomes a good enough shooter to the point where defences have to honour his shot. We all know he can penetrate, hes a decent finisher, and getting a more reliable jumpshot will only help that.
I really hope Lin finishes games this season. I really think that brought his confidence level down when he would see Parsons and Harden closing it out and him not being with them.
Frankly speaking, it appears pretty much predetermined that the coaches are gonna use Bev a lot in the fourth quarter, irregardless of how Lin plays. You see the same thing here and with the media, once your minds made up, it takes a hell of a lot to change your opinion even when the truth is right in your face. One exam
Frankly speaking, it appears pretty much predetermined that the coaches are gonna use Bev a lot in the fourth quarter, irregardless of how Lin plays. You see the same thing here and with the media, once your minds made up, it takes a hell of a lot to change your opinion even when the truth is right in your face. One example is the playstation. To all the kids out there, for years, play station had nothing on the xbox though they were pretty much the same. No matter how many times Sony execs touted the fact that they had more exclusives or at least the same amount of great exclusive games, forums were filled with how Sony had no good exclusives at all. It took years to finally change public perception. Getting back on track, Lin's defense is definitely solid enough, especially so in the fourth, and his offense prowess is potent enough in my eyes to warrant giving him crunch time minutes at nearly all times, but my hunch is that McHale and staff still see Lin and Linsanity as a fluke and nothing more and his minutes will be jerked around any time Lin has a couple of missed shots or turnovers. It is what it is and it's up to Lin to turn it around.
Lin performs well in the fourth quarter in some games, but other games its obvious Beverly should close it out. Now with Howard, Parsons, and of course Harden on court the coaches will see no need for Lin in the fourth when they have those guys to produce offense and Bev's fresh legs to play D on the opposing team's guards. It is disappointing to see when Lin is clearly running the team as the floor general really well and they just pull him in the 4th when he's clearly got a rhythm going. This year will be interesting to see what Mchale does.
Considering how Mchale and Finch both seemed to indicate that the Rockets went away from their efficient read and react offense in the 4th quarter last year to inefficient iso ball, it is easy to see why they cut their losses and stuck in the more effective defensive player (Bev). Add the fact that Lin was relegated to spot up shooting in the 4th and you end up with a player not playing to his strengths. Things should be different this year as the team should be more effective offensively in the 4th. Factor in the defensive lift from Dwight and we shouldn't need to sacrifice Lin's offensive tools for Bev. I can easily see teams using Bev's overaggressive defense to their advantage and rack up the foul count. Of course, none of this matters if Lin proves to be inefficient with Dwight and Harden... One other thing: Mchale mentioned that that the 1-2-3 spots are interchangeable. Why not Bev-Lin-Harden-Parsons-Dwight?
Let last season be last season and don't be so quick to conclude on what will happen this year. In my opinion, if the coaching staff was totally happy with Beverley and Brook PG play in the playoffs last year, they wouldn't have inserted Lin back into the game in the crucial game 6, a guy who could hardly lift his arms.
My beef last season is that we ran too many iso's in the 4th. It's like we were playing two different games. In the 4th, Lin hardly got the ball, unless it was a desperate effort by Harden to find a bail out. I really hope McHale and the team figure something else out. Let Lin do his job and create easier shots for everyone. Harden might end up being even more efficient. He needs to mode into Durant type of player.
