Funny that it took a 103 degree Bev for McHale to try this--but its actually genius. Both of our pgs thrive on playing with energy and going all out. Over the course of an 82 game season, thats hard playing long stretches. I love how they both played in game 5, getting 5 minute bursts with Lin finishing out the half and game with a slightly longer stretch. if youve watched either guy--youve seen as their minutes have gone up--their rebounding has dropped. You just cant go all out like that for a full season. Hopefully Morey and Mchale noticed and keeping playing those guys like that. Let them feed off each other and energize the team as long as we stay alive. Lets get it
I would agree with you, but it seems like this only worked because Lin was playing with a ton of confidence. Otherwise I imagine he would have trouble finding a rhythm and be forced into poor decisions on the court. Having said that, it was fantastic seeing both of them busting their butts on the glass. I hope we see plenty of that, tonight
Good point. I like that, but should be longer minutes for each burst, 5 mins are too short for either to get it going offensively. Harden should be included as well, since he played well during Game 5 4th quarter after he got good enough rest (benched?) by McHale.
McHale needs to try to play either Hamilton or Garcia for like 8-10 minutes -- those minutes can give Parsons and Harden some more rest. The Blazers starting lineup played the most minutes out of any lineup all year - they are in much better condition to play longer minutes. McHale's super short rotation is not something that was common throughout the regular season. the late game collapses have happened partially because are guys are more gassed. Its no surprise when the rotation got larger by adding Daniels the rockets have won 2 of 3 and possibly could have won all 3 of those games. Hamilton is supposed to be the more athletic rebounding of the two, granted Garcia does a better job playing within his role but they need to get some minutes and give Parsons and Harden some more time on the bench to rest and properly close these games out.
This. But I trust Garcia way more than J Ham. Garcia has struggled for most of the season, but he's an aggressive, defensive vet that showed last year in the playoffs that he can hit some big shots. Aside from the first two games with the Rockets for J Ham, he's been pretty horrendous. I would also like to see MilkHair put in DMo. I have no idea why hasn't gotten any minutes off the bench. Even if its 8-10 minutes, that's 8-10 minutes of breather time for Asik/Dwight. And heck, use those 8-10 minutes for some HARD PLAYOFF fouls.
I love this idea... ... but also have to agree it is all about how JLin is playing anyway. There's way too little data to say JLin played better because of this short burst strategy. Rather, the first gametime he got, he hit a shot, had 4 quick assists, and was aggressive. Absent some knowledge that MilkHair might have said to him, you're going in for 6 minutes. Give it your all, I think this was just coincidence. I wouldn't mind seeing a little bit smarter player time management as a whole. Like taking Harden out maybe for 2-3 minutes of game-time, but 10 minutes of physical time, in the middle of the 2nd quarter to get him some rest.... that type of thing.
Our offensive rating drops from 111.8 to 99.9 when Harden goes to the bench. Our defense does improve from 114.1 to 102.2
lmao. agreed. i don't think it was mchale being a genuis, but rather it was of the circumstances that happened.
I like how a lot of people seem to imply that Lin has a confidence "switch", which he turns on in some games and off in others. How about looking at it from another angle? My observation is that the more pick and rolls we run for Lin, the better he plays, and thus the more confident he becomes. I would like to argue that his confidence problem is not directly coming within himself, but rather a result of how the Rockets offense is run. In Game 5, Lin had the ball in his hands a lot AND he got picks; this is how he got his confidence. I do not recall Rockets playing Lin this way in previous games. Hopefully, McHale takes note of this and makes sure to run the correct plays for Lin instead of some crappy curl plays for Parsons.
LOL, I have been saying this all year. Not sure how people are expecting Lin to produce when he is tuck in the corner shooting bail out 3s.
Here is the "play" I was expecting from McHale: 1. Jeremy, get the ball at the top of the arc 2. Omer, go set the pick, and roll 3. Read and React! Steps 1 and 2 come straight from the definition of "Pick and Roll". Step 3, whatever that means. It is not too hard right?
The Garcia we saw last year in the OKC series just hasn't been there this year, and he hasn't even been a great 3 point shooter. Hoping he will prove me wrong because our bench is looking painfully thin and we really need to stretch the rotations with at least one more key contributor.
Seriously. If that Freeland guy from Portland can get spare minutes, there's not reason Dmo shouldn't.
Damn, i guess Lin is Lincapable of playing PG. He can't even call for a simple PnR! Maybe he should just stick to the bench: Spoiler
It looks like it can work, but Lin has to play with confidence. When he confident in his abilities, he is a completely different player.
