Well it looks to me like a mental issue, and this has been coming up a few times. Maybe its youth, but when jeremy doesn't get his shots down, what happens is that his confidence and the rhythm of his game suffers, he then starts to brick shot after shot. We've seen it pre-playoffs, and we see it again today. Conversely, when his shots fall, his confidence rises and he plays better. It happened to during linsanity, when Miami managed to completely shut him down. I think he lacks the consistency to be in that frame of mind to deliver shot after shot. Something he needs to work on in off-season.
His situation in NY was very different than here. In NY he was playing with Melo & Tyson guys who commanded a lot of defensive attention. Guys don't respect Omer & Greg offensively, so when they roll hard to the rim or post up they dont draw defenders. This allows defenders to just focus in on the back court. People wonder that Harden has lost his major this is the big part of the reason. Teams just pack the paint. Houston in the month of April was shooting 34% from 3. That is the worst that I have ever seen this team shoot all year. Also, NY runs probably the most screens of any NBA team (more than San Antonio) particularly on ball screens. Rockets don't set screens very much, for the ball handler a lot of our screens are off ball screens. Lin was able to get by his man because he turns the corner very well on screens or he is really good at going away from the screen & driving to the basket. Also Lin is finishing at the rim at a higher percentage this season than last year (64% vs 52%), I find it really odd that people say that his finishing has gotten worse. Two totally different situations. In regards on what Lin needs to work on. He needs to strengthen his right foot. Right now his dominant leg is his left one (uses this to plant to go to his right hand). The ability to drive with your weak leg is what separates the good players from the great players. Same thing as the ability to pass with your weak hand. That is what he needs to focus on getting better with the other side of his body.
I think you made most of the main points that were solid. The rest would include more details like one of the higher usage rates during the Linsanity run and a coach that gave him the green light. Granted, it was also during the lock-out season too and his season got cut short more due to injury. Lin is learning from a full out ball dominant PG to off-guard, with a coach who himself is learning. The Tony Parker quote was more helpful in the fact that he said he too said it was a process learning to play with Manu. Also remember before the summer league he trained with Gary Payton and the minute Roddy got hurt, he got his chance to prove his worth. Had he stayed in NY, he would had Jason Kidd as one of his mentors. I think keeping Shaun Livingston for a little longer may have been helpful, but going into next season we may very well see a few more veterans to help all the young players on this team. Here are some more quotes from the article that I just posted.
Seriously, if he performed well in his FIRST PLAYOFF GAME EVER, then he already reached his potential. Look at all the Stars and see how they do in their first Playoff Game. #Hatersgonnahate
People have misunderstanding on Lin's learning curve. Lin's first game as a Warriors and Knicks were both miserable. Look at David Lee, it is his first year make into Playoffs. He played poorly and injured in the first game. And his salary is higher than Lin.
Jeremy Lin: - Has below average ball handling for a PG. (Though obviously improved from last year, which means his handles should get better next year.) - Doesn't handle traps + pressure well. - Is a wonderful play maker. - Has elite first step - Has above average athleticism - Game relies on athleticism - Struggles against teams with elite athletes (like OKC) - Doesn't have nuance to his game yet (Pull up jumper, floater, etc.) This is all you need to know when you see Jeremy struggle.
Please! What kind of cherry-picking comparison is this? David Lee had the most double-doubles in the regular season. Yes, that means more double-doubles than any of the other 449 players. And please, don't EVER confuse injury with poor performance. One thing I like about Lin is his "no excuse" mentality. He never makes excuses for his poor performance and is always his own harshest critique. It's one bad game. He played poorly. He'll learn and get better. Why, then, are people like you trying to make excuses for him?
Regular season is nothing like the post season. People need to stop bringing up regular season accolades. David Lee was awful in his first playoff game. So was Steph Curry who had 15 points on 16 shots. Your first game is never easy doesn't matter how good of a player you are. This isn't excuses this is just facts. And the same thing that happened to Lin where he got trapped & forced into a turnover, same exact thing happened to Curry. And yet nobody questioned Curry's handle or ability to handle pressure. Lins biggest issue last night was decision making. It wasn't hitting missing jumpers & etc (although hat was awful) but decision making & understanding that every possession in the post season is valuable. But it is his first game & players suffer from nerves also. Yes fans shouldn't make excuses but also people need to be sensible & realistic.
..because people are trying to burn him at the stake? Because a surprisingly large number of people are pretty much calling dude a fluke, a sham, a d-leaguer once again. Like pretty much his whole life?? But in the end, he was bad, period. Shots not going in, I can take that. Stupid turnovers? Unacceptable. Aggressive turnovers aren't bad, when good plays come along with it, but last night dude played nervous and timid. He's gotta get over his nerves. Noone defends his performance which was crap. People defend him against idiots who define Lin by last nights game.
What about the theory promoted by LOFs that he was John Wall v2.0? What a bunch of delusional people, smh. I'm sure the reality of last night was a sobering experience for them.
John Wall shot like 13% from 3 last year.. What would you say if Lin had his numbers? I know what you'd say if Wall were here, you'd be understanding right? Why are people so happy to see Lin have a bad game and define its im by this one game? Would you give him props if he has a good game? I don't think so, the jury would still be out for you until he has a bad game again.
I think the issue is Jeremy Lin's played against 3rd tier athletes during college and in the first year of the NBA (DLeague). So he needs to adjust to better athletes, and Russell Westbrook is one of the top 3 PG 'athletes' in the NBA.
My post wasn't about regular season vs. playoffs at all. I was merely pointing out to Katsuul that Lee's performance justifies his salary. It is one of my pet peeves when people cherry-pick their stats and use the smallest sample size to make their argument. After all, if we really want to go into this pay-vs-performance argument, Beverley definitely played way better than Lin and he's paid, what, less than $500k? Lin played poorly in his first playoff game. It's just one game. There's no need to panic or find excuses for him.
It's up to Lin to prove his doubters wrong. Making excuses for him, especially on a night when he played poorly, isn't going to help. (Not you; I was referring to the post I responded to.)
I think its already not about proving doubters wrong as the GARM has proven over and over again that once a hater is always a hater... its more about exposing those guys and their ridiculous threads/post so that they wont post so much anymore...
