Players are always losing the ball to uncalled fouls, Kobe even did a video of how to strip a player by grabbing the player in such a way that the ref doesn't see it. Wade pulled that move on Ray Allen back in '10 in a playoff game to win it, and Allen pulled that move in game 6 of the finals on the 2nd last play of OT. It happens a lot, but those are a cpl of high profile times. Opposing players are always trying to pull that **** on each other.
If you can get a sure thing like Rondo or Lowry, then you definitely go for it. I am a Lin believer through and through, but he is still a risky play unlike the two all-stars. That said, these trades are always unlikely. What I think is really dumb is people trying to dump Lin for "cap space" without the guarantee of signing a all-star player. Anybody who thinks that there are player(s) out there to be had for 8M who are going to be more effective than Lin needs to slow their roll. If we stand pat, I agree that we NEED to let Lin play the point. It is painful to watch him take up cap space and stand in a corner watching Harden. Harden is the more talented player, which makes him more adaptive to change. For the team to get better, Harden needs to allow the other perimeter players to take on more responsibility for playmaking. Even if Lin isn't as efficient as Harden when controlling the ball, it allows us to mitigate the risk that Harden goes cold or gets smothered. Lin needs to be Parker (initiates and attacks early) and Harden needs to be Ginobili (creates and closes games) in terms of offensive roles.
Presumably, the Rockets does NOT need a so-called starting quality point guard because Harden presumably will initiate the offense. Due to the constrain of salary caps, a GM would use a defense oriented PG like PBev that consumes low salary. That's why Lin was placed into the sixth man role, so that we can juxtapose them to maximize our offense flow. Because of Harden's inefficiency in this playoffs, all of a sudden, we need an great point guard? What an oxymoron. Put Lin in the starting line up and we might have won the series. Let's say we get either Rondo or Lowry. Should we initiate Rockets offense through the PG or Harden? Or make them off the bench as 6th man again? To me, that's an upgraded version of Harden vs Lin debate.
lowry was already in the situation Lin was in, watching gogi and moping around at the three point line, at age 25 &26 too. So I doubt he'd want to be relegated to that again. He also wouldn't be able to score more than 13pts on 9 shots. Then, the board will turn on him. hey lowry y u let some asian pg score 34 on you! GTFO and stop playing call of duty 9, fat ass. Rondo, I really like. Looking back, We should have made that deal. For one, he'd punch harden before disobeying Mchale's orders to execute whatever play he has going. Rondo/dwight/Kevin love. Oh my.
you know... one of the things that people don't realize about jordan and kobe, is how much ENERGY they expended. That is what made them so freakish. Big men who post up and snipers who shoot from long distance both use less energy per shot, than guards who have to DRIVE to the basket and make uber athletic plays, and then run to get back on defense. Jordan and Kobe could do that twenty times a game, AND STILL play excellent defense. They didnt get tired and didnt suffer from injuries as a result. Harden just doesn't seem capable of doing that. And that is probably going to get worse as he gets older. When Jordan came into the league he was just a straight up freak. 'God in basketball shoes'. Running around the court, tongue stuck out, sucking up more oxygen than a freight train. The guy probably has twenty mutant genes that allow him to utilize all that oxygen. This also allowed them to excel in clutch time. Basically, after playing all season, in the final minutes of huge games... they were still ok. Not exhausted. Freaks. Harden... dude gets tired. All those mental lapses. Blown defenses. Disappearing in playoffs. Staring dazedly ahead instead of standing in the huddle... exhaustion. Maybe he can change his diet, work harder or something, but some of that is just genetic. Kinda like Floyd Mayweather. Another freak athlete who excels because he literally never gets tired.
A point guard's responsibility is to initiate the offense. It has nothing to do with being a leader. The team's leader is usually its best or 2nd best player. After all, the most effective way to lead is by example. Was Mario Chalmers the team leader last year? Was John Paxson/Ron Harper during the Jordan years? Was Rafer during the McGrady/Yao years?
Maybe you should read the article where he admired the current team and wishes he had accepted McHale more (a lot of things McHale was trying to teach clicked for him. He was too upset over Adelman leaving)
No, he didn't. His level of importance was on par with Kendrick Perkins'. They were both replaceable. Rajon Rondo feuded with his coach, Doc Rivers (who had been Boston's coach for 9 years), to the point that they almost fought. He's the main reason Rivers left Boston. Ray Allen is one of the most professional guys in the league, and he also feuded with Rondo. Rondo has been in the league 8 years, and his 3pt and FT shooting percentages are pathetic. That should tell you everything you need to know about Rondo.
You're kidding, right? Lin is way overpaid. I gave you a guy in Ramon Sessions earlier at $5M a year. Lin is an albatross for this team. Paid way more than his value.
I would kindly disagree that Lin is overpaid. Two reasons: 1. Market-wise he's definitely not overpaid. 2. Basketball-wise, he's misused badly. Lin is supposed be a ball dominant point guard and the arrival of Harden changed everything. A lot of his play time, he's used as a SG. Is he overpaid in basketball sense? You have yet to find out because he's not used the way he should be.
Asking Okafor to come in and give us what Asik gave us in mins rebounds and defense is asking alot of a guy that hasn't played a full season ever in his career and who is coming off a serious neck injury
