Should we look to Jeremy Lin to be our closer as opposed to James Harden?

Harden's should close of course, Jeremy ain't close to ready tbh, if ever. But Harden can take a tip from Jeremy and find the open man if available and limit the isis to the final minute or two, not the final 6 minutes!! Harden is boss and you gotta treat him like a boss. Jeremy's up and coming, but he's still trying to get up there where Harden chills everyday let alone where he himself goes up to when he's feeling it.

 

Harden and Lin are our closers in every game

 

you sad the Knicks lost?

 

He score 11 points in the last 4 minutes and attacked the basket and carried us. So you fail. 36 points 6 boards on 9-17 for most people is a career high, for James it is a regulatr night in the office.

 

Scratch that, it was 9 boards.

 

you must be feeling really stupid right now

 

And Harden was also mostly the reason that the last 2 offensive possessions ended without the ball even hitting the rim--the need to get the ball in his hands and let him do his thing.

I love Harden and he's a great player but he is also consistently mind-numbingly horrible in the last minute of games (except for FTs) what with his: (1) dribble-dribble-stepback combo; (2) drive into a crowd of 3 defenders and pray for a foul when refs are hesitant to call fouls at the end of games.

 

Oh please. The context of this thread was that lin is a better 4th quarter option. Tonight that was proven to be false. Infact if we had Harden last night we probably would have won to. BTW, even Lebron James isn't perfect. Harden for the most part was the best option we had tonight as a closer.


You can nitpick it all you like.

 

must hate the #1 guy who carries this team to victory

 

ISO plays have value in that they allow you a great amount of control over the game. You can really precisely control the clock, you have less risk of turnovers, there are fewer possible outcomes so teammates can anticipate the situation better. Also, you are essentially playing your best player one on one against their best player. Late in games, having an efficient player in iso is a great luxury to have.

Yes ISO has a downside in that if defenses don't respect your shot they can collapse on the ball handler easier. But it is reasonable for a teams best player (and one of the most efficient scorers in the league) to go with an above average number of iso plays.

 

I think when Harden plays spontaneously and is in an offensive rhythm he makes amazing and efficient shots. But when he holds the ball too long, which lets the opposing team set up their defense and surround him with 2 or 3 defenders, that's when he has more trouble finding his shots, especially if he is forcing his shot. I hope he has more trust in his teammates when this happens. He is a big offensive threat that does draw a lot of attention from opposing teams.

 

pretty much.

Harden can get to the line and get his own shot. Not many players in the league can do that.

 

haren iso is unnecessary and too predictable during clutch time.

 

He basically tried to go 1 against 3 on the last 3 possessions, did not pass the ball when the entire Kings defense was focused on just him .... the 3 won.

 

I like the idea of lin having the ball in his hands for the closing of games. That doesn't mean he will take the last shot, but at least, he can make the decision of seeing what is available for his teammates or himself...or at least mix it up with him or harden having the ball for the last 2 minutes of a close game. Having Harden with the ball every single time doing ISOs is just too predictable.

 

the issue isn't whether harden or lin act as the closer. the issue is setting up the offense and running the proper plays to "close" the game.

if you look at the iso stats they are pretty close so I don't think it matters who "closes". harden gets to the line more often but lin does look to pass when he is in the paint. harden passes only when he is still at the top of the key area. if he's in the paint, he's gonna shoot or get fouled or turn the ball over.

here's the thing, if it's a last second shot to win the game, harden is the right choice. if it's less then 2 minutes left in the game but still plenty of time, it should be NORMAL offensive schemes but letting the clock run a bit longer. so if it means harden running the play or lin, I don't care. it just can't be one man ISOs for two minutes by harden.

 

How about Dwight.

 

Free...Throws