...You do realize that is exactly what all of the all-star PGs do and a skill that scouts raved about when he was coming into the league..The ability to keep the dribble while in traffic and create opportunities is incredibly hard to master. Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Rondo are masters at keeping their dribble and probing - without overdribbling. The above point guards move around with purpose and make their decision to make a move into the paint quickly... Harden, for one of many reasons, is not a PG because of this. He typically holds onto the ball without movement before he makes his move. His first instinct is to create for himself then create for others. He rarely drives to the basket with the intent of passing the ball.
Well, Lowry most definitely helped the Rockets get the draft pick, that I think got James Harden here. Lowry's potential certainly motivated the Raptors to trading their lottery pick here -which Rockets sent to Oklahoma.
I always said that Lin was better than Dragic & Lowry was better than the two of them but now I am starting to change my mind. I think I would take Lin over Lowry as well. Lowry has been incredibly awful in toronto & is having issues with the coach for the third time in his career.
To be fair though Lowry hasn't really been allowed to do much in Casey's ISO heavy system ever since Calderon left. In the games where Gay sat out I thought Lowry looked pretty good. He was attacking the basket and created open looks for his teammates. When he plays with Gay and Derozan he just kinda stands there and hits the occasional 3 pointer (kind of like Lin in the beginning). Lowry's also been dealing with injuries all season. That said I do think Lin can be better than Lowry if he keeps improving. He has better court vision and is also a better pick and roll player. Lowry wouldn't be able to find Asik/Smith/DMo as easily imo, and this is from watching him play with Valanciunas who I think is the superior offensive player compared to those 3.
It was an indirect comment towards your assertion that Jeremy Lin is a SG, which he is not. Harden is used as an example because he is an SG. Apologies that I did not make that clearer in my earlier post!
People tends to over emphasize what's happening now. I don't think any of us here have the professional NBA experience in evaluating the potential of a player, so let's not pretend that you know who will be better in a few years, because you don't. The only thing we can do is to compare Lin with a 3rd year Lowry-Dragic.
On the tangible side, Lin is an above average player, definitely not an all star or a franchise player. He is a good passer, adequate defender who gives good effort but is sometimes overwhelmed physically by stronger and quicker guards, mediocre mid range shooter (both catch and shoot and off the dribble), getting better as 3 point shooter, excellent driving to the lane, but is still prone to high risk taking leading to turnovers. On an individual skill comparison, it is arguable that Lin-Dragic-Lowry are comparable and very close to each other at this point. it is in the intangibles where Lin separates himself and proves again and again how he can lift teams and teammates to perform at a higher level. Steve Novak was averaging under a basket a game, then becomes a double digit scorer, Bill Walker, Jared Jeffries, Landry Fields, all become part of a winning streak with no name stars during the streak. Then without Harden and Parsons, we see Omer having a career game, Smith having a career game, basically the Rockets winning with a lineup that preseason pre-Harden trade and with Kevin Martin was expected to finish last. In terms of instinct and the ability to create game flows where everybody gets involved, Lin is right up there. If you watch the Magic game, Lin purposely kept feeding the post, finding Smith and Asik again and again to set the tone in the 1st qtr, and not looking to shoot, and not standing in the corner either. When did the Rockets ever have that many inside points to start a game this year? Even if that was in the game plan, executing and believing in teammates on the actual floor is a totally different matter and Lin seems to always find a way to life the energy and performance of his teammates when he is given the keys. By this measure alone, Lin has left behind Lowry and Dragic. If he can work out the kinks in his game in the offseason, it will bode even better for the team
By 2014, Harden will be the ONLY active Arizona State grad that's left in the NBA (Jeff Pendergraph will be out of the league by then...WHO? Yeah, exactly).
excellent post. A fair and objective view of things. I remember Asik having his career high during the 2nd Spurs game where Lin scored 38 when Harden was injured, and then Asik now has a new one!
Way too sensitive, I don't think that was an attack on Harden, every player has a best position that he play the best, Harden play the best at SG, that's a fair statement.
That was not an attack on Harden but an illustration of the difference between a SG and a PG which is apropos to the discussion at hand. A SG attacks to shoot and score with a secondary option of dishing or passing when the best play presents itself. A point guard leads the attack to create a mismatch or to probe for holes as the defense reorganizes itself against the pg's penetration. Lin does this well and harden does his part well. But in terms of promoting flow, the ball is better suited in the pg's hands in general except when it comes down to one it two possessions in which the offensive involvement of everyone is less needed or when Lin is being covered well or playing badly requiring someone else to attack that particular defense.
James Harden has exceptional passing and facilitating abilities so he is more of a combo guard than just a straight SG. Lots of PG or SG are combo guards or just speaking of tweeners in general, especially stars and superstars or very talented players, so its doesn't just apply to Harden.
I think Lin is as good as those two, and has more upside. Look at the way he improved his shooting, his shot has improved dramatically as the year has gone on. If he was in Dragic situation on Phoenix, I'm sure his volume numbers would be higher. I think Lin will be the best of the 3 when it's all said and done.
