New post: Preview: Houston Rockets @ Toronto Raptors
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Preview: Houston Rockets @ Toronto Raptors
Started by Red94, Dec 16 2012 08:07 PM
5 replies to this topic
#2
Red94
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#3
xsamc1
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Posted 17 December 2012 - 12:25 AM
I think you're being a little too critical on Lin's performance. For most of the game, he played decent defense on Calderon. In fact, he played better defense on Calderon today than he did when he was a Knick. The last time Lin played Toronto, Shumpert had to guard Calderon because Lin couldn't keep up. Of course everyone remembers Lin's game winning 3 pointer against Toronto but the reality is, for most of that game, Lin did not play well.
And let's not take anything away from Calderon. He had a great game. There were a few shots that were just great shots and you couldn't ask Lin to play any better defense on him. Calderon shot well from the field and he was the beneficiary of some late game fouls to try and stop the clock. And when you add up the number of assists, it's obvious Toronto did an excellent job moving the ball.
Saying Lin's poor performance was the difference in the game is like saying Harden's missed shots or the team defense or any other criteria being the difference. Sure, I'll admit if Lin hit a few more shots or took better care of the ball early in the game or played closer to Calderon in that inbound pass, the game could have gone the other way. But I argue that to single him out as the only difference in the game is a bit extreme. I'm sure that's not what you meant.
Although I'm a Houston fan now because of Lin, I'm pretty critical of his game. Today, Lin did not play well. In fact, IMHO, he's had only 1 good game and that was the game he scored 38. Lin was motivated last year during that Linsanity stretch because his NBA career was on the line. He's now playing with less intensity and I believe his 3 year contract has something to do with that. Plus, he has way too many excuses to slack off - new team, youngest team in the NBA, not the primary offensive option, still recovering from knee surgery, etc. McHale is experimenting with his rotations and if Lin doesn't show some heart, I wouldn't blame the coach for keeping him on the bench.
And let's not take anything away from Calderon. He had a great game. There were a few shots that were just great shots and you couldn't ask Lin to play any better defense on him. Calderon shot well from the field and he was the beneficiary of some late game fouls to try and stop the clock. And when you add up the number of assists, it's obvious Toronto did an excellent job moving the ball.
Saying Lin's poor performance was the difference in the game is like saying Harden's missed shots or the team defense or any other criteria being the difference. Sure, I'll admit if Lin hit a few more shots or took better care of the ball early in the game or played closer to Calderon in that inbound pass, the game could have gone the other way. But I argue that to single him out as the only difference in the game is a bit extreme. I'm sure that's not what you meant.
Although I'm a Houston fan now because of Lin, I'm pretty critical of his game. Today, Lin did not play well. In fact, IMHO, he's had only 1 good game and that was the game he scored 38. Lin was motivated last year during that Linsanity stretch because his NBA career was on the line. He's now playing with less intensity and I believe his 3 year contract has something to do with that. Plus, he has way too many excuses to slack off - new team, youngest team in the NBA, not the primary offensive option, still recovering from knee surgery, etc. McHale is experimenting with his rotations and if Lin doesn't show some heart, I wouldn't blame the coach for keeping him on the bench.
#4
Rahat Huq
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Posted 17 December 2012 - 12:31 AM
xsamc1: I hate when people do what I'm about to do because there's no logical basis for the assumption I'm positing, but there's just no way Lin is "slacking" as you've posited. That's just now who he is. I don't have proof of that. But that's just my gut from what I know about the guy and being around the guy.
The man has serious confidence issues. He doesn't have all the tools. But he's no slacker.
The man has serious confidence issues. He doesn't have all the tools. But he's no slacker.
#6
Alituro
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Posted 17 December 2012 - 03:50 PM
Up until about a week before the regular season started and we were a young team without a bonafide star on it's way to hopefully lose a bunch of games, accumulate assets and draft picks for that big grab one day. Lin was the perfect PG to implement that plan because he wouldn't contribute to many wins and he'd still put butts in the seats.
In the blink of an eye we were able to pick up that elusive franchise cornerstone star in Harden and the directive took a complete 180 degree swing. Now it's time to try and win games and squeak into the playoffs to make The Rockets a favorable destination for at least one more star. Unfortunately Lin is unable to contribute to many wins.
At what point do we move forward and stop trying to conform our game plan to hide Lin's weaknesses? Like with Royce White, when comes the point when we've done all we can do and move on?
It's apparent that Lin is at his best when in full control and is basically the only scoring option. This comes at the expense of other player's involvement, though and is costly to cater to such needs. One thing you can't fault him though is his ceaseless level of energy. He needs to be that spark coming off the bench, not our starting PG. We're not in the business of stroking egos, winning comes first. These guys are paid enough to have their personality issues handled off the court. To say Lin is in the top half of the NBA's PGs is laughable. In PER he ranks 45th out of 70 qualified. And he plays more minutes than anyone ranked below him by a long shot. It wouldn't be a stretch to say he's the worst starting PG in the league at this point. Sadly, Douglas ranks below him. We have a problem, fortunately though, it's about the only real problem we have.
In the blink of an eye we were able to pick up that elusive franchise cornerstone star in Harden and the directive took a complete 180 degree swing. Now it's time to try and win games and squeak into the playoffs to make The Rockets a favorable destination for at least one more star. Unfortunately Lin is unable to contribute to many wins.
At what point do we move forward and stop trying to conform our game plan to hide Lin's weaknesses? Like with Royce White, when comes the point when we've done all we can do and move on?
It's apparent that Lin is at his best when in full control and is basically the only scoring option. This comes at the expense of other player's involvement, though and is costly to cater to such needs. One thing you can't fault him though is his ceaseless level of energy. He needs to be that spark coming off the bench, not our starting PG. We're not in the business of stroking egos, winning comes first. These guys are paid enough to have their personality issues handled off the court. To say Lin is in the top half of the NBA's PGs is laughable. In PER he ranks 45th out of 70 qualified. And he plays more minutes than anyone ranked below him by a long shot. It wouldn't be a stretch to say he's the worst starting PG in the league at this point. Sadly, Douglas ranks below him. We have a problem, fortunately though, it's about the only real problem we have.
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