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Total comments: 46a buddy of mine was given some tickets to this early friday and i was lucky enough to be the friend who he asked to accompany him. anyway, ultimately it sucked to lose this game, but the seats were awesome and the highlight of the night for me was getting to meet Kevin Willis who was out and about in the crowd near the section I was in. Anyone else at the game get to see him?
Agree with you there, with time I am confident he will be able to do what Paul does by controlling the pace of the game, maybe not master it like Paul.
His BBall IQ and his emotions are his biggest assets. He will figure it out. Remember when we said he looked awful on 3s, look at him now. This off season I think he will work on different tempos, left hand finish and continue to work on his jumpers.
I agree with Phake that I rather have Lin being aggressive, because when he is even with 1-2 more turnovers the net gain is larger than the turnovers it creates. It also seems to get him to the FT line and better rhytm. Because when he is passive like in the first 2 months he looked lost and didn't look like he belonged.
don't get me wrong....I want the aggressive lin too, but aggression is no good if not channeled properly. I agree lin does have smarts and tools to be good.......but if you have a good hammer and you don't know how to use it you won't get many nails driven. how to use it is just as important as having it.
when to be aggressive and when to set up smarts(aka bball IQ) is more important than unchecked aggression. sure I like the aggressive version of lin, but learning when to turn it on and off is what's better for the team. this can be the difference between winning and loosing.
Yes, knowing when to do which is critical, and I hope Lin develops that. What I was saying was that, en route to developing that skill (but without having mastered it yet), I would rather Lin be aggressive than tentative.
when to be aggressive and when to set up smarts(aka bball IQ) is more important than unchecked aggression. sure I like the aggressive version of lin, but learning when to turn it on and off is what's better for the team. this can be the difference between winning and loosing.
His BBall IQ and his emotions are his biggest assets. He will figure it out. Remember when we said he looked awful on 3s, look at him now. This off season I think he will work on different tempos, left hand finish and continue to work on his jumpers.
I agree with Phake that I rather have Lin being aggressive, because when he is even with 1-2 more turnovers the net gain is larger than the turnovers it creates. It also seems to get him to the FT line and better rhytm. Because when he is passive like in the first 2 months he looked lost and didn't look like he belonged.
Fine line since we always said Lin had to be more aggressive. He's being more aggressive now, and for the most part, it has worked! Yes, he should know when to be aggressive and when to set up, but I mean, one step at a time. I'd rather he be aggressive than the tentative version of himself earlier this season.
when to be aggressive and when to set up smarts(aka bball IQ) is more important than unchecked aggression. sure I like the aggressive version of lin, but learning when to turn it on and off is what's better for the team. this can be the difference between winning and loosing.
Just a take on Harden, I think he will figure it out next season, its too hard to make an big adjustment at the end of the season.
What concerns me is that Harden will always be able to draw fouls, seeking contact, but that is not optimal for the playoffs where the referees will more often than not allow the contact.
I have been watching Harden's numbers throughout the year and posted a couple of times before regarding his efficiency (outside of free throws). It concerns me a bit, but for now I am willing to let it go as this is his first year being "the man". He needs to work out this mess over the Summer, stop relying on the whistles, and play as if he isn't going to get the foul. I have said it before, referees will give you the benefit of the doubt if you prove that you will make the shot most of the time; however, when you prove to be an inconsistent scorer that is just looking for a bailout, that whistle goes away. Here are Harden's stats from this season and given the time of year (playoff time) and his performance up to date it isn't surprising that the whistles have become less frequent.
Worst point/efficiency output by Harden 2013
11/7 DEN 15pts on 33%fg (5-7 ft)
11/9 MEM 18pts on 22%fg (9-10 ft)
11/19 UT 6 pts on 17%fg (3-3 ft)
11/28 OK 17pts on 19%fg (9-11 ft)
12/4 LAL 15pts on 16%fg (9-11 ft)
1/16 DAL 20pts on 22%fg (9-12 ft)
1/18 IND 17pts on 26%fg (4-5 ft)
1/19 MIN 18pts on 28%fg (8-10 ft)
3/8 GSW 20pts on 18%fg (11-14 ft)
3/29 MEM 7pts on 33%fg (0-0 ft) (26 mins)
4/5 DEN 14pts on 20%fg (10-10 ft)
Total # Games w/ sub 40%fg: 28
Total # Games w/ sub 30%fg: 13
Total # Games w/ sub 20%fg: 4The 28 games of sub 40% is what concerns me. That is 37% of the total # of games that he is shooting badly. As has been mentioned, given that his defense is bad in roughly 100% of the games he is putting quite a burden on the team. Add to this his 3/2 assist to turnover ratio (roughly 6 assists to 4 to's) and it paints a very interesting picture.
The only reason his averages work out so well is that the pendulum swings equally far in the other direction--he has many games with excellent offensive numbers. He might have to take over Bill Simmons' nickname for Tony Allen....back when he played for Boston, Simmons dubbed him Tony "Trick or Treat" Allen for his wildly inconsistent play on offense. You just never knew who was going to show up....I feel this way about Harden. I am optimistic, although cautiously concerned, that he will get it together over the Summer. For now, we live with the reality that roughly 4 out of 10 games Harden is going to stink it up. More consistency is paramount to his, and the Rockets', future success.
I agree with this he lives and dies with the FT's and he is either hot or cold. He is still young so consistency should improve each year.
Fine line since we always said Lin had to be more aggressive. He's being more aggressive now, and for the most part, it has worked! Yes, he should know when to be aggressive and when to set up, but I mean, one step at a time. I'd rather he be aggressive than the tentative version of himself earlier this season.
while the ref's clearly needed glasses......we had our chance to win. the mark of good teams is overcoming the ref's and still getting the job done. we are still trying to figure that part out as a team. I expect as we gain this playoff experience, this will be one of our biggest gains....how to overcome the moments in a game when sh^t happens
Oh yeah I've seen a lot articles that have mentioned how Lin is actually a very clutch player, and he tends to warm up in the 4th or as the game goes on. He thrives on big moments, setting aside the airball 3 pointer vs. the Heat :P
This would seem to make sense. His entire game thrives off of emotion.
I bet Morey's got binders on the refs.
Agree that Harden is reluctant to adjust--something I imagine they will work on this Summer.
He should also look at who the refs are for that evening. Pretty easy to find info on which ones tend to abuse their whistles, and which tend to swallow them. I even saw it on some article a few weeks back.
Itseems like the refs are punishing him for being so good at getting the contact sometimes. Maybe Harden should go to the floater more when the refs aren't calling the hits, or just stopping and pulling up from 8 feet.
I have been watching Harden's numbers throughout the year and posted a couple of times before regarding his efficiency (outside of free throws). It concerns me a bit, but for now I am willing to let it go as this is his first year being "the man". He needs to work out this mess over the Summer, stop relying on the whistles, and play as if he isn't going to get the foul. I have said it before, referees will give you the benefit of the doubt if you prove that you will make the shot most of the time; however, when you prove to be an inconsistent scorer that is just looking for a bailout, that whistle goes away. Here are Harden's stats from this season and given the time of year (playoff time) and his performance up to date it isn't surprising that the whistles have become less frequent.
Worst point/efficiency output by Harden 2013
11/7 DEN 15pts on 33%fg (5-7 ft)
11/9 MEM 18pts on 22%fg (9-10 ft)
11/19 UT 6 pts on 17%fg (3-3 ft)
11/28 OK 17pts on 19%fg (9-11 ft)
12/4 LAL 15pts on 16%fg (9-11 ft)
1/16 DAL 20pts on 22%fg (9-12 ft)
1/18 IND 17pts on 26%fg (4-5 ft)
1/19 MIN 18pts on 28%fg (8-10 ft)
3/8 GSW 20pts on 18%fg (11-14 ft)
3/29 MEM 7pts on 33%fg (0-0 ft) (26 mins)
4/5 DEN 14pts on 20%fg (10-10 ft)
Total # Games w/ sub 40%fg: 28
Total # Games w/ sub 30%fg: 13
Total # Games w/ sub 20%fg: 4
The 28 games of sub 40% is what concerns me. That is 37% of the total # of games that he is shooting badly. As has been mentioned, given that his defense is bad in roughly 100% of the games he is putting quite a burden on the team. Add to this his 3/2 assist to turnover ratio (roughly 6 assists to 4 to's) and it paints a very interesting picture.
The only reason his averages work out so well is that the pendulum swings equally far in the other direction--he has many games with excellent offensive numbers. He might have to take over Bill Simmons' nickname for Tony Allen....back when he played for Boston, Simmons dubbed him Tony "Trick or Treat" Allen for his wildly inconsistent play on offense. You just never knew who was going to show up....I feel this way about Harden. I am optimistic, although cautiously concerned, that he will get it together over the Summer. For now, we live with the reality that roughly 4 out of 10 games Harden is going to stink it up. More consistency is paramount to his, and the Rockets', future success.
Oh yeah I've seen a lot articles that have mentioned how Lin is actually a very clutch player, and he tends to warm up in the 4th or as the game goes on. He thrives on big moments, setting aside the airball 3 pointer vs. the Heat :P
Found an interesting stat on the last 2 minutes of the game.
Harden Clutch time effective:
Harden: 25.7% FG%. 18.2% 3FG% harden is 9 for 35
Lin: 77.8% FG%. 75% 3FG% Lin is 7 for 9 .
Agreed. I am hoping for one of two things from McHale and the team. Either:
A) Use other players as options because it is getting predictable. If Harden is cold on shooting for most of the night, and someone else is landing shots, why not draw up a play that throws the defense off? Have Harden drive and kick it out to an open shooter who is expecting it at least?
OR
B) Use Harden toalways take the final shot, but then draw up some play that is a bit more than give ball to Harden, iso, work his magic. Again, for me, the PHX game ender was even worse. Imagine if Jermaine did not do an unbelievably dumb mistake and we then lost in OT. Would we have clinched a playoff spot by now? hahaha pressure on w/ only 3 games left...
Lin and Co. have said many times that in the last team huddle, they just say, give the ball to Harden! And that's it (usually in winning game post-interviews). I always assumed he was joking, or half joking. Now I am not so sure...lol.
I have mixed feelings about that play. Harden is one of the best hero ball guys in the league, even better than Kobe and Joe Johnson according to Synergy Sports. Not to mention he got a really wide open shot, that shot would normally go in 8 times out of 10, Harden just got unlucky. For a second there I thought "hey Harden's doing what Jordan did in the 1998 finals!" and then he missed :(
I will give McHale a little flack on the last few minutes of the game. Too much Harden hero-ball. You have time outs to avoid that obvious scenario. Same thing happened for PHX. That last play was atrocious. Jermaine O'Neal bailed us out hard...
I think everyone on here knows Harden's obvious weakness. His defense is terribad, and definitely something he needs to work on. He often seems disinterested. One thing SDrake is right about though is we on red94 don't tend to talk about Harden TOs that much. His shooting percentage is very bad too...I forget who put it this way, but I think this was the best way of looking at it: KD or whoever looks to make the shot and then try to draw the foul; Harden looks to draw the foul and then try to make the shot. I see that quite often from him now...and so if refs swallow the whistle, it really hurts us. I think he needs to get back to trying to focus more on making good shots than hoping the whistle bails him out (rightly or wrongly).
I agree to much hero-ball.......the goal should be to get the team a good shot......not harden exclusively
In last two games, Lin brought back games to tie. In PHX game, his two pt shots and 2 FT tied the game. In game with Grizz, his 3pt, a great assist, and another 3pt made the tie. So he might have what is take to do in last play.
I am not advocating to use Lin for a final play. But I think Harden, Lin, (even Parsons) should be used as options. Let them take the last shot whoever had an open shot (better drive).
I agree. especially when Harden had a really poor shooting night and hasn't made a field goal in 4th. Harden should be the nr 1, 2 and 3 choice, but sometimes you should use Lin or Parsons or pass it to one of our many 3 p shooters for an open look. Because most team would double Harden there. I prefer him driving to the basket than taking a 3 or long 2.
In last two games, Lin brought back games to tie. In PHX game, his two pt shots and 2 FT tied the game. In game with Grizz, his 3pt, a great assist, and another 3pt made the tie. So he might have what is take to do in last play.
I am not advocating to use Lin for a final play. But I think Harden, Lin, (even Parsons) should be used as options. Let them take the last shot whoever had an open shot (better drive).
I will give McHale a little flack on the last few minutes of the game. Too much Harden hero-ball. You have time outs to avoid that obvious scenario. Same thing happened for PHX. That last play was atrocious. Jermaine O'Neal bailed us out hard...
I think everyone on here knows Harden's obvious weakness. His defense is terribad, and definitely something he needs to work on. He often seems disinterested. One thing SDrake is right about though is we on red94 don't tend to talk about Harden TOs that much. His shooting percentage is very bad too...I forget who put it this way, but I think this was the best way of looking at it: KD or whoever looks to make the shot and then try to draw the foul; Harden looks to draw the foul and then try to make the shot. I see that quite often from him now...and so if refs swallow the whistle, it really hurts us. I think he needs to get back to trying to focus more on making good shots than hoping the whistle bails him out (rightly or wrongly).
McHale must find better play when we are down in 91-92 situation. Harden's shooting % is not very good. He can't do what Kobe, Melo, and Lebron do. Harden's bread and butter is drive and layup/draw-foul. I am not blaming for using Harden. He is the best player on the team and sound decision to use him. But we need a better plan though.
Yep, I thought it was a moral victory too. We played great defense, we were extremely tough and gritty in the second half where Memphis scored only 33 points. We just need to learn how to come out in the 1st half the same way, be the ones to push first instead of waiting to be pushed then push back. Nice guys finish last.
I'm not sure why most people here didn't notice that Lin also played the whole 2nd half. He looked gassed on those possesions when he turned the ball over in fastbreaks. He did make those 3s though. I don't really disagree with the decision by Mchale on most of the calls tonight,
I just hoped that we wouldn't have to use all those minutes on our backcourt with playoffs looming. We see what could happen with Kobe, could happen to us, but we are not fighting for a playoff spot.
The only other thing I would criticize is that we didn't go 2 for 1 with 33 seconds to go trying to get a shot off in 3-5 sec on the inbound, so we didn't need to foul, luckily the Grizzs missed the FTs so we had another shot at it. Harden had an open 2 on the last possesion sometimes they fall and sometimes they won't.
Its a morale victory that our defence was great in the 2nd half and that we will need that in the playoffs.
I'm not usually one to blame the refs on a loss, but I felt that they were absolutely horrible down the stretch and Harden in particular got robbed of a few calls. There was that charge on Bayless where Bayless was never set and awkwardly falling down before Harden even touched him, and another occasion where Randolph clearly hit him on the arm during a lay-up attempt. I thought Harden was just as good in that 4th quarter as he was in the first half when he was full of energy and only scored 10 points, he simply missed a few 3's (can't make them all right?) and the refs missed a few calls. That was the first time I have ever seen him that mad at the refs, but I wasn't surprised because he had every right to be that mad.
Lin's defense tonight was great too,there was one sequence wherehe shut down Prince in the post and on the next possession forced a shot clock violation on Conley.
Another triumph for Jeremy Lin, post defense king! :D
ST
Lin's defense tonight was great too,there was one sequence wherehe shut down Prince in the post and on the next possession forced a shot clock violation on Conley.
Exactly. What did you think I thought the reason was?
Probably the same thing. Or that a DEN matchup was more risk, more reward.
Exactly. What did you think I thought the reason was?
Yeah but right now everyone in that locker room isn't talking about how badly they want to beat OKC, they're talking about how badly they want to beat the Nuggets. You could say they're more mentally and emotionally prepared for Denver.
Sure, but that could be because they know they're more likely to face DEN than OKC. And got swept in the season by DEN.
Ultimate high risk, high reward scenario haha. Well, I guess greater risk, greater reward is to play OKC :P
Yeah but right now everyone in that locker room isn't talking about how badly they want to beat OKC, they're talking about how badly they want to beat the Nuggets. You could say they're more mentally and emotionally prepared/psyched for Denver.
@phaketrash
playing Denver ......even if we get thumped helps us imo. sure it's gonna hurt at first, but that's when you find out what we are made of. if one series lost drops our confidence then we had no business being here in the first place. playoffs are earned...nothing can take that away. we are young ....chances we get out of the first round 15% imo. no matter who we play. while the spurs won't last many more years as presently constructed the nuggets are here to stay for awhile. best we man up right now and face and embrace the challenge.
True, a few extra games of playoff experience could be huge. But at the same time I think getting whooped by Denver is something our guys never got over, and I think that our guys want to beat them so bad that those strong emotions could make us play at a higher level than we would against San Antonio.
Ultimate high risk, high reward scenario haha. Well, I guess greater risk, greater reward is to play OKC :P
True, a few extra games of playoff experience could be huge. But at the same time I think getting whooped by Denver is something our guys never got over, and I think that our guys want to beat them so bad that those strong emotions could make us play at a higher level than we would against San Antonio.
I agree..........playing the one team that has spanked us each time this season is the best way to learn what is necessary to battle this time of year
True, but I feel they can learn just as much playing against the Spurs, while having a better chance of moving on. You never want to be stomped so hard you don't even know what lesson to take away from it! If we get swept by DEN, I think it hurts our team confidence more than anything we learn from it. Playing SAS, we can steal a few games AT LEAST, and they are seen as a championship caliber team, so we can build confidence, learn, and have a better chance of moving on.
After listening to the things McHale said and and a podcast that talked about how our guys see the Nuggets as a challenge and want to face that challenge, I'm actually hoping we win this game. Even if it seems stupid to want to face our kryptonite, you gotta admire the mind-set of our team.
I agree..........playing the one team that has spanked us each time this season is the best way to learn what is necessary to battle this time of year
After listening to the things McHale said and and a podcast that talked about how our guys see the Nuggets as a challenge and want to face that challenge, I'm actually hoping we win this game. Even if it seems stupid to want to face our kryptonite, you gotta admire the mind-set of our team.
Hope we win, though I have mixed feelings. We win, we all but secure a matchup against DEN, which I want to aviod. If we lose, we lose and that sucks, but an ailing SAS is probably better for us to play than DEN -- OKC is half a game ahead of SAS, and has a much easier schedule remaining compared to the Spurs'...so I expect Spurs to finish 2nd in the conference. If it were OKC vs. DEN for us to choose, then I choose DEN haha (although as I have stated many times, playing OKC would be hecka fun to watch!).