I took this footage on December 15, one of the last days of training camp. In the clip, Jeremy Lin, as a member of the Houston Rockets, makes things happen.
We were allowed in for the final twelve minutes of scrimmage, the last five during which Lin played. In these five minutes, there were twelve total plays. Jeremy Lin is directly involved in seven. In order, Lin helps out on Jonny Flynn, committing the foul, but preventing the drive; contests a Courtney Lee jumpshot, recovering to grab the board; tips in the loose ball; picks off an errant pass from Jonny Flynn; races full-court, earning himself two free-throws; takes a Courtney Lee jumper in the face; and smothers Jonny Flynn, preventing even a decent look. The clip contains only these seven plays. I have omitted the other five plays–those in which Jeremy Lin had no direct involvement–from the raw footage. Also note that Lin was not featured in any of the offensive plays and only had impact through his own opportunism.
It’s a limited sample size and we really have no idea what Lin did in the other dozens of hours he spent with the team. But in this sequence, you have to admit, Lin looks pretty good. He’s aware and active defensively, closing out strong on shooters and moving his feet to prevent dribble penetration. On offense, he forces the action, despite never getting the ball. But still, it’s hard to blame the Rockets for cutting him.
The clip shows Lin clearly outclassing the overpaid Flynn. (In fact, in the seven minutes precedent, Flynn looked even worse, proving his label as the worst point guard in basketball.) But did Lin show himself to be $3million better? On this team? I don’t know.
As is well known by now, the Rockets cut Jeremy Lin because they had 15 guaranteed contracts. Keeping him would have meant swallowing the $3million owed to the aforementioned Flynn. With Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic already on the team, the dollars just didn’t make sense.
Furthermore, what’s made Lin special in New York is his leadership and penchant to make the right pass; he’s a true floor general who really makes his teammates better. That wasn’t on display here. (I know, he didn’t get the chance – more on this later.) Even if the Rockets saw what we did above, it wouldn’t have been prudent to spend $3million (net) on what seemed like just a glue guy, especially when he would never have seen the floor.
The broader issue is of opportunity. Lin couldn’t show his playmaking in Houston because he didn’t get the chance. As I mentioned, in the cited scrimmage, he was never even passed the ball, much less given the reins to run point. Especially in a shortened season, coaches can’t run plays for third-stringers not expected to play; those few reps are divvied between the starters who need to get up to speed.
It begs an interesting question: how can a point guard dispel his past and prior labels? A big man or wing can show his rebounding or shooting in short minutes, without the ball. He can force his way into a role. But playmaking? A point guard must be handed the reins. There must already have been trust. Look at Kyle Lowry. As a former 1st round pick, I’m sure he got reps in practice with the Grizzlies, at least many more than did Lin. But would anyone have ever known he could run a team as efficiently as he has had he not been dealt to Houston by chance? It leads you to wonder. How many other capable ’1′s are out there that might never blossom? At least for point guards, perhaps the cream doesn’t necessarily always rise to the top.
