54 replies to this topic

[Rahat Huq]

In his last 30 games, has shot over 40% on 3's.  

 

He is looking so, so good of late.  

 

Last night, I couldn't believe my eyes when Harden was actually deferring to Lin in the 4th quarter.  That's all I've been begging for all year.  We seem to have come so far from the days when he'd regularly get benched for Toney freaking Douglas.  

 

This team is so dangerous when Lin is allowed to attack.  Yes, he makes mistakes.  Yes, he plays out of control.  But the good far outweighs the bad.  Let's hope he is given even more of the reins because I completely feel there are some aspects of the game in which he is elite - such as attacking the rim.  And the more Lin is doing, the more dangerous it makes Harden because Harden can play off the ball.

 

I had been saying that the Rockets made a mistake choosing Lin over Dragic.  But its looking now like they picked the right guy.  

 

Let's hope he can keep it up.  

[thejohnnygold]

I'm sitting here trying to think of another backcourt duo from another team I would rather have than Lin and Harden....not succeeding.

 

Deron Williams and Joe Johnson?  Nope.

 

Kobe and Nash?  Nope.

 

Lillard and Matthews.....maybe.

 

I am really excited about Lin's future.  He has been dropping some ridiculous stat lines with increasing frequency.  Raymond Felton....poor NYK's.

[Mason Khamvilay]

Lin has been spectacular, but keep in mind that teams are loading up so much on Harden these days that it makes things alot easier for Lin. Still, that's exactly what we want, Lin needs to make defenses pay for giving him these opportunities and he has exceeded my expectations in that regard. He has very active defensively too. My opinion of Lin has grown so much since the start of the season, I'm proud he's our pg. .  

[Sir Thursday]

I'm sitting here trying to think of another backcourt duo from another team I would rather have than Lin and Harden....not succeeding.

 

Deron Williams and Joe Johnson?  Nope.

 

Kobe and Nash?  Nope.

 

Lillard and Matthews.....maybe.

 

I am really excited about Lin's future.  He has been dropping some ridiculous stat lines with increasing frequency.  Raymond Felton....poor NYK's.

 

The benchmark for young and exciting backcourts for the last few seasons has been Golden State. Curry + Thompson is lethal, as our last game against them showed. I'd say Harden + Lin just shades them though.

 

Also, what about something like Chalmers + Wade or Westbrook + Sefalosha? Both are 'superstar + 1' combos, but they're pretty good ones...

 

And of course, who can forget these guys?

 

ST

[Mason Khamvilay]

It might be kinda fun to rank them. I'll start (warning: subject to bias):

 

1. Harden and Lin

[thejohnnygold]

How did I forget Curry and Thompson????

 

I like sefolosha...westbrook I would pass on.

 

Chalmers and wade is close, but I am weighing all of this within the context of age and contracts as well.  Wade, at this age, is not someone I would swap our backcourt for.  I would consider the lillard matthews combo and the curry thompson combo.  I am not a fan of the Ellis Jennings duo.

[Mason Khamvilay]

I agree, I'm not a fan of guys like Westbrook and Ellis who take too many long 2's and only make about 30% of those shots. Wade isn't a good shooter either but he seems to attack the basket alot more which is something I'm very fond of. 

[Cooper]

Wade is a pretty good shooter or at least tends to take less bad shots now with lebron. Think he's shooting well over 50%.

[Mario Peña]

This discussion might be better in a new thread since this is about Jeremy Lin specifically but I think both Irving/Waiters and Wall/Beal have outstanding potential going forward. I am glad they are both in the East.

With regards to Lin, he has exceeded my expectations and has found ways to compliment Harden effectively. Even if Lin becomes the primary vocal leader for this team he is intelligent enough to know Harden is the man and I believe there personalities probably compliment each other both on and off the court which bodes well for team cohesion and the future in general. I used to think that Lin would top out at being a sixth man for a contender but it was too early to make a judgement and I was mistaken. I now think that Lin could be a starting point guard for championship contender. Got to hand it to Morey again.

(One concern I have about Lin is the jump in minutes he has made from last year to this year and considering the pace the Rockets play I hope he holds up physically this last stretch of the season and the playoffs.)

[ale11]

Ellis might take too many long 2's but he is showing a great passer. Both of them can shoot. GS backcourt has proven to be excellent, so that would be the only two (in my opinion) that are equally dangerous in both PG and SG, something like "pick your poison".

[Mason Khamvilay]

Wade's fg% is not reflective of whether or not he's a good shooter, but it does seem that I am slightly mistaken. Despite shooting around 37% from 16-23feet for most his career, he is shooting a career best 43% from that range this season (the league average is 39%) so I guess we can say he's an above average shooter. Personally that's still a shot I'd like him to take though, he's far more efficient when he attacks the basket. 

[phaketrash]

Lin has made quite a jump since the beginning of the season...which is great for us! His minutes vs. the other starting PGs is 'aight'...I wonder if that will change next season or hold steady around 32?

 

[phaketrash]

Wade's fg% is not reflective of whether or not he's a good shooter, but it does seem that I am slightly mistaken. Despite shooting around 37% from 16-23feet for most his career, he is shooting a career best 43% from that range this season (the league average is 39%) so I guess we can say he's an above average shooter. Personally that's still a shot I'd like him to take though, he's far more efficient when he attacks the basket. 

 

Sadly, as Wade ages, he will probably attack the basket less and less. I am not too worried about his production, of course, since he's been transitioning very well this season to LBJ's super sidekick -- much better than what was happening at the end of last season.

[thejohnnygold]

I liked that chart Phaketrash....is there a way to change the parameters to after the all-star break?

 

Lin's minutes are a concern.  As FSS notes, he is playing a lot more than he is used to.  It looked like last night he sat the first half of the fourth quarter and then was able to come in and close the game strong.  (I was playing poker so didn't have my full attention on the game).  If that is what it takes to get the best out of him then let's do it!

[Mario Peña]

Here is something I posted in the topic "Why is Houston's defense still bad" in case anyone is interested and was curious about the jump in Lin's total minutes from last season to this season. This is through the Warriors game. I am not saying this is the most important factor in judging Lin's playing time or critiquing his game but it is a factor because that is a big jump.


player minute total this year through 67 games /last year total minutes

Rotation players:

Harden 2503/1946

Parsons 2395/1804

Lin 2177/940

Asik 2014/971

Smith 766/69

[manmythlegend]

On a somewhat related note, hammer, meet nailhead:

 

http://houston.cultu...-tebow-disdain/

[Mason Khamvilay]

Personally I feel that the whole "McHale doesn't like Lin" thing is overblown. Truth of the matter is that Lin played horribly to start the season and you know what they say about first impressions--they last. However that all seems to be changing now, Lin has been playing great and McHale's trust in Lin does seem to be growing. 

[manmythlegend]

Personally I feel that the whole "McHale doesn't like Lin" thing is overblown. Truth of the matter is that Lin played horribly to start the season and you know what they say about first impressions--they last. However that all seems to be changing now, Lin has been playing great and McHale's trust in Lin does seem to be growing. 

 

Overblown, perhaps, but there is a shred of truth to the notion. Let's not forget that Morey/McHale had Lin on the roster and cut him before the start of last season.  They both at some point didn't believe Lin was worth keeping around. I don't think it's a love/hate thing, but more that McHale does not believe Lin to be starter material.

 

It's unusual for a player to return to a team that cut him before the season started; it's even more unusual for the player to return to the team and annointed the starter by the same braintrust who made the call to cut him.  As far as McHale's trust growing with Lin, we are only a week or two removed from Lin's 4th quarter benching in two close games, so if the trust is growing, it's by millimeters not miles. 

 

If anything, Lin will succeed in spite of McHale, not because of him.

[phaketrash]

I liked that chart Phaketrash....is there a way to change the parameters to after the all-star break?

 

Lin's minutes are a concern.  As FSS notes, he is playing a lot more than he is used to.  It looked like last night he sat the first half of the fourth quarter and then was able to come in and close the game strong.  (I was playing poker so didn't have my full attention on the game).  If that is what it takes to get the best out of him then let's do it!

 

I didn't make the original chart, but was halfway through making one for games since March when I seemed unable to find all the necessary info, like PER based on just March games or something. :X

[Mario Peña]

That is a pretty realistic assessment of Lin 2016Champions and I agree. I don't buy the whole Lin is not treated well argument. If it was a problem there would be reports among the ESPN's and CBS's of the world and I don't give these fringe media outlets much serious consideration a all. What a tiresome Lin related topic to bring up so regularly.