54 replies to this topic

[phaketrash]

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. 

 

Well, I don't think McHale not liking Lin necessarily has to be due to some other reason OTHER than a bad first impression. Lin did start horribly and McHale maybe did dislike playing him because of it -- they're not mutually exclusive. Observing the end result doesn't always suggest the impetus has to be a specific, certain thing.

 

Interesting thing I noticed though, is that since March, Lin has actually been playing fewer minutes per game (30 vs. 32) than the earlier part of the season. Not suggesting a reason why that is, but simply pointing that out.

[Richards]

Lin is better now than his Linsanity era. TO are way down, defense is better. Even thought he did not put up more points. his shooting % is better.

All players has their own strength and weaknesses. I absolutely agreed with most that Lin is better when he is aggressive. We need him now that other teams will double up on Harden. No matter how good Harden is, he cannot play 48min with max energy. Harden need help. He alone cannot win games.

 

Harden will still be first option at scoring and leading the team. But Lin must handle ball more. We have seen many time that it not only help Lin, Harden benefited too. 

 

Another thing is we should do less ISO with Harden. I do understand going ISO with Harden during waning seconds to get a basket. That should be only situation we should do ISO. My problem with ISO was, Harden at top of the key, Parsons and Lin are deep in the corner to stretch the field, it is all good if Harden hit either long jumper or drove and layup or drew foul. But if he missed and others got rebound, our guys in the corner cannot get back in transition, as a result, an easy basket for other team

[PKM]

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.

Were you actually around at the beginning of that season?  Because if you were, you would have had understood why we did not keep Lin.

 

Houston clearly liked Lin, as they tried desperately to dump Flynn on anyone and waited until the absolute last minute to cut Lin.  But they already had 3 point guards with guaranteed contracts, and no big men at all - we had Thabeet, Scola, and Hill as our only bigs in our first game against Orlando( Patterson had undergone foot surgery), and Thabeet was so bad that McHale benched him even then.  So we had to sign Dalembert, but had to cut someone to get him, and Lin was the unfortunate choice because he was the only non-guaranteed contract.  Now, if Houston had known how good he really was, we probably would have just ate Flynn's salary and cut him instead, but obviously no one knew at the time - not even New York, who came very close to cutting Lin themselves before all their point guards were injured.

[Mason Khamvilay]

You can find Harden's iso vs PnR numbers at www.mysynergysports.com

 

After looking at those iso vs PnR numbers I came to not hate Harden isos as much as I used to. Before someone misinterprets me please let me explain why:

 

Harden gets to the line alot more in iso situations. I think getting to the line has intangible benefits (getting the opposing players/team in foul trouble). Also, I remember Lebron being pretty questionable in iso situations for his first few years in the league, Today Lebron is the second best iso player in the league, he scores on 50% of his isos. So in other words--practice makes perfect.

[timetodienow1234567]

Lin is earning EVERY cent of that 5 million dollars. Or I guess 8 million, depending on how you look at it. But he'll be traded at the end of next year. He'll be an expiring contract with a 15 million price tag. He's also a good player. But his expiring price tag of that much will let us eat somebody else's bad contracts along with high firsts or a star that wants out/team doesn't want to pay for(a la Harden). If he was expiring next year with a 15 million price tag, we could get Boozer/1st/young guys for him. That 15 million expiring price tag is a huge trade chip. The only way he stays is if he makes the all-star game next year. Which is probably given how close he came this year and the increased level of play recently.

[Richards]

It is very well known that Alexander wants Lin. It make very sense business-wise since he can fill Yao Ming role to attract Asians fan and marketing appeals. As an organization it worth to pay 5/8 mil.That is why I don't think Rockets will trade Lin as long as he is usable  as sixth man or big role player.

[timetodienow1234567]

True. I think he'll turn into an all-star either next year or the year after. I'm just saying that if he doesn't, he's a huge trading chip. Expiring contracts of that magnitude allows teams to dump a bad contract or maybe even 2 bad contracts. If the Rockets were to get some HIGH draft picks or stars that want out for taking on those bad contracts, I think Morey pulls the trigger if Alexander's willing to pay the tax.

[Forrest Walker]

One thing I think we tend to overlook is that Lin isn't just a solid starting PG, he also seems to be a fantastic locker room guy. He gives Battier-like answers to basketball questions, he's willing to play a frankly insane style that bangs him up constantly, and he seems happy to work within the coaching plans, even if that plan involves him being benched at times. I'd bet that if you could get some of the Rockets staff off the record, they'd tell you that his attitude and work ethic are a huge part of why they pursued him. That stuff's valuable.

 

I'm glad that things are finally starting to gel. I think he has the potential to be an alternate version of Westbrook: a point guard who just destroys any semblance of order or reason in the defense. Harden doesn't seem to want to take more than 20-25ish shots per game, and that's about right. Let Lin take a bunch of the load so that Harden can put, uh... some energy into the defensive end.

[Richards]

By reading and listening what teammates, Rocket announcers, and reports said and wrote, Lin is a wonderful teammate. Watch all those interviews he gave, a very well spoken young man and always praise about teammates and coaches. Not sure reporters pursue him or team put him out there. He gave more interviews than coaches and teammate and still able to handle them with class. 

[phaketrash]

TTDN, you said Lin could be an expiring, did you mean after next season? I guess he could be a valuable $8M expiring, assuming we'd even want to part with him, but that's not THAT large of an expiring contract.

[timetodienow1234567]

I said as a hypothetical. He's expiring at the end of the season after next. I'm not sure if he's traded at the 15 million mark or the 8 million mark. Not sure how that works.

[phaketrash]

I said as a hypothetical. He's expiring at the end of the season after next. I'm not sure if he's traded at the 15 million mark or the 8 million mark. Not sure how that works.

 

It's at the $8M mark, just like how it affects our cap (will similarly affect the other team's).

[phaketrash]

random aside: Congrats to Lin and Crimson basketball tonight! Yessssssssss....

 

[timetodienow1234567]

Okay then. Nevermind. But it all depends on how he plays. He'll stay if he continues to improve(which I think he will). If not, some team will take him.

[rockets best fan]

I know most of you are ready to crown lin the next star of the rockets. I am not. I have seen improvement, but there is still a long way to go. lin will never be a star (IMO), but can be a very good point guard if he continues to mature. while I would like an upgrade at that position there is nothing on the market(outside of cp3) that is worth pursuing. so I can be patient with him for now. i'm expecting a much better player next year because he really seems to get the fact (how much work is necessary to be a good PG in the nba) and he seems to be a really good locker room player. this off season will be very very important for him. he has a few flaws that need correcting. (IMO) its to early to crown him

[sli]

phaketrash, thank you for the chart. Interesting that the chart shows Lin better than only 7 other starting PGs in PER, but when paired with Harden, we don't terribly mind sticking with this backcourt. His low November and December PERs probably lower his to-date PER number.

[Mason Khamvilay]

They said Linsanity was a peek at what Lin's ceiling is, but I'm starting to think he can become even better than that. He has already so much better now as a shooter, a decision maker, a ball handler, and a defender. 

[PKM]

True. I think he'll turn into an all-star either next year or the year after. I'm just saying that if he doesn't, he's a huge trading chip. Expiring contracts of that magnitude allows teams to dump a bad contract or maybe even 2 bad contracts. If the Rockets were to get some HIGH draft picks or stars that want out for taking on those bad contracts, I think Morey pulls the trigger if Alexander's willing to pay the tax.

I've definitely been pleasantly surprised by Lin, but the only way he's legitimately making the All-Star game any time soon is if Kobe or Paul fall off a cliff with age/injuries.  Kobe/Paul/Westbrook/Harden/Curry/Parker are all far superior to Lin, no shame to him.

[Richards]

We can't say for sure that Lin will or won't become all star.

"All star" is voted by fans. Some may deserve a bit more than other. This is a subjective.

[phaketrash]

As for PER and his shooting percentages, they are SEVERELY deflated by his starting months performances. Those were REALLY poor. His performance post-all star break is much, much higher. Like different player higher.

 

I don't think Lin will be a superstar, but like Asik, I am fairly confident that he will be much more valuable than the $8M he costs us in cap space every yr. I think like Parsons and even Asik, he will be a tough position to upgrade.