The Rockets Daily – November 18, 2013

All I Do Is Lin – Jeremy Lin is making New York want him back. First it’s netw3rk over at Grantland pining for him.

In the Linsanity period, he seemed to be going as hard as possible all the time, every minute, so that, by the third and fourth quarters, he looked like a wrung-out wash rag, mouth gaping, face pink with exertion. Now he can pick spots, go full bore for a few sequences, then dial it back and still remain effective. He’s a better player now. A player the Knicks could’ve used.

Then it’s Stephen A. Smith going on the radio (and thanks to a reader, Knickabokkaz, for posting this link in the forums) to talk about how far Lin has progressed, saying that he is a couple seasons ahead of schedule. Yes, he is.

If I Ever Get Out Of Here – Marc Stein goes into some detail about Omer Asik’s desperate desire to get out of his situation in Houston. The most dire (but not entirely surprising) thing Stein reports is that Asik’s absence from the lineup on Saturday was due to an emotional, not physical, malaise.

Sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com that Asik was challenged by coaches and teammates this week for not being “engaged” in the wake of the lineup change, which took effect when Asik was moved to the bench for Wednesday’s game in Philadelphia. And he hasn’t played since the challenge, logging zero minutes Thursday night in New York while in uniform and not even dressing against the Nuggets.

Word of advice to Omer: since you’ve made your feelings known to the team, you can increase your trade value (and the speed with which the team can find a trade partner) by showing you’re a pro who will show up to play despite less-than-perfect circumstances. Make teams want to give Daryl Morey an offer he can’t refuse.

On the other hand, Asik’s defensive talent is so well-known based on last year’s production, that maybe Asik’s moping doesn’t do that much to his trade value at all. Kelly Dwyer at Ball Don’t Lie delves into both sides of the Asik-trade-value equation:

The deals will be there. And if Harden and Howard get their personal acts together, the Rockets will continue to pile up wins even with Asik working in and out of the rotation. Houston’s front office needs data, and time, and they don’t need to cater to the (understandable) whims of Asik and his agent. They need to figure out what’s best for their team, and then go about trying to negotiate to add what’s best for their team.

Statcheck- At 2.8 miles per game, Chandler Parsons to top NBA.com’s new tracking data for distance covered.

Also, Dwight Howard continues to lead in rebounding. As I pointed out in my Sunday column on Dwight, the new rebounding numbers can be interpreted a couple of different ways. Among prolific rebounders, the Contested Rebound percentage seems to favor guys like Roy Hibbert, Enes Kanter and our own Omer Asik, who have the size and strength to grab the ball out of the crowd, often by holding off an opponent with one hand and securing the ball with the other. Howard rates surprisingly low by this metric.

On the other hand, you have players who through hustle, positioning, and anticipation (and probably team pace) generate a lot of rebounding opportunities per game. It’s no surprise that Kevin Love, Dwight Howard, Derrick Favors and Nikola Vucevic top this list, although Spencer Hawes’s placement seems flukey, and I would have expected to see Kenneth Faried ranked higher. These numbers will continue to fascinate as the season continues and sample sizes increase.

Got any sweet links or suggestions? Email them to jeby901@gmail.com or message @EbyNews on Twitter.

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Total comments: 9
  • timetodienow1234567 says 3 months ago I just ignore them.
  • Buckko says 3 months ago

    I bet Lin makes fun of Lin fans. I know I would if I had such people worshipping me. Seriously I like Lin but for all those "extreme" Lin fans get out please. This website is pretty clean and we would like to keep it that way.

  • thenit says 3 months ago Just to clarify Lin is one of my favourite players just because he seems to be a great down to earth guy, and I liked his story and root for him. I like his style and him and parsons are my fav players in the rockets team, and I thought the statement was just way off
  • thenit says 3 months ago

    I have reasons to believe that Jeremy want to be out of the Rockets as much as Asik. What has kept him productive is his work ethics and good nature. Many of us think he should ask to be traded long ago.
    How many of us can stand people telling you that what you did achieve was a fluke while evidence telling us the otherwise. How many of us can stand the whole starting line up jumping on you from time to time and eventually removed you from there. Jeremy this season has shown signs of recovering to Linsanity level before injury and better. While recovering, he was dissed as often as comedians on stage.
    Asik couldn't love Rockets. Lin couldn't either. So everyone from the team tried to convince players it's all because of money, fame and that constitute professionalism. That couldn't be much motivation. I'm rest assured that Lin will leave the Rockets at the first opportunity no matter how much the Rockets offered, money or fame.
    He just won't give up the chance of coming up to Houston and whip the Rockets telling them how wrong they had been in treating players who has taken the team to the first playoff for so many years. Yes, the time would come. Cut him once. It isn't Lin's fault. Being dissed for more than a year from all sides while recovering from a serious operation is not what a player can stand. You coaches has kept on telling you, "Forget it. You aren't that good What's ahead of Asik and Lin is the most intriguing part of the story?


    Sorry that's just false. Nothing further needs to be said. Fans and other say stuff pro and anti Lin, but the rockets team has been good to him. Parsons is a good friend as well as bev. He gets along with all of his teammates. I know you are a Lin fan but this just isn't credible to even speculate
  • thejohnnygold says 3 months ago

    You know, I just realized something. LOF's are actually more obsessed with defending him and living vicariously through how they perceive his life to be than just watching the dude play basketball. That's a little odd to me.

    I mean, where is everyone getting their information from? All I see is that one of our PG's is playing well. Apparently, there is a lot more to it then that....or is there? :unsure:

    Sorry, but some of these posts are unbelievably biased and, to be honest, are closer to fictional projections than anything else.

    "I have reasons to believe"....Oh really? Do ya now... :lol: I mean, we can't even take 10 seconds to focus on the positive without circling the wagons, screaming persecution, painting Jeremy Lin as the ultimate martyr, and predicting his ascension to basketball-virtuoso-supremo-rockstar-superhero-legendary-god-mode-avatar-of-all-that-is-and-ever-will-be-who-is-also-the-humblest-most-noble-man-to-ever-grace-the-Earth.

    Seriously, in a thousand years anthropologists are going to find all of this LOF scripture and be forced to presume that he was some kind of prophet. Combine that with the Lord of the Rings stuff and this is how people are going to view our society in hindsight...

    jeremy-lin-god2a.jpg

    Look, I'm all for being a fan and supporting your favorite players. I just think that turning our Rockets forum into a Lin tabloid/soap opera is not productive in any way. In the meantime, I will leave you all with this quote from Jeremy--which can be taken as you like:

    "I'm not working hard and practicing day in and day out so that I can please other people. My audience is God."

  • myjohnlai says 3 months ago

    I have reasons to believe that Jeremy want to be out of the Rockets as much as Asik. What has kept him productive is his work ethics and good nature. Many of us think he should ask to be traded long ago.

    How many of us can stand people telling you that what you did achieve was a fluke while evidence telling us the otherwise. How many of us can stand the whole starting line up jumping on you from time to time and eventually removed you from there. Jeremy this season has shown signs of recovering to Linsanity level before injury and better. While recovering, he was dissed as often as comedians on stage.

    Asik couldn't love Rockets. Lin couldn't either. So everyone from the team tried to convince players it's all because of money, fame and that constitute professionalism. That couldn't be much motivation. I'm rest assured that Lin will leave the Rockets at the first opportunity no matter how much the Rockets offered, money or fame.

    He just won't give up the chance of coming up to Houston and whip the Rockets telling them how wrong they had been in treating players who has taken the team to the first playoff for so many years. Yes, the time would come. Cut him once. It isn't Lin's fault. Being dissed for more than a year from all sides while recovering from a serious operation is not what a player can stand. You coaches has kept on telling you, "Forget it. You aren't that good!"

    What's ahead of Asik and Lin is the most intriguing part of the story?

  • rockets best fan says 3 months ago

    good stuff Jeby :) there is no doubt Lin is opening some eyes.......mind included. while I'm not ready yet to go with the red carpet treatment I must admit he has been impressive thus far. as for Asik......I don't believe this pouting really hurts his value. GM's around the league know what he is capable of and there is nothing wrong with a player wanting to play. the pouting is just a minor bump in the road. any team acquiring him likely wants him to become their starting center hence problem solved. actually I'm upset with Asik for the distraction he has caused, but in a way it's a blessing for the Rockets. it forces us to trade him now while his value is at it's peak.

  • Cooper says 3 months ago Isiah Thomas wasn't exactly a front office wizard or great coach.
  • rm90025 says 3 months ago

    All of this hand-wringing by the New York sports media (including Stephen A. Smith!!!, the mouthpiece of Carmelo Anthony during the Linsanity period in NY) will help boost Lin's value in free agency. He's actually a cheap investment because he can play 2 positions well. I thought Isaiah Thomas' assessment of Lin and Harden was the most thoughtful I've seen. He really does think that offensively, they are very effective and can be one of the NBA's best backcourts if they improve defensively. What struck me is that Isaiah seemed to view their partnership as the key to Houston's ability to become an elite NBA team, not Harden-Howard. However, the Houston coaching staff has tried to suppress the Harden-Lin partnership, even when it showed a lot of promise for stretches last year. Moving to the second unit is helping Lin grow more quickly because he is attacking as soon as he steps on the court. But that only begs the question: at what point does Houston come to the realization that you need both guards on the court at the same time to beat elite teams? Also, even though Isaiah was an established star before Dumars came on-board, it seemed that Isaiah recognized Dumars' talent and went out of his way to cultivate that relationship. I don't see James Harden doing that with Lin.