7 Bold Predictions for Jeremy Lin's First Season with Houston Rockets
1. Lin Will Lead the League in Turnovers
2.Lin Will Struggle to Shoot 40 Percent from the Field
3.Lin Will Register Career Highs in Points and Assists
Despite the strong likelihood that Lin will shoot poorly and lead the league in turnovers, he’ll still improve on his career-best scoring and passing numbers from a year ago.
It might seem counterintuitive, but Lin will be on the floor (and have the basketball) so often that almost all of his counting stats are sure to spike.
For starters, Lin’s brief career has been marked by an extremely high usage rate. He was in the top five among point guards last year in that category, with a rating of 28.03. That means only four other point guards were responsible for more plays than Lin was. He’s used to dominating the ball, and the Rockets expect him to do just that.
In addition, Kevin McHale’s offensive scheme, which puts massive emphasis on ball-dominant point guards, resulted in career years for both Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic last season. Both of those gentlemen are on new teams this year.
Alone at the point, Lin is going to rack up buckets and assists by default. He’ll easily surpass his career highs.
4.Lin Will Lead the League in Steals
5.The Houston Rockets Will Be in the Mix for the No. 8 Playoff Spot in the West
6. Lin Will Struggle to Mesh with James Harden
There’s no question this is Harden’s team, which is a little bit of a problem for Lin.
You see, Harden is among the NBA’s most efficient offensive operators and he needs the basketball in his hands. Unfortunately, that means Lin’s going to have to play off the ball more than originally expected.
Put simply, Lin has virtually no offensive value when he doesn’t have the basketball.
As we’ve established, Lin is a poor shooter. So turning him into a spot-up option while Harden expertly runs the pick-and-roll isn’t a great strategy. Lin’s real value is as a penetrator and foul-drawer; he drew more fouls per minute than any other guard in the NBA last year because he was so good at getting himself into the lane.
He needs the basketball to do that.
It’s not necessarily a knock on Lin to say he won’t work well with Harden. Instead, it’s simply undeniable that Harden is a much better player than Lin who needs the ball just as much.
7.Lin Will Never Be What He Was During Linsanity
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