It's 3rd game of a young season, by a young team, and it was the first loss. OMG, the sky is falling, this team is doomed, coach has no clue, Harden is another Melo, all the other players can't shoot, Lin's future is diminished.
Calm down. What do you expect? As I said before, playoff teams need 2 consistent offensive forces, and contenders need 3 - meaning, players who can create for themselves, with effective go-to moves. What do Houston Rockets have? James Harden is obviously the number one offensive weapon, as his production has proven and his money has shown. Who's your second offensive weapon? Jeremy Lin? I am sure we all hope so. But is he? His 3 pointer is streaky at best, his mid-range jumpers are nowhere to see, and his once formidable drive and layup is now very inconsistent and he often cannot finish at the rim. Lin, in terms of offensive efficiency and threat, he's far away from the Linsanity height. So, at least for now, Lin is NOT a reliable No. 2 offensive option. There is simply no 2nd option within the young Rockets team.
85 points in 4 quarters plus overtime, at home, is not going to win you games in NBA. Asik can't finish at the rim, Parsons and Patterson are not supportive in offensive output, Harden is gassed and missing, Lin is gassed, missing, and hesitant. The way they played the game, it's not surprising they lost. To add salt to injury, LaMarcus Aldridge really showcased tonight why I always liked him, and Lillard was beasting.
But are there all negatives? Far from it. Actually I see tons of positives.
Asik is a rebounding machine. He can't finish, so what? When Chandler and Noah entered the league, they couldn't finish either. But they all played hard and played physical. Rodman couldn't finish even when he exited the league. You can't teach size, and you don't need to teach Asik to play hard. It was a great signing. Big guy can somewhat shoot but with a lot less rebounding efficiency will cost you at least 10-12 million. Over time, Asik can learn to dunk more and pass out more after offensive rebounds. I am not worried about him at all.
Harden is your allstar and max shooting guard. His performance last year and 3 games this season have already proved that. He likes to drive, a lot, that's how he goes to FT line that often. If you pay attention, you will see him showing the ball a lot with extended arms, which invites attempt to slap at it, but he also moves very quickly, whiling protecting the ball. So he got fouled a lot. Harden is very good with his off hand dribbling. He goes right and switch to left and go for layup, which is explosive and very efficient. Lin doesn't have that explosiveness after his surgery, that's why Lin's layups got blocked/altered a lot, nowadays.
Jeremy Lin had knee injury, and he is still recovering from that explosiveness and game form. But his defense has improved a lot, especially in PnR situations. One thing I don't like him today is that he gambled too much in the 2nd half, and helped too much. But those can be changed over the time. His vision is still there, just sometimes his legs are behind. His mental toughness is still the same, those 2 made layups at the end of 3rd and 4th quarters were both exciting and crucial. Too bad, he can't do it more often now.
Some people say James Harden is not clutch, I can only laugh. That dude killed Spurs in playoffs. As the 6th player on the team, that dude ranked 4th among ALL guards in made FTs in 4th quarter last season. He's more clutch than LeBron James. I am sure he would love to see someone, especially Lin step up to take some offensive load from him.
Trust me, he's NOT ignoring Lin, and McHale is NOT forcing Lin to give up the ball. Again, Lin is the PG, and he makes the first choice. If you watch the game, you would see plenty of times, Lin carried the ball over and kept dribbling at the top of the key, with 12 seconds left, he gave the ball up to James. What does that tell you? 1. He doesn't want to drive, whether he can't or chooses not to. 2. There is no open men or plays to be made. So, as in basketball, you need someone to create something out of nothing at that point. No, usually, the ball is not going back to Lin, the "floor general".
Some have made it sound too easy, that other players, especially Harden, don't let Lin organize offense. Rockets don't have enough offensive players. Period. Yes, players don't move enough, and that needs to be addressed, and it will be. It's still a young team. Also, if you are not going to knock down open shots, you won't be chased down even if you run non-stop. There is no post offense presence, so there is no inside-out play. There is no jump shooting bigs nor rolling bigs who can play effective PnR with Lin. If Lin has the explosiveness or jumpshot, he can certainly ask Asik to set picks for him, just like he did for Harden. But Lin has not regained the form yet.
If you are not regular basketball fans, I have 2 advises for you. 1. If you are going to be very upset over every loss, you need to root for a sure contender. Otherwise, your life is going to be miserable:) 2. After a loss, you don't always blame something or someone, if you really support a team or a player. There are losses, just because you are not good enough.
Houston Rockets, as of now, is a one-man offensive team. The faster Lin recovers his form, the better this team will become. Yes, they need to get a scoring big (wild dream of Aldridge:)), to provide some front court threat. Yes, they need to get some bench production, starting from PG position. But the top priority, is Jeremy's form, especially in offensive department. If you are not making your opponent honor your ability to drive, to shoot, they can simply keep you at bay and play the passing lane, so you won't have effective organization of offense. As we saw time and time again tonight, Lin kept dribbling for a few seconds, and gave up the ball to Harden. Remember Linsanity at its best? He flew by opponents at ease to finish, that's why defenders had to keep him enough distance, sometimes too much, just like the Toronto 3 pointer game winning shot. Chandler set hard pick for Lin and rolled to the basket to finish alley hoops. Now, Lin doesn't have that.
It's not coach, players, or even Harden, who don't let Lin direct traffic. But rather his opponents, or better to say, his own offensive form makes his defender's life easier to focus on stopping his play making.
Lin's success depends on himself, solely. He's the point guard, if he wants to, and if he can, he can make plays for himself and his teammates every single possession. Unlike Yao Ming, depends on entry passes and touches from others, Jeremy Lin decides his own fortune by determining what to do with his touches.
The sky is not falling. Lin is still recovering, and I believe he will. But he needs time, and blaming his teammates isn't going to help him. Undeserved attention or praise will only harm him.
Calm down. What do you expect? As I said before, playoff teams need 2 consistent offensive forces, and contenders need 3 - meaning, players who can create for themselves, with effective go-to moves. What do Houston Rockets have? James Harden is obviously the number one offensive weapon, as his production has proven and his money has shown. Who's your second offensive weapon? Jeremy Lin? I am sure we all hope so. But is he? His 3 pointer is streaky at best, his mid-range jumpers are nowhere to see, and his once formidable drive and layup is now very inconsistent and he often cannot finish at the rim. Lin, in terms of offensive efficiency and threat, he's far away from the Linsanity height. So, at least for now, Lin is NOT a reliable No. 2 offensive option. There is simply no 2nd option within the young Rockets team.
85 points in 4 quarters plus overtime, at home, is not going to win you games in NBA. Asik can't finish at the rim, Parsons and Patterson are not supportive in offensive output, Harden is gassed and missing, Lin is gassed, missing, and hesitant. The way they played the game, it's not surprising they lost. To add salt to injury, LaMarcus Aldridge really showcased tonight why I always liked him, and Lillard was beasting.
But are there all negatives? Far from it. Actually I see tons of positives.
Asik is a rebounding machine. He can't finish, so what? When Chandler and Noah entered the league, they couldn't finish either. But they all played hard and played physical. Rodman couldn't finish even when he exited the league. You can't teach size, and you don't need to teach Asik to play hard. It was a great signing. Big guy can somewhat shoot but with a lot less rebounding efficiency will cost you at least 10-12 million. Over time, Asik can learn to dunk more and pass out more after offensive rebounds. I am not worried about him at all.
Harden is your allstar and max shooting guard. His performance last year and 3 games this season have already proved that. He likes to drive, a lot, that's how he goes to FT line that often. If you pay attention, you will see him showing the ball a lot with extended arms, which invites attempt to slap at it, but he also moves very quickly, whiling protecting the ball. So he got fouled a lot. Harden is very good with his off hand dribbling. He goes right and switch to left and go for layup, which is explosive and very efficient. Lin doesn't have that explosiveness after his surgery, that's why Lin's layups got blocked/altered a lot, nowadays.
Jeremy Lin had knee injury, and he is still recovering from that explosiveness and game form. But his defense has improved a lot, especially in PnR situations. One thing I don't like him today is that he gambled too much in the 2nd half, and helped too much. But those can be changed over the time. His vision is still there, just sometimes his legs are behind. His mental toughness is still the same, those 2 made layups at the end of 3rd and 4th quarters were both exciting and crucial. Too bad, he can't do it more often now.
Some people say James Harden is not clutch, I can only laugh. That dude killed Spurs in playoffs. As the 6th player on the team, that dude ranked 4th among ALL guards in made FTs in 4th quarter last season. He's more clutch than LeBron James. I am sure he would love to see someone, especially Lin step up to take some offensive load from him.
Trust me, he's NOT ignoring Lin, and McHale is NOT forcing Lin to give up the ball. Again, Lin is the PG, and he makes the first choice. If you watch the game, you would see plenty of times, Lin carried the ball over and kept dribbling at the top of the key, with 12 seconds left, he gave the ball up to James. What does that tell you? 1. He doesn't want to drive, whether he can't or chooses not to. 2. There is no open men or plays to be made. So, as in basketball, you need someone to create something out of nothing at that point. No, usually, the ball is not going back to Lin, the "floor general".
Some have made it sound too easy, that other players, especially Harden, don't let Lin organize offense. Rockets don't have enough offensive players. Period. Yes, players don't move enough, and that needs to be addressed, and it will be. It's still a young team. Also, if you are not going to knock down open shots, you won't be chased down even if you run non-stop. There is no post offense presence, so there is no inside-out play. There is no jump shooting bigs nor rolling bigs who can play effective PnR with Lin. If Lin has the explosiveness or jumpshot, he can certainly ask Asik to set picks for him, just like he did for Harden. But Lin has not regained the form yet.
If you are not regular basketball fans, I have 2 advises for you. 1. If you are going to be very upset over every loss, you need to root for a sure contender. Otherwise, your life is going to be miserable:) 2. After a loss, you don't always blame something or someone, if you really support a team or a player. There are losses, just because you are not good enough.
Houston Rockets, as of now, is a one-man offensive team. The faster Lin recovers his form, the better this team will become. Yes, they need to get a scoring big (wild dream of Aldridge:)), to provide some front court threat. Yes, they need to get some bench production, starting from PG position. But the top priority, is Jeremy's form, especially in offensive department. If you are not making your opponent honor your ability to drive, to shoot, they can simply keep you at bay and play the passing lane, so you won't have effective organization of offense. As we saw time and time again tonight, Lin kept dribbling for a few seconds, and gave up the ball to Harden. Remember Linsanity at its best? He flew by opponents at ease to finish, that's why defenders had to keep him enough distance, sometimes too much, just like the Toronto 3 pointer game winning shot. Chandler set hard pick for Lin and rolled to the basket to finish alley hoops. Now, Lin doesn't have that.
It's not coach, players, or even Harden, who don't let Lin direct traffic. But rather his opponents, or better to say, his own offensive form makes his defender's life easier to focus on stopping his play making.
Lin's success depends on himself, solely. He's the point guard, if he wants to, and if he can, he can make plays for himself and his teammates every single possession. Unlike Yao Ming, depends on entry passes and touches from others, Jeremy Lin decides his own fortune by determining what to do with his touches.
The sky is not falling. Lin is still recovering, and I believe he will. But he needs time, and blaming his teammates isn't going to help him. Undeserved attention or praise will only harm him.
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