PHILADELPHIA — No one, least of all Jeremy Lin, would be so presumptuous to call it a last laugh. But it is fair to say that Lin has earned, at the expense of his former team and its impetuous owner, a well-timed chortle.
Ever the spiritual man, Lin, reflecting on what now appears to be a prosperous relocation from New York to Houston, said, “I do believe God has the perfect plan.” As it turns out, the fast-track building strategy hatched a couple of years ago by Daryl Morey, the Rockets’ general manager, was not so bad, either.
Two nights after scoring 31 points off the bench, Lin started and rang up 34 points and 12 assists, but he and the Rockets, without James Harden, wilted late and dropped a 123-117 overtime decision to the 76ers on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center. Next stop: Madison Square Garden on Thursday night for an appointment with the Knicks.
With Lin as Houston’s premier offensive threat Wednesday, the Rockets looked like what they were supposed to be when the Knicks let him go as a free agent in the summer of 2012. Lin said that when he signed with Houston, he did not expect that Harden and Dwight Howard would be his teammates.
But Morey traded for Harden and lured the Kobe Bryant-averse Howard as a free agent, quickly giving Lin a better developmental environment than he would have had as the leading man — or, for that matter, as a Carmelo Anthony running mate with the soap opera that is the Knicks.
After the Knicks owner James L. Dolan refused to match Morey’s upgraded offer sheet, remember how Lin’s detractors in New York ridiculed him for consigning himself to be the counterfeit marquee player on a dreadful team?
“They’ve done a great job on this team of surrounding us with really good players,” he said. “It’s definitely an adjustment, but I’m just so thankful every day I get to play. Two years ago I was just trying to make it; 15th man didn’t matter to me just as long as I was on the team. I always try to take a step back from the journey and see the bigger picture.”
That was what Dolan and the Knicks claimed they were doing when they let a young asset and one of the most marketable players in team history wander off without getting so much as a draft pick in return.
Many critics, one of whom was named Carmelo, chanted the organization’s mantra that agreeing to a $25 million deal with a luxury-tax-burdensome $14.9 million balloon payment in its third and final year would have been Linsanity. But raise your hand if you think the Knicks could use an aggressive guard who is averaging 18.1 points on 54.2 percent shooting (51 percent on 3-pointers after making 9 of 15 against the 76ers) and 4.9 assists per game.
Averaging 34.3 minutes a game, Lin has a shooting percentage that is a shade better than Howard’s, and most of Howard’s points are scored with his hands fastened to the rim.
“When he plays with confidence, he’s amazing,” said Howard, who spent part of the summer working out with Lin in Colorado.
It is too early in the season to make too much of statistics or standings, and no one is about to anoint the 5-4 Rockets as N.B.A. champions. Their defense — Lin’s included — tends to be on the generous side. But they have youth, talent and upside, like Lin.
“I think he’s playing better right now for us than at any point last year,” Coach Kevin McHale said. “He’s attacking; he’s confident. He put a big summer of work in. His shot is better. He is better.”
Without Harden to lean on, Lin appeared to tire down the stretch and committed eight turnovers over all. “Normally, I relish the fourth quarter,” he said later. His statistical line was reminiscent of the Garden-variety Linsanity. But his turnovers were mostly errors of commission, the results of trying to do too much.
He is, of course, only 25 and learning his trade.
“This might sound crazy, but I still think it’s early for me in my development phase, or whatever you want to call it,” he said.
How did the Knicks make the shortsighted call on a player who had already succeeded way beyond what pro basketball sleuths could imagine for Lin at Harvard — and one who seemed like a good bet to continue working at his craft?
“I thought if any team knew what it had, it was going to be New York,” Morey said. “At the time, we had nobody on our roster with All-Star potential. We thought: ‘O.K., he’s not an All-Star, but he played like one for 30 games. So take a chance.’ ”
Had Dolan reasoned that Lin, as an Asian-American sensation, was probably worth $2 in commercial appeal for every $1 he was paid, Lin would still be trying to figure out how to play with Anthony.
Harden, like Anthony, is known to monopolize the ball. Hence McHale’s recent experimenting with Lin as a second-unit scorer playing first-unit minutes, until Harden sat with a minor foot injury Wednesday night.
“Me and James still play a lot together, but they still want me to be aggressive, the primary ball handler off the bench,” Lin said. “There’s still chemistry problems — not like problems, just things we’re trying to get better. No personality issues.”
Thanks to certain Garden personalities, one of the great New York basketball yarns took a wrong turn and wound up in Texas. Long-suffering and implausibly loyal Knicks fans were stiffed again after what felt like a rare homegrown happening at the Garden.
Understand that this has worked out better for Lin, who does not think his second return to New York should be a big deal in the context of who will be with him. Calling Harden and Howard “the faces of the franchise,” he added, “I’m hoping I’ll be a subplot.”
Chortle, chortle.
Rockets report: Lin on a tear upon return to New York
As Jeremy Lin returns to the scene of Linsanity, he brings a run he never had in those heady days.
Even with that monthlong burst with the New York Knicks, he never scored as much in a two-game stretch as he has the past two games. Nor did not score as much or shoot as well as he has this season.
With a 123-116 overtime loss to the 76ers following a narrow escape against Toronto in double OT, Lin also returns with little interest in celebrating.
Lin scored 34 points Wednesday in Philadelphia, giving him 65 over the last two games. Lin, who started with James Harden out with a bruised left foot, is averaging 18.1 points. His shooting (54.2 percent overall and 51.4 percent on 3-pointers) not only leads the Rockets but could be gratifying given the work Lin has put in to smooth his shot.
“Everybody works on their shot,” Lin said. “Obviously, I’ve been trying to get better at it. To be honest, it really dampens the mood if you don’t win the game.
“I’m just going to keep playing. This is my worst defensive game of the season, so I want to make sure the next game is my best defensive game of the season.”
Lin hopes to have the spotlight elsewhere.
“People have been asking, ‘Do you think it will be a big deal?’ ” Lin said of his return to New York. “I don’t think so. I think people are going to be more excited and there will be more attention around Dwight (Howard) and James. I’m hoping I will be a subplot.”
9记三分!林书豪填17年空白 霍里后火箭再无此飞刀
休斯顿火箭迎来背靠背的第一场，客场对阵费城76人。上一场表现神勇的林书豪[微博]，本场在詹姆斯[微博]-哈登缺席的情况下，再攀新高。全场，林书豪19投10中，其中三分球15投9中(出手数和命中数均创生涯新高)，罚球6投5中，得到34分12次助攻，2项也均为赛季新高。可惜，前三节神勇的他末节哑火，火箭末节崩盘，苦战一加时以117-123落败。
休斯顿火箭迎来背靠背的第一场，客场对阵费城76人。上一场表现神勇的林书豪[微博]，本场在詹姆斯[微博]-哈登缺席的情况下，再攀新高。全场，林书豪19投10中，其中三分球15投9中(出手数和命中数均创生涯新高)，罚球6投5中，得到34分12次助攻，2项也均为赛季新高。可惜，前三节神勇的他末节哑火，火箭末节崩盘，苦战一加时以117-123落败。
今夏林书豪的苦练在开局阶段收到成效。赛季迄今，他的三分球命中率从33.9%飙升到45.5%，在真实投篮命中率上，他在控卫中仅次于尼克斯老控卫巴勃罗-普里吉奥尼。上一场火箭主场双加时战胜猛龙，林书豪替补砍下赛季新高的31分，第二个加时他更命中关键投篮。
本场哈登因伤缺阵，林书豪首发出场。首节他三分球3投2中拿下8分。半场，他得到16分，和德怀特-霍华德并列全队最高，三分球也6投4中。
第三节林书豪火力不辍。11分19秒，他接钱德勒-帕森斯传球，命中个人本场第5个三分球。8分34秒，历史性的一刻到来，林书豪接霍华德传球，本场第6个三分球应声入网。凭借此球，林书豪成功刷新生涯单场三分球命中数纪录。此前的纪录是今年2月5日火箭战胜勇士的比赛中创下的(8投5中)。
好戏还在后头。7分05秒，林书豪三分线外再度出手，球应声落袋的同时，裁判哨响，埃文-特纳[微博]被判犯规，林书豪打中3+1！此球命中后，帕森斯一步上前，双腿横跨在倒地的林书豪上方，低头叉腰盯着他。场边西装革履的哈登也站起身鼓掌叫好，特纳则张开双臂，一脸不解。
当然，砍分的同时，他也没忘了“本职工作”。上一场战胜猛龙，林书豪全场零助攻，赛后，他表示更希望有朝一日全队4人单场助攻上双。本场，他首节就送出5次助攻，前三节助攻已达10次。
但林书豪并非无可指摘之处。全场，他失误高达8次，离生涯单场纪录仅差1次，仅下半场就有6次。末节，林书豪进攻势头不再，反而在防守端漏洞百出，詹姆斯-安德森面对旧主杀红了眼，常规时间结束前正是他的三分球，将比赛拖入加时，而防守此球的正是林书豪。
直到加时赛还剩1分51秒时，林书豪才再度命中三分球，成为本赛季继哈登、凯文-杜兰特[微博]和德马库斯-考辛斯[微博]后，第4位连续2场得分30+的球员。8.2秒，林书豪命中个人第9个三分球，追平罗伯特-霍里1996年2月创下的队史纪录。【买篮彩力挺书豪[投注:火箭PK尼克斯][充20送10元]】
只可惜这未能带来胜利。最终，末节崩盘的火箭加时落败，林书豪前后表现迥异，对失利有不可推卸的责任。但麦帅本场轮换(看似9人轮换，但阿西克和布鲁克斯[微博]分别仅打了4分钟)多少影响了球员体能，同样值得商榷，火箭由此失去了一场本该到手的胜利。(魑魅)
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