With Jeremy Lin there are supporters who think that he is a greater point guard than Magic or Nash if only given a chance. Then there are detractors who think that he does not belong in the league. So I decide to look at the starting point guards in the NBA and decide where Lin fits in.
First I will admit that I am a Lin fan although I think Linsanity was a fluke and cannot be repeated. I do believe that he is not in a situation where he can possibly flourish. Houston's offense is run by Harden who holds the ball for 10 seconds and then either drive, put up a 3 pointer or passes with only a few seconds left. Lin is standing by the corner and is not involved most of the time and then is expected to hit a 3 with seconds left while in no rhythm. Look, all NBA players especially point guards, are good players. But no point guard can play well if his quickness and passing ability are not utilized. While Harden has won games with his individual skills, he also has lost them by not playing team ball. The Rockets actually have a higher win percentage without him this season, although it is a small sample.
There are some guards that I think has about the same ability as Lin but are given the control of their teams' offense and thus have better stats. John Walls was a former #1 draft choice the same year Lin came out. From the first summer league on Lin has outplayed Walls. But given the starting job in Washington and confidence of his coaches, Walls has become an all star this season. I think Lin can do the same given the same situation. Goran Dragic is even better than Walls this season. Dragic has a better shot than Lin but he is not as fast and I believe worse on defense. Dragic has been in the league longer and was learning from Nash when he came into the league. So I think if Lin was in the same offense as Dragic in Phoenix in a year or so, he can be just as effective.
The point guards that are better than Lin are Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook and a healthy Derrick Rose. Also Kyrie Irving and Damien Lillard, given their young age, will be better than Lin even in the future. I would say that I would not take Deron Williams and Rondo over Lin because I think they are on the down sides of their career. There are several others that I can see where someone would argue they are better than Lin under any circumstance. I would only say those players maybe better than Lin but to me it is not definite.
So the bottom line: I hope Lin gets traded to a system where he can run the pick and roll like D' Antonio did in NY. Houston, despite having Howard, rarely give Lin a chance to run the pick and roll. He will never flourish under McHale's system. But if he goes to the right system, even if we don't get Linsanity 2, Lin can be an upper echelon NBA player.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
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I will admit that I haven't seen much of Lin this year. I heard he has been splitting time with another guard who they like down there.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad that he can't find a system that he fits in. Is it possible that he could be a shooting guard or is he not a consistent shooter?
I don't know if you can call Linsanity a fluke. Though I see why you would say that. He just hasn't had a chance to play in the same system and same players as he did. I wonder how thing would have been different had Carmello never come back and they kept the rest of the team intact.
But I guess you can argue that the elite players excel whatever the situation and place is.
To me, Jeremy has not done so. I really don't know where to place him as far as with the rest of the point guards in the league. But I'd say middle of the pack or below is fair.
If he plays like 70% of what he showed in NY, then I'd put him in the upper half.
-LBOAYM
Pat Beverley was given the starting job by McHale because he thinks that Beverley is a better defender. To me he just looks like he is pestering his opponent but I don't think he is much more effective than Lin as a defender. In the beginning Beverley was terrible offensively. Lin averages more points and assists despite less minutes. Now having the confidence being the starter throughout the season he is playing better offensively while Lin, being pulled whenever he does not start well, is not playing as well as he did in the beginning. Remember the night Lin had over thirty points when Harden was out? McHale had to depend on Lin that night because Beverley cannot get thirty if nobody was guarding him. But as soon as Harden came back, Lin was back on the bench and Beverley gets more minutes.
ReplyDeleteBy fluke I mean that if Lin plays another 10 years he cannot duplicate those 7 games at the height of Linsanity. Thirty eight against Kobe on national tv followed by a 3 pointer to beat Toronto for the win? This comes after he was one game from being out of the league? Those are Hollywood stories.
I agree that elite players should be able to excel under any circumstance, eventually. Unless you are Lebron or Kobe, you don't get the chance to show what you can do right away. Remember the joke about who can stop Jordan? It was Dean Smith. So unless the coach gives the system you can thrive on, it can be difficult even for the best. Steve Nash's points/assists during his third and fourth seasons were: 7.9/5.5, 8.6/4.9. These stats are worse than Lin's in his third and now fourth season. Once Nash got to control the ball and pass to Nowitzki, he started to thrive. But it was not till a few years later when he played under D'Antonio's system with Amare on the pick and roll that Nash became MVP. So hopefully Lin will find the right system for him soon.
I personally think that he would fit in with the Pistons. Detroit has no true point guard and they have a very good center you could do the pick and roll with.
ReplyDeleteI was a little perplexed that the Pistons did not draft Trey Burke who I think would have been great in Detroit. He thrived in college with a big man to pass to and can drive to the basket.
Not drafting Burke may have been a fatal mistake by Dumars. Now with Joe being gone and probably a new coach coming in, the Pistons will be starting from scratch.
I can only imagine that Drummond will be the only player they will try to keep and build the team around him.
I was shocked to hear that the singer was voted off DWTS. I figured that he would have an advantage with all the followers, plus the girl from Full House had the worst scores from last week. I didn't think she would have a bigger following than the singer.
-LBOAYM
I agree that Lin would be a good fit with the Pistons if the new coach plays pick and roll. Lin would be a big upgrade over Jennings. Besides Drummond, isn't Monroe also a good young player? I am not sure about Trey Burke yet. He has very good stats for a rookie but he plays for a very poor team where Gordon Heywood is the best player. So they are willing to let a rookie take charge. It is like the Lakers whose point guards are all injured so they brought in a guy from the D league and he gets a double double right away. But of course the team still keeps losing. So we have to see if Burke can lead the team to more victories next season. But you are right that the Pistons should have drafted Burke and try to develop him.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting the way Houston plays. When Harden is not running things, they try to pass into the post to Howard. Since they pay Howard big money I can see why they do that. But Howard is not a good post player despite being in the league for several years and is being tutored by McHale and Olajuwon. He should be used in the pick and roll with his athleticism. Olajuwon even said that pick and roll with Lin and Howard would be deadly. Funny thing, when Houston had Yao they ran the pick and roll with him until they realized that he is too slow and is much better posting up. Dah! What were they thinking? Have you ever seen Shaq run the pick and roll?
That was a shocker with DWTS. But then shockers have happened almost every season. I guess young girls are not as good at voting as forty something men! Can the Red Wings surprise in the playoffs?
The Rockets signed Josh Powell recently. Powell played in the just finished Chinese basketball Association season. He is a forward who was the second best player on his Chinese team. The best player was Yi Jilian, the former NBA player who has not been offered a contract in the NBA for two years. Why would the Rockets take the second best player and not the best? Jason Collins finished the season with the Nets despite way over the hill. Why sin' Yi getting a second chance over inferior big men?
ReplyDelete