Re: Jeremy Lin has been turned into Derek Fisher
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:46 pm
If I was to critique Lin's game right now, (which I really shouldn't because it's only been a half dozen games) but for the sake of this thread, I would say that he's not playing with the same chip on his shoulder as he was last year. I noticed right away even in preseason that he seemed a bit complacent, with the attitude that he has little to prove. That's not a good sign when you see vets like Tony Parker and Tim Duncan outhustling him in preseason. This could be his way of deflecting a lot of the pressures put on him but at the same time its carrying over into the regular season as well. It could also be that he's recovering from surgery.
When Harden was signed and took the reigns this took even more pressure off of Lin to the point where he's losing significance on running the offense. To his credit, his other areas of play have noticeably improved such as his defense, steals, passing especially in transition, and less TOs. I think the reason why he's getting some flack right now as well is because the Rockets need someone to step up when Harden is not on his game and Lin is the guy they naturally look to next based on his contract and expectations put on him. Whether this is fair is subjective.
I believe that the coaches haven't figured out the optimal roles of the backcourt between Lin and Harden yet. I'm not sure what the real solution is because Harden is the 80M man, but hopefully they'll be able to find a balance over time that maximizes the efficiency of both players. I'm not going to jump into conclusions at this point to say this or that player sucks. This team is not the Lakers where they need to win this year, there's more time for the Rockets to sort themselves out so I'm not too worried.
When Harden was signed and took the reigns this took even more pressure off of Lin to the point where he's losing significance on running the offense. To his credit, his other areas of play have noticeably improved such as his defense, steals, passing especially in transition, and less TOs. I think the reason why he's getting some flack right now as well is because the Rockets need someone to step up when Harden is not on his game and Lin is the guy they naturally look to next based on his contract and expectations put on him. Whether this is fair is subjective.
I believe that the coaches haven't figured out the optimal roles of the backcourt between Lin and Harden yet. I'm not sure what the real solution is because Harden is the 80M man, but hopefully they'll be able to find a balance over time that maximizes the efficiency of both players. I'm not going to jump into conclusions at this point to say this or that player sucks. This team is not the Lakers where they need to win this year, there's more time for the Rockets to sort themselves out so I'm not too worried.