Can Rockets replicate the Linsanity offense?
Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 8:21 pm
And no, before the Mods lock, this is not a thread about Jeremy Lin, or at least not exclusively about him. Rather, I'd like to hear a discussion about the rest of the Houston roster and whether the Rockets have the pieces to recreate the type of offensive game that worked during Linsanity.
Obviously Lin was a major piece with his penetration. But there were other key elements.
Pick-and-Roll: Jeremy Lin is a master of the Pick-and-Roll http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/sport ... -roll.html
And he ran a lot of pick and rolls with Tyson Chandler and others. Asik is known for his defense but not as much for his offense. Does Asik possess sufficient pick-and-roll skills (or able to learn it) that he could work the Pick-and-Roll with Lin? And if not, what are the other pick-and-roll guys on the Rockets who can fill this role?
Shooters: Another key was that Lin was able to use his quick first step and penetration to force the defense to collapse. This collapse freed up perimeter shooters that Lin would then pass to for easy open 3's, most notably Novak. Do the Rockets have any good perimeter shooters who can benefit from this and recreate the same dynamic threat?
Cutters: Another thing that helped a lot was having cutters like Fields and others that cut to the basket at the right times to make easy shots and alley-oops from Lin. You need guys with good timing and who know when to cut. This was what made Lin's pick-and-rolls and penetration so deadly. He had a myriad of options. He could play pick-and-roll with Tyson Chandler, or penetrate and finish with contact, or hit the shooter or cutter once he forced the defense to collapse on him with his penetration. Do the Rockets have anyone who can cut well and provide Lin with this extra offensive option?
I'm not that familiar with all Rocket's roster. So what pieces do they have that are analogous? Lin went on his Linsanity streak with a bunch of players who were considered bench scrubs or offensively inept, but he was able to orchestrate them all into a team, facilitated mostly by the fact that he could create plays by penetrating and breaking down the defense to open opportunities for others. Do the Rockets have similar pieces that can be worked like this?
And obviously, if all else fails, he can iso, penetrate, and finish with contact and draw fouls.
Who on the Rockets roster can fill the roles of P'n'R partner for Lin, perimeter shooters to dish to, cutters to dish to? Or do you think the Rockets would need to do some modified format of this template because they don't have all these pieces?
Obviously Lin was a major piece with his penetration. But there were other key elements.
Pick-and-Roll: Jeremy Lin is a master of the Pick-and-Roll http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/sport ... -roll.html
And he ran a lot of pick and rolls with Tyson Chandler and others. Asik is known for his defense but not as much for his offense. Does Asik possess sufficient pick-and-roll skills (or able to learn it) that he could work the Pick-and-Roll with Lin? And if not, what are the other pick-and-roll guys on the Rockets who can fill this role?
Shooters: Another key was that Lin was able to use his quick first step and penetration to force the defense to collapse. This collapse freed up perimeter shooters that Lin would then pass to for easy open 3's, most notably Novak. Do the Rockets have any good perimeter shooters who can benefit from this and recreate the same dynamic threat?
Cutters: Another thing that helped a lot was having cutters like Fields and others that cut to the basket at the right times to make easy shots and alley-oops from Lin. You need guys with good timing and who know when to cut. This was what made Lin's pick-and-rolls and penetration so deadly. He had a myriad of options. He could play pick-and-roll with Tyson Chandler, or penetrate and finish with contact, or hit the shooter or cutter once he forced the defense to collapse on him with his penetration. Do the Rockets have anyone who can cut well and provide Lin with this extra offensive option?
I'm not that familiar with all Rocket's roster. So what pieces do they have that are analogous? Lin went on his Linsanity streak with a bunch of players who were considered bench scrubs or offensively inept, but he was able to orchestrate them all into a team, facilitated mostly by the fact that he could create plays by penetrating and breaking down the defense to open opportunities for others. Do the Rockets have similar pieces that can be worked like this?
And obviously, if all else fails, he can iso, penetrate, and finish with contact and draw fouls.
Who on the Rockets roster can fill the roles of P'n'R partner for Lin, perimeter shooters to dish to, cutters to dish to? Or do you think the Rockets would need to do some modified format of this template because they don't have all these pieces?