"Linning" at The Great Wall Of China Town 2/8/12 7pm NBATV

[llcc25]

Oh and about Lin, he played against the Wizards tonight, who play the worst p&r defense I have ever seen.

Simply, Lin is thriving because of the system he plays in, but once the scouting report is out on him, and Stat and Melo come back, I think the production and the hype will die down tremendously. Lin has flaws in his game, teams didn`t cut him for no reason at all. They will start to show soon, and once they do, he will be lumped into the same category Rubio is in now.

Agreed 100%. I think D'Antoni's system is perfect for a guy like Lin. Having the right system and the right players fitting into that system means a world of difference. There is a reason he got cut by GS. Its not like he just figured out how to play 3 games away.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

RealGM. The only place where a guy puts up 29 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 rebound and one turnover on 12/21 shooting and is indicted based on the performance. You guys are F****** ridiculous.

Lin was great. He is playing great right now, and it is a good story, and I am rooting for him. He put up 23 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, and 2 turnovers on 9/14 shooting. Great game. I'd love to have Lin on the Wizards, but if you guys think NY wouldn't trade Lin, picks and players for Wall, you're smoking.

LOL at the people that think Lin is better than Wall. Wall would be able to dominate every game too if we ran the PNR as much as the Knicks.

Wall would average 40 a night against the Wizards, playing for D'Antoni.

If the Knicks traded Lin and multiple picks for Wall it would be the best trade the Wizards could make. Lin is going to do what he does for many years. He's going to keep on Linning. Lin and multiple picks for Wall would be great for the Wizards.

theboomking, Wall could have had 40 yesterday and the Wizards would still lose to the guys who play team ball and just systematically pick opponents apart. Lin played Wall well in summer league. Lin played Wall again yesterday, and Wall also got whatever he wanted. I don't know what Wall could do with better teammates, but I do see Lin has led his team to 3 straight wins. Wall has started over 100 games now. Lin has only started 3. If the league figures him out, I think he will also figure the league out.

Jeremy is a Harvard economics graduate who really wants to use his basketball as a platform for other things. He's basketball's Tim Tebow, only Lin doesn't have a lot of weakness to his actual game. I think Lin will be very successful for a long, long time because his style of play works.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Oh and about Lin, he played against the Wizards tonight, who play the worst p&r defense I have ever seen.

Simply, Lin is thriving because of the system he plays in, but once the scouting report is out on him, and Stat and Melo come back, I think the production and the hype will die down tremendously. Lin has flaws in his game, teams didn`t cut him for no reason at all. They will start to show soon, and once they do, he will be lumped into the same category Rubio is in now.

Agreed 100%. I think D'Antoni's system is perfect for a guy like Lin. Having the right system and the right players fitting into that system means a world of difference. There is a reason he got cut by GS. Its not like he just figured out how to play 3 games away.

GS having Monte Ellis, Seth Curry, and Keith Smart's preference last season for Acie Law at guard is why Lin got cut. They also had veteran Charlie Bell on their roster. There is no way Lin could outplay Monte Ellis and no way he could supplant Seth Curry.

IMO the reason Jeremy Lin got cut from GS is the same reason Ben Wallace couldn't sniff the court as a Wizard when Washington had Chris Webber and Juwan Howard. It is referred to as a numbers game. It wasn't a good spot to be in. Sometimes, coaches don't even give a guy a chance. Booker wouldn't have played ahead of Blatche if Flip stayed coach. Smart showed a bias by playing Acie Law 15 minutes a game ahead of Jeremy Lin, IMO.

[tontoz]

If Wall had any pg skills at all his team wouldn't shoot 2-17 from 3. Good pgs make the other players make open shots. Good pgs also make their teamates make the correct rotations on defense through the force of their will. And for crying out loud how did Wall let Tyson Chandler of all people score 25 points, the most he has scored since 2002?

I don't understand how people can't see that it is all Wall's fault.

[Benjammin]

I will be interested to see how Lin does over time. Generally guys like him do get figured out by the league fairly quickly and suddenly all of the initial excitement dies down and everyone forgets their grandiose pronouncements about that guy and they go on to the next flavor of the month.

You will strike out fairly quickly trying to find the next John Stockton/Steve Nash type guy. Once the league gets a book on a guy and they begin to give them more focus and attention we'll see just how excited everyone continues to be about Lin. Of course, I make these general pronouncements having only seen about four minutes of last night's game .

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Lin is right hand dominant. Make him go left will probably be the first thing teams try.

Teams are also going to throw double teams at him and probably try to make Lin pick up his dribble early. I have seen Lin turn it over more than a few times when he tries to make a diagonal pass in traffic.

At the same time, if the Knicks space the floor right and they keep playing Novak and Chandler, any undue attention paid to Lin is going to result in either an open look for Novak or a dunk for Chandler. Even Landry Fields has become very active looking for opportunities to cut because he knows Lin will give him a bounce pass at the basket while being closely guarded.

Benjammin, I don't think Lin is a flash in the pan, but it will be interesting to see how long Linning lasts.

[Higga]

If Wall had any pg skills at all his team wouldn't shoot 2-17 from 3. Good pgs make the other players make open shots. Good pgs also make their teamates make the correct rotations on defense through the force of their will. And for crying out loud how did Wall let Tyson Chandler of all people score 25 points, the most he has scored since 2002?

I don't understand how people can't see that it is all Wall's fault.

+1

Wall is not only supposed to dominate, he's also supposed to make all his teammates look like All-Stars AND shut down the opposing team's best player AND make sure his teammates don't screw up basic fundamentals. If he doesn't do all that he's a bust.

It's amazing how much scrutiny and criticism Wall gets here. Without him this team would contend for one of the worst teams in league history.

[llcc25]

RealGM. The only place where a guy puts up 29 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 rebound and one turnover on 12/21 shooting and is indicted based on the performance. You guys are F****** ridiculous.

Lin was great. He is playing great right now, and it is a good story, and I am rooting for him. He put up 23 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, and 2 turnovers on 9/14 shooting. Great game. I'd love to have Lin on the Wizards, but if you guys think NY wouldn't trade Lin, picks and players for Wall, you're smoking.

LOL at the people that think Lin is better than Wall. Wall would be able to dominate every game too if we ran the PNR as much as the Knicks.

Wall would average 40 a night against the Wizards, playing for D'Antoni.

If the Knicks traded Lin and multiple picks for Wall it would be the best trade the Wizards could make. Lin is going to do what he does for many years. He's going to keep on Linning. Lin and multiple picks for Wall would be great for the Wizards.

theboomking, Wall could have had 40 yesterday and the Wizards would still lose to the guys who play team ball and just systematically pick opponents apart. Lin played Wall well in summer league. Lin played Wall again yesterday, and Wall also got whatever he wanted. I don't know what Wall could do with better teammates, but I do see Lin has led his team to 3 straight wins. Wall has started over 100 games now. Lin has only started 3. If the league figures him out, I think he will also figure the league out.

Jeremy is a Harvard economics graduate who really wants to use his basketball as a platform for other things. He's basketball's Tim Tebow, only Lin doesn't have a lot of weakness to his actual game. I think Lin will be very successful for a long, long time because his style of play works.

CCJ, Thats crazy talk. LIn on Wizards team yesterday doesn't get the assists nor the easy points yesteday. Our SG's were combined 5 for 21 last night. We got little production from our SFs and C position both from offesnive and defensive standpoint. If he's so good, why didn't get get any traction in GS, a team that lacks a true pg? And keep in mind that the past 3 victories (UTAH< NJ, and WIz) were against 3 teams in the bottom 3rd in the league in defense. Wait til they face a good defenesive team that can properly defend the pick n roll. Then, LIn's weaknesses will be really highlighted.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Wall can't win for losing with some of the posters on this board. Did he have some bad defensive breakdowns against Lin? Yes. But he is far and away the reason we lost this game, and once again it seemed like him and Book are the only players that came to play, yet he gets the brunt of the bit*hin' and moaning.

I agree with the poster about McGee, this dude is just a complete enigma and has played like and absolute push over (literally and figuratively) as of late. I can live with him getting abused by a much beefier Howard at this point in his career, but being completely dominated by guys like Chandler, Amir Johnson and DeAndre Jordan in completely unacceptable. All three of those guys are decent to good players, that are capable of having big nights (namely Chandler and Jordan), but there is no reason he shouldn't be able to play them close to a wash. But I guess who can deny it at this point, he's got absolute zero basketball IQ. It sucks because if we end up trading him, it will probably give him the punch in the gut he needs, he'll wise up, gain some more mass and probably be quite a good player. So is life as a Wizards fan.

At this point the season is pretty much loss record wise so I'll have to look at development and personal is how I'll enjoy watching this team. I still think its important to win games, I feel players need to learn how to win no matter how bad the record is.

At the moment Wall and Booker are the the lone Zards I can look at and feel are real pieces to this teams future. Mack, Vesely and Singleton can certainly get there as well and have had some bright spots during their rookie campaigns, but each has quite some growing to do. Young, Blatche and Lewis are players that almost certainly need to be jettisoned. Seraphin could still be a keeper, but he does play like a football player often. Evans and Mason are what they are, roster fillers. Turiaf is a player I wouldn't mind keeping around as a fifth big. Lastly I think of Crawford. While he can drive you absolutely insane, I think each team need a player like him. He can get hot and he could be the perfect "Vinny Johnson" player for us. When he's playing bad glue his butt to the bench, when he's hot take the reigns off. He's also a decent passer when he decides to get others involved, rare I know, but still the case.

[Nivek]

Wizards now at 5 consecutive games with a defensive rating (pts allowed per possession x 100) of 110 or higher.

[llcc25]

just throwing this out there and just roll with me for a second...

for last night's game, if we had a guy egordon at SG, batum or even budinger at SF, and Pekovic at C, is the outcome any different? IMO, instead of losing by 14, we would've won by atleast that much.

[Ruzious]

Now Wittman has to look at the man in the mirror.

Does he? Or should he look at the man upstairs (and I'm not talking about the Lawd)? The Wizards have been bad, really bad, or horrible defensively for Grunfeld's entire tenure. Ernie has failed to acquire players with either the requisite smarts or desire to play good NBA defense. From the "good old" days of Arenas and Jamison to McGee, Blatche, Young, Pecherov, Seraphin, et al, Ernie has ostensibly ignored defense or doesn't understand what makes a credible defensive player. For years in press conferences he's talked about "versatility" -- Miller, Foye, Vesely, Booker, etc -- and our personnel's ability to play and guard multiple spots on the floor. What good is being bad at multiple things?

Both - he should look at EG, but Wittman is the guy that said he can do better than Flip - saying otherwise he would have quit. And he's said that over and over again... and over again. Well, their defensive rotations have actually gotten worse, imo - and that's hard to do. Wittman basically said - I'm better than Flip. Well, I'm waiting for signs that he can back that up, and I haven't seen them.

[TGW]

Dat2U spittin that hot fiya in his last 2 posts...do your thing man.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

If the Knicks traded Lin and multiple picks for Wall it would be the best trade the Wizards could make. Lin is going to do what he does for many years. He's going to keep on Linning. Lin and multiple picks for Wall would be great for the Wizards.

theboomking, Wall could have had 40 yesterday and the Wizards would still lose to the guys who play team ball and just systematically pick opponents apart. Lin played Wall well in summer league. Lin played Wall again yesterday, and Wall also got whatever he wanted. I don't know what Wall could do with better teammates, but I do see Lin has led his team to 3 straight wins. Wall has started over 100 games now. Lin has only started 3. If the league figures him out, I think he will also figure the league out.

Jeremy is a Harvard economics graduate who really wants to use his basketball as a platform for other things. He's basketball's Tim Tebow, only Lin doesn't have a lot of weakness to his actual game. I think Lin will be very successful for a long, long time because his style of play works.

CCJ, Thats crazy talk. LIn on Wizards team yesterday doesn't get the assists nor the easy points yesteday. Our SG's were combined 5 for 21 last night. We got little production from our SFs and C position both from offesnive and defensive standpoint. If he's so good, why didn't get get any traction in GS, a team that lacks a true pg? And keep in mind that the past 3 victories (UTAH< NJ, and WIz) were against 3 teams in the bottom 3rd in the league in defense. Wait til they face a good defenesive team that can properly defend the pick n roll. Then, LIn's weaknesses will be really highlighted.

Lin doesn't get any assists on the Wizards is crazy IMO. The reason the Wizards go 5 for 21 is every thing they get is one-on-one. The reason the SFs and Cs contribute very little is they don't usually get the ball where they can score. Vesely finishes well but he cannot shoot. Booker can finish and he can score on the block, but whatever he gets he generally has to do it himself one on one.

If he's so good why didn't he play at GS? See above.

Wait til NY faces a good defensive team? I watched them beat Utah. Millsap, Favors, CJ Miles, Josh Howard got beat. Jeremy Lin took Earl Watson's lunch money. Time and again he did whatever he wanted to Watson.

Jeremy Watson is good, llcc25. He has some things in his game that John Wall does not have. Foremost, is his style gets teammates involved. Lin really does understand pace of the game and when to score vs when to distribute. He doesn't put his head down and go. He keeps his head on a swivel. No knock on Wall, because John Wall looked like a very dominating scorer yesterday and Wall CAN pass well.

I will accept Wall is turning the corner, and coming into his own. Looks that way. But i don't think he's a better PG than Jeremy Lin. Wall is more talented but right now Lin knows how to get it done. The people at GS are paying Monte a ton of cheddar. I watched Ellis and GS vs OKC play IMO the best NBA game I've seen this season. It was beyond fantastic. Durant and Westbrook got them at the end.

Lin isn't high octane, but he is Nash-like. It comes down to personal preference. Who is better? Prime Steve Nash, MVP, or Prime Derrick Rose, MVP?

[Illuminaire]

CCJ,

I've been casually noting down times when Wall generates a wide open look for a teammate, either by driving, running a play, or in transition, and they miss the shot.

The Wiz are averaging just under five bricked gimmes a game over the last ten contests. Maybe Lin did a better job setting up teammates last night, but he's not dealing with a crew that consistently fails to capitalize on his setup jobs.

[Illuminaire]

Lin isn't high octane, but he is Nash-like. It comes down to personal preference. Who is better? Prime Steve Nash, MVP, or Prime Derrick Rose, MVP?

Now that is a great question.

I think you can win it all with either of them. I think they lend themselves to a different kind of playing style, but both can (and have) led great teams. Just because Wall is more of a Rose than a Nash doesn't diminish him as a PG in my eyes. It just makes him a different kind of PG, not a less effective one.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

just throwing this out there and just roll with me for a second...

for last night's game, if we had a guy egordon at SG, batum or even budinger at SF, and Pekovic at C, is the outcome any different? IMO, instead of losing by 14, we would've won by atleast that much.

If you had those guys in Wizard unis we would be posting about Wall having exacted revenge on Jeremy Lin. Okay, so it is not really about Lin vs Wall, totally.

Hey, why don't the Wizards get a GM who can find those type players, llcc25?

Pekovic and Rubio are guys a GM that used to be a laughing stock has on his roster. Ruz reminded me that the Wizards could have had Lawson as well from that deal gone bad. Their GM did well in that one.

The Wizards can hire the same guy who drafted Batum, however.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

BTW I recall posting that Steve Novak is a guy the Wizards should look at as a FA.

The thing is, there are many guys out there who could help. The Wizards need shooting? Look in the D League. Has Blake Ahearn missed a FT? What is Mo Almond's FG% with high points? I posted about Donal Sloan a couple days ago, and the Hawks signed him yesterday.

In the D League thread we've mentioned who might help. The problem is the Wizards like the guys on their roster, apparently. Nobody's gonna get waived and there will be no help up front for McGee.

With all the problems defending PNR, why do they have Hamady N'Diaye even on the roster? He was Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He's a better defensive option than McGee at this point.

Sorry for the rant, but the Wizards can become, even if slightly, more competitive. They can acquire more talented role players.

[llcc25]

Lin doesn't get any assists on the Wizards is crazy IMO. The reason the Wizards go 5 for 21 is every thing they get is one-on-one. The reason the SFs and Cs contribute very little is they don't usually get the ball where they can score. Vesely finishes well but he cannot shoot. Booker can finish and he can score on the block, but whatever he gets he generally has to do it himself one on one.

Wait til NY faces a good defensive team? I watched them beat Utah. Millsap, Favors, CJ Miles, Josh Howard got beat. Jeremy Lin took Earl Watson's lunch money. Time and again he did whatever he wanted to Watson.

Jeremy Watson is good, llcc25. He has some things in his game that John Wall does not have. Foremost, is his style gets teammates involved. Lin really does understand pace of the game and when to score vs when to distribute. He doesn't put his head down and go. He keeps his head on a swivel. No knock on Wall, because John Wall looked like a very dominating scorer yesterday and Wall CAN pass well.

Lin isn't high octane, but he is Nash-like. It comes down to personal preference. Who is better? Prime Steve Nash, MVP, or Prime Derrick Rose, MVP?

CCJ, i never said Lin wouldn't get any assists. I said he wouldn't have gotten the assists or easy baskets that he did yesterday. As to getting guys balls where they can score. They're were several times in 1st half where he gave our guys wide open looks but they just bricked it. ANd to blame this soley on Wall is crazy b/c the movement of the team in the half court set, setting proper screens, ball movement, etc., is not all on Wall. And say what you want about Utah but ststiscally they are still in bottom 3rd on defense so far this year.
I'll concur that Lin does some things at the PG position better than Wall but so does Wall the other way. You compare any 2 players and you can make the same argument. Its only been 3 games and if he continues this pace I'll give you props, but I don't think he maintains this level as good teams will adjust.

[dobrojim]

Every game, a random role player goes off on the Wizards. It's almost guaranteed. Novak hit 5 threes in a *half*.

this was entirely foreseeable considering our players
apparently failed to understand the scouting report that
they were almost certainly given. The only way Novak
can probably hurt you is if you cheat off him and
allow him to catch and shoot from behind the arc.
If we allow it once, I can live with that. But for him
to do the same thing 5 times is simply inexcusable.
You simply have to park someone on him, deny him
any catch and shoot opportunities. If that means the
other 4 defenders have to play 4 on 4, then they have
to play 4 on 4. Live with it. They let Novak be the
biggest difference maker in the game and it was
almost entirely avoidable. This happens A LOT to
us when it comes to defending one trick ponies
who can shoot 3s. As soon as he came in I started
yelling, don't leave Novak. Not loud enough apparently.