Rockets Signs Lin

[aznkillabeezZz]

You guys are missing the point. We had BOTH dragic and Lowry for seasons. They took the team the furthest they could. I'd much rather have LIN and Tor's Lottery pick than Lowry and Dragic. Plus dragic would take 8 per yr, and lowry 6 per. So we would be paying 14 million a year for non all star pg. Lowry and Dragic are borderline stars. They can't carry a team to playoffs as evident. IF they are as good as people say they are we'd make 8th seed at least.

[Zubby]

Technically we had Dragic for one season of games
And Lowry was are starter for one season of games.

At this rate Lin will be gone by 13' trade deadline...



The never ending revolving door of pg's

[aznkillabeezZz]

I remember i created a thread about Lin last season. Saying how the Rockets/ our scouts/ coaches messed up releasing him. i love how moofs and co love to be against my opinions but as the dust settles. Our management acknowledged that releasing Lin away to the Knicks, was the worst thing that they could have done. They were very apologetic to Lin, begged for his forgiveness so he'd sign an offersheet with us. And what made things worst was knicks grabbed at least 10 more wins led by LIn with the knicks. If we had kept Lin, Our knicks pick might have been lottery.

I am not sold on fat felton running the point for PG for the knicks. They will be atrocious. Kidd is good though but very very old.

[6_Rings]

Lin's contract with u guys is very reasonable for a starting pg. and ur picks look solid in summer league play.

hope u don't trade for Dwight cuz he's gonna be a huge distraction and bad influence on ur young guys.

i think Asik and Donatus can aptly cover the C spot and will be very good in a couple of years.

[College Boy]

Yeah, I'm actually looking forward to seeing this new young team we have. That way we can compete and tank at the same time. We need a top three pick (Shabazz, Nerlens, Zeller) next year!

[NBA Fan 1234]

I wrote this for my blog a few weeks ago while doing season evaluations for every Knicks player. Here is the one for Lin, if you guys are interested...



Now for the review that I’m sure many people have been waiting for: Jeremy Lin, aka NY’s ultimate needle in the haystack find. I’ve been looking forward to writing this review, and Melo’s (which will be up shortly), since I had this idea of making a blog. Anyways, here we go!

After going undrafted last year after a phenomenal senior season at Harvard, Jeremy Lin was picked up by the Golden State Warriors, a move that many thought was a move based purely on money. He spent his rookie season being an end of the bench player for the Warriors and playing for GS’s D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. He was then put on waivers by the Warriors and picked up by the Houston Rockets on December 12th, 2011. 15 days later, the NY Knicks claimed him and slowly but surely, “Linsanity” took off.

Even though he did not play much until February 4th, there were some Knicks fans that called for him to get minutes earlier – mainly due to Toney Douglas’ incompetence at the point guard position. It does not matter whose version you want to believe (Melo says he told D’Antoni to play Lin – D’Antoni does not recognize this view). The end result was that Linsanity happened and between February 4th, his first game with big minutes (against the Nets) and March 24th, the Knicks played some of their best basketball in years – the main reason why? For some unknown reason, the Knicks finally got some dumb luck and ended up with a starting caliber point guard.

Jeremy Lin showcased his talents during this stretch (specifically 2/4/11 to 2/19/11). He was running the pick and roll beautifully – hitting the right cutter at the right time; he was keeping his dribble alive (eerily similar to the way Steve Nash does) when he enters the paint; he hit the outside jumper (although he still needs some work there); and pretty much single-handedly beat the Lakers and hitting a game winner against the Raptors in the meantime. Watching the ball move freely on offense, with few isolation plays, was a thing of beauty. It was true “team basketball.” Even though his numbers dropped a good amount when Melo came back, in the 8 game stretch where the Knicks had a fully healthy team (7-1 record), Lin showed that he can blend with the rest of the Knicks. There was ball movement on offense, Lin was running the pick and roll nicely (including running it with Melo a few times), there were also some isolation players (but not an absurd amount). Jeremy Lin put new air in this Knicks franchise and, with a good starting point guard, Knicks fans started believing again.

Lin went out with a torn meniscus on March 26th and did not return for the rest of the season. Obviously, this was a HUGE blow to the Knicks because it left us without a starting-caliber point guard. While Linsanity was only about a month and a half long, it was the most fun I have ever had as a Knicks fan. *Random aside, I believe that the Knicks would have been able to take Miami 7 games (and possibly win) if they had a completely healthy team

Lin’s biggest strengths are running the pick and roll, keeping his dribble alive while roaming the paint and baseline, getting into the heart of the defense, drawing contact/getting to the FT line, quick first step, and decision making (his vision is solid, but not great/elite).

Even though Lin has some very important strengths for a point guard, he still has quite a bit to work on. Lin’s biggest problem this past year was turnovers. 3.6 turnovers per game is horrible, especially for a point guard. The silver lining here is that his turnovers are correctable. For the most part, his turnovers did not come due to bad decision making (aside from forcing the occasional pass to Amar’e in the paint). Instead, it came from him simply not being strong enough with the ball. Defenses would swipe at it and end up with steals because he needs to get stronger and his because his ability to dribble with his left hand is not as good as his ability with his right hand. In the offseason, Lin needs to work on his left hand dribbling and work on being stronger with the ball. If he is able to work on/correct this, his turnovers should decrease by 1+ per game.

Lin also needs to become a more consistent outside jump shooter. With defenses creating gameplans designed spefically to keep him out of the paint (one of Lin’s biggest strengths), Lin was forced to take more jumpers than he is used to. His shot is not poor by any means, but it needs to improve a lot if he wants to become a much better all around scorer. Improving his jumper will keep the defenses in its heals and it will make it harder for them to take away his drive.

Lin should also work on his lateral quickness. Even though he is not a poor defender by any means, he also should not be considered a very good one. I would say he’s above average – he has good anticipation when it comes to steals, but his quickness can still improve – this will help him stay in front of the elite/quick point guards.

For the year, he gets an “A-“ (/borderline “A”)

[jwise44]

I saw how leslie Alexander was saying how he thinks that Lin will attract big free agents, and I get what he is saying. how he is such a big story that we will get some televised games and be a national story all year. But I strongly disagree

In my opinion big stars would not want to come here and be the second biggest star even though they are clearly better and be caught up in all the Lin drama

I could see it attracting some second but mainly third tier stars that feel they dont get the respect they deserve nationally

But I couldn't see Dwight or Bynum or love or gordon thinking, man I want to play for the rockets! I can't wait to be the second biggest star to an inferior player and be caught in that media shiz storm

[Zubby]

I saw how leslie Alexander was saying how he thinks that Lin will attract big free agents, and I get what he is saying. how he is such a big story that we will get some televised games and be a national story all year. But I strongly disagree

In my opinion big stars would not want to come here and be the second biggest star even though they are clearly better and be caught up in all the Lin drama

I could see it attracting some second but mainly third tier stars that feel they dont get the respect they deserve nationally

But I couldn't see Dwight or Bynum or love or gordon thinking, man I want to play for the rockets! I can't wait to be the second biggest star to an inferior player and be caught in that media shiz storm

So true, never really thought about that, I mean look at all the stuff that happened between him and Melo, a mutliple all-star/leader of Team USA in '08 type guy. A top 10 player in the league.

Media absolutely sh*t all over Melo.

Though I do believe Dwight is one of the few players that could overshadow Lin.

[Ginger Bean]

Media absolutely sh*t all over Melo.

The NY media is toxic -- and Melo is, well, Melo.

I don't think players of Howard or Bynum's calibre would be overshadowed by Lin, and they have their own diva drama.

[adrenaLINe]

no one is going to want to come over to this tanking team... for the next 3 to 5 years

because its is obvious Morey was letting people go/dumping contracts to either get Dwight or tank

Lin was a surprise... but I think his play and the young players on this team will surprise a few people

[adrenaLINe]

seriously.... have you ever heard so many NBA players comment on another players contract????


Jerry Stackhouse of Brookyn Nets says NY Knicks are better without Jeremy Lin
'I think it was a situation where Lin was great for them last year but I think going forward that was a little bit too much to pay for a guy that only played 25 games for you,' Stackhouse said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baske ... z21JI8DyON

[xclearscreen]

no, players usually don't have a reason to comment about another player's contract in a negative way. but only if he feels inferior to that player. a lot of players in the league are jealous and feel inferior to lin and so they will try to take him down off the court since they can't do it on the court. these players deserve no respect and are scrubs for a reason. stackhouse is scrub, jr is a scrub, melo, although not a really a scrub, is not every efficient in a team setting and feels inferior to lin.

we know jr and melo is a client of caa. who is stackhouse's agent?

[Ginger Bean]

I think they're probably answering questions reporters ask them. Just never before did reporters ask these questions. You know, ask every player in the NBA what they think about Jeremy Lin's every move. Feel sorry for Jeremy.

They even asked Kobe what he thought... Kobe was nice enough to say nice things, but I doubt he gives a damn!

[adrenaLINe]

I think they're probably answering questions reporters ask them. Just never before did reporters ask these questions. You know, ask every player in the NBA what they think about Jeremy Lin's every move. Feel sorry for Jeremy.

They even asked Kobe what he thought... Kobe was nice enough to say nice things, but I doubt he gives a damn!

I think "no comment" would be a good reply...

[funkybudda]

I think they're probably answering questions reporters ask them. Just never before did reporters ask these questions. You know, ask every player in the NBA what they think about Jeremy Lin's every move. Feel sorry for Jeremy.

They even asked Kobe what he thought... Kobe was nice enough to say nice things, but I doubt he gives a damn!

I think "no comment" would be a good reply...

agree 100%.

But in some way, I am happy for Lin not with Knicks any more. I felt like Woodson will continue to cater to Melo's ISO plays and limit Lin's game, and with team mates question Lin's worth, why would he want to be in that locker room? I am not projecting anything out of the ordinary for Lin's production with Rockets, but I do hope he enjoys the moment, keep improving, and have a great time in NBA.

I find it harder and harder to root for the Knicks, not saying I am a Rockets fan now, but I will be watching the Rockets game and follow Lin's progression closely. Maybe the Brooklyn Nets could win me over to become my new local basketball team to root for.

[aznkillabeezZz]

Knicks are a team full of hypocrites and hard to rout for. They question Lins loyalty and greed. Where was amares loyalty to the suns? He's being overpaid, with that risky uninsured contract....If Knicks fans want to question some one bout being greedy and unloyal it's amare... He picked Knicks because they offered the larger contract, knowing he will be a liability if he got injured, and uninsured... He isn't even the same player when he was with Nash, and he had the injury scare last season.

Carmelo. Apart from being a sneaky jealous teammate, who criticized Lins contract. Knicks fans should look no further to Carmelo when it comes to loyalty. He betrayed his Denver nuggets team, dantoni, George Karl, and the whole fan base by picking Knicks instead of staying with the team that supported him.

Dolan, what a moron this man is. He didn't resign Lin because he felt betrayed he got the best contract he could. Why doesn't he feel betrayed when drunk Kidd gets wasted and Totaled his car because he is so sensible. He wanted to mentor Lin but this is how he acts the first night he's in town.

[rocketseagles07]

I saw how leslie Alexander was saying how he thinks that Lin will attract big free agents, and I get what he is saying. how he is such a big story that we will get some televised games and be a national story all year. But I strongly disagree

In my opinion big stars would not want to come here and be the second biggest star even though they are clearly better and be caught up in all the Lin drama

I could see it attracting some second but mainly third tier stars that feel they dont get the respect they deserve nationally

But I couldn't see Dwight or Bynum or love or gordon thinking, man I want to play for the rockets! I can't wait to be the second biggest star to an inferior player and be caught in that media shiz storm

I agree, I don't see Lin attracting other free agents either. The majority of the players in the NBA aren't even sold on him being that good anyways. To the people STILL saying we made a mistake letting him go give it up and STFU. We had two superior pg's ahead of him on the depth chart, he wasn't going to get pt anyways...

[EGarrett]

Let Jeremy play 40+ minutes per night and run his team-ball, pick-and-roll style and he will continue to create Linsanity-level production. He can do 20 points and 8 assists per easily, probably better.

His rate of production never actually dropped off last year, just his minutes and touches when the rest of the idiot "stars" of that pathetic organization came back.

[Zubby]

Yea but can his body even handle that amount of PT? I tend to agree with I think it was Max that said.
If we got Dwight he would miss 75% of the games and Lin would miss 50%.

[EGarrett]

Yea but can his body even handle that amount of PT? I tend to agree with I think it was Max that said.
If we got Dwight he would miss 75% of the games and Lin would miss 50%.

I just did some math and in games where he played 38 minutes or more, he averaged 26.7 points, 3 rebounds, 9.4 assists and 3 steals.

I suppose if it's too much you can cut it back down, but if you want him putting up monster nights like those 38 points 7 assist, 28 point 8 assist and 28 point 14 assist games, just give him the minutes and let him orchestrate the offense. Not to mention that he was leading a skeleton-crew to a winning streak while putting up those numbers.

And don't get hung up on the one Miami game, he had 19 points and 13 assists the very next night, then they started messing with his minutes. Put all the merchandising and fan-following aside, this kid can and will put up monster numbers and win games for you.