Lin's strengths and weaknesses: a fairly balanced evaluation

[minimalist1972]

I thought this was a fairly balanced evaluation of Lin's strengths and weaknesses, with a well-supported conclusion.

http://www.thedreamshake.com/2014/1/3/5 ... y-lin-2014

Some of this was surprising. Others were obvious.

To summarize:

Strengths:

1. Scoring per half-court touch, just behind Robinson, Curry, Westbrook and Lillard
2. Catch and shoot, 68%eFG, 9th among PGs, 24th overall; 46% on c-and-s three's, 12th among PGs, 37th overall
3. Drives, 73% inside the restricted zone; on all drives, 57%, 2nd among PGs, 55th overall
4. P-n-R scoring, 46%; points per p-n-r possession, 33rd overall
5. Rim-defense, keeps opponents to 44%, which leads all starting PGs

Weaknesses:

6. Pull-up shooting, 26%! On shooting off the dribble, he misses almost 3/4th of his shots! The author diagnoses this problem as poor shot-selection. I think that's visibly true.
7. Play-making! 51st in assists per game. Now, he's also 58th in assist opportunities (you know why).
8. Turnovers. No surprise here. 25th in the league, which may sound not terrible; but, as the author notes, almost everyone ahead of him is either the primary or the secondary scoring option.

I would also add perimeter defense and p-n-r defense to Lin's weaknesses.

However, I would take exception to 7, since Lin's almost never the primary ball-handler; so, as the stats in 7 make clear, he has far fewer assist opportunities than your average starting PG.

Overall, though, I found this to be a very fair evaluation of Lin's performance this season.

[Nebula1]

Another freaking Lin thread? This couldn't go in any of the dozen other threads?

Ugh

Ibtl (I hope)

[x-]

Rim-defense

aka Dwight Howard.

[KungFuJoe]

Rim-defense

aka Dwight Howard.

Read the article. It states that even guys like George Hill (with Hibbert behind him) and Brandon Jennings don't hold opposing PGs to anywhere near Lin's 43.8% shooting in the restricted area.

It's mostly because Lin is a tall, strong PG and blocks a lot of shots at the rim (he's had some nice highlight swats against guys like Rose and Parker).

[Klazart]

Rim-defense

aka Dwight Howard.

It's a shame that Dwight doesn't seem to want to employ that same elite rim defense against players guarded by Harden or Brooks. Dwight hates Harden?

[ChokeFasncists]

Strengths:

1. Scoring per half-court touch, just behind Robinson, Curry, Westbrook and Lillard
2. Catch and shoot, 68%eFG, 9th among PGs, 24th overall; 46% on c-and-s three's, 12th among PGs, 37th overall
3. Drives, 73% inside the restricted zone; on all drives, 57%, 2nd among PGs, 55th overall
4. P-n-R scoring, 46%; points per p-n-r possession, 33rd overall
5. Rim-defense, keeps opponents to 44%, which leads all starting PGs

Weaknesses:

6. Pull-up shooting, 26%! On shooting off the dribble, he misses almost 3/4th of his shots! The author diagnoses this problem as poor shot-selection. I think that's visibly true.
7. Play-making! 51st in assists per game. Now, he's also 58th in assist opportunities (you know why).
8. Turnovers. No surprise here. 25th in the league, which may sound not terrible; but, as the author notes, almost everyone ahead of him is either the primary or the secondary scoring option.

However, I would take exception to 7, since Lin's almost never the primary ball-handler; so, as the stats in 7 make clear, he has far fewer assist opportunities than your average starting PG.

Overall, though, I found this to be a very fair evaluation of Lin's performance this season.

Well put, the strengths show us that he is an elite young talent, albeit still inexperienced and somewhat raw. Agreed about no.7, not his fault, his assist numbers in his MDA days in NY was probably not bad.

6 and 8 aren't huge problems and I'm sure he will figure out how to fix them if he's allowed to play through his mistakes as a young player, still long career ahead. Hope he'll have better fortune later in life in terms of coaching! I'm sure he has learned many things these two years that he wouldn't have if he could play like a normal NBA player.

[moofs]

Another freaking Lin thread? This couldn't go in any of the dozen other threads?

Ugh

Ibtl (I hope)

Can I get a "merge"?! [hand to ear]

[6_Rings]

most 'dissected' player ever.

obviously he's not being used based on his strengths. I watched some of last night's game and he just waited around the perimeter for crumbs. Linsanity did not happen by just standing around. my 2 cents.

[KungFuJoe]

most 'dissected' player ever.

obviously he's not being used based on his strengths. I watched some of last night's game and he just waited around the perimeter for crumbs. Linsanity did not happen by just standing around. my 2 cents.

Unfortunately, he seems to be losing something as the season has gone by. I know people think these NBA ballers are just happy to get their paychecks, but anyone who thinks the benching and short leash hasn't affected him mentally, is nuts. What happened to Lin would affect ANYONE in the NBA. No one wants to go from a starter, to a bench guy, who is constantly being criticized. Look at Asik. Never known as a head case...one of the most respected guys around...see what happens when you feel like you've been discarded with no thought.

Anyways...Lin is not playing anywhere near the level he was playing at early in the season, and even last year. Those who are saying he should suck it up and play even harder...well...I don't know what to tell you. But if you're Lin, and you've been facing discrimination and scrutiny your entire basketball life...at what point do you start to say "**** this"?

As a fan of Lin, it really sucks to see this happen to him...especially when I, and many others, feel it's been totally unwarranted. Mchale and Sampson have it out for him. I mean, how would YOU feel if you knew your coaches didn't respect you or your game?

And as a fan of the Rockets, I'm disappointed. I still think this team would be much better off, in the long run, letting Lin have more control of the ball and letting others play off him, letting him set the tone, and then bringing Beverley off the bench for some high octane energy.

At this rate, I'd say trade Lin somewhere else and bring AB off the bench as he is a much better pure scorer than Lin. And they obviously don't care about Lin's defensive presence...so AB should be just fine in their eyes.

[NYK 455]

Lin is a great player when he's aggressive, alert, attacking, and utilizing the pick and roll. When those variables aren't met, he looks lost.

[inquisitive]

Lin=Win , Beverly = Barely Win

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmhiflKLgJ0[/youtube]