Super Lintendo: The Jeremy Lin Thread

[yosemiteben]

"We've added size and a lot of shooting... but the other component is the ability to create 3pt shots." -Coach Cliff

I'm ok with the moves this offseason, but I'm not sure if trading out Vonleh and Biz for Hawes and Kaminsky = "adding size."

Perhaps.

Biz = 6'9" height, 9'3.5" standing reach
Hawes = 7'1" height, 9'2" standing reach

Vonleh = 6'10" height, 9' standing reach
Kaminsky = 7' height, 9'1.5" standing reach

Henderson = 6'5" height, 8'6.5" standing reach
Batum = 6'8" height, 8'9" standing reach

Jeremy Lin has a couple inches on either of Roberts or Mo. Harrison also has great size for a PG (if that's how we use him) - 6'6", 6'8" wingspan.

Stephenson has a bit of a size advantage on Lamb I think. That's the only spot where we sent a guy out that wasn't replaced with someone taller (albeit, to your point, not necessarily longer).

[fatlever]

What type of player is MKG as well - I know he can't shoot for crap but is he a player similar to Tristan Thompson? Defensive best, rebounder? I'm trying to figure out how he fits on the team. Thanks guys for giving me the answers - I don't know anything about the team but it's good to get to know the team

MKG works his ass off on every possession. Defends the best player on the other team 1-3. We never send a double-team to his man, even when he is getting lit up (rare). Coach would rather let everyone else stay at home (similar to Iggy defending Lebron in the finals). Even when he is defending the other team's best player, MKG is still covering up for everyone else's mistakes as well. Never gives up on a defensive fast break. Great rebounder for his position.

On offense, he has some well-known issues. He doesn't shoot 3s (yet). He's become fairly decent in the mid-range from the elbow and baseline. He loves to attack the rim, but often gets called for offensive fouls. He has decent handles, but doesn't use his left hand much. Always tries to finish with his right hand.

He is the glue that holds the defense together. Everyone feeds off his energy.

[Roy Tarpley]

I'm excited to see MKG play -- every good team has a defensive wing stalwart.

Walker
Batum
MKG
Zeller
Jefferson
Lin
Kaminsky
Williams
Daniels

Not a great team but in the Eastern Conference, I could see them battling Milwaukee, Boston, and Indiana for the 8th seed.

[MeowsALot]

What type of player is MKG as well - I know he can't shoot for crap but is he a player similar to Tristan Thompson? Defensive best, rebounder? I'm trying to figure out how he fits on the team. Thanks guys for giving me the answers - I don't know anything about the team but it's good to get to know the team

MKG works his ass off on every possession. Defends the best player on the other team 1-3. We never send a double-team to his man, even when he is getting lit up (rare). Coach would rather let everyone else stay at home (similar to Iggy defending Lebron in the finals). Even when he is defending the other team's best player, MKG is still covering up for everyone else's mistakes as well. Never gives up on a defensive fast break. Great rebounder for his position.

On offense, he has some well-known issues. He doesn't shoot 3s (yet). He's become fairly decent in the mid-range from the elbow and baseline. He loves to attack the rim, but often gets called for offensive fouls. He has decent handles, but doesn't use his left hand much. Always tries to finish with his right hand.

He is the glue that holds the defense together. Everyone feeds off his energy.

Thanks man, seems like a hard worker. Hope he develops a bit of an offensive game. I like guys who play hard. Going to be an interesting season

[JDR720]

from Scott Fowlers blog (about Cliff press conference)

1) Coach Steve Clifford plans to play Lin and Kemba Walker together at times. "He can play with Kemba and that's what I like," Clifford said. While Walker is a point guard only, Clifford envisions Lin as a combo guard who can team with Walker when the team goes with a smaller lineup, which would mean Nicolas Batum would shift to forward (Batum, Clifford believes, can play shooting guard and both forward positions -- the "2, 3 and 4," in basketball lingo).

Clifford notes that one of the trends in the league is "downsizing." Many teams make do with only one true post player on the floor at a time now, and sometimes none (the best example being Golden State, which uses small forward Draymond Green as a center in what I believe is its most effective lineup). This will also be a way for Lin to get more minutes than he would as only Walker's backup. Walker averaged 34 minutes per game last season.

Clifford said the perimeter spots are all set in the starting lineup -- Kemba Walker at point guard, Batum at shooting guard and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at small forward (Lin will be a reserve). The interior rotation, he said, is more uncertain -- although the coach noted that Al Jefferson was "still our best player" and said he believed Jefferson was doing everything he could to return to being the player he was two years ago.

http://scottfowlerobs.blogspot.com/2015/07/4-takeaways-from-jeremy-lin-press.html

[Flip Murray]

What type of player is MKG as well - I know he can't shoot for crap but is he a player similar to Tristan Thompson? Defensive best, rebounder? I'm trying to figure out how he fits on the team. Thanks guys for giving me the answers - I don't know anything about the team but it's good to get to know the team

MKG works his ass off on every possession. Defends the best player on the other team 1-3. We never send a double-team to his man, even when he is getting lit up (rare). Coach would rather let everyone else stay at home (similar to Iggy defending Lebron in the finals). Even when he is defending the other team's best player, MKG is still covering up for everyone else's mistakes as well. Never gives up on a defensive fast break. Great rebounder for his position.

On offense, he has some well-known issues. He doesn't shoot 3s (yet). He's become fairly decent in the mid-range from the elbow and baseline. He loves to attack the rim, but often gets called for offensive fouls. He has decent handles, but doesn't use his left hand much. Always tries to finish with his right hand.

He is the glue that holds the defense together. Everyone feeds off his energy.

He's better than Tristan Thompson in my opinion and everyone would be talking about him getting a huge contract if he was playing in the finals with Lebron.

[fatlever]

http://v5.player.abacast.com/v5.1/player/index.php?uid=6592

Live on air right now

[ChokeFasncists]

from Scott Fowlers blog (about Cliff press conference)

1) Coach Steve Clifford plans to play Lin and Kemba Walker together at times. "He can play with Kemba and that's what I like," Clifford said. While Walker is a point guard only, Clifford envisions Lin as a combo guard who can team with Walker when the team goes with a smaller lineup, which would mean Nicolas Batum would shift to forward (Batum, Clifford believes, can play shooting guard and both forward positions -- the "2, 3 and 4," in basketball lingo).

Clifford notes that one of the trends in the league is "downsizing." Many teams make do with only one true post player on the floor at a time now, and sometimes none (the best example being Golden State, which uses small forward Draymond Green as a center in what I believe is its most effective lineup). This will also be a way for Lin to get more minutes than he would as only Walker's backup. Walker averaged 34 minutes per game last season.

Clifford said the perimeter spots are all set in the starting lineup -- Kemba Walker at point guard, Batum at shooting guard and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at small forward (Lin will be a reserve). The interior rotation, he said, is more uncertain -- although the coach noted that Al Jefferson was "still our best player" and said he believed Jefferson was doing everything he could to return to being the player he was two years ago.

http://scottfowlerobs.blogspot.com/2015/07/4-takeaways-from-jeremy-lin-press.html

Lin said he was worked on each of the four primary criticisms from those days -- too many turnovers, questionable shooting percentage, inability to go left and defense -- to the point where he believes he is a more "refined" and "all-around" player than he was in 2012 when he briefly set the league aflame.

http://scottfowlerobs.blogspot.ca/2015/07/4-takeaways-from-jeremy-lin-press.html

Sounds good!

[Braggins]

from Scott Fowlers blog (about Cliff press conference)

1) Coach Steve Clifford plans to play Lin and Kemba Walker together at times. "He can play with Kemba and that's what I like," Clifford said. While Walker is a point guard only, Clifford envisions Lin as a combo guard who can team with Walker when the team goes with a smaller lineup, which would mean Nicolas Batum would shift to forward (Batum, Clifford believes, can play shooting guard and both forward positions -- the "2, 3 and 4," in basketball lingo).

Clifford notes that one of the trends in the league is "downsizing." Many teams make do with only one true post player on the floor at a time now, and sometimes none (the best example being Golden State, which uses small forward Draymond Green as a center in what I believe is its most effective lineup). This will also be a way for Lin to get more minutes than he would as only Walker's backup. Walker averaged 34 minutes per game last season.

Clifford said the perimeter spots are all set in the starting lineup -- Kemba Walker at point guard, Batum at shooting guard and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at small forward (Lin will be a reserve). The interior rotation, he said, is more uncertain -- although the coach noted that Al Jefferson was "still our best player" and said he believed Jefferson was doing everything he could to return to being the player he was two years ago.

I was good with everything he was saying until the last part

Al being the player he was two years ago got us the 8th seed and a first round sweep. That was also playing by far the best basketball of his career.

This is why we can't have nice things. Alfense will never die. I seriously think we would potentially be as good or better than the Bucks if we just swapped Al for Biyombo straight up.

[MeowsALot]

What type of player is MKG as well - I know he can't shoot for crap but is he a player similar to Tristan Thompson? Defensive best, rebounder? I'm trying to figure out how he fits on the team. Thanks guys for giving me the answers - I don't know anything about the team but it's good to get to know the team

MKG works his ass off on every possession. Defends the best player on the other team 1-3. We never send a double-team to his man, even when he is getting lit up (rare). Coach would rather let everyone else stay at home (similar to Iggy defending Lebron in the finals). Even when he is defending the other team's best player, MKG is still covering up for everyone else's mistakes as well. Never gives up on a defensive fast break. Great rebounder for his position.

On offense, he has some well-known issues. He doesn't shoot 3s (yet). He's become fairly decent in the mid-range from the elbow and baseline. He loves to attack the rim, but often gets called for offensive fouls. He has decent handles, but doesn't use his left hand much. Always tries to finish with his right hand.

He is the glue that holds the defense together. Everyone feeds off his energy.

He's better than Tristan Thompson in my opinion and everyone would be talking about him getting a huge contract if he was playing in the finals with Lebron.

If that is true about him being better than TT then this team be something.

So realistically - who will be the top 8 in East. Cavs, Bulls, ATL, Raptors, Boston (i think most likely), Wizards, Bucks. I feel those teams can make it to the playoffs for sure, BKN won't be back - so teams will be fighting for that spot. Lin claims that they will fight for further than 8th seed but I dunno about that.

[mrknowitall215]

from Scott Fowlers blog (about Cliff press conference)

1) Coach Steve Clifford plans to play Lin and Kemba Walker together at times. "He can play with Kemba and that's what I like," Clifford said. While Walker is a point guard only, Clifford envisions Lin as a combo guard who can team with Walker when the team goes with a smaller lineup, which would mean Nicolas Batum would shift to forward (Batum, Clifford believes, can play shooting guard and both forward positions -- the "2, 3 and 4," in basketball lingo).

Clifford notes that one of the trends in the league is "downsizing." Many teams make do with only one true post player on the floor at a time now, and sometimes none (the best example being Golden State, which uses small forward Draymond Green as a center in what I believe is its most effective lineup). This will also be a way for Lin to get more minutes than he would as only Walker's backup. Walker averaged 34 minutes per game last season.

Clifford said the perimeter spots are all set in the starting lineup -- Kemba Walker at point guard, Batum at shooting guard and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at small forward (Lin will be a reserve). The interior rotation, he said, is more uncertain -- although the coach noted that Al Jefferson was "still our best player" and said he believed Jefferson was doing everything he could to return to being the player he was two years ago.

http://scottfowlerobs.blogspot.com/2015/07/4-takeaways-from-jeremy-lin-press.html

Sounds like Clifford is already forewarning us that he'll be closing games with Kemba-Lin-Batum in the backcourt with MKG on the bench based on those comments

[Roy Tarpley]

I think the definite playoff teams in the East are:

- CLE (Lebron, Love, and Irving are back)
- ATL (Budenholzer system plus Horford, Teague, Korver, etc.)
- MIA (Wade, Bosh, Dragic, Whiteside)
- CHI (Rose, Noah, Mirotic, Gasol, Gibson)

TOR, BOS, NYN, MIL, IND, and CHA would compete for the last 4 spots.

The Nets lost Deron Williams
Indiana is getting Paul George back but lost Hibbert.
Boston has a crappy team and didn't add anyone of value but somehow Stevens coached them into the playoffs last year.
TOR lost Lou Williams.

[JDR720]

from Scott Fowlers blog (about Cliff press conference)

1) Coach Steve Clifford plans to play Lin and Kemba Walker together at times. "He can play with Kemba and that's what I like," Clifford said. While Walker is a point guard only, Clifford envisions Lin as a combo guard who can team with Walker when the team goes with a smaller lineup, which would mean Nicolas Batum would shift to forward (Batum, Clifford believes, can play shooting guard and both forward positions -- the "2, 3 and 4," in basketball lingo).

Clifford notes that one of the trends in the league is "downsizing." Many teams make do with only one true post player on the floor at a time now, and sometimes none (the best example being Golden State, which uses small forward Draymond Green as a center in what I believe is its most effective lineup). This will also be a way for Lin to get more minutes than he would as only Walker's backup. Walker averaged 34 minutes per game last season.

Clifford said the perimeter spots are all set in the starting lineup -- Kemba Walker at point guard, Batum at shooting guard and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at small forward (Lin will be a reserve). The interior rotation, he said, is more uncertain -- although the coach noted that Al Jefferson was "still our best player" and said he believed Jefferson was doing everything he could to return to being the player he was two years ago.

I was good with everything he was saying until the last part

Al being the player he was two years ago got us the 8th seed and a first round sweep. That was also playing by far the best basketball of his career.

This is why we can't have nice things. Alfense will never die. I seriously think we would potentially be as good or better than the Bucks if we just swapped Al for Biyombo straight up.

the worst part is he keeps talking about downsizing then he says the one guy on the roster who could be a sumo champion is our best player.

[gumblin]

I just bumped the original Cathouse thread. It has 183,000 page views. That's nuts for a forum with this level of traffic.

Traffic on here has picked up immensely lately it seems like. I can't keep up with all the new faces.

I've seen at least 10 newly registered Lin fans since the signing. Just curious as to why they waited until now to sign up? Why not sign up when he went to Lakers or Rockets?

Anyway, I won't bother learning too much about the new faces until we see who sticks around and who will disappear in a month. I will get excited if we see half the new Lin posters still here in November when the season starts. I hope they all stick around.

Because some of us are Hornet followers. Not fans. We're really only here because of Lin. As a New York Giants fan, it gets on my nerves that there are posters who put Eli Manning first and the team second. Really, the more people that realize that Lin fans care less about the team than Lin himself, the more civil it will be here when the season starts. There WILL be lots of talk of Kemba vs Lin.

I'll be honest, I haven't followed basketball since Michael Jordan and even then I was a bandwagon fan. That being said, I think most of the Lin fans are fair. just don't let the bad apples ruin the reputation of the rest of us.

[yosemiteben]

Al being the player he was two years ago got us the 8th seed and a first round sweep. That was also playing by far the best basketball of his career.

That was also playing far, far better than any player for this franchise has in many, many years.

I don't get your point. Al wasn't the problem in 2013-14, the supporting cast was. We have a much improved supporting cast this year.

[Braggins]

from Scott Fowlers blog (about Cliff press conference)

1) Coach Steve Clifford plans to play Lin and Kemba Walker together at times. "He can play with Kemba and that's what I like," Clifford said. While Walker is a point guard only, Clifford envisions Lin as a combo guard who can team with Walker when the team goes with a smaller lineup, which would mean Nicolas Batum would shift to forward (Batum, Clifford believes, can play shooting guard and both forward positions -- the "2, 3 and 4," in basketball lingo).

Clifford notes that one of the trends in the league is "downsizing." Many teams make do with only one true post player on the floor at a time now, and sometimes none (the best example being Golden State, which uses small forward Draymond Green as a center in what I believe is its most effective lineup). This will also be a way for Lin to get more minutes than he would as only Walker's backup. Walker averaged 34 minutes per game last season.

Clifford said the perimeter spots are all set in the starting lineup -- Kemba Walker at point guard, Batum at shooting guard and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at small forward (Lin will be a reserve). The interior rotation, he said, is more uncertain -- although the coach noted that Al Jefferson was "still our best player" and said he believed Jefferson was doing everything he could to return to being the player he was two years ago.

http://scottfowlerobs.blogspot.com/2015/07/4-takeaways-from-jeremy-lin-press.html

Sounds like Clifford is already forewarning us that he'll be closing games with Kemba-Lin-Batum in the backcourt with MKG on the bench based on those comments

Kemba, Lin, Batum, Hawes/Frank, Al

You know its coming. Won't be any better on offense than our other lineups but will add unnecessary defensive holes.

[Braggins]

Al being the player he was two years ago got us the 8th seed and a first round sweep. That was also playing by far the best basketball of his career.

That was also playing far, far better than any player for this franchise has in many, many years.

I don't get your point. Al wasn't the problem in 2013-14, the supporting cast was. We have a much improved supporting cast this year.

Al's numbers don't translate to wins. They never have in his entire career, even in 2013-2014 when he had a career year that he almost surely won't be able to replicate again. It wont matter what improvements we've made elsewhere. Alfense is All-encompassing and doesn't accomplish anything.

[Flip Murray]

from Scott Fowlers blog (about Cliff press conference)

1) Coach Steve Clifford plans to play Lin and Kemba Walker together at times. "He can play with Kemba and that's what I like," Clifford said. While Walker is a point guard only, Clifford envisions Lin as a combo guard who can team with Walker when the team goes with a smaller lineup, which would mean Nicolas Batum would shift to forward (Batum, Clifford believes, can play shooting guard and both forward positions -- the "2, 3 and 4," in basketball lingo).

Clifford notes that one of the trends in the league is "downsizing." Many teams make do with only one true post player on the floor at a time now, and sometimes none (the best example being Golden State, which uses small forward Draymond Green as a center in what I believe is its most effective lineup). This will also be a way for Lin to get more minutes than he would as only Walker's backup. Walker averaged 34 minutes per game last season.

Clifford said the perimeter spots are all set in the starting lineup -- Kemba Walker at point guard, Batum at shooting guard and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at small forward (Lin will be a reserve). The interior rotation, he said, is more uncertain -- although the coach noted that Al Jefferson was "still our best player" and said he believed Jefferson was doing everything he could to return to being the player he was two years ago.

I was good with everything he was saying until the last part

Al being the player he was two years ago got us the 8th seed and a first round sweep. That was also playing by far the best basketball of his career.

This is why we can't have nice things. Alfense will never die. I seriously think we would potentially be as good or better than the Bucks if we just swapped Al for Biyombo straight up.

How freaking dare you! Have some respect. It was the 7th seed not the 8th.

[yosemiteben]

Al's numbers don't translate to wins. They never have in his entire career, even in 2013-2014 when he had a career year that he almost surely won't be able to replicate again. It wont matter what improvements we've made elsewhere. Alfense is All-encompassing and doesn't accomplish anything.

That's just a silly argument IMO. Let's assume we have a top 5 defense (which we did in 2013014) and we have Al giving close to the same production. You don't think improving the team around him will effect our win total at all? Really?

ETA: To tie it back in, I think bringing in guys like Lin and Batum who are high BBIQ facilitators that can also score will be huge for our offensive efficiency and helping solve the standstill offense that we too often see. We needed more guys that could do more things with the ball instead of a bunch of ISO scorers with limited scoring ranges and poor ability to create for anyone else.

[spaceballer]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/scott_fowler/status/620634580605865984[/tweet]