At The Hive wrote:Is there any team in the league which is getting as much bang for the buck as the Hornets are from Jeremy Lin on a 2-million dollar contract? That signing alone has created possibly the best point guard duo Charlotte has had since the inception of the Hornets back in 1988.
Obviously, Lin is over-qualified to be a definite back-up point guard, one who gets burn only when the starter sit. That's why only 32.2% of his playing time has come in his primary point guard position, per Seth Partnow's estimates over at Nylon Calculus.
If his stay in Charlotte will stretch past this season, the shooting guard position is where he would continue getting at least half of his minutes whether he's the so-called "starting shooting guard" or not.
And that's exactly where that production hits a ceiling. The Kemba/Lin duo works just fine, however, it has a certain best case scenario which probably can't be improved upon. Both are quite simply players who operate best when they have the ball in their hands.
Lin's game is centered around constant driving to the basket. Only five players in the league average more than seven drives per game in less playing time than Jeremy, per SportVU.
He enjoys having the ball-handling reigns, taking his time and probing the defense after getting in the lane off the dribble. Lin will rarely prematurely pick up his dribble. If he enters the paint and there isn't a situation he likes - no biggie. Jeremy will keep his dribble alive while exiting the paint to furthermore keep the pressure on the defense and find the necessary target.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffKE2HwgaCs[/youtube]
The guard has a good understanding of how the players involved in the play move around. Lin's a master at putting just enough pressure on the big man to commit to him (something which in itself is done in the aforementioned situation of keeping the dribble alive). He'll make a couple of extra steps away from his own rim runner or jump for a shot attempt to make the defending big gravitate towards him before dishing off a pin-point pass.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8wMkYfvOto[/youtube]
Those opportunities aren't there as much when playing the shooting guard position alongside a guard like Kemba Walker who also likes to explore his possibilities in the pick-n-roll by dribbling. Although there was a bigger gap in these numbers at the start of the season, Lin has averaged 19.3 points and 5.8 assists per game as a point guard but only 15.2 and 3.2 as the shooting guard, per Nylon Calculus.
And that's fine. The task isn't to find the best situation for Jeremy Lin but the best situation for the whole team. With the roster and injuries Charlotte has had, this is the situation. Moreover, the bump in those stats might be him and Jeremy Lamb beating up second units where Lin gets to play minutes in his favorite position.
But the front office should just probably look for a real shooting guard to play the position, a guard who has the appropriate size and who is more comfortable in off-the-ball situations, whether it's spacing the court as a shooter, looking for cuts or shooting off screens.
Kemba is improved as a shooter altogether and Lin might be having just a random down year (currently shooting 32.2% on catch-and-shoot threes), however, you could wish for better three-point threats in the back-court when slotting them next to MKG.
On defense Kidd-Gilchrist could hypothetically always pick up the more dangerous of the two wing players but playing Lin at shooting guard seems like an unnecessary risk. Overall, he's a competent defender, even one position up, but from time to time there will be a Khris Middleton type player who beats him with their size.
Lastly, this more so is about Kemba and him than the fit Lin would have with Kidd-Gilchrist. It will be interesting to see how the back-court of those three operates as it could finally be a unit where coach Clifford doesn't have to specifically go all-out on offense or defense to close out games. And that's something that should be utilized in the following months.
But, all in all, Lin and Walker just don't have the makings of a great back-court as far as on-court chemistry is concerned. Due to their ball-pounding style of play you don't see one of them having a Kyle Lowry-like ability to be the primary point guard, yet in the same time become the perfect spot-up guy whenever DeMar DeRozan goes to work.
On certain plays you'll get the sense that the man off the ball is not in his skin as a catch-and-shoot option. Here's Kemba taking a possession off with his hands on the knees as Lin runs a pick-n-roll:
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There's also not much of the desired harmony where one of them plays pick-n-roll, thus forces the defense slide over, switches the side of the court with a kick-out pass and has the other attack the open seams in defense.
That's why it probably would be better for all parties involved if they moved on after this season. Lin is bound to decline his player option and look for a new, better contract. Meanwhile, paying as much as other teams could be willing to probably wouldn't be the best investment for Charlotte who already has a point guard in Kemba Walker.
