The Official Lin Net Thread

[sutton]

Breaking down the most important defensive player for each NBA team
Not the best, but most impactful defender, team by team, headed into the 2016-17 season

There aren't a lot of good options here. It could be Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, but he's still unknown. Brook Lopez is fine, as he's improved from a bad defender to a passable one. But Lin is going to be on the floor a lot this season and was a good defender last season in Charlotte. The Nets are going to be bad on defense a lot this year. They need to be not-as-bad when Lin's on the floor.


http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/breaking-down-the-most-important-defensive-player-for-each-nba-team/

I stopped reading when I saw Olynyk as the Celtics best defender. Obviously not a credible source with literal nothing knowledgeable to learn.

"Not the best, but most impactful defender, team by team, headed into the 2016-17 season"

[DeRoma]

Alot of Nets fans who are somewhat skeptical of Lin needs proof with their own eyes that Lin can hang on D and that he's not the TO machine he was touted in the past. That's cool, as long as they keep an open mind and give Lin a chance let things fall as they may. Us longtime Lin fans have been waiting for the day a team will give the reins to Lin to do his thing. If you've got faith in Lin, then all is well, Lins got his chance to shine, its gut check time no more excuses.

Steve Clifford = Lin's Defense. Enough said.

I would not say Lin is an elite defender, but he definitely is a good defender... I don't know how Lin got the bad defender reputation, I think he is always solid, last season he was better than before, Clifford's scheme definitely helped since he is a better team defender than being a pesky one on one defender.... You will see this season...
that being said, the Nets' most impact defender is RHJ, no question... RHJ can check on 2-4, his energy and hustle is on another level than his other teammates, he is a bit raw, his defensive techniques are not as fundamentally sound as MKG, but his style is similar to MKG, he should learn from MKG... potentially he could be an elite defensive wing.

It's because with the eye test. He doesn't move quickly laterally. Even on offense. This is why he gets that reputation. I never said he was a bad defender I just don't think he is great at 1 on 1 situation. It's mostly Clifford's scheme. I trust Kenny Atkinson so I expect him to do just as well as he did in Charlotte. Will he get exposed with the lack of talent surrounds him? Probably. I just don't like it when crazy Asian wolf packs tries to attack me because I threatened their lord and savior.

[TinmanZBoy]

Steve Clifford = Lin's Defense. Enough said.

I would not say Lin is an elite defender, but he definitely is a good defender... I don't know how Lin got the bad defender reputation, I think he is always solid, last season he was better than before, Clifford's scheme definitely helped since he is a better team defender than being a pesky one on one defender.... You will see this season...
that being said, the Nets' most impact defender is RHJ, no question... RHJ can check on 2-4, his energy and hustle is on another level than his other teammates, he is a bit raw, his defensive techniques are not as fundamentally sound as MKG, but his style is similar to MKG, he should learn from MKG... potentially he could be an elite defensive wing.

It's because with the eye test. He doesn't move quickly laterally. Even on offense. This is why he gets that reputation. I never said he was a bad defender I just don't think he is great at 1 on 1 situation. It's mostly Clifford's scheme. I trust Kenny Atkinson so I expect him to do just as well as he did in Charlotte. Will he get exposed with the lack of talent surrounds him? Probably. I just don't like it when crazy Asian wolf packs tries to attack me because I threatened their lord and savior.

your observation is mostly right... there are always homerisms from fans, just ignore

[DeRoma]

I would not say Lin is an elite defender, but he definitely is a good defender... I don't know how Lin got the bad defender reputation, I think he is always solid, last season he was better than before, Clifford's scheme definitely helped since he is a better team defender than being a pesky one on one defender.... You will see this season...
that being said, the Nets' most impact defender is RHJ, no question... RHJ can check on 2-4, his energy and hustle is on another level than his other teammates, he is a bit raw, his defensive techniques are not as fundamentally sound as MKG, but his style is similar to MKG, he should learn from MKG... potentially he could be an elite defensive wing.

It's because with the eye test. He doesn't move quickly laterally. Even on offense. This is why he gets that reputation. I never said he was a bad defender I just don't think he is great at 1 on 1 situation. It's mostly Clifford's scheme. I trust Kenny Atkinson so I expect him to do just as well as he did in Charlotte. Will he get exposed with the lack of talent surrounds him? Probably. I just don't like it when crazy Asian wolf packs tries to attack me because I threatened their lord and savior.

your observation is mostly right... there are always homerisms from fans, just ignore

Yep...You'll see, his help defense will be much better this year. However starters minutes will take a toll on him. 1 on 1 will definitely take damage.

[ChokeFasncists]

There's no packs. It's just multiple individuals happen to be online, have read your post and decided to respond. I don't think anyone mentioned race, or did any personal attack; except for you.

BTW, I think Lin got a bad rep on D probably cuz he was playing for MDA, McFail and BS. He played very good D for GSW and the Hornets. Pretty sure he'll be fine with KA.

IMO Lin is a pretty creative passer but he needs sympathetic coach and teammates to cut and catch his passes. He also doesn't have enough awareness of where his opponents are. That leads to a lot of TOs and for the past year, he has been trying to play conservatively. If he can get those two things right, watch out!

[TinmanZBoy]

It's because with the eye test. He doesn't move quickly laterally. Even on offense. This is why he gets that reputation. I never said he was a bad defender I just don't think he is great at 1 on 1 situation. It's mostly Clifford's scheme. I trust Kenny Atkinson so I expect him to do just as well as he did in Charlotte. Will he get exposed with the lack of talent surrounds him? Probably. I just don't like it when crazy Asian wolf packs tries to attack me because I threatened their lord and savior.

your observation is mostly right... there are always homerisms from fans, just ignore

Yep...You'll see, his help defense will be much better this year. However starters minutes will take a toll on him. 1 on 1 will definitely take damage.

true, coming from bench, you can go all out on d, playing starter minutes, you have to pace yourself on both ends

[Paradise]

Alot of Nets fans who are somewhat skeptical of Lin needs proof with their own eyes that Lin can hang on D and that he's not the TO machine he was touted in the past. That's cool, as long as they keep an open mind and give Lin a chance let things fall as they may. Us longtime Lin fans have been waiting for the day a team will give the reins to Lin to do his thing. If you've got faith in Lin, then all is well, Lins got his chance to shine, its gut check time no more excuses.

Steve Clifford = Lin's Defense. Enough said.

No. Lin's defense goes back further than his rental with Charlotte.








Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[TinmanZBoy]

Alot of Nets fans who are somewhat skeptical of Lin needs proof with their own eyes that Lin can hang on D and that he's not the TO machine he was touted in the past. That's cool, as long as they keep an open mind and give Lin a chance let things fall as they may. Us longtime Lin fans have been waiting for the day a team will give the reins to Lin to do his thing. If you've got faith in Lin, then all is well, Lins got his chance to shine, its gut check time no more excuses.

Steve Clifford = Lin's Defense. Enough said.

No. Lin's defense goes back further than his rental with Charlotte.








Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Beverley made defensive second team that season, his style pleases to the eyes...
one caveat for the data is Beverley was on starters mostly, Lin on bench players mostly... do you have the data of 12-13 season, Lin was on starters, Beverley was on benches...

[GoodDayLa]

I agree with some the things you are saying. Yeah you are right that life would be easier for Lin having a big that is explosive catching the basketball, can jump over the ceiling catching lobs. However, it's not necessary. Yet, for from the games i've seen Jeremy Lin plays, I don't necessarily believe he is a true pick n roll player. He thrives on a system where the coach let him have the ball and and has options that will let him make good decision. I don't think he is a full pledge playmaker that you let him run plays. I don't even think he is even that creative or great passer. I just think he has a knack on making the right decisions quickly. An athletic may give you 2-3 dunks a night but its not necessary. If you look at D-Will back in the Jazz he was able to have 10-11 assist per night with bigs like Boozer and Okur or even Millsap and Okur. I think that is the right direction the Nets are trying to get at.

Also even with Lin being highly impactful on the offensive side. In order for this team to win, they need to be able to learn Atkinson's defensive scheme much quicker. With our roster set and an uptempo offense, There is no doubt in my mind we will probably top 5 in the league. It really all depends on how good our defense is. Last year, the Hawks were top on defense. We need to do the same in order for us to make the playoffs.

This is where NBA bodies come into play. In order for us to be good on defense, we need NBA body players that are capable of stopping opposing players. This will simplify rotations given that Brook and Lin(bad defenders) our center core players. This is why i'm not huge on Bojan and banking on LeVert to be really good. If that happens, no doubt in my mind we will be atleast a 9th seed in the east.

First, 100% agree on defense. They need to improve A LOT. It looks average at best and that's being nice through 2 games.

At the same time, I've seen enough as you probably have as well that offensive efficiency can go a long way. If Bojan and other shooters like Harris and Skil or even Foye and Lin become very efficient offensively, it will be tough to keep pace. Sure the Warriors can play defense, but they also keep scoring and raining points at times. I'm just talking about winning enough to make the playoffs, not do anything necessary once in.

As for bigs, I prefer the long tall mobile big probably just because of personal preference and keeping tabs on what kind of players usually make a big difference at the NBA level. Brook reminds me more of a bigger plodding older version of Karl Malone than he does of today's effective high flyers. Even though Bogut is not a high flyer, he is MOBILE and even he gets like 1-2 lob dunks a game off his old Warrior teammates. The mobility from bigs is so important on both ends in today's NBA. It's why Charlotte Hornets did well last year because Zeller did so much that went unnoticed covering everywhere being so mobile. Hibbert, the big stiff is killing that team in preseason though I like Hibbert's game overall. Once Zeller gets back, they will be better overall if you keep tabs.

Now I don't just want high flyers just so Lin can do LobCity. Its like you said, make Lin and the team's life easier & win games. It's nice to have weak side options to throw lobs and catch weak side passes. But more importantly, a physical roll man creates space and mucks things up when Lin drives down the lane. This is when Lin is very effective scoring over his guard defender or drawing the foul. And if the big comes over, Lin dumps off to the big who dunks or gets fouled. You also put the other team in the bonus quicker that way as the fouls rack up. It's one of Lin's best strengths and it will be crucial Coach gets this out of him to win games because the other options are bleak.

If the PnR partner always fades like a Booker or Okur as you mention, you end up with tons of mid range jump shots by the big when Lin passes out. And when Lin tries to take it to the rack (one of his best skills) he's going 1on 2 with the 2nd man being a long tall body who will probably block Lin or force Lin into a miss. And again, even if Lin dumps off, you got a midrange jump shot from your big man (granted Brook and Hamilton Scola can all shoot ok). Basically there's not as much pressure on the defense with a midrange open jumper, even if they make alot of them like Lamarcus Aldridge.

I think Lin will get some solid stats no matter what whether assists or points. His work load no matter the system or role will be heavy. But I'd rather see this team win.

I also agree Lin is no spectacular playmaker. He is just talented at what he does well. His key skill is offensive pressure and knowing how to make good decisions generally in tough situations or split second situations. Sometimes on basic plays, Lin looks super ordinary. After 5-6 years in the league, he still makes ugly aesthetic jump passes off the weak foot or whatever whereas CP3 will do it under control and reverse pivot against 2 trapping defenders to look completely under control at all times.

But Lin more than makes up for it with the rest of his attacking game. The Nets just need to use motion offense for most of the game and use just enough of Lin's skills when needed not to overdo it and also to preserve Lin for the season.

Well, I believe defense is by far the most important. Even teams that a normal person believes they stink on defense play defense. Just because they give up a ton points a night plays defense does not mean they don't play defense. It just the matter of what type of tempo the team is playing. Like how much shot opportunities the whole team will get. For example, Mike D'antoni the father of the modern basketball of today's game plays defense. The uptempo system is type system that relies on heat check. HIs game plan is to play high pressure defense until his team hits a run and get out of control on offense. Once they get a comfortable lead. That's when they start run n' gun. So every time the other team scores the players will leak and try to run to try to get an easy bucket to make the deficit even. That will lead to teams to set up try score again on a half-court situation. That's a type of defense on the scoreboard. This is just rinse and repeat system that worked great at the time he was reining. It just became predictable which is why teams adjust and why he is not a good coach anymore. Nowadays that doesn't work, since most team adjusted to the modern NBA. Anyway, my point is in today's NBA you just can't play on one side of the court to win. You have to play every single facet of the game. The good thing is, Atkinson's defensive scheme looks very strong. When I was watching the Pistons game It looks very strong. I think the only thing we will lack is how we slow down the game. Will our players be smart enough to adapt towards what's going on? This is the type of question that will be answer when the season starts.

As for athletic bigs rolling towards the basket, that will always be covered with other players. For example, if Lin and Brook do a pick n pop, that will leave the driving lane open. They can always have a play where they have man on the corner backdoor, or in the side key to cut. That covers up the spacing in that side of the court which leads to the same impact as a big man rolling in. Yeah the defensive big man can always leak out of Brook to cover up the driving lane. However that leaves Brook wide open. So at the end of the day, it will lead to how Lin reads the defense make the right decision to either drive in or pass out to the options he has. This is why it's not necessary. It will all lead on Lin's decision making.

This team can still win with that system on how much Lin can adapt for what the type of personell he has on the court. I.e. Lin's decision making will be key.

I think Mike D'Antoni is still a good X & O offensive coach. For me, he's a suspect player personality manager especially with big NBA stars. I think Houston will definitely win over 45 games this season. Playoff contender? Probably not but they'll score & make the playoffs pretty easy. So I think it's possible, but the Nets dont have the right players for an MDA type offense anyways aside from Lin and a couple others.

I agree defense matters. All good teams are decent at both ends. We all know the Nets are a team that need to be decent on both ends to eek out wins due to marginal NBA talent level overall on this roster.

Personally, I think it's very suboptimal for Lin to play without a mobile diving tall and long big who is somewhat physical. I've seen the Lakers season when Lin played with floating PnR artists in Boozer and Jordan Hill and Wes Johnson could cut from the baseline. It was terrible, ineffective, and stifled Lin's ability, collapsed the floor spacing, and made the team marginal. When Ed Davis was in, Lin and the team was on another level. It freed up the floor in a way that caters to Lin's skill set and opened up the drives. Lin could attack or dump off. Wes's man would have to run over to cover Lin on many open drives where Lin could kick it to someone for a wide open 3.

My personal opinion- if the offense is mostly Brook fading on PnR and shooting open 17-20 foot jump shots all day, this team is going to stink. Just my opinion.

Luckily, I think Coach Atkinson gets all of this and knows Lin better than us all. And he knows Lin must be dynamic for the Nets to win games. I'm not that worried.

[GoodDayLa]

There's no packs. It's just multiple individuals happen to be online, have read your post and decided to respond. I don't think anyone mentioned race, or did any personal attack; except for you.

BTW, I think Lin got a bad rep on D probably cuz he was playing for MDA, McFail and BS. He played very good D for GSW and the Hornets. Pretty sure he'll be fine with KA.

IMO Lin is a pretty creative passer but he needs sympathetic coach and teammates to cut and catch his passes. He also doesn't have enough awareness of where his opponents are. That leads to a lot of TOs and for the past year, he has been trying to play conservatively. If he can get those two things right, watch out!

I am a big Lin fan but cannot agree he is a creative passer. Lin is an elite offensive pressure guard with a top NBA level first step. This advantage predicates his entire game and he's smart enough to make the proper read most times in these situations and not forcing too much. Plus he's worked hard to be an effective 3 point shooter with the ability to get hot when on. It's a scary weapon he has when properly harnessed and I suspect it will be this season.

Sympathetic teammates? You mean a scheme that caters to Lin based on coaching.

[Kswiss]

Alot of Nets fans who are somewhat skeptical of Lin needs proof with their own eyes that Lin can hang on D and that he's not the TO machine he was touted in the past. That's cool, as long as they keep an open mind and give Lin a chance let things fall as they may. Us longtime Lin fans have been waiting for the day a team will give the reins to Lin to do his thing. If you've got faith in Lin, then all is well, Lins got his chance to shine, its gut check time no more excuses.

Steve Clifford = Lin's Defense. Enough said.

No. Lin's defense goes back further than his rental with Charlotte.








Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Ironically, he was considered a defensive specialist early in his career. Personally I do think that's what puts him into the elite guard category. His offense is great and he's a fantastic playmaker for teammates, but his defense/rebounding/blocking shot ability is really what separates him from your Jeff Teague/Dragic types.

[ChokeFasncists]

There's no packs. It's just multiple individuals happen to be online, have read your post and decided to respond. I don't think anyone mentioned race, or did any personal attack; except for you.

BTW, I think Lin got a bad rep on D probably cuz he was playing for MDA, McFail and BS. He played very good D for GSW and the Hornets. Pretty sure he'll be fine with KA.

IMO Lin is a pretty creative passer but he needs sympathetic coach and teammates to cut and catch his passes. He also doesn't have enough awareness of where his opponents are. That leads to a lot of TOs and for the past year, he has been trying to play conservatively. If he can get those two things right, watch out!

I am a big Lin fan but cannot agree he is a creative passer. Lin is an elite offensive pressure guard with a top NBA level first step. This advantage predicates his entire game and he's smart enough to make the proper read most times in these situations and not forcing too much. Plus he's worked hard to be an effective 3 point shooter with the ability to get hot when on. It's a scary weapon he has when properly harnessed and I suspect it will be this season.

That's cool. Why don't you think he's a creative passer tho? He regularly did those wrap around passes, alley-oops, touchdown passes, no-look, thread-the-needle bounce passes, give and go etc. He toned it down quite a bit in Charlotte that's for sure. His problem is more like he isn't focused enough on protecting the ball, got TOs and become timid.

Sympathetic teammates? You mean a scheme that caters to Lin based on coaching.

That's surely not bad, but being good is good enough; more importantly teammates who cut to spaces when Lin creates and/or sees an opening rather than standing around like in Houston.

Anyways, welcome!

[MrDollarBills]

Breaking down the most important defensive player for each NBA team
Not the best, but most impactful defender, team by team, headed into the 2016-17 season

There aren't a lot of good options here. It could be Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, but he's still unknown. Brook Lopez is fine, as he's improved from a bad defender to a passable one. But Lin is going to be on the floor a lot this season and was a good defender last season in Charlotte. The Nets are going to be bad on defense a lot this year. They need to be not-as-bad when Lin's on the floor.


http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/breaking-down-the-most-important-defensive-player-for-each-nba-team/

Hollis-Jefferson was one of the best defenders at his position in the league despite the small sample size. It's not even a question at this point to me.

[bws94]

For all the Lin fanatics out there, I have no reason to talk to you. Stop making this some kind of race war. It's basketball. Funny thing is i'm Asian. I'm just not a moron who root for their own race just cuz. Sorry I love basketball more and I try to understand the game more than debate on how Lin is getting snub because he is the most "elite" player ever.

You're way agenda driven and rude. Chill. To say Lin is a poor one on one defender is not accurate, nor is he lacking in speed. This isn't about Lin fan or not, it's about what's perception of Lin's defense versus reality. He's a very underrated defender, and to this day Clifford is saying that is a big loss for them and that his current backup PG, Sessions, won't be able to do the defensive things that Lin could o,.

[bws94]

Breaking down the most important defensive player for each NBA team
Not the best, but most impactful defender, team by team, headed into the 2016-17 season

There aren't a lot of good options here. It could be Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, but he's still unknown. Brook Lopez is fine, as he's improved from a bad defender to a passable one. But Lin is going to be on the floor a lot this season and was a good defender last season in Charlotte. The Nets are going to be bad on defense a lot this year. They need to be not-as-bad when Lin's on the floor.


http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/breaking-down-the-most-important-defensive-player-for-each-nba-team/

Hollis-Jefferson was one of the best defenders at his position in the league despite the small sample size. It's not even a question at this point to me.

mini-MKG.

[Paradise]

So, Jeremy had no suitors last season and still didn't want to come here. Yet, some folks still refuse to admit how bad Billy ruined us.

Exactly a year earlier, after a season gone wrong with the L.A. Lakers, Lin had no suitors.

He felt the way he had felt before "Linsanity," when he was simply trying to hang on for his NBA life. His joy for the game had evaporated.

"I couldn't even get the minimum from certain teams," Lin said. "That showed me how low my market value was. Obviously, I was offended. I just couldn't understand it."

The Nets had targeted Lin with their mini-midlevel exception, sources said, but according to Lin, "they were never legitimately a contender in terms of where I wanted to go."

Brooklyn wound up splitting its mini-midlevel between Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington.

During the Nets' meeting with Lin, which included Marks, Atkinson, other front-office people and franchise center Brook Lopez, the Nets made a compelling pitch featuring their ever-evolving system and culture.

"We were showing the positives of playing out here," Lopez said. "Obviously, he knows that firsthand from playing with the Knicks, but just how we can benefit from him and how he can benefit from us -- that sort of symbiotic relationship. We just kept harping on the differences in our organization and the franchise as a whole from the top down."

Lin was highly intrigued about the possibility of teaming up with Pelicans star Anthony Davis and playing for Alvin Gentry in New Orleans' D'Antoni-inspired offense, sources said. But the Pelicans weren't willing pay what the Nets were, paving the way for Lin's return to New York.

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[tonman]

Steve Clifford = Lin's Defense. Enough said.

No. Lin's defense goes back further than his rental with Charlotte.








Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Beverley made defensive second team that season, his style pleases to the eyes...
one caveat for the data is Beverley was on starters mostly, Lin on bench players mostly... do you have the data of 12-13 season, Lin was on starters, Beverley was on benches...

no not necessarily the case. Houston staggered the rotation so when Lin was in he was with Beverley or Harden which meant he was guarding 2G when he was playing with Beverley. On top of that, Lin usually closed games when Houston went to the small lineup with Beverley, Lin, Harden, Parsons, Howard or other big man. teams do not follow same substitution patterns.

[Trader_Joe]

There's no packs. It's just multiple individuals happen to be online, have read your post and decided to respond. I don't think anyone mentioned race, or did any personal attack; except for you.

BTW, I think Lin got a bad rep on D probably cuz he was playing for MDA, McFail and BS. He played very good D for GSW and the Hornets. Pretty sure he'll be fine with KA.

IMO Lin is a pretty creative passer but he needs sympathetic coach and teammates to cut and catch his passes. He also doesn't have enough awareness of where his opponents are. That leads to a lot of TOs and for the past year, he has been trying to play conservatively. If he can get those two things right, watch out!

I am a big Lin fan but cannot agree he is a creative passer. Lin is an elite offensive pressure guard with a top NBA level first step. This advantage predicates his entire game and he's smart enough to make the proper read most times in these situations and not forcing too much. Plus he's worked hard to be an effective 3 point shooter with the ability to get hot when on. It's a scary weapon he has when properly harnessed and I suspect it will be this season.

That's cool. Why don't you think he's a creative passer tho? He regularly did those wrap around passes, alley-oops, touchdown passes, no-look, thread-the-needle bounce passes, give and go etc. He toned it down quite a bit in Charlotte that's for sure. His problem is more like he isn't focused enough on protecting the ball, got TOs and become timid.

Sympathetic teammates? You mean a scheme that caters to Lin based on coaching.

That's surely not bad, but being good is good enough; more importantly teammates who cut to spaces when Lin creates and/or sees an opening rather than standing around like in Houston.

Anyways, welcome!

I don't really think of Lin as a creative passer, or really a passing PG, more of a scoring PG.
His career high in assists for a season is only 6.1 and 4.4 for his career. His career high in a game is 14 and only had 23 game in his career with 10 or more assists.

[DeRoma]

First, 100% agree on defense. They need to improve A LOT. It looks average at best and that's being nice through 2 games.

At the same time, I've seen enough as you probably have as well that offensive efficiency can go a long way. If Bojan and other shooters like Harris and Skil or even Foye and Lin become very efficient offensively, it will be tough to keep pace. Sure the Warriors can play defense, but they also keep scoring and raining points at times. I'm just talking about winning enough to make the playoffs, not do anything necessary once in.

As for bigs, I prefer the long tall mobile big probably just because of personal preference and keeping tabs on what kind of players usually make a big difference at the NBA level. Brook reminds me more of a bigger plodding older version of Karl Malone than he does of today's effective high flyers. Even though Bogut is not a high flyer, he is MOBILE and even he gets like 1-2 lob dunks a game off his old Warrior teammates. The mobility from bigs is so important on both ends in today's NBA. It's why Charlotte Hornets did well last year because Zeller did so much that went unnoticed covering everywhere being so mobile. Hibbert, the big stiff is killing that team in preseason though I like Hibbert's game overall. Once Zeller gets back, they will be better overall if you keep tabs.

Now I don't just want high flyers just so Lin can do LobCity. Its like you said, make Lin and the team's life easier & win games. It's nice to have weak side options to throw lobs and catch weak side passes. But more importantly, a physical roll man creates space and mucks things up when Lin drives down the lane. This is when Lin is very effective scoring over his guard defender or drawing the foul. And if the big comes over, Lin dumps off to the big who dunks or gets fouled. You also put the other team in the bonus quicker that way as the fouls rack up. It's one of Lin's best strengths and it will be crucial Coach gets this out of him to win games because the other options are bleak.

If the PnR partner always fades like a Booker or Okur as you mention, you end up with tons of mid range jump shots by the big when Lin passes out. And when Lin tries to take it to the rack (one of his best skills) he's going 1on 2 with the 2nd man being a long tall body who will probably block Lin or force Lin into a miss. And again, even if Lin dumps off, you got a midrange jump shot from your big man (granted Brook and Hamilton Scola can all shoot ok). Basically there's not as much pressure on the defense with a midrange open jumper, even if they make alot of them like Lamarcus Aldridge.

I think Lin will get some solid stats no matter what whether assists or points. His work load no matter the system or role will be heavy. But I'd rather see this team win.

I also agree Lin is no spectacular playmaker. He is just talented at what he does well. His key skill is offensive pressure and knowing how to make good decisions generally in tough situations or split second situations. Sometimes on basic plays, Lin looks super ordinary. After 5-6 years in the league, he still makes ugly aesthetic jump passes off the weak foot or whatever whereas CP3 will do it under control and reverse pivot against 2 trapping defenders to look completely under control at all times.

But Lin more than makes up for it with the rest of his attacking game. The Nets just need to use motion offense for most of the game and use just enough of Lin's skills when needed not to overdo it and also to preserve Lin for the season.

Well, I believe defense is by far the most important. Even teams that a normal person believes they stink on defense play defense. Just because they give up a ton points a night plays defense does not mean they don't play defense. It just the matter of what type of tempo the team is playing. Like how much shot opportunities the whole team will get. For example, Mike D'antoni the father of the modern basketball of today's game plays defense. The uptempo system is type system that relies on heat check. HIs game plan is to play high pressure defense until his team hits a run and get out of control on offense. Once they get a comfortable lead. That's when they start run n' gun. So every time the other team scores the players will leak and try to run to try to get an easy bucket to make the deficit even. That will lead to teams to set up try score again on a half-court situation. That's a type of defense on the scoreboard. This is just rinse and repeat system that worked great at the time he was reining. It just became predictable which is why teams adjust and why he is not a good coach anymore. Nowadays that doesn't work, since most team adjusted to the modern NBA. Anyway, my point is in today's NBA you just can't play on one side of the court to win. You have to play every single facet of the game. The good thing is, Atkinson's defensive scheme looks very strong. When I was watching the Pistons game It looks very strong. I think the only thing we will lack is how we slow down the game. Will our players be smart enough to adapt towards what's going on? This is the type of question that will be answer when the season starts.

As for athletic bigs rolling towards the basket, that will always be covered with other players. For example, if Lin and Brook do a pick n pop, that will leave the driving lane open. They can always have a play where they have man on the corner backdoor, or in the side key to cut. That covers up the spacing in that side of the court which leads to the same impact as a big man rolling in. Yeah the defensive big man can always leak out of Brook to cover up the driving lane. However that leaves Brook wide open. So at the end of the day, it will lead to how Lin reads the defense make the right decision to either drive in or pass out to the options he has. This is why it's not necessary. It will all lead on Lin's decision making.

This team can still win with that system on how much Lin can adapt for what the type of personell he has on the court. I.e. Lin's decision making will be key.

I think Mike D'Antoni is still a good X & O offensive coach. For me, he's a suspect player personality manager especially with big NBA stars. I think Houston will definitely win over 45 games this season. Playoff contender? Probably not but they'll score & make the playoffs pretty easy. So I think it's possible, but the Nets dont have the right players for an MDA type offense anyways aside from Lin and a couple others.

I agree defense matters. All good teams are decent at both ends. We all know the Nets are a team that need to be decent on both ends to eek out wins due to marginal NBA talent level overall on this roster.

Personally, I think it's very suboptimal for Lin to play without a mobile diving tall and long big who is somewhat physical. I've seen the Lakers season when Lin played with floating PnR artists in Boozer and Jordan Hill and Wes Johnson could cut from the baseline. It was terrible, ineffective, and stifled Lin's ability, collapsed the floor spacing, and made the team marginal. When Ed Davis was in, Lin and the team was on another level. It freed up the floor in a way that caters to Lin's skill set and opened up the drives. Lin could attack or dump off. Wes's man would have to run over to cover Lin on many open drives where Lin could kick it to someone for a wide open 3.

My personal opinion- if the offense is mostly Brook fading on PnR and shooting open 17-20 foot jump shots all day, this team is going to stink. Just my opinion.

Luckily, I think Coach Atkinson gets all of this and knows Lin better than us all. And he knows Lin must be dynamic for the Nets to win games. I'm not that worried.

I think D'antoni is a step behind in comparison to all the modern coaches that are all coming out now (i.e. Quin Snyder, Mike Malone,Budenholzer, Brad Stevens, Luke Walton, Jeff Hornacek, and Kerr). I'm leaving out Thibs, Vogel, Stan Van Gundy, and Clifford because they don't push the tempo as much as the other guys but they are easily a better coach than him. Honestly, the only coaches that he is subpar or better than is JKidd, Tyrone Lue, Dwayne Casey, Brett Brown, Spo, Gentry, and Hoiberg.

I believe the Rockets will have a losing record this year. IMO the Beard is a little overrated from the numbers he puts up. I think he gets most of his stats from transitions. He does not try on defense. He is a good player I just don't think he is top 10 in the league. He will have a very hard time being that he is the only good offensive player they have. Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson will also get there numbers. However, I don't see anyone of these players try on the other side of the floor. Some people are high on Clint Capela I never really seen him play so I can't really judge. There defense will be atrocious though. If you ask me, they are just as good as the Nets. Which is a 30 win team. We might be better though because Atkinson is still a question mark as a coach.

As for Lin, PNR. I think Brook will hold out. He won't get you those crazy highlight reel plays but he is a decent enough roll man. Lin will just have to get use to how Brook wants to get fed from the roll.

[Prokorov]

I strongly disagree with this statement. If that was the case, you don't need to get guys like Lin, Foye, Scola, or Vasquez. You can just get Gary Neal or Brandon Jennings on a low ball 1 year deal while letting the rookies play max minutes to develop the new kids like what the Lakers are doing this season rolling it out for the young guns to go on a development year.

I disagree. Having veterans around your young guys is EXTREMELY important. Not having solid vets around is the quickest way to have your young guys develop bad habits, and being forced into roles they are not ready for. having Lin and Brook is important. guys who can get shots, create offense so that young guys arent forced into big volume they arent ready for.

Having rookies play max minutes is not a good way to develop players, other then high lotto picks who are ready for that sort of thing.

The Nets are not doing that. For one, there's no purpose in tanking since they got no picks.

Putting development ahead of winning is not the same as tanking. to VERY different things

Second, you don't sign Lin for 3 years and get Foye and backup vets like Vasquez and Scola (not big fans of either V or S but they are vets with history esp. Scola) and play them in the preseason as much as they have if you are planning on the youth movement.

Sure you do, as mentioned you need a mixed enviornment for proper development... Lin is also 28 like brook. they are part of the future. in 2-3 years they will still be in their primes.

The guys playing in preseason are the vets. The only new kid is RHJ. Everyone else is an old timer player playing much of the preseason or at least have 2-4 seasons. That's because the Nets plan to be competitive and try to win.

EVERYONE is playing in preseason. like legit all 15 guys. the point is for atkinson to get a glimpse at everyone. this is his first time seeing any of these guys in real action.

For anyone thinking this is a redevelopment year or that the Nets can't get that 7th or 8th seed, its because they have never really followed or watched Jeremy Lin that closely. Nets fans thinking this year will be 20-30 wins believe Lin is a 2nd rate point guard on the level of Ramon Sessions, Jarrett Jack, or worse. Boy are these Nets fans in for a pleasant surprise. You got to look beyond his airball layups and jumpers and his unorthodox movements and see the results. It's too easy to get stuck on those things I admit.

Tell that to the GM and coach, who said this is a process and a development year. im not saying they cant win some games and suprise. but the focus is absolutely on development first, winning second.


Lin cannot do it alone. He's not a singular talent. But he has game changing ability. His talents require a team based game and then he'll use his hyper quickness and pick and roll savvy just enough to create headaches for other teams and eek out wins. That's what the Nets have.

Granted Lin needs to play almost all the games for them to be competitive. Otherwise, I think this team is going to stink.

Lin will play every game he is healthy for. he will start every game. we will probably not be very good either way

I expect a playoff birth regardless as long as Lin is playing most of the games. This is not delusion talking. Who am I? Just an NBA fan. But this is coming from someone who follows the NBA closely well before Kenny A and D Coleman were doing there thing with Drazen. I've seen enough to know what Lin can do with a team supporting him and built to give him some freedom, as this team is poised to do.

Playoffs would be great... but for me i care more about the young guys developing, atkinson building a culture, and the team playing 100% on a nightly basis. anything on top of that is gravy