Super Lintendo: The Jeremy Lin Thread

[leeramundo]

So, Lin to start at SG or not? At this point it's obviously between him and Lamb, and to me it's not about who's a better player. Is there enough playmaking in the starting lineup to be effective without Lin? He seems to do ok as a shooting guard but I think his best attribute is his playmaking and ability to set an effective tempo for the team's offense. Would he be more effective coming off the bench then, especially considering the lack of playmaking of the second unit? What about on defense? I'm not certain of this but I'm pretty sure Lamb has a couple inches on Lin. What do you guys see so far in terms of these guys' defense of the opposing SG?

[anthoang]

Lin is a sports icon and Frank Robinson is the reason blacks played in MLB.

I'm sorry, it was a well intended post and all but it's just funny to me.

That was poor. But think of it like the way Tiger Woods impacted blacks and golf. Not because he flat out dominated, which Lin clearly doesn't. But because of the stereotypes he broke and the new african american market he brought in. African americans didn't watch golf. Period. Then they did. Not just because he was out of this world good, but because he was African American.

I forgot about Tiger Woods. He was big for African-American blacks in golf. But what most Americans don't know is that Tiger is 1/2 Asian. Tiger isn't that big for asians because there are already so many asians in golf... especially those Koreans.

As for Lin starting or not, I think the matchups has to be considered. Lin is an underrated defender, but I haven't seen Lin defend 6'6" SGs much. I do know Lin tend to have problems covering smaller quicker PGs. But if a team needs a PG to get blocks and steals, Lin has the stats to back it up.

[Kswiss]

So, Lin to start at SG or not? At this point it's obviously between him and Lamb, and to me it's not about who's a better player. Is there enough playmaking in the starting lineup to be effective without Lin? He seems to do ok as a shooting guard but I think his best attribute is his playmaking and ability to set an effective tempo for the team's offense. Would he be more effective coming off the bench then, especially considering the lack of playmaking of the second unit? What about on defense? I'm not certain of this but I'm pretty sure Lamb has a couple inches on Lin. What do you guys see so far in terms of these guys' defense of the opposing SG?

From a team standpoint it's hard to choose, obviously for Lin's career it's better for him to start. Lin is (aside from possibly Batum) our best perimeter defender. That's the major upside of starting him. He is also a solid (and possibly exceptional if he continues with his new form) shooter and phenomenal playmaker. The only problem with starting him is it somewhat takes away his arguably greatest attribute which is his elevation of teammates. Al Jefferson doesn't need Lin to set him up as much as Cody Zeller does. Obviously while everyone can benefit from a nice set-up, bench players usually have less 1 on 1 scoring ability than starters so Lin's talent is even more evident when raising the level of bench players. I'm sure we can be successful with Lin starting or off the bench but we will have to see which looks better once the season starts. Obviously we should have Lin close games but starting-wise I am undecided from a team standpoint. More playmakers and shooters in the starting unit can't hurt and would definitely help spacing for Al so it's really a toss-up. I would say if the starting unit's perimeter defense can hold up reasonably well, then I'm leaning towards Lin off the bench, but if we can't get stops consistently, then I'd definitely consider starting Lin to help put a big/quick guard on the perimeter.

[freewheelin]

ok folks it's NOT KEMBA vs LIN . it's currently between the choice of LIN or LAMB at the SG. to me off course being a Lin fan I would chose Lin over Lamb. Currently it looks likely that Lin is a much better player than Lamb. The only thing Lamb has going for him is his wingspan, pretty good at rebounding, how is his Defense compared to Lin any numbers?

[freewheelin]

whatever clifford's choice is, he better choose ASAP. the starting lineup needs practice with each other.

[leeramundo]

So, Lin to start at SG or not? At this point it's obviously between him and Lamb, and to me it's not about who's a better player. Is there enough playmaking in the starting lineup to be effective without Lin? He seems to do ok as a shooting guard but I think his best attribute is his playmaking and ability to set an effective tempo for the team's offense. Would he be more effective coming off the bench then, especially considering the lack of playmaking of the second unit? What about on defense? I'm not certain of this but I'm pretty sure Lamb has a couple inches on Lin. What do you guys see so far in terms of these guys' defense of the opposing SG?

From a team standpoint it's hard to choose, obviously for Lin's career it's better for him to start. Lin is (aside from possibly Batum) our best perimeter defender. That's the major upside of starting him. He is also a solid (and possibly exceptional if he continues with his new form) shooter and phenomenal playmaker. The only problem with starting him is it somewhat takes away his arguably greatest attribute which is his elevation of teammates. Al Jefferson doesn't need Lin to set him up as much as Cody Zeller does. Obviously while everyone can benefit from a nice set-up, bench players usually have less 1 on 1 scoring ability than starters so Lin's talent is even more evident when raising the level of bench players. I'm sure we can be successful with Lin starting or off the bench but we will have to see which looks better once the season starts. Obviously we should have Lin close games but starting-wise I am undecided from a team standpoint. More playmakers and shooters in the starting unit can't hurt and would definitely help spacing for Al so it's really a toss-up. I would say if the starting unit's perimeter defense can hold up reasonably well, then I'm leaning towards Lin off the bench, but if we can't get stops consistently, then I'd definitely consider starting Lin to help put a big/quick guard on the perimeter.

I also think Lin's a better defender than Lamb. He's very much underrated in defense at this point. But I'm just wondering how he can stack up when he has to guard guys who are 6'5 or 6'6.

[lin is ok]

Lin coming off the 2nd unit? Whats the point ... he is an SG also in the 2nd unit and Roberts is the PG. Besides Roberts is doing a pretty good job there.

[HornetJail]

Lin coming off the 2nd unit? Whats the point ... he is an SG also in the 2nd unit and Roberts is the PG. Besides Roberts is doing a pretty good job there.

We have an entire season of evidence showing that Roberts should not be getting minutes. Lin will be backup PG and Daniels the backup SG

[BlackOutBuzz]

Lin coming off the 2nd unit? Whats the point ... he is an SG also in the 2nd unit and Roberts is the PG. Besides Roberts is doing a pretty good job there.

We have an entire season of evidence showing that Roberts should not be getting minutes. Lin will be backup PG and Daniels the backup SG

Yup, we're seeing some experimentation now with Marvin as a third wing, which would seemingly indicate Lamb starting at the two with Lin as the backup PG.

Kemba-Lamb-Batum-Zeller-Al
Lin-Marvin-Frank-Hawes

If Lin starts at the 2, that brings Roberts into the 9-man while sliding one of Frank, Marvin, and Hawes out (or running a 10-man rotation, which Clifford allegedly doesn't like).

Kemba-Lin-Batum-Zeller-Al
Roberts-Lamb-Marvin-Hawes?

[ChokeFasncists]

Seems like Lin and Roberts play pretty well together. Roberts is good at handling the ball and making tough shots, Lin is good at passing.

[13th Man]

Lin coming off the 2nd unit? Whats the point ... he is an SG also in the 2nd unit and Roberts is the PG. Besides Roberts is doing a pretty good job there.

We have an entire season of evidence showing that Roberts should not be getting minutes. Lin will be backup PG and Daniels the backup SG

Yep, a few preseason games does not set the tone for the entire season. Lin will most likely run the 2nd unit and Roberts be the 3rd pg. Then when MKG comes back, Lamb will replace Daniels. A balanced attack is better than unevenly stacking one unit imo and if Lin plays up to expectations he could be a candidate for 6MOTY.

[spaceballer]

Lin coming off the 2nd unit? Whats the point ... he is an SG also in the 2nd unit and Roberts is the PG. Besides Roberts is doing a pretty good job there.

We have an entire season of evidence showing that Roberts should not be getting minutes. Lin will be backup PG and Daniels the backup SG

To be fair, that performance last year is under a different offensive system than the one that the Hornets are trying to implement this season. And it seems, at least based on early preseason performances, that this new system works better for Roberts than last year's more stagnant offensive system. We'll have to see if his preseason performance carries into the regular season under this new offensive system, but that's true of a lot of the other guys that have only played in preseason so far.

[Dancingpanda]

After watching the past couple of games vs Saturday Nights game, Im betting Lin Comes off the Bench in the Okc James Harden Role.
He will Run the 2nd unit, and close out the game with the starters.

In Saturday nights Game, there was limited ball movement and penatration with out lin, and considerably less when kemba was on the bench.

Im guesssung we also bring Lin off the Bench to change up the pace and playtype.

[spaceballer]

After watching the past couple of games vs Saturday Nights game, Im betting Lin Comes off the Bench in the Okc James Harden Role.
He will Run the 2nd unit, and close out the game with the starters.

In Saturday nights Game, there was limited ball movement and penatration with out lin, and considerably less when kemba was on the bench.

Im guesssung we also bring Lin off the Bench to change up the pace and playtype.

Even if Lin starts, staggering substitutions can also ensure that one or more of Kemba/Lin/Batum will always be in the game to help facilitate ball movement for the bench. And the offense in the first unit in Saturday's game looked nothing like the freer movement with Lin. They looked like last year's team's offense, even with Batum.

I'm really hoping that was just due to travel fatigue, and that Saturday's start was an outlier. Because if not, then it may mean that Portland fans are correct in their criticisms that Batum can tend to be passive and defer at times, which leads to Al and Kemba falling into old habits and turning the offense back into last year's offense. Having Lin's playmaking in there keeps the starting lineup's offense unpredictable for opponents.

Especially given Cliff's preference for a 9 rather than 10 man rotation, starters will certainly be playing with bench players. So starting Lin doesn't negate the ability to use him with the bench, with intelligent substitution patterns.

[fatlever]

Most of Roberts value on offense is predicated on him hitting pull up jumpers and foul-line runners while coming off a screen. That's not exactly the type of hot streak I want to bet on for an entire season.

I'd still prefer that Lin operated as the backup PG when Kemba is out.

And I as mentioned previously, starting Lin means that if he picks up two quick fouls, then we are stuck with Roberts (and no Kemba or Lin) running the 2nd unit, which is probably a bad idea. Bringing Lin off the bench helps ensure that one of either Kemba or Lin is in the game at all times.

Lin becomes the team's 6th man and still gets 25-30mpg and still closes out most games in the 4th.

[fatlever]

Cliff talks all the time about a 9-man rotation, but more often than not, he plays 10. I don't think that will change this year as he will be using the depth to search for players who are having good nights or creating the best matchups.

[blueice]

Lin is a sports icon and Frank Robinson is the reason blacks played in MLB.

I'm sorry, it was a well intended post and all but it's just funny to me.

If you only think about the US, he's nothing to you. If you can broaden your sight, you will understand. There are 23 million people in Taiwan, and I think nobody ever made it to NBA. But basketball is one of the most popular sports there, so go figure what Jeremy Lin means to Taiwan.

In China, it's about the same, billions of people there and Yao is gone, so it's easy to understand.

Btw, how many Asian Americans made it to Lin's spot today? Is Asian American (or if you want to specify, Taiwanese/Chinese Americans) is a minority that we can just ignore?

[cw3k]

Please stop with this racial profile. Lin is a god damn American. There is no such nationality as "Taiwanese"

[fatlever]

Lin is a sports icon and Frank Robinson is the reason blacks played in MLB.

I'm sorry, it was a well intended post and all but it's just funny to me.

If you only think about the US, he's nothing to you. If you can broaden your sight, you will understand. There are 23 million people in Taiwan, and I think nobody ever made it to NBA. But basketball is one of the most popular sports there, so go figure what Jeremy Lin means to Taiwan.

In China, it's about the same, billions of people there and Yao is gone, so it's easy to understand.

Btw, how many Asian Americans made it to Lin's spot today? Is Asian American (or if you want to specify, Taiwanese/Chinese Americans) is a minority that we can just ignore?

I think you missed the point of what Liver_Pooty was laughing about. He was laughing at the comparison to Frank Robinson and baseball. The original poster was making a decent point about Lin being a pioneer for Asian-American basketball players, however, he used the wrong person in his baseball analogy. It was Jackie Robinson, not Frank Robinson who is largely credited for breaking race barriers in baseball. Frank Robinson came several years later.

That being said, everyone should acknowledge that what Jackie Robinson did is 100 times more difficult, due to the fact that up until that point, African American baseball players were not allowed to play in the white pro leagues. No hateful, racist laws stood in the way of Lin playing basketball in the NBA.

[anthoang]

I really did use the wrong person in my post. I really meant to say Jackie Robinson, but mistakenly typed FRANK Robinson... then did a google search for "Frank Robinson" and luckily found a Frank Robinson did indeed exist as a baseball player who played 10 years after Jackie Robinson... and amazingly, this Frank Robinson put up huge numbers, but no one ever talks about him because most of the attention goes to JACKIE Robinson. I was able to 'cover' up my mistake.

As for Yao and Lin, there were already other pioneers... C Wang Zhizhi was the first Chinese basketball player in the NBA. He was a 2nd round pick of the Dallas Mavericks. There was also PG Yuta Tabuse, "The Michael Jordan of Japan", but he only lasted 4 games in the NBA.

But Yao and Lin were the first to get superstar treatment -- to get the attention of non-basketball fans. So, Yao and Lin could be considered pioneers with their fame that reaches non-sports fans.

Oh and by the way, there were plenty of racist remarks to Lin (especially when playing road games during his Harvard years), Asians know all too well what these remarks were/are. Yao came straight from China, so he didn't grow up in a multi-racial environment -- and he is an intimidating 7'6" giant no one would dare to confront in person.