Tension wrote:Wouldn't Sampson DNP Lin for a bunch of random games regardless of the matchup? I mean I know Lin's a relatively average player, but Toney Douglas is terrible and the guy Lin overtook when in NY. Although I do believe Sampson was coaching when Lin had that crazy game against the Spurs
Not sure which Sampson and Lin you were talking about, but Lin was one of only two players who started all 82 games for the Rockets this season (Omer Asik being the other one).
That Spurs loss where Harden sat out and Lin went crazy saved the Rockets' season. For 14 games after that they let Lin initiate the offense and, instead of hurting Harden's game, it made Harden's efficiency go through the roof. HOU blew out good teams by 20+ routinely to go 12-2 for the stretch (with one random McHale kneejerk loss at TOR where he overcompensated and adjusted to not set a single pick against Calderon for 3 quarters after two Asik fumbles in P&R. The Calderon who was arguably the worst P&R defender in the history of the NBA), then McHale suddenly decided to "adjust" to go all Harden again.
Without that stretch, HOU wouldn't even have made the playoffs. I reckon that was one of the main reasons why HOU top brass was not too happy with McHale. He is very "eye-testsy" and his attention span is measured in minutes with no ability to see the big picture and long-term trends. From what they said after McHale's hiring interview, I think they got the impression that he was the exact opposite of what he proved to be in actuality.
