[ESPN Lin Closure Article] http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/8757744/jeremy-lin-shows-new-york-knicks-why-keeper
11pt, 6 ast, 4 reb, 2 stls, 41/30/80% Not bad for a young point guard who hasn't started a full season yet. If this is what Lin calls "terrible," then I look forward to his playing well, or even just solid and consistent.
It is not that Lin didn't play aggressive, but Harden for a lot of this season so far had been PG and Lin as SG. Lin needs to stay at PG and touches the ball when he is PG, not SG.
LOL. It is quite hilarious how many long time Rocket fans don't see it & yet it is clear as day to most fans on twitter & reddit. Even NBA bloggers have been saying it. Lin has been misused for much of the season he has been playing out of position & has been doing to much of what he is poor at (spot up shooting) & to little of what he is great at PNR & jumpers off the dribble. Everyone keeps saying he is passive, but frankly the offensive system doesn't help. He isn't being constantly put in a position to be aggressive. Just a few thoughts.
Then what made last night any different? Why did he score 22 points last night, mostly with Harden in the game? He was put in the same exact position. The difference was he was aggressive because he wanted to play well in his return to the Garden. Plain and simple.
Did you watch the game? The offense mainly ran through him, he was allowed to stay on the floor when Harden went out, and he wasn't yanked for Douglas for long chunks of time
Bill Bradley's point is correct. That's right Sweet Lou. The game last night was night and day difference on how they have been using Lin. He was the primary ball handler, and was allowed to play long stretches -- even most of the 4th quarter when they were up by 20 for most of that time. It's easy to look at stats the next morning, but it's generally agreed that you need to also watch the game to get a balanced knowledge of the game. That's why there are scouts, after all.
There were a lot more screens and pick and rolls for jeremy this game in comparison to other games. If you just watch the highlights you can see most of his points came off the pick and roll or someone just setting a screen for him. I think I even saw harden set a screen? I think that was the biggest difference, but I also agree he was more aggressive.
that's definitely the biggest difference. i wonder if they'll continue to do so, or was this a one time thing cause he was back in NY.
I seriously don't understand how everybody sees it but you. It was night & day different even the players said as much, they made a concentrated effort to get Lin going. Even the NY media said so.
It seems like making Lin and Harden work together is a simple thing. Just split the touches like they did last night. If they can do that on a consistent basis they'll be impossible to stop. Try and cue too much on one and get burned by the other. Did anyone else notice some very hardenesque drives from Jeremy? He even held the ball like a running back once or twice. He got his points the same way harden does when his shot isn't falling. Drove the lane and finished or got fouled.
The Knicks decided they were too good for scouting reports and their defense on Lin or for any Rocket was to just let Tyson Chandler handle it at the basket. Lin doesn't run the offense because he can't or doesn't want to when teams game plan to hedge on his drives or have a single cover to force him to go left.
There were more than a few things that were different. -the game started with plays designed to ISO Lin (leading to baskets) -4 uninterrupted minutes at the start of the 2nd quarter with Harden OFF the floor and Lin running the 2nd unit (+7) -5 uninterrupted minutes at the start of the 4th quarter with Harden OFF the floor and Lin running the 2nd unit (-1) -25.5% usage vs season average 18.8% -15 FG attempts vs season average of 10.3 -39.0 total minutes vs season average of 32 minutes in previous games So, there was a concerted effort to get Lin on the floor staggered with Harden. This was also only the 4th game of the season (excluding the last SAS game) that Lin saw more minutes on the floor than Harden. The 7 games prior to NY Lin played the following minutes... TOR : 33 BOS : 27 WAS : 30 SAS : 42 (Harden out) DAL : 18 SAS : 26 LAL : 20 His play time in previous games (excepting SAS) was small and extremely erratic. This is not ideal for a rhythm player. So yes, there were changes in lineups, substitutions, and staggering of minutes that were not being done before. For a point of comparison, during the Toronto game Lin led the 2nd unit for a total of 5 minutes in the 2nd quarter while in the Boston game Lin did not play a single minute without Harden on the floor. This was the first time we saw this particular substitution pattern, and I hope the Coaches give it a fair try before they mess around with it again.
torocan, Thanks for that analysis. Its seems there are two camps of ClutchFans: 1) See/Hear no evil, repeat "Lin is useless", don't pay close attention to games, etc. 2) Pay close attention to games, notice subtle and not so subtle differencens, invest time to do actual analysis. It's past due time to Free Jeremy Lin.
torocan, what do you think is going on? Just getting around to experimenting with staggering Harden and Lin? Or a special effort for MSG because they know the world is watching (and also it would be terrible for Lin's confidence if Knicks humiliated him at MSG)? Was it much different than the first Knicks game? Other than Parsons not going off, of course. Thanks for your insight as always.
No, the difference is both Harden and Lin found their comfortable zone. Lin was the primary ball handler for a good portion of the game, Harden was spoting up during that period. They are getting better as a backcourt duo, but I expect more rough games for both. Good thing is, they will only get better.
