G53 LAL @POR PreGame Thread+Poll

Game Thread 147

Lakers (13-39, 6-21 away) vs Trail Blazers(35-17, 22-5 home)

This is going to be another tough game. Coming in with a last last night and being a back-to-back game. Hence the odds are against LAL.

How entertaining the game is going to be, is all depends on coach Byron Scott.

MEMBERS POLL

Guess JLin's stats
By Maknusia

147 Comments

  1. Yes Mak…

  2. For you dear…tomorrow will be Linsanity!…if BScott is blinded on minutes

  3. Depending so-called “Linsanity” to happen courtesy of BS is like expecting him to have the crow turned to white during this game.

  4. Once @psalm234 is in, he will add the Poll…sorry about that

  5. Thanks, Mak!
    I added featured image + poll =)

  6. got it, thanks!

  7. no wonder…i was kinda shock…for it to suddenly appear…thanks mate

  8. hehe.. I didn’t realize it’s a back-to-back game

  9. Highlights

  10. Jlin has been right. This is the team that everyone wanted to shoot the ball once touching it and lin was the only trying to find for open man. This culture will not change as it’s infected by the captain and their coach.

  11. Bc almost everyone in this team needs to fight for their next contract. Lin has to be more realistic about to play team ball w this group. No one will want to play w low stats plus this team no need to win…. smh!

  12. Just watched the post game interview. Sounding like the coach again. He also sounded frustrated that thing didn’t change when Denver started to be aggressive in the 2nd half. Guess the coach wants to stay with the same style of play.

    I thought LAL were a lot faster in the 1st half. Was a more exciting game to watch, but the 2nd half seems to slow down completely. And then the 1 on 1 because of the shot clock.

  13. One of the highest human ideals is to evolve, to try to be the best we can be. You can find it every form of religion or philosophy to various degrees of how “I” relates to “us”. Thus we have a society based upon rules of degrees of how we get along with one another, or better known as a “social contract”. Individual freedom must always be balanced with collective responsibility. One individuals rights must never trample on the neighbour’s rights.

    At the present moment, that balance has been shifted far right to “I”. The ideals of Ayn Rand’s superman is rampant today. Sadly, our times is full of people who believe that “the only proper moral purpose of one’s life is the pursuit of one’s own happiness, that the only social system consistent with this morality is one that displays full respect for individual rights embodied in laissesy-faire capitalism”. Rand said that ” my philosophy is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.”

    When you look at KOBE, Harden, Melo with this insight you can see how deluded that “noblest heroic being” really is. They have made themselves heroic, not by their own efforts, but by standing on the backs of others.

    The battle Lin fights goes much deeper than a BBall game, it’s a battle of moral shifting back to a centre of the social contract. The “trickle down economic” has failed. The rich keeps getting richer and there is ABSOLUTELY NO trickle down. The bankers and CEOs that stand on the backs of society are doing the same thing as KOBE, Harden and Melo. Self justification is now socially acceptable where once it was ridiculed. Social responsibility must become a moral imperative again.

    A long time ago I read “Civilization” about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. It began with asking why and how did such a powerful civilization crumbled. The answer the author proposed was fatigue. The highest ideals of America are being slowly marginalized like Jeremy Lin. Soon it will be weakened to the core and fatigue will set in. Lin is fighting this battle to save our souls from ourselves, not only on the religious scale, but on the humanist scale as well.

  14. I wonder why lin didn’t even shoot once in the second half except garbage time?

  15. I saw that too. Only thing I can think of is he’s pushing BS’s agenda, but Clarkson looked more aggressive than Lin so I don’t know. BS is giving different instructions to them?

  16. Clarkson’s always more aggressive than Lin in O bc he is fighting for his future in Lakers.

  17. That last minute substitution putting Lin in and Clarkson out was so strange. What is Lin gonna do w/ 1 minute being cold from the bench?

    Just seem it is so BS can say Lin finished the game, but we still lost.

  18. Losing confidence? Maybe it is because of BS’s crappy coaching and substitutions and playing the inexperienced players.

    https://twitter.com/SerenaWinters/status/565555952804327424

  19. Lin’s pass first mentality might be hurting him too in that defenders are always look to cut off his passing lane.

  20. Should Lin embrace or leave Linsanity behind?

    This question dawned upon me after watching two different halves for JLin last night:

    1st half “Attacking” 7pts/0a/1TO w/ 3/3 shooting,
    2nd half “Facilitating” 0pts/4a/4TOs

    Let’s discuss this question with the thought of constructive criticism w/o bashing Lin. We know he’s trying his best out there in the worst tanking environment possible in minimum minutes so he’s also trying to figure out things. It’s great lately he’s been scoring efficiently off-the-bench but everyone can improve. As the late great Coach Dean Smith said, the goal is to have continuous improvement.

    I feel that Lin knows he needs to play aggressively because that’s his identity as a player and that’s how he made his Linsanity mark in NY with multiple aggressive drives to the rim wowing everyone plus crisp passes to teammates. He did it in the 1st half with efficient attacking minus the assists but for 1 reason or another, he chose to facilitate his teammates in 2nd half and stopped attacking. Was it Byron’s order or was it Lin’s own idea that he needs to involve teammates to play team-ball but it was less effective as his teammates can’t deliver?

    I watched Dean Smith coverage by Kenny “The Jet” Smith and there was one quote about the late great coach that’s worth discussing:

    He often challenged, “Can you be an individual in a team-concept AND how your individuality could HURT or HELP?”

    He broke it down so simple. He told me once, a guy trying to get an assist is being selfish also! A Life Lesson”

    IMHO, Lin is still trying to find his identify how to be an attacking player in a team-concept. That’s why we sometimes see he’s scoring with ease but then he tried to balance it by facilitating to his teammates to a fault resulting in multiple TOs. Where is the balance? I don’t really know. Only Lin can figure it out. But if he has 2 consecutive TOs in passing/facilitating his teammates, it’s probably good idea to switch to his attack mode rather than forcing the pass.

    What do you think? How can Lin balance his ‘attacking’ Linsanity identity with facilitating teammates as a Point Guard? Should Lin embrace or leave Linsanity behind? Or find the balance in between?

    http://youtu.be/PtWxfJ0Ddc0?t=1m52s

  21. That was so curious why BScott wanted to make a point with Clarkson.
    And it’s not fair to expect a cold Lin to rally the team to get momentum going with 1 min.

  22. Byron Scott’s substitution patterns don’t change, regardless of the situation. Boozer/Davis in at 5 min left in 1st & 3rd qtr, out with 5 mins left in 2nd & 4th qtr.

  23. @disqus_zDgJ5zJRLn:disqus , you are 100% correct.

    It’s a great reflection of how “I, Me and Myself” philosophy has suffocated our modern-day culture.
    And it sounds great until individual selfishness destroys the concept of team basketball, fathers leaving kids in to pursue personal “happiness”, people get a quick divorce since that’s what makes them happy, no personal sacrifice is needed.

    That’s why we root for Lin to represent what’s good and honorable to help others, play unselfish teamball even when he often doesn’t get the credit.

    It’s too bad the media goes crazy over individual dunks but dismiss great teamwork. That’s why I love the Spurs beautiful ‘boring’ teamball winning the championship last year!

    I hope people will get to the point of fatigue on this selfish diva-ball in the NBA and stop buying tickets.

  24. It’s by design. It’s like trying to win at poker by laying open your cards for opponents to see.

  25. I really don’t think Lin has any choice in the matter. The first half last night it seemed like the Lakers were doing too well. bS made adjustments to stop the flow of good play. Lin was told to facilitate instead while the rest of the team was told to score. A simple pretence of trying to win while making lin look meek.

  26. That was also my suspicion that BScott often gave direction to Lin to facilitate, not score.
    I’d like to see what happens if Lin passes in 3 possession and get 1 shot in 1 possession.
    As BScott said, when open take the shot.

    But Lin’s still in tough spot indeed.

    It’s really painful watching BScott’s system taking away Lin’s strength and make him into Ronnie Price’s no-scoring/just facilitating mode.

  27. Some beautiful and appropriately philosophical comments from psalm and acbc below…thanks for those. Between the now very bald tanking strategies and the unnecessary emotional abuse BS enjoys dishing to his players, it can only be very wearing even to the most strong-minded players. They try to play together and get separated by their coach, they try to go iso for their stats and they just look messy and foolish. The only good left to turn to is working with the seriously in-your-face spiritual and moral challenges…and we know no one is better at that than Lin, and it’s a continuing inspiration for all…well, most, anyway :)…of us.

    Jeremy has proved himself astonishingly tough, physically and mentally. If he seems inconsistent within a game there’s no doubt the losing strategies and the inabilities and discouragement of his teammates has got to get to him sometimes, but it’s equally certain that he’s being given orders. We can infer what those orders are, but we can’t know, so it’s hard not to put the blame on him. But the truth is aggression also requires some minimum help, as Acbc points out below regarding aggressive wealth accumulators. Every time J gets the ball, he’s the one the whole opposing team collapses on and he gets no help or protection. Psalm mentions Lin knows he need to play aggressively because it’s his Linsanity identity. For me, it’s not a question of knowing what he must do, but precisely because it’s his natural style it is what he WANTS to do and is driven to do. “Losing has nothing to do with me.” But he is being straight-jacketed by instructions to avoid attacking, and by teammates who either have inadequate ability or are too confused and demoralized to be motivated to participate with him. In this ugly mess, I’m actually beginning to prefer that he not drive himself into the teeth of gangs of opponents and risk injury for nothing. He can’t help doing his best, but just please manage to stay healthy for a good next contract with another organization.

  28. Linsanity!!

  29. Great vid. You wonder how heartsick it must sometimes make great coaches like Wooden and Smith to see the poor values in the big-money entertainment business that professional sports has become. Then again, they probably had the heart and perspective to just put their heads down and do their best in the places they were given. As Jeremy is trying to do also.

  30. Easy answer…. just shoot and assist… don’t drive the lane to risk injury.. F the lakers…be healthy for his next team

  31. Not sure if posted earlier. Pretty funny though:

    Charles Barkley rips Rockets GM Daryl Morey, rants about analytics on Inside The NBA

    http://youtu.be/NZf9NFaCQHQ

  32. well said @lajane:disqus

    With only 30 games to go, it’s not worth it for Lin to sacrifice his body risking injury jeopardizing his next contract for a tanking team and an incompetent coach. I only wish he would keep the aggressive shooting to have better stats in the 2nd half LOL

    Health is #1 priority then play his best team-ball brand the best way he knows how. May this summer come sooner so Lin and his fans can smile more often =) I guess if we looked back at this season, we learned from Lin’s journey that life is tough especially with egotistical people and results are not guaranteed but we need to keep fighting and persevere no matter what the outcome is!

    I would give Lin A++ in this lesson of perseverance, hard work, mental toughness. As a fan, I can’t ask anything more in this process. Thank you Jeremy for being a great role model!

  33. A team player …

    https://twitter.com/linspiredinca/status/565531234961719296

  34. LOL
    [Mark 0:52] “I never mentioned the Rockets as a legitimate contender because they’re not … Listen, I wouldn’t know Daryl Morey if he walked in this room right now. [Shaq can’t control his laughter]”

    Morey is wrong to pick up fights with Barkley, especially with HOU poor playoff record.
    But I’m enjoying this thoroughly hehe…

  35. [mark 2:07] “Analytics don’t work. It’s just some c*** for some people who are really smart made up to get in the game coz they had no talent. Because they have not talent to be able to play so smart guys want to fit in and made up a term called Analytics”

    [mark 2:49] “All these guys who run this organization who talk about analytics have 1 thing in common .. they are a bunch of guys who never play the game and they never the girls in High School. And they just want to get in the game”

    wow, Barkley just zinged Morey to the core!

  37. https://twitter.com/zukovka/status/565544050967982080

  38. Howard Beck’s article on Lin today is interesting. It says Houston will be a highly interested suitor in the summer for Lin.
    If Lin returns to Houston, I am done with Mr. Linsanity.

  39. LOL. TNT has the most entertaining commentators of any sports commentator team.

    I believe in analytics though. People who say analytics and stats are useless are putting themselves at a disadvantage. Human perception is incredibly biased. You need analytics and numbers to check whether your perceptions are reality.

    Vice versa though, only looking at analytics can also be a disadvantage. There is often more factors behind the numbers than can be included (although analytics is getting better all the time with the real time tracking). An example is chemistry / team dynamics. You can’t take a player from another team and expect them to produce the same on a different team. That’s where I feel Morey’s strategy falls short. He can put together a team of great individual players and do well, but they’re not going to get to championship level past the teams who have the best teamwork.

  40. Thought of an example. You can get the 5 best bike riders in the world, but if they don’t have teamwork and draft together, they can never beat #6-10 bike riders who draft together.

  41. for fun!

  42. Barkley is right about Houston as a team. Barkely is seldom wrong about basketball.

    Unfortunately, Barkeley thinks Lin is a no talent scrub. I do hope Barkeley got that one wrong.

  43. Haha! If so then I am right. I got the feeling Lin has at least two teams are talking to him about the next contract. One is Lakers the other is HOU. Another possible it’s NYK. Mav & GSW mabye? That’s all the teams will consider him.

  44. I have some fear Lin may return to Houston. I think Lin is mentally in a bad place right now. He is probably burnt out from basketball and the pressure of meeting his own expectations and now being chained by the Lakers.

    Also, I don’t completely absolve Lin from blame for this season’s misery in LA. Great players establish themselves and carve out their own success. That is what Lin did in NYC. In LA, Lin didn’t even come close and I personally cannot agree with those who don’t put that on Lin for those first 15 games where he simply didn’t perform and carve out his niche no matter the obstacles & politics in his way.

    I hope Lin can take a vacation in summer, step away from basketball for a month and just relax before making his free agent decision. I do think this summer decision will make or break the rest of his nba trajectory.

  45. Is this the future? Is that what becomes of Lin?

  46. Poll Winners Update from last 5 games

    @CJSHYY:disqus impressively extended the lead to 7 while Mr. Chuckles notched 2 wins in a row to get Win #4
    @disqus_W4kOOens57:disqus is also catching up at Win #4
    Several members reached #2: @tammy & @psalm234 (no cheating 🙂
    CONGRATS!

    LEADERS

    # of Wins UserName
    7 @cjshyy
    6
    5
    4 @moominfloren, @lymania, @cjshyy0, @cjshyy1, @cjshyy2, Mr. Chuckles
    3 @cjshyy3, @cjshyy4, @cjshyy6:disqus
    2 @cjshyy7, @cjshyy8 (michael), @cjshyy9, @tammy0, @tammy1, , @tammy2, @tammy3, @psalm234:disqus , @tammy

    GAME JLIN STATS WINNER(s)
    52 7p/4a vs DEN (6/3) Mr. Chuckles (#4)
    51 11p/3a vs CLE (11/3) Mr. Chuckles (#3)
    50 14p/3a vs ORL No winners
    49 11p/6a vs MIL (11/5) @cjshyy (#7) (12/7) @tammy (#2), @tammy4, @cjshyy4 (#4), @psalm234:disqus (#2)
    48 4p/7a vs NY No winners

    – See more at: http://www.jlinportal.com/2014-15-jlin-stats-poll-winners/#sthash.7glY7XEW.dpuf

  47. Lin would not care about what you think of his decision and you are welcome to leave his bandwagon.

    “We don’t need you” in Jim Dolan voice

  48. I am free to post my thoughts as are you thanks.

  49. The problems for Lin in Lakers it’s Kobe not even really BS. Bc Kobe didn’t want anyone to be more shine than him on or off court. That’s why Lin couldn’t get long min or whatever he wanted to do on court…BS just did all the dirty job for Kobe. If w/o Kobe everything will be much much better for Lin in Lakers but too bad that will not be the case bc Buss family don’t have the guts to let go off Kobe.

    Rox, I was puzzled by why Lin didn’t really against Rox after this summer & still follow Morey?! After I saw that Chinese video w Harden & that was set up by Alex… I knew they want him back. Lin also said the Rox system it’s the most suitable for him?! So it’s very likely he will back to Rox. Plus right now CF all started to say bad about PB & they missed Lin?!

    From Lin’s interview vs NYK I knew he sure got some teams to contact him already that’s why he’s not even worry about his bad stats now…

  50. I’m pretty sure that’s Papa Lin in disguise scoring 491 pts! =]

  51. Thank you. Hope my prize will be Lin will not stay w Lakers…LOL!

  52. Barkley can be wrong too. Remember when he kissed donkey’s behind as he was wrong about Yao can’t score at least 19 pts =)

    http://youtu.be/SOK0mVRPfdk

  53. The video was set up by Alex? weird.

  54. That’s easy to do, I think =)

    now.. we need to ask your for lotto numbers. 7 wins is impressive when the closest one is at 4!

  55. yES YOU may be right. I sure hope Lin does not return to Houston. He needs a fresh start.

    Of all teams he has been on, I would most like to see Lin return to NYC though, but I really dislike Coach Fisher. And I know there is a .01% of Lin going back to NYC in general.

    I dont think there are magical green pastures for Lin. I think he will have tough sledding no matter where he goes. A team who’s coach, philiopshies, and style of play suit him would be nice.

  56. Well, more like he started the idea… I really believe Alex wants Lin to stay but they probably didn’t work out the deal or whatever last April in FL…? I don’t believe Lin flied to FL just went fishing w JJ. Pretty soon we will know…

  57. haha true. I’m glad you posted that. Let’s hope he is wrong about all asians.

  58. I don’t think he’ll return to HOU, LA or NY to be honest.

    Lin is huge in loyalty and trust . From the incident where he refused to walk-on or even return Stanford assistant coach’s call, I think trust is a huge deal for him.

    http://www.ruleoftree.com/2012/2/11/2792341/why-didnt-jeremy-lin-go-to-stanford

    “Come on, coach, I can’t play for somebody I can’t trust,” Diepenbrock recalled Lin saying.

    No trust was also Lin’s decision not to go back to NY.
    Loyalty is also why he stuck by Roger Montgomery so IMO he’ll base his decision also on trust and loyalty.

  59. Me too. I want Lin back to NYK even I don’t think Fisher is a good coach but he is easy to handle than BS (+Kobe). Bc Melo is not in back court & he will not want to play PG to against Lin. Plus only NYK can make him be famous again like he did before. Dolan has a very powerful media connection in NY. The most important is only NY & NYK believe in him as PG. They really want him to do the job.

  60. I dont want Lin to be famous. I just want to see him actually play to his strengths for once.

  61. agreed

  62. NYK is a good place to do it specially PJ said he wants NYK to play like Hawks & Spurs. I believe they will let Lin to have his team ball theory really works out. The problem is price tag… I think Rox will do it again… but NYK & Lakers all have the money too so let’s see this summer…

  63. I will never forget the comment by Kelvin Sampson. “my god lin was their entire offense”

    That there just screams “I dont think Lin can keep it up, I dont think he is that good, it was a fluke.”

    Stars on teams Are the entire offense. From Lebron to a young Kobe and so on and on.

    For them to have signed Lin and immediately you hear Sampson say stuff like that, you knew Lin was going to have it rough because the coaches already predetermined Lin was incapable.

    I wonder if any team has the guts to find confidence in Lin. At this point, I just mean as a bench backup who is given somewhat of a Ginobili role.

  64. I don’t think Lin’s that good =p

  65. Jeremy is already a winner. He made 15 million this year. He has the resources to do some incredible things.

  66. my friend, I can tell you right now there is 0.00% chance Lin will return to the LA Lakers. 0.00%

  67. Really? What made you so sure about it? I really hope not bc Kobe will try everything he can to get the contract after 2016. I really think this is the main reason why he didn’t want Lin to stay in Lakers… if no one stays or comes then Lakers has to sign him again. smh!

  68. because I have watched basketball a long time & seen plently. if Lin resigns in LA, I know NOTHING about anything at all and all my points are baloney.

  69. I think Lin knew about how bad Kobe control everything in Lakers… I believe he is not happy about it. Bc I sent tweet to Lin & his brother about don’t stay in Lakers bc Kobe… His brother gave me a favor… so I think Lin didn’t like it either.

  70. Darn it, you made me do it again. You’re just too convincing.

  71. HB is not disappointed to me.. I thought why he didn’t come to MSG interview Lin… Ya!

    https://twitter.com/HowardBeck/status/565612995896946689

  73. like i sid rox will make a move for lin. so will a lot of contenders. given how undervalued lin is he will have a lot of options. so be ready for that option. i can see it happening

  74. I don’t want Lin to stay in Lakers. This team has too many problems & more to come in the future. Don’t want him to waste his prime time for this lousy team & bad coach.

  75. he will not he will go to fast pace teams. rox is one. but luckily every team except lal plays fast pace. lin needs a big city. i think. lin will wait for what happens. avoid knicks triangle as well. cavs an option. mavs as well as rox. i hope not rox. like i said i want a big market for lin. mavs the best choice. rando may not come back to mavs. hope he goes to lal.

  76. That moment when you read Jeremy could be back in a Rockets uniform.

  77. LOL
    Jeremy might as well say, “No, thank you, Daryl. Send my regards to #7 Melo as The Key!”

    http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qSZYNp1IA4M/hqdefault.jpg

  79. I think Rondo will likely to be out of Mav bc they don’t need him.

  80. It’s a good fair article summarizing how HOU and LA didn’t welcome Lin home.
    Beck pointed out that Linsanity was NO Fluke!

    In his tenure with the Rockets, Lin had 24 games of at least 20 points, and 34 games with at least eight assists, proving that Linsanity was no fluke.
    …
    “It’s just been a growing experience, more than anything,” he said. “Never would I have thought that my career has gone in the trajectory that it’s gone in….When I was younger, it seemed like every year I would get better. It seemed like I would put the work in and then I would see those improvements. And for whatever reason, I felt like, well, I know I put the work in, and I felt like I was getting better. But it didn’t always amount to the results I wanted to see. So that’s definitely frustrating, to see that happen three straight years.”

  81. This article proves to me that Lin himself agrees that he has been struggling and not playing up to his par even as a Laker. Therefore, from this point, I am not going to pay any attention to those posters who keep on saying Lin is playing “great” under the circumstances, because I am going by what he himself says. He KNOWS he’s not performing up to what he’s capable of, even with Lakers. That’s not what I am saying: that’s what Lin is saying. If it was purely due to BS’ restrictions on his play, Lin would not be talking this way.

  82. Why would anyone want to stay with Lakers when Kobe and BS do not think much of him? I know Lin likes Southern CA but that’s about it.

  83. Very interesting reporting by Medina showing Lin’s POV that his TOVs were both products of ball-handling and X&O issues especially on spacing issues and teammates playing too much one-on-ones.

    Perhaps Clarkson simply chuck shots to counter bad spacing but Lin tried risky passes.

    Underneath his self criticism about his ball handling issues, Lin strongly suggested that his issues had more to do with the team ‘s X’s and O’s than his own decision making.

    Beyond repeatedly citing the Lakers’ spacing issues, Lin continuously bemoaned his teammates playing too much one-on-one and settling for jump shots.. He criticized the Lakers for failing to make adjustments to Denver’s increased aggressiveness that entailed winning the fourth quarter, 45-35. He then indirectly concluded that Scott’s criticism about driving into traffic and making questionable passes would not become as much of an issue if he wasn’t put in a position to fail.

    “I agree. I, and other people, can make less risky passes,” Lin said. “That’s a big part of it and making it so we don’t have to have as many risky passes is something we have to work at.”

  84. I am glad Lin finally said something back… Well, I really don’t care too much about Lakers game. In fact, I don’t even watch the whole game now. smh!

  85. What would be the way if it was purely due to BS?

  86. hehehe

  87. Looks like Jeremy will be at Beverly Center on Feb 19th

  88. No, that’s not what I am saying. I am saying Lin himself realizes that he did not play great given BS’ treatment. That’s what I am saying. Lin himself acknowledges that he’s struggling with his BB game in Lakers.

  89. the [email protected]#%$ i am hearing rockets want lin is this true or writter trying to get clicks and stir things up

  90. For what event?

  91. is jeremy lin nba starter material? most and even many of his longest and staunchest fans might say no at this point and blame lin as much as outside forces. heres a simple comparison that might suggest lin mite probably be starter material.

    in tonight’s nba games. there are 10 point guards, 14 guards in total and 40 players all together who are projected as starters who are scoring less points per game for the season than lin.

    a simple number everyone can agree on as a measure of players success: how many points you score in a game. .

    surely somewhere if lin manages under less than ideal circumstances and playing less than his best basketball still for the season to be achieving higher scoring totals than that many players who are starting there should be some spot on some team where he would be a better choice than whoever is there now.

    or so it seems to me.

  92. lin might have another bad game. He doesn’t do well on that b2b. mark my words..and hope that I”m wrong.. but I’m usually right =).

  93. Ya! From HB article. Check below….”The Rockets remain high on Lin and are expected to be among his chief suitors this summer.”

  94. i dont really care i am waiting patiently for this off season

  95. ??? really?? no seriously??
    If that is true.. than I guess morey might lowball him? .. actually that means they value lin..just not 25 million. lol.

  96. you have a lot of patience.

  97. Thank you for the question. I was frustrated to see Lin stop doing what he did in the first half. Attacking worked in the first half, Dribbling around the Perimeter lost the game. There seems to be a selfish vs teamball dicotomy going on. But Attacking and scoring to get your teammates open for a pass is not being selfish, its called playmaking. It selfish when you are Kobe and shoot, shoot, shoot, then draw the defense, open the court for your teammates, but still shoot, shoot, shoot. Lin made it too easy for the defense to set up and defend the whole team. Simply when he attacks, scores, and draws attention he could then pass. He reversed the order in the second half and tried to pass first, but passed in traffic and got TOs.

  98. whats wrong with this world?

  99. He will do his best….

  100. Asian New Years

  101. From Lakers?

  102. Than there is no argument here..lol I agree….Of course he is not gonna satisfied with his play..

  103. well, if that is the only team that wants him.. he has no choice.
    you can say, well, I doubt that is the only team if the price is right.. but hey.. morey is evil genius.. never know.. he might offer more than the others.

  104. Not 100% sure

  105. I wouldn’t take it that way,

    I like how the article showed Lin didn’t disclose everything that caused the struggle or criticizing Scott but Beck did a good job of hinting at it without Lin expressing criticism. Lin being the diplomat is good since BScott can punish him further with less PT.

    It’s fair to understand there are many reasons (BScott/Kobe, etc.) to be root cause of Lin’s struggle but Lin chose not to disclose them knowing how it can harm his PT or chooses not to badmouth coaches/players publicly.

    Ever the diplomat, the Harvard-educated Lin will not delve into specifics, or criticize coach Byron Scott, or outwardly lament this unfortunate career detour. But there is no mistaking his discontent, or its causes.

    “It’s just everything,” he said last week. “It’s the toll of everything.”

    Lin catches himself before saying too much, pauses to search for the right words, then continues: “I guess I always have expectations for myself, right? Like I’ll always have expectations for myself, or always believe that I can do this or I can do that, or I can be this player. And when I feel like I’m not reaching my potential, that’s disappointing.”

  106. true if HOU is the only one with an offer.

    What could be interesting is HOU offers more money but Lin chooses to spurn it and go to a team with cheaper contract but a chance to be the playmaker.

  107. Either HOU Asian revenue drops or they need their old scapegoat.
    It’s easy. When in doubt, follow the trail of money =)

  108. yes .. that’ all that we can ask from him. Tired or not, BScott or not, .. to play his best

  109. I truly wish he wouldn’t have to depend on his teammates so much in the 2nd half. After 2 TOs or bad possession of teammates going one-on-one, he can establish order by scoring first then direct his teammates to move to their positions.

    Let’s hope Lin will learn and adjust. We don’t know everything that’s going on. But it’s better for Lin to shoot than having bad TOVs on risky passes.

  110. I don’t blame you..

  111. He is going to have bad games again and again…

  112. I’ll buy that.. but then.. cheaper contract also means that the coach or FO can suddenly go against you and not give you as much minutes as a starter or a 6th man would play..

    The reason why lin got that much minutes is because of his contracts..from my insight anyways.. else he would’ve been on the bench in houston a lot sooner. I mean hey if you have pb and lin and both earn the same amount.. would FO even care.. they don’t want to look like idiots by paying someone 15 million to just sit on the bench for 20 minutes. (even though ppl say it was only 5 mill.. but houston was the one who gave them the 25 mil).

  113. I also believe analytics to some extent as to discovering great patterns for success (i.e. 3P% vs 2P% efficiency, best TS%, best off/def rating) but it’s definitely not 100% fool-proof in terms of the application.

    For example, 3-ball is only better than 2-ball if they hit them at X 3P%. If teams don’t guard them on midrange then 3-ball. Plus Lin might be underrated in his playmaking ability because of the lack of data in hockey or 2nd-hockey pass.

    So yeah, Morey’s mistake is being too reliant on his analytics thinking the coach is not important. He’s missing McHale Coach Analytics numbers LOL

  114. like normal NBA players would =)

  115. Thank you psalm, for creating something fun for us, because the Lakers’ games surely aren’t! @CJSHYY is surely good, with the roller coaster ride of Lin’s treatment by BS, it’s amazing anyone wins at all!

    Btw, you forgot to bump me up to 4. 🙂

    EDIT: Is dinomite the sleeping Michael’s new handle?

  116. exactly

  117. Gotta love your optimism…

  118. WOW, tanker’s starting line up : PPG -7.3, 9.2, 4.4, 4.8, 4.1 – All single-digit !

  119. No, if Lin thinks he is playing up to his par, he will not say this. The tone is different here. He’s not saying “Yes, I can always play better.” That’s not what he’s saying.

    Look what Lin says:

    “He readily acknowledges the struggle.

    “There’s a lot of factors that are involved in that,” Lin said. “And I think I have to continue to work, I have to continue to get better and see how can I try to make the most of the situation, or be the best version of me that I can be here.”

    I take the above as Lin saying “Yes, a lot of factors, not just my BB playing are making me struggle. But even under these limitations, I have under-achieved the level I think I can achieve. I have to continue to get better even under the restrictions.”

  120. Yes….agreed

  121. Thanks. 🙂

  122. I disagree. See what I wrote below. Lin knows there are other restrictions that he’s playing under (I am not arguing there is no restrictions). It’s both. I am 100% certain that Lin feels that he’s under-producing because of both the restrictions/marginalization AND his own not up-to-par BB performances. And it’s not his just saying he can always play better.

  123. ive pointed that out multiple times before glad someone else notices. im sure no team possibly in the history of nba at this point in a season started a team like that. d-leaguers to be sure.

    it is unrealistic to expect a time starting this lineup (and playing them the most significant minutes) to win any games at all in the nba.

    in my opinion and the opinion of others; that is the point–the objective. masked in various ways, but for the most part see-thru masks.

  124. Very good open letter to Dolan. Good narrative on JLin.
    https://artrondeau.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/an-open-letter-to-james-dolan/

  125. contract size and role can determine PT.

    From Beck’s article, it’s good to hear Lin talk about not achieving his potential.
    I think he’ll make the best decision based on which team will give him a chance to fulfill his potential.
    I guess we just have to wait until the summer to find out how it plays out.

  126. The fact Beck put that quote out there is interesting. I can make a video of the despicable things Houston said about Lin while he was there. “remain high on Lin” yeah right….

  127. oh yeah, Lin is definitely not playing great as far as the results.

    As for people saying “Lin’s playing great under the circumstances”, it’s definitely subjective based on the person.

    It can mean PER36 numbers of TS%, efficiency or like Beck pointed out the career-high 3P% or the stout 4.6 assists in the limited role

    The numbers tell the story. Lin is averaging 10.4 points per game, his lowest average since leaving New York, having averaged 13.4 points and 12.5 points in his two seasons with Houston. His field-goal percentage has sunk to .432, down from .446 last season. On the plus side, Lin is shooting a career-high .374 from three-point range and still averaging a stout 4.6 assists in this limited role.

  128. Well duh. Knowing Lin. 🙂

  129. wow, I just learned that the Nets fan w/ prosthetic leg who were dragged out of MSG committed suicide possibly due to his head hitting the floor multiple times during the incident. Very sad story :[ I wonder if there’ll be a lawsuit to follow

    http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/12030579/brooklyn-nets-superfan-jeffrey-gamblero-dies-jump-window

  130. What you ascribe too as admission to weakness is in fact an attitude. There are really 2 distinct types of attitude towards performance. They can be divided into those who are process players and those who are result players. Of course they overlap somewhat in varying degrees. For example, when Tiger used to be the best player in the world by a country mile, he’d often shoot the easiest 68s because he’d birdie every par 5. It was almost unfair. Yet often you’d see him after rounds going off to practice for hours because he was unhappy with his own effort. Sure he won 27% of the time, but that wasn’t good enough. Was that Tiger admitting he has weaknesses? Yes! But only a fool would say it to his face.

    Lin is a process player. He has to be to have survive all the mind games and marginalization he’s faced. He had to stop listening to all the critics and BE his own worst critic. A process player will never be happy because he must defeat himself every day. Is it a weakness? No! His critics will always find fault no matter how many records he breaks.

    On the flip side you have coaches like BS and Mchale, who never admits to any weaknesses. They never own up to mistakes. They don’t ever show any signs of weakness because they are too scare of letting people know their own dark deep secret fears of incompetence.

    Lin is fearless to admit weakness because he knows he can overcome it. By defining it, he knows what to work on to improve. BS meanwhile is to afraid to admit weakness because he fears he can’t come up with the solutions. That’s why he keeps pushing the blame on others.

  131. Won’t be able to watch this game. Need to purchase herbal stuffs to prepare for my op. Then visiting my sister for a change. So, 1 less misery game to watch. What a joy:-) Having said that still pray that JLin plays well and stay healthy.

  132. Ya’ know, there is one positive thing about HOU having interest in pursuing Lin is there’s still 1 team who might be interested in JLin in the summer.

    It doesn’t matter if Lin flat out refuses to sign with HOU. It might increase JLin’s values by having more options to choose from as more NBA teams show interest in him, especially 5 months before Free Agency starts in July 2015

    So that writer that wrote Lin might go to China this summer can eat his article in shame =)

  133. So much thrashing on Jeremy, as his fan its so hard to digest all the negativities hurled at him. Not much we can do about it, pointless to defend him if he is not performing well under a toxic environment, just wishing him best of luck in the off season. I’m referring to all the bad comments about Lin in Howard Beck’s report.

  135. All the best to you and your family.

  136. Bev really really want lin back in Houston. lol.

  137. Since when Lin became Justin Bieber? LOL

  138. Take care well, Mel. Our prayers will be with you. Keep smiling and fighting like Jeremy!

  139. Ya! I agree… Alex did that Lin & Harden Chinese video can tell.. he wants to bring Lin back. I believe they will do it again for sure this time.

  140. oh, sorry.. I bumped you up to #4 now =D
    dinomite’s the member name that Michael used to vote (when he’s not sleeping)

    yeah, we’re still waiting patiently for @CJSHYY:disqus’s lotto numbers LOL

  141. yeah, he doesn’t like the feeling of being a scapegoat lol

  142. POR Game Thread is open

    http://www.jlinportal.com/g53-lal-por-game-thread/

    With 8 days left before the trading deadline without Lin rumor, it would be a pleasant surprise if Lin is traded away in hopes of getting more PT for a contender rather than a tanking team.

    Nevertheless, Lin would keep doing his best to balance scoring and facilitating off-the-bench in his 21-25min

    Let’s keep hoping, cheering and praying for JLin to give his best in knowing the balance between attacking and facilitating!

    Go JLin!

  143. Amen…you speak the truth.:)

  144. May God give you strength and a easy recovery

  145. I was tough on Lin last game but his MO is to shoot poorly on a b2b. He had always been like that. Don’t expect much tonight any good plays is a bonus.

  146. Be positive and sassy… we r all with you!

  147. How dare you “criticize” this site’s smartest poster 😉

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