http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/sports/basketball/jeremy-lin-is-fitting-in-well-with-the-rockets.html?_r=0
When the Houston Rockets outbid the Knicks for Jeremy Lin’s services in the off-season, Carmelo Anthony called Houston’s offer ridiculous. Lin had played well in his 25 starts, but the $25.1 million offer seemed outrageous to Anthony and many others. Point guard Jeremy Lin, left, who signed a lucrative free-agent deal with the Rockets, scored only 9 points Friday night in Houston’s victory against the Nets. Keep up with the latest news, on the court and off, with The Times's basketball blog. Lin’s first 57 games as a Rocket, however, suggest Houston knew it could benefit more from Lin than almost any other team. The Rockets’ up-tempo offense, along with their commitment to spreading the floor around the pick-and-roll, fits Lin’s skills wonderfully. The result is not exactly Linsanity redux, but he is developing into a point guard who could be a factor in the N.B.A. for years to come. Lin, 24, has been a solid if unexceptional contributor for the Rockets as his 12.8 points and 6.2 assists a game through Friday attest. He is a young role player with some room to grow but has a fixed ceiling somewhere south of stardom. Lin’s statistics plummeted last season when Anthony returned to the Knicks’ lineup and he had to adjust to playing with a franchise player. He has had to do the same this season with the rising star James Harden, an especially shifty scorer who, like Lin, thrives in the open court. Luckily for Lin, Houston has more than enough possessions to go around. The Rockets play faster than any other team in the N.B.A. and form impromptu fast breaks, even off opponents’ made baskets. Although Harden is the gold standard in the N.B.A. for pick-and-roll scoring, the Rockets will position Lin on the opposite side and, when the defense shifts to Harden, run a second pick-and-roll for Lin against a scrambling opposition. It has taken time for Lin and Harden to develop chemistry, Rockets forward Chandler Parsons said. “James is a very dominant ball handler and I think he,” Parsons said of Lin, “had to learn how to play off the ball better and he did great with that, learning when to cut, when not to cut.” It is a complicated role for Lin. He not only has to be aggressive at all times, but also has to know how and when to get out of the way and let Harden run the show. Lin’s role parallels the one Derek Fisher once occupied with the Lakers next to Kobe Bryant, though the teams’ playing styles are much different. Lin must steady the offense while also regularly yielding control of it. His game-by-game numbers have reflected his ambiguous role. After scoring 29 points on 22 shots against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, Lin managed just 9 points on 12 shots Friday against the Nets. Lin is no longer front and center, in contrast to his days with the Knicks, when he was free to dribble all over the court for large chunks of the shot clock. But Houston’s offense is difficult to contain because so many of its players have license to play the primary ball handler on any possession. Four of the Rockets who started in Friday’s win over the Nets can handle the ball like a guard on fast breaks or in the half court. After the Rockets scored 106 points — below their season average — against his team, Nets Coach P. J. Carlesimo conceded that the Rockets’ offense “is just beautifully conceived.” “They have a one, two and three that can all bring it up,” Carlesimo said. “They can all run pick-and-rolls, they can all shoot the ball from deep also.” Lin is in an offensive system that suits him, but it is not all on him to carry the Rockets, who are 31-26 and eighth in the Western Conference. It is a good situation for Lin, who actually played shooting guard throughout most of his college career and is still developing as a floor general. Though his statistics may not overwhelm, there are signs that he is improving. Parsons has noticed Lin’s strides this season. “He’s done a lot better job keeping us in our offense,” Parsons said. “He’s keeping us in our sets and doing all those little things that Coach was emphasizing.” After winning Friday, Lin said: “I think we’re getting more mature as a team and as individuals. We’re understanding not to panic and to get back to what we do best.” What Lin does best is beat his man off the dribble, and this season he is shooting at a much higher percentage near the rim. But Lin’s jump shot remains a weakness. He is a relatively poor spot-up shooter, and being so right-hand dominant, Lin tends to settle for long 2-point jump shots when he goes to his left. If Lin develops a reliable jump shot, which is what fueled his phenomenal run with the Knicks, he can become a consistently dangerous player. Until then, and despite the fact that he still receives the boisterous cheers when the starting lineups are announced in Madison Square Garden and in Brooklyn, Lin is just another young player with potential and a chance to grind out a long and productive N.B.A. career. After so many polarized predictions by N.B.A. observers on whether Lin would be a star or a bust, his ending up somewhere in the middle is almost surprising. A year after Linsanity, the engine of last season’s most thrilling moments has found a home as a cog in this season’s most exciting team.ANALYSIS
By BECKLEY MASON
Published: February 23, 2013
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