PHILADELPHIA — No one, least of all Jeremy Lin, would be so presumptuous to call it a last laugh. But it is fair to say that Lin has earned, at the expense of his former team and its impetuous owner, a well-timed chortle.
Ever the spiritual man, Lin, reflecting on what now appears to be a prosperous relocation from New York to Houston, said, “I do believe God has the perfect plan.” As it turns out, the fast-track building strategy hatched a couple of years ago by Daryl Morey, the Rockets’ general manager, was not so bad, either.
Two nights after scoring 31 points off the bench, Lin started and rang up 34 points and 12 assists, but he and the Rockets, without James Harden, wilted late and dropped a 123-117 overtime decision to the 76ers on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center. Next stop: Madison Square Garden on Thursday night for an appointment with the Knicks.
With Lin as Houston’s premier offensive threat Wednesday, the Rockets looked like what they were supposed to be when the Knicks let him go as a free agent in the summer of 2012. Lin said that when he signed with Houston, he did not expect that Harden and Dwight Howard would be his teammates.
But Morey traded for Harden and lured the Kobe Bryant-averse Howard as a free agent, quickly giving Lin a better developmental environment than he would have had as the leading man — or, for that matter, as a Carmelo Anthony running mate with the soap opera that is the Knicks.
After the Knicks owner James L. Dolan refused to match Morey’s upgraded offer sheet, remember how Lin’s detractors in New York ridiculed him for consigning himself to be the counterfeit marquee player on a dreadful team?
“They’ve done a great job on this team of surrounding us with really good players,” he said. “It’s definitely an adjustment, but I’m just so thankful every day I get to play. Two years ago I was just trying to make it; 15th man didn’t matter to me just as long as I was on the team. I always try to take a step back from the journey and see the bigger picture.”
That was what Dolan and the Knicks claimed they were doing when they let a young asset and one of the most marketable players in team history wander off without getting so much as a draft pick in return.
Many critics, one of whom was named Carmelo, chanted the organization’s mantra that agreeing to a $25 million deal with a luxury-tax-burdensome $14.9 million balloon payment in its third and final year would have been Linsanity. But raise your hand if you think the Knicks could use an aggressive guard who is averaging 18.1 points on 54.2 percent shooting (51 percent on 3-pointers after making 9 of 15 against the 76ers) and 4.9 assists per game.
Averaging 34.3 minutes a game, Lin has a shooting percentage that is a shade better than Howard’s, and most of Howard’s points are scored with his hands fastened to the rim.
“When he plays with confidence, he’s amazing,” said Howard, who spent part of the summer working out with Lin in Colorado.
It is too early in the season to make too much of statistics or standings, and no one is about to anoint the 5-4 Rockets as N.B.A. champions. Their defense — Lin’s included — tends to be on the generous side. But they have youth, talent and upside, like Lin.
“I think he’s playing better right now for us than at any point last year,” Coach Kevin McHale said. “He’s attacking; he’s confident. He put a big summer of work in. His shot is better. He is better.”
Without Harden to lean on, Lin appeared to tire down the stretch and committed eight turnovers over all. “Normally, I relish the fourth quarter,” he said later. His statistical line was reminiscent of the Garden-variety Linsanity. But his turnovers were mostly errors of commission, the results of trying to do too much.
He is, of course, only 25 and learning his trade.
“This might sound crazy, but I still think it’s early for me in my development phase, or whatever you want to call it,” he said.
How did the Knicks make the shortsighted call on a player who had already succeeded way beyond what pro basketball sleuths could imagine for Lin at Harvard — and one who seemed like a good bet to continue working at his craft?
“I thought if any team knew what it had, it was going to be New York,” Morey said. “At the time, we had nobody on our roster with All-Star potential. We thought: ‘O.K., he’s not an All-Star, but he played like one for 30 games. So take a chance.’ ”
Had Dolan reasoned that Lin, as an Asian-American sensation, was probably worth $2 in commercial appeal for every $1 he was paid, Lin would still be trying to figure out how to play with Anthony.
Harden, like Anthony, is known to monopolize the ball. Hence McHale’s recent experimenting with Lin as a second-unit scorer playing first-unit minutes, until Harden sat with a minor foot injury Wednesday night.
“Me and James still play a lot together, but they still want me to be aggressive, the primary ball handler off the bench,” Lin said. “There’s still chemistry problems — not like problems, just things we’re trying to get better. No personality issues.”
Thanks to certain Garden personalities, one of the great New York basketball yarns took a wrong turn and wound up in Texas. Long-suffering and implausibly loyal Knicks fans were stiffed again after what felt like a rare homegrown happening at the Garden.
Understand that this has worked out better for Lin, who does not think his second return to New York should be a big deal in the context of who will be with him. Calling Harden and Howard “the faces of the franchise,” he added, “I’m hoping I’ll be a subplot.”
Chortle, chortle.
Rockets report: Lin on a tear upon return to New York
As Jeremy Lin returns to the scene of Linsanity, he brings a run he never had in those heady days.
Even with that monthlong burst with the New York Knicks, he never scored as much in a two-game stretch as he has the past two games. Nor did not score as much or shoot as well as he has this season.
With a 123-116 overtime loss to the 76ers following a narrow escape against Toronto in double OT, Lin also returns with little interest in celebrating.
Lin scored 34 points Wednesday in Philadelphia, giving him 65 over the last two games. Lin, who started with James Harden out with a bruised left foot, is averaging 18.1 points. His shooting (54.2 percent overall and 51.4 percent on 3-pointers) not only leads the Rockets but could be gratifying given the work Lin has put in to smooth his shot.
“Everybody works on their shot,” Lin said. “Obviously, I’ve been trying to get better at it. To be honest, it really dampens the mood if you don’t win the game.
“I’m just going to keep playing. This is my worst defensive game of the season, so I want to make sure the next game is my best defensive game of the season.”
Lin hopes to have the spotlight elsewhere.
“People have been asking, ‘Do you think it will be a big deal?’ ” Lin said of his return to New York. “I don’t think so. I think people are going to be more excited and there will be more attention around Dwight (Howard) and James. I’m hoping I will be a subplot.”
9記三分!林書豪填17年空白 霍裏後火箭再無此飛刀
休斯頓火箭迎來背靠背的第一場，客場對陣費城76人。上一場表現神勇的林書豪[微博]，本場在詹姆斯[微博]-哈登缺席的情況下，再攀新高。全場，林書豪19投10中，其中三分球15投9中(出手數和命中數均創生涯新高)，罰球6投5中，得到34分12次助攻，2項也均為賽季新高。可惜，前三節神勇的他末節啞火，火箭末節崩盤，苦戰一加時以117-123落敗。
休斯頓火箭迎來背靠背的第一場，客場對陣費城76人。上一場表現神勇的林書豪[微博]，本場在詹姆斯[微博]-哈登缺席的情況下，再攀新高。全場，林書豪19投10中，其中三分球15投9中(出手數和命中數均創生涯新高)，罰球6投5中，得到34分12次助攻，2項也均為賽季新高。可惜，前三節神勇的他末節啞火，火箭末節崩盤，苦戰一加時以117-123落敗。
今夏林書豪的苦練在開局階段收到成效。賽季迄今，他的三分球命中率從33.9%飆升到45.5%，在真實投籃命中率上，他在控衛中僅次於尼克斯老控衛巴勃羅-普裏吉奧尼。上一場火箭主場雙加時戰勝猛龍，林書豪替補砍下賽季新高的31分，第二個加時他更命中關鍵投籃。
本場哈登因傷缺陣，林書豪首發出場。首節他三分球3投2中拿下8分。半場，他得到16分，和德懷特-霍華德並列全隊最高，三分球也6投4中。
第三節林書豪火力不輟。11分19秒，他接錢德勒-帕森斯傳球，命中個人本場第5個三分球。8分34秒，曆史性的一刻到來，林書豪接霍華德傳球，本場第6個三分球應聲入網。憑借此球，林書豪成功刷新生涯單場三分球命中數紀錄。此前的紀錄是今年2月5日火箭戰勝勇士的比賽中創下的(8投5中)。
好戲還在後頭。7分05秒，林書豪三分線外再度出手，球應聲落袋的同時，裁判哨響，埃文-特納[微博]被判犯規，林書豪打中3+1！此球命中後，帕森斯一步上前，雙腿橫跨在倒地的林書豪上方，低頭叉腰盯著他。場邊西裝革履的哈登也站起身鼓掌叫好，特納則張開雙臂，一臉不解。
當然，砍分的同時，他也沒忘了“本職工作”。上一場戰勝猛龍，林書豪全場零助攻，賽後，他表示更希望有朝一日全隊4人單場助攻上雙。本場，他首節就送出5次助攻，前三節助攻已達10次。
但林書豪並非無可指摘之處。全場，他失誤高達8次，離生涯單場紀錄僅差1次，僅下半場就有6次。末節，林書豪進攻勢頭不再，反而在防守端漏洞百出，詹姆斯-安德森麵對舊主殺紅了眼，常規時間結束前正是他的三分球，將比賽拖入加時，而防守此球的正是林書豪。
直到加時賽還剩1分51秒時，林書豪才再度命中三分球，成為本賽季繼哈登、凱文-杜蘭特[微博]和德馬庫斯-考辛斯[微博]後，第4位連續2場得分30+的球員。8.2秒，林書豪命中個人第9個三分球，追平羅伯特-霍裏1996年2月創下的隊史紀錄。【買籃彩力挺書豪[投注:火箭PK尼克斯][充20送10元]】
隻可惜這未能帶來勝利。最終，末節崩盤的火箭加時落敗，林書豪前後表現迥異，對失利有不可推卸的責任。但麥帥本場輪換(看似9人輪換，但阿西克和布魯克斯[微博]分別僅打了4分鍾)多少影響了球員體能，同樣值得商榷，火箭由此失去了一場本該到手的勝利。(魑魅)
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