4 quality possessions in 24 minutes (warning: long)

Rockets put themselves in NBA history book last night. Unlike the 22 wins they once had, this one was quite embarrassing, to say the least. Eye-opening 73 points pounding in the first half, followed by a shameful 19-point second-half. We all know Rockets can score, and score plenty, end of the bench included. With that second half, nobody gets a pass – even if you are paid max, even if you are fan favorite.

 

I always consider myself a Rockets fan, although I only follow them religiously when Yao played and now Lin is playing. I supported Rockets before Yao arrived, after he retired, before Lin was signed, and will likely still support them after Lin departs for bigger and better opportunities. But they don’t get my blood boiling, win or lose, without Yao or Lin.

 

As it’s been beaten to death, that the whole Rockets team is not a finished product. McHale is not a good coach with X’s and O’s or in-game adjustment; Howard’s post play is nowhere near polished; Harden’s laziness at defense and bad habit of seeking easy way out at offense; Parson’s annoying pump fake even when he’s alone and lacking of discipline; etc etc. The list goes on and on. But they are still a young (4^th youngest in the league) and talented team.

 

Jeremy Lin has his shortcomings – handling, tear-drop, awareness and discipline at defense, capability moving without the ball.  Some of them need time, especially off-season time and targeted training to improve. However, there are things he can do better now. If he can do it well at one game, he should be able to remember that the next game, with deliberate effort. If he can do it well at one possession, there is no excuse that he goes completely away from that the next possession.

 

Last night, Lin played 24 minutes. Some say he was punished and treated unfairly, and some say he was picked as scapegoat. I’ve watched the game, and counted, exactly 4 quality possessions from him. Driving and passing to the rolling Howard and a decisive driving layup in the first quarter. After the long wait, till the 4^th quarter, at one possession, Lin pushed the ball hard, and protected the ball well. After he sucked defenders to close the lane, he changed direction and passed to the corner (TJ?), who faked out the flying defender but decided not to shoot and passed back to an opening Lin. Jeremy swooshed the long jumper without any hesitation. That was a smooth possession. One or two possessions later, the ball went to TJ’s hands at the right block, he was semi-double-teamed, and passing lane was cut. Lin shaked off RJ, rushed to the right, to meet the ball. TJ was able to pass to him, and Lin continued to dribble and passed out for a shot. It didn’t end up with a field goal. But I really liked what Lin did on that particular possession, better than previous 3 quality ones. Simply because that’s the one showing basketball IQ and awareness on court, instead of pure ball-playing instinct.

 

Lin was very passive last night. No, the situation isn’t ideal for him. No, Lin is not the focal point of Rocket’s offense. No, Lin doesn’t have the full trust from coaching staff. However, Lin cannot get McHale fired; Lin cannot call a sick day and go to another team for an interview; Lin cannot get Harden traded. He only have 2 choices – lie down and roll over, or suck it up and stand up to fight. Knowing Lin, from his past, I would put my bet on the latter.

 

He has got to be more aggressive, no matter how you dislike McHale and Morey, that’s what they have been preaching all the time. Being aggressive does not equal going 1 against 5. It doesn’t mean forcing your shots either. Lin should try to push the ball whenever it’s possible, without fully commit to it. He should NOT pick up his dribble easily, rather keep his options open. He should NOT give up the ball to any teammates even when they are NOT in any better position. He should NOT hesitate that much jumping in the air with nowhere to go or struggle what to do at the top of the key. More importantly, he should be a lot more active, especially WITHOUT the ball. He needs to make himself available. Getting to the open is fine, but parking at the corner is NOT. It’s a TEAM game. If you think your teammates are not trusting you, how about you take the initiatives and start to trust your teammates? There are different open spots on the court, if you move from one to another, trust me, you will distract the defense, you WILL enhance offensive opportunity for your team, even your trip ended up without touching the ball. If you constantly are in the available good spot, your teammates will see you. If they don’t, your coach will see you. If they don’t, the whole world will see you. You have to be active, and you have to show your attitude.

 

Lin has ZERO rebound last night, and that’s not a rarity. He had quite a few 1 or 2 rebound games. Aren’t you guys worried? It’s NOT about stat, but about his positioning and court awareness. Maybe some of you don’t want to hear that, it’s about Basketball IQ. Dennis Rodman and Charles Barkley are not the tallest guys, but they are best rebounders, because they are SMART rebounders. It’s more about positioning, timing, and court awareness. Lin gets blew by from time to time by quick small guards, and got burned by PnR sometimes, and  I am not too worried about that. Because he’ll need teammates to cover/help him on that. But his constant following the ball into the paint has been pure negative and annoying. He’s a. not blocking out, b. not giving his big guys room, c. not covering potential long rebounds. He doesn’t get rebound because he’s usually not in good position.

 

Basketball is not online Warcraft game, a designated player can command all the movements on court. It’s more like an act and react First-Person-Shooting game. Everything happens in a split second, and you can’t control what others do on the court. The only thing you can control is yourself, to maximize your contribution. One thing I say to people from time to time, is that leadership is not something you will only show when you are presented the gift-wrapped leader role. On the contrary, if you are a natural leader, you will show your leadership under all circumstances. You lead by example, and you step up to take the charge when others are scared or undisciplined. You do the right thing, despite all kinds of hurdles.

 

PnR is a mean not the goal. With Howard manning the paint, with either 3 pointer or at-the-rim-shot Rockets philosophy, Rockets is not going to be a PnR heavy team. Setting picks for Lin is NOT a priority, nor the best strategy, because a. Lin’s handle and mid-range game is not superior b. H-H are better offensive options. This is a results-oriented league, and it’s a jungle or a Wild Wild West out there. Only you can take care of yourself, because no one else will do you this favor. One has to learn to go out to get it for himself. Giving up the ball to a player with no better position, as a point guard, is NOT obeying orders (has yet to be proven), nor is being nice or team-oriented. It is simply shying away from responsibility and giving up on the good fight.

 

When Lin played such a passive game, when the whole team, coaching staff included or they should share more blame, delivered a 19-point-half at home. There was no silver lining or a simple whatif. I was almost running amok last night, after I saw the same old “人人PG” complaint. It’s Internet Age, Lin is still a growing young player, when he’s constantly portraited by fanatics as the center of universe suppressed by evil empire of coaching and teammates, it will take a toll on his attitude. When his coach and teammates are constantly followed by nasty attacks in Facebook or Twitters, how they did wrong to Lin, it will alienate them. Lin needs support to improve and he needs his coach and teammates to further develop, albeit flawed bunch of one-trick ponies. This is NBA, when TMac and Yao both went down, a no-good Juwan Howard averaged 20 points a game. Average players can shine given all the opportunities. But one needs to work hard on all fronts to gain such opportunity. Most players will easily be replaced, because they are all somewhat talented. Last night, I saw Danny Grange playing garbage minutes at the Pacers. He was once an all-star, he averaged 25 points a season before he went down due to injury. He’s still young, but this is a new capital in his career. He’s at a new beginning – to prove himself again.

 

It was a bad game/half in the history book, and a game Lin should avoid in the future. This is not the time to blame everything around him, but rather for him to look in the mirror, tattoo the word “aggressive” in his heart, stand up and fight.  Linsanity is in NBA history forever, and Lin was rewarded with a nice contract and a few endorsement deals. But now, he’s at a new page, coming off the bench, very inconsistent. Improving skills is a task in the off-season, but improving attitude and decision making can be done now, and must be done now. I have faith in him, do you?