No, it was definitely not smart for the Knicks to let Jeremy Lin go
Jeremy Lin finds James Harden. NBA.com
9:23 am Nov. 1, 20126
It isn't taking ex-Knick Jeremy Lin long to settle whatever argument remains about his legitimacy, with performances like the one he turned in for his regular season debut for the Rockets, a 105-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
His immediate success has much to do with the Rockets' acquisition of James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder. In Harden, the Rockets acquired a prolific scorer, and arguably the best shooting guard in the league. Harden made sure to let the world know it on Wednesday, scoring 37 points on 13-for-25 shooting, adding 12 assists, six rebounds and four steals.
Lin, for his part, excelled in the way many Knicks fans envisioned him doing with a high-volume scorer like Carmelo Anthony, or with Amar'e Stoudemire in the pick-and-roll. He scored 12 points, collected eight assists, four rebounds and four steals. It was no accident that the Rockets were 23 points better with Lin on the court, the highest plus/minus rating of anyone in the game.
It's not a complicated attack, Lin and Harden. It's just spacing and precise passing.
"They keep it so simple as far as just spreading it out and letting him create," Detroit's Rodney Stuckey said. "Pick and rolls, that's pretty much what got us. They did a good job of spreading us out. He was getting in the lane, making shots and finding his teammates and they were making shots, too."
And it worked remarkably well, even with the Rockets lacking any other significant scorers. There are high hopes for forward Chandler Parsons, and center Omer Asik is improved, but still quite raw on the offensive end. There's no one at the level of Tyson Chandler as a scorer, let alone Anthony or Stoudemire.
Harden is the Rockets' Anthony now, and no conflict existed between Lin and Harden, even though Harden creates much of his own offense. Having a point guard with the capability of both scoring and creating at Lin's level, unsurprisingly, seems to be making Harden better. It didn't take focus from Harden, or create any existential problem for the Rockets.
To be sure, there are also the secondary benefits of Lin at the point, like the open looks experienced by Carlos Delfino, the Steve Novak of the Rockets, who made five of his six three-point attempts, or Asik's 5-for-6 shooting night as the Rockets' Chandler. And none of the disastrous defensive consequences were in evidence against the Pistons, with a capable scoring backcourt of Stuckey and Brandon Knight shooting a combined 6-for-25.
Ultimately, the limitations of the roster in Houston (mostly a lack of depth brought about by general manager Daryl Morey's intentional purging of the roster to create room for Lin and Harden) will probably keep the Rockets from winning many games this season.
But the Jeremy Lin who couldn't create for others, or wouldn't thrive in a system where he deferred to others, or would somehow be exposed as a fraud once the magical period of Linsanity ended—that Lin bears no resemblance to the one who showed up, with regrets, to play in Houston.
Elsewhere in New York sports:
METS
The Mets don't want there to be any leaks of their negotiating with David Wright, the Daily News reports based on information from... someone. According to the report, the negotiations are intensifying, which likely means exchange of dollars and years. No movement on R.A. Dickey, however.
YANKEES
Rafael Soriano opted out of his 2013 contract with the Yankees, and his agent, Scott Boras, reportedly believes he can get four years, $60 million on the free agent market. And he's not crazy.
N.B.A.
The Knicks and Nets will not play Thursday, with the game getting rescheduled Wednesday afternoon. As of now, the Knicks' home opener against the Miami Heat on Friday night is still on, and the Nets are scheduled to open Saturday night against the Toronto Raptors.
RED BULLS
With questions about Harrison, N.J.'s ability to handle a sporting event this weekend, the Red Bulls will play the first leg of their two-leg playoff against D.C. United at R.F.K. Stadium this weekend. The second leg is scheduled to be played at Red Bull Arena next Wednesday night.
JLin's +/- says a lot about his IMPACT on the game
Jlin is all about bringing out the best in his teammates, which lead to wins
JLin's +/- says a lot about his IMPACT on the game
Jlin is all about bringing out the best in his teammates, which lead to wins
Lin would have made MElo shine if MElo's own selfish ego didn't get in the way to run Lin out of town. I watched the Rockets vs.Piston game. Pistons were doubling and trying to deny Lin the ball and NOT Harden hoping to disrupt the offense. Consider the night Harden was having, Lin drawing this kind of coverage allowed Harden to shine. Don't get me wrong, I know Harden is a great player but it shows how Lin makes everyone better around him. It's not by chance that Rockets lead dropped when Lin was on the bench and picked up when he is on the floor. The +23 plus/minus stat proved this. The stats also show is his ability to create TEAM CHEMISTRY and balance scoring, just look at how many players were in double figures or close. The Lin and Harden backcourt will only get better as season progresses. Rockets will be fun to watch basketball. This could have been the case for the Knicks but Dolan trusted MElo's CAA agents.
The Knicks missed out on this....
The Dolans at fault again... they bring an old Jason Kidd... Rasheed Wallace... and bring back Kurt Thomas and Marcus Camby????? wow...
They got rid of the person who saved the Knicks - Donnie Walsh - because he thought they gave up too much for Carmelo... and then they got rid of Lin because he was taking too much attention from Carmelo.... strange.
I'm a former new york fan who has become weary of basketball politics. Melo and Woodson talked too much smack behind JLIn's back re: his fame and coming fortune. You gotta take race out of the equation. Players and coaches have no right to hate on a player for JLin's agent doing his job (getting th highest paid contract). Melo will never be champion in my bood even if he win's a NBA championship. The boy's a punk and so is Woodson, punk ass bitch. It's my opinion... but whether JLin becomes a star in Rockets or not have nothing to do with my views on Knicks franchise. I can't respect them and I won't watch them...