Thursday, July 26, 2012

JLin Returns and the Full Rockets Schedule

Mark your calendars. Jeremy returns to Madison Square Garden Monday, December 17th.

Here's a link to the full schedule:

Notable games (all times CDT/CST):

-Oct. 31 Wed. @ Detroit  6:30pm (Home Opener)
-Nov. 23 Fri vs. New York  7:00pm
-Dec. 17 Mon. @ New York  6:30pm
-Dec. 25 Tues. @ Chicago  7:00pm (Christmas Day, ESPN)
-Mar. 8 Fri. @ Golden State 9:30pm (ESPN)


  1. Dec. 25 Tues. @ Chicago 7:00pm (Christmas Day, ESPN)

    Very interesting schedule and TV coverage on X'mas day. JLin is on prime spotlight :)

    1. Yeah, I wonder if Derek Rose will be in that Christmas day game. That's also Omer Asik's homecoming against his former team.

    2. Rose won't be playing.

    3. ABCBALLER i hope your not just a shitty bandwagon jeremy lin fan who doesnt even care about basketball. Derrick not Derek Rose will be out till march and you would know if you follow basketball at all.

    4. Shit, I don't have ESPN on my cable. I just have regular TV channels and 2 Chinese channels for my parents. Guess I'll have to go to a friend's house to watch it, or see if any sports bars are open on Christmas day.

    5. I'm a bandwagon Jeremy Lin fan.

      Foxtrot, you got a problem with that?

    6. You dont have to be knowledgeable to be a basketball fan or Jlin fan. Just let fans whether new or old enjoy the game and Jlin. There is no need to call people bandwagon fans.

    7. + 1

      JLin transcends just basketball. This is a forum to discuss JLin. There are many other sites if you only want to talk basketball.

  2. I look forward to watching Lin drop another career high on Nash, Kobe and company. Also Lin vs John Wall Part 3 will be fun. Lin vs Dragic and Suns and vs Lowry and Raptors will prove to all Rockets fans what an upgrade he is. Lin's return to the Bay Area will sure draw an amazing crowd as well as his return to NY. Finally I am eagar to see Lin redeem himself in South Beach against Wade and Lebron!

  3. This schedule looks packed as well to me.
    Isn't it?

  4. Didn't know JLin lost many nights' sleep because of the free agent contract controversy.

    Don't worry, some knicks fans hate you now because they loved you too much and the disappointment of you not returning to NY hur them so deep the feeling turned into hatred, it's just like girl-friend/boy friend break-out situation; for those people, yes, you said you are going to respond with love;

    For some NBA players, they bashed you because they are jealous of you, however, jealousy is a part of human being's nature; for those people, forgive them;

    Some people may hate you forever, no matter how great you are. You can't change them, you can't make everyone love you, just ignore those people, try not to be affected by those people's nasty comments, just let it be blown away with the wind, don't let them affect you.

    You are a great role model only only to Chinese Americans, Asian Americans, you are also a great role model for all kids, for rookies, just keep your confidence and believe yourself. There are lots of people love you the way you are.

    Eat well, sleep well, play your basket ball for God, we love you.

    1. Or in other words...

  5. I think Jeremy Lin has a legitimate chance at becoming a Western Conference All Star.

    He only has to score around 15 ppg and keep Houaton hovering around 0.500. The other PG competition is Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook.

    I don't expect the coaches to vote Lin in, as they can't see Lin's game because of his race. I could see Lin being either voted in or Commissioner's Picked.

    It seems like eons ago when I ptedicted All Star potential for Jeremy Lin in January 2012. Now here he is, poised to become an All Star provided he stays healthy.

  6. Too long, just too long...gotta wait until the end of Oct to see Jeremy!

  7. Dec. 17 Mon. @ New York 6:30pm

    JLin returns to MSG.

  8. I have a weak heart, I can't image how high the fans, the players of knicks will get on Lin. Please God bless JLin.

    1. yeah! that's why he needs prayers more than ever before...

    2. Nah, Lin will be fine.

      The only thing I'm worried about is that Lin gets too excited and has a 4 point clunker because he's too revved up.

      I expect a bunch of uncalled flagrant fouls on Lin, a whole lot of pushing and shoving, and a sloppy game where neither team deserves to win.

      Lin should treat this game "just like any other game". That's how he will play his best.


  9. Sucks that the Warriors don't play the Rockets until 2013! I was hoping he would play his former team early (home or away). Instead, they play four times in the span of a couple of months (2 home / 2 away). I share season tickets with friends so it will be a fight to see who gets the fix for the Rockets games! :D

  10. Khuang,

    What should be the game plans for Houston to counter all the double/triple team on Jeremy?

    I have a weak heart just as LinFanOnly...

    1. Have another ball handler on the floor who can dribble and pass. Have a big man who can receive passes in the middle (It's easier to find a 7 foot big man in a crowd than a shorter player)

      Have lots of shooters who can space the floor and knock down shots if anyone leaves them open.

    2. Thanks for asking, janelin17.

      ABC Baller has it right: Surround Lin with players that can make plays.

      I don't know what I'd do if I were coaching against Lin. I'd probably play him for the shot and live with everybody else shooting. That would mean more double and triple teams.

    3. Lob to Lamb or Parsons once the double team starts. Bring the defenders out and burn them. Bench anyone who doesn't know to cut the basket. The pick and roll factors in double teams.

    4. Thanks Khuang, ABC Baller and Phil.

      I'm relieved that even bandwagon fans like you can map out the game plans. Coach McHale probably already has numerous of those in his head and, perhaps, more are in the making.

    5. This is where coach mchale will shine, cause after playing so many years with bird this kind of situation is probably second nature to him. so he probably got all the tricks to deal with this kind of thing.

    6. That's Lin's job to attract double and triple teams, so his teammates can get wide open shots.

      It's just unfortunate (probably by design) that MarshMellow never made themselves open for passes when Jeremy was tripled teamed hence the turn overs.

    7. Kevin McHale is going to be a terrific coach for Lin.

      As a great player who made great decisions, McHale runs a simple offense that allows great players to shine. He's not like Jerry Sloan who runs tightly scripted set plays for his PGs and PFs while turning his other players into mindless screen setters.

      I believe that in basketball, excessive coaching stifles the ability of players to think and react. That's why I look forward to Kevin McHale basically rolling the ball out to Lin and saying "PLAY".

    8. More and more I think of Deron Williams as a system player........ He hasn't done shit since Sloan.

  11. Not sure how can I see his game from Russia.

    by the way, there is an petition against SAS.

    1. Noooooo!

      Don't fire SAS. Give the man a LOUDSPEAKER.

      Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, and James Dolan are all CAA clients who fund SAS either directly or indirectly.

      Because SAS is CAA's tool, he flames Lin on CAA's command. However, that's positive free advertising for Lin. Also, SAS's meanspirited and factually incorrect articles are fresh meat for journalists to write scathing articles about SAS that make Lin look better. That enhances Lin's media and marketing dollars, which means more endorsements and fanbase for Jeremy Lin!

      The dollars from Woodson Anthony Smith Dolan to SAS to opposing journalists to us fans and ultimately back to Lin. So in a way, James Dolan is still paying Lin!

      I think it's cool that SAS is paying LINCOME.

  12. He is just another loud mouth that thrieve on others misery ans suffering. He is hungers for attention and wil languish in non existance after Jeremy left NY but given chance he will start sprouting nonsense all over again especially when the Rockets play against KNICKS in MSG.

    1. Nah, I say let SAS continue to give Lin FREE ADVERTISING.

      Everytime SAS posts something negative against Lin, fans embrace Lin more.

      SAS is a big part of Lin's marketing engine. And the funniest thing is that Carmelo Anthony is paying for it!

    2. I was actually surprised that Asian American ESPN anchor Mike Kim ended up hosting First Take recently and for whatever reason, SAS didn't go into his full blown usual tirade against Jlin. SAS kept saying Lin was a decent player haha. I believe ESPN stuck Kim in there as moderator so that SAS couldn't go off like he usually does. I believe Kim is also a pioneer in his own right and would have confronted SAS out on the air if SAS started misreporting everything about the free agency events any further.

      I would respect SAS and ESPN more if he and ESPN allowed him to just say what he really thinks..."JLin is a scrub, we don't need him, NY doesn't need him. NY's time is now. We don't need an exposed, no left hand, shot jacking, ball dominating, scrub of a point guard. Also, why can't this Asian kid just stick to math and become an engineer for crying out loud like the rest of his kind? Don't he know who controls the NBA? Don't he know to leave the basketball entertainment industry to me and my guys? Latrell Sprewell can't even eat and feed a family just 10 years ago, and we got some Asian putz from Harvard who has plenty of other opportunities outside basketball and who obviously was a scrub since grade school since he couldn't even get a serious D1 offer. And now this fool is the talk of the league? For 5 ok games? You guys (mainstream America) forget about Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and all the other REAL players out there? My goodness, Floyd Mayweather is so right...."

    3. If SAS actually said that, the backlash against him and ESPN would be so strong that it would probably get Lin fan voted into the All Star Game.

      Even the mainstream American media has been utterly unprepared for the tidal wave of ethnic hatred hurled at Jeremy Lin. The backlash has been even more stunning, in a good way.

      Pre Linsanity, it was COOL to flame Asians in the media. Post Linsanity, the media now watches its words. All due to one single Jeremy Lin doing his great player thing in the NBA!!!

  13. From a poster on about how many national TV NBA games. Knicks have the most at 32. I think the schedule was made assuming JLin would still be on the Knicks.

    "National TV rankings for 2012-13 season

    Postby smith2373 on Thu Jul 26, 2012 7:55 pm
    I did this last year so I figured I'd do it again this year, these are games on TNT, ESPN, ABC or NBATV.

    1. 32 (Knicks)
    2. 31 (Heat)
    3. 30 (Clippers, Thunder)
    5. 28 (Lakers)
    6. 26 (Bulls, Celtics)
    8. 24 (Mavs, Spurs)
    10. 17 (Nets, Nuggets)
    12. 15 (Grizzlies, Jazz, Warriors)
    15. 14 (Blazers)
    16. 13 (Wolves)
    17. 12 (Pacers)
    18. 11 (Sixers)
    19. 7 (Hornets)
    20. 6 (Hawks, Magic, Rockets, Suns)
    24. 4 (Cavs, Kings)
    26. 3 (Bucks, Pistons, Wizards)
    29. 2 (Bobcats, Raptors)

    Excluding NBATV:
    1. 25 (Heat, Knicks, Thunder)
    4. 24 (Lakers)
    5. 23 (Clippers)
    6. 19 (Bulls, Celtics)
    8. 17 (Mavericks)
    9. 16 (Spurs)
    10. 12 (Nets, Nuggets)
    12. 8 (Grizzlies, Blazers)
    14. 7 (Pacers, Sixers, Warriors)
    17. 6 (Jazz, Wolves)
    19. 4 (Suns)
    20. 3 (Hawks)
    21. 2 (Hornets, Magic, Pistons, Rockets)
    25. 1 (Bucks, Cavs, Wizards)
    28. 0 (Bobcats, Kings, Raptors)
    Last edited by smith2373 on Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

    1. Didn't know it was that bad for Rockets. I thought it was good that they get to play Xmas since it's more exposure.

      That really sucks for Rockets. Won't help in trying to get big name players wanting more national exposure then.

    2. Wow, the Warriors are on TV more than Houston....I guess the NBA wants to see that man of honor, Mr. Mark Jackson, sweat on TV. Thank goodness Lin is not still on the GSW playing for that clown. Lin would have been pressing in summer league this summer as an unsigned free agent trying to get another 12th man job being forced to pass the ball all day to Harrison Barnes.

      If the Rockets win, there will be more TV exposure in the future. In sports, winning really is everything. If the Rockets win, everything will be fine. Either way this is a fantastic opportunity for Jlin to sink or swim. Lebron carried a crappy Cavs team, Chris Paul carried a crappy Hornets team, so if Jlin is for real, he will have to show he can carry this Rockets team as well.

    3. The New Orleans Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves get more TV games than the Rockets LOL.

    4. Thank goodness for League Pass! :) The NBA is going to make a lot of money off of that if JLin lights it up in Houston.

    5. RioFan: I think you are definitely right about "the schedule was made assuming JLin would still be on the Knicks".

      I'm sure, because of Lin, that NYK gets these TV coverages, and their sponsorship and tickets were all sold out (even ESPN Michael Kay said the same thing on the radio). Now that they have secured all these money, they no longer care how many ppl petitioned for Lin.

      NY media thinks they created "Linsanity", NYK thinks they are the boss of "Linsanity", some so-called NYK fans think they should take ALL of the credit of "Linsanity". These ppl are so full of themselves, and forgot what "Linsanity" really means: it represents a hard-working young man, who perseveres, and his hard work finally pays off - a real American dream story.

      TV stations were fooled by NYK. The sporting goods store, Modell's, must have lost a lot of money (because of Lin's merchandise). New York Post lays off its 32-person Lin pun staff. This is all due to a rich guy acting out of emotion (NEVER due to financial concern), and a bunch of yes-sir-no-sir guys who surround him being afraid of saying anything against him.

    6. NYK getting so many nat'l games: True, schedule probably made before Lin became a Rocket.
      JLin's return to MSG not even on nat'l TV.

    7. Expect TV to make some changes to accommodate Jeremy Lin and his Houston Rockets.

    8. 15 Games You Shouldn't Miss « | Hang Time Blog

      "Mon., Dec. 17 — Rockets at Knicks (NBA TV) -- How do you go from Jeremy Linsanity to Jeremy Linvisible in the space of just 10 months? Well, after his 15 minutes of fame made him a worldwide celebrity, Jeremy Lin signed a three-year, $25.1 million free agent contract with Houston and the Knicks turned him out like he was Fredo Corleone. Now Lin makes his first trip back to Madison Square Garden in a visiting uniform and it will be interesting to see whether the old fans give him a roaring welcome to Manhattan or a Bronx cheer."

    9. Let Them Eat Crow, JLin.

  14. What is with the packed schedule??? I thought that the regular season would be more spread out but it look worst then the lockout last year compact schedule. Hope Lin will be in good health for the whole season. Looking forward to watch all the games especially the Knicks. I wonder what SAS would say when Lin drop 40pts on the knicks......maybe he would say its a fluke n the knicks need more time to mesh.....all eyes will be on Lin

    1. 21 back-to-backs.
      Early December looks tough The last games of the season too [fighting for playoffs.]

      Yeah, SAS will spout some bs, also he'll credit JLin's team mates instead.

    2. ed kupfer ‏@EdKupfer
      2013 NBA schedules broken down by team and opponent rest days: EAST and WEST

      ed kupfer ‏@EdKupfer
      NBA Teams rest days differential plot: By this metric, IND and CLE have the easiest schedules, SAS, DEN the toughest.

  15. LinFanOnly/janelin17: I have a even weaker heart than you guys, I have already start worrying about the following, and the next season hasn't even started yet:
    1. Lin being double/triple teamed
    2. every team playing against Rockets is going to develop some kind of game plan trying to stop "Linsanity", so that they can boast about it (just like the last season)

    KHuang: about your theory of SAS providing free advertisement, it sounds logical. But I am afraid readers/radio-listeners/ordinary ppl may not be that intelligent or are able to think for themselves. Just like the old saying, one lie may not fool ppl, but then come two lies / three lies, ppl will start to believe them. That's the power of propaganda, which, if misused, will misguide a lot of ppl. I think this whole free agency saga, NYK used their money, their monkeys (SAS/Isola) to spread their lies to perfection, causing misguided fans to turn against Lin. That's really a great shame/pity. You would think ppl living in this great nation will be more intelligent, because the education in this country encourages independent thinking. Unfortunately, this time this is not the case, those ppl chose to be fooled/used/manipulated by NYK.

    1. So what if people are dumb enough to believe that fool SAS?

      Experience has taught me that people who believe fools like SAS will refuse to believe that an ABC male is capable of anything even if he's kicking their butt in full public view. You gotta realize that most people have their minds made up about Lin whether he scores 8 or 38.

      SAS gets the attention and ire of the people that REALLY count: those who can see Lin as a person, not an impotent stereotype. There is a sub rosa Linferno burning, and SAS is adding fuel.

      Notice that ESPN has to put an Asian American announcer with SAS in order not to be accused of racism? Thanks to Lin and SAS, ESPN can't just spew the typical one sided racist vitriol against Asian Americans that the media does. That's PROGRESS.

    2. Thanks, KHuang, for the comments.

      Yes, that may be some progress. I just hope that will last for long, and not just some temporary trick that ESPN puts in to ease the tension.

    3. Let SAS and ESPN spew more racist vitriol at Lin and Asians, if they dare.

      The last time they tried that with "chink in the armor", the backlash was so strong that Jeremy Lin himself had to step in and quell it.

      Should ESPN do that again, the airwaves will be filled with Asian Al Sharptons like me calling them out. That will hurt a brand name, especially with overseas markets.

      As far as the megaschemes that opponents of the Rockets go, I say BRING IT ON. Lin will learn to function against such pressure, just as Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan did. All it'll do is ensure that Jeremy Lin becomes a truly great player.

    4. I am not afraid of watching JLin play against anyone as long as they play fair game, no dirty tricks like pulling hair. Now Kidd is with the Knicks, will he do some similar dirty trick on Lin?

    5. Oh, nobody's gonna play fair against Lin.

      He doesn't have to play fair either. Lin's coach Kevin McHale will teach Lin how to play dirty and retaliate.

      One of the dirtiest plays I ever saw Kevin McHale do was when he was running down the Boston Garden court alongside either some big 7 foot Hawks brute (either Tree Rollins or Kevin Willis, and I think it was Willis). The Hawks player elbowed McHale, so McHale punched the guy in the neck!

      I wanna see Lin RUMBLE.

    6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    7. Agree, nobody's gonna play fair against JLin, they're chomping at the bit to show him up, anyway possible.
      To see him retaliate would be sooo satisfying, but...he's extremely serious about his Christianity though. [Wanna be a Pastor.] Hard to see him violating Christian Ethics...

    8. Onward Christian Soldiers!!!

  16. Hi all. Are you annoyed by those so called Rockets fans saying all over the twitter and their bbs that Lowry and Dragic are better than Lin and they prefer them over Lin and saying that Rockets only signed Lin for marketing? They said Dragic was Morey's 1st choice but only not re-signed due to an additional year 4. Do those so called fans even watch and understand bball game? I mean those 2 are solid starters but Lin's clearly on another level even at a younger age. I don't like the Knicks organization but from what I read and see, Knicks fans are at least more knowledgable than Rockets fans. Also Morey isn't any better but I think he got lucky and a blessing in disguise this time if his true intention is to prefer Dragic to Lin!

    1. I'm not concerned about the anti Lin sentiment in Houston at all.

      That's because Rockets owner Les Alexander is the one who pushed for Lin over Dragic and Lowry. Since Les Alexander is owner, if he says Lin is the starting PG then Lin is the startig PG.

      Les Alexander is a very strong owner who really thrashed Daryl Morey for letting Lin go. Yet Alexander shrewdly played Morey in the media to throw NY and other teams off chasing Jeremy Lin. I also suspect that trading Camby to tie up the Knicks salary cap was Alexander's sneaky deal to sign Lin, not Morey's.

      After watching all this, I won't be listening to what comes out of Daryl Morey's mouth. I will be paying close attention to what Les Alexander DOES, though

    2. Since JLin moved to the Rockets, I've been looking at the their board and the sentiment about JLin is fairly positive. I haven't seen where Morey wanted Dragic more than JLin. Morey admitted they made a mistake when they waived JLin.

      On the other hand many on the Knicks boards have really turned on JLin.

    3. Daryl Morey openly stated that he wanted Kyle Lowry to be the Rockets starter. And before the Toronto trade that got Lowry, the Rockets were pursuing Jeremy Lin

      The way I see it, Daryl Morey wanted Kyke Lowry to be the starter and a freshly signed Jeremy Lin to take Dragic's place as Lowry's backup.

      But then owner Les Alexander stepped in and got rid of Lowry too.

      People don't realize that Les Alexander knocked out Phoenix (let Dragic walk, and Phx was supposedly considering Lin), Toronto via Lowry (and Toronto had a real interest in Lin), and NY (Marcus Camby trade and the poison pill!

      It appears to me that Les Alexander had Jeremy Lin pegged as his #1 free agent target since Linsanity broke out. So Alexander cunningly executed a series of moves that knocked the three teams interested in Lin out of the market. SNEAKY - and I LOVE IT!!!

    4. KHuang, I love the way you saw the situation. You might be correct. Morey was also the one who cut Lin last season, not Les Alexander. I mean Morey seems like a stat geek but I wouldn't say his judgement of player is the best. After all, this was the same guy who wanted to trade the whole team for Carmelo Anthony before and apparently now wants to trade all the whole team for Dwight Howard. I suppose he knows how to use stats to judge talent but stats couldn't tell character. If Lin turns out to be successful in Houston, I would say Morey just got lucky more than intelligent.

    5. So many intangibles that's beyond stats.
      As for Les, he seems like a high risk high reward type of guy.

    6. Actually, Les Alexander is a LOW RISK guy who completely understands that getting Jeremy Lin would be all positive.

      Like us here, Les Alexander didn't need Morey's fancy stats to see Lin dominating people. He knows exactly what Lin is about, on and off the court.

      I remember when Les Alexander fired the highly performing Rick Adelman in favor of Kevin McHale. Alexander told the press that Adelman refused to communicate with him, the franchise owner. The gregarious Kevin McHale was hired because he was very open to Alexander's input on running the team.

      Les Alexander also has another trait that makes him the ideal franchise owner for Jeremy Lin. Alexander will kick out anybody that has a poor attitude, no matter how highly performing that player is. Kyle Lowry got kicked out of Houston because he hated McHale, and that's after both McHale and Morey both publicly endorsed Lowry. But since Les Alexander didn't want Lowry infecting his team with poor attitude, he was kicked out.

      I haven't followed the Rockets much, but it seems that their franchise owner is a very shrewd and VICIOUS businessman who knows more about winning basketball than a lot of the people he hires. Daryl Morey is just the gatekeeper, punching bag, crash test dummy, court jester for Les Alexander's far more subtle and sophisticated below the radar moves.

      It also appears to me that Les Alexander sent Morey on a wild goose chase after Dwight Howard in order to distract the NBA from focusing on the Rockets' singleminded pursuit of Lin. Since Lin was signed, there has been no mention of Dwight Howard. It's as if Les Alexander didn't want his loose cannon employee Daryl Morey spouting off to the press about how much value Lin had that other teams were too dumb to recognize.

      If Lin is going to pout over receiving only one contract offer, Les Alexander will smirk while offering Lin a box of Kleenex.

    7. I suppose I meant high risk in terms of him being a contrarian.
      Certainly a very shrewd & vicious businessman.

      As for D12 as decoy:



  17. If anyone is interested, here is an old article of Lin during his summer league run.

    1. Great story. You can almost feel that "Lisanity" was supposed to happen back then.

      But it's a shame that GSW wasted a whole year of Lin's time, even though the experience he gained in that year may have been one of the factors of his desire to become stronger/tougher.

    2. Keith Smart wasn't going to let his team leader in PER play meaningful minutes.

      Golden State would have won more, extended the health of Curry and Ellis, picked up a ton of advertising, and had a true physical guard defender (Lin was like #2 in the entire NBA for steals and blocks per minute as a rookie). And yes, Linsanity would've happened a year early.

      Some of those highlights Lin did in GS were absolutely SICK. I think of that one time he broke Tayshaun Prince's ankles with his crossover, and also the double pump fake on Birdman and Harrington for a high bank shot.

    3. Yeah, not getting any minutes for GS held back Lin's development. On the other hand, he got much better playing for the Reno Bighorns under coach Eric Musselman, with his fellow Bighorns Steve Novak (Who became a Knick) and Danny Green (Who now plays for the Spurs).

  18. I will pick JLin over any player in the NBA...this is actually his rookie year and no one in the NBA has a better 5 game start then JLin. Give him a couple of years and he will out play any player in his position and yes better then Nash.......look at Nash rookie year..he suck n slow......Lin is good and fast!!!!!!! All hater will see the coming season..god JLin....Black Nation support you!!!!!!

    1. +5.

      Jeremy Lin is the hottest young talent in the league, though Kyrie Irving is almost there and John Wall needs a better environment.

      What's scary is that Houston has the best young SG I've seen in years in Jeremy Lamb. I wouldn't be surprised to see Lin and Lamb starting together for the Western Conference All Stars one day.

    2. Rockets will probably start Kevin Martin at SG, since he has more experience, and this team is really lacking in veteran players. Kev Mart's defense is weak, but I heard Jeremy Lamb's defense is even worse, and that Lamb isn't a good passer when he gets the ball (Like J.R. Smith of the Knicks).

      So starting five will probably look like:

      Jeremy Lin - PG
      Kevin Martin - SG
      Chandler Parsons - SF
      Patrick Patterson - PF
      Omer Asik - C

    3. Once Jeremy Lamb's body catches up to his game and gets some NBA experience, he'll supplant Kevin Martin possibly this season.

      Besides, Kevin Martin is a notoriously noncommital defensive player with a lackadaisical interest in passing. The more talented Jeremy Lamb will easily surpass Kevin Martin eventually.

      I could see Kevin Martin departing in a trade to a team that needs a veteran shooting guard. Maybe if I cross my fingers hard enough, Houston can transform Martin and Marcus Morris and Patrick Patterson into one of my favorite racially profiled players in the NBA in Tyler Hansbrough (who would be UNC good as a starting PF beside Jeremy Lin)!

  19. It was a roller coaster ride for me since he begining of the FA in July 1; I am quite anxious to know Jeremy landing spot eventually.Either back to KNICKS or elsewhere. Weighing on the pros and cons of staying with KNICKS, I can't find the conclusion and the defination of which team is better for Jeremy; only he know best and he want to go. I've been sending twitter toJeremy since Feb and it doesn't matter he read it or not; is is just my ways to give him some encouraging words and biblical verses as a way in supporting him. The following is one of my fav, also dedicated to all JLIN fans:

  20. 5 YR Old Heart Broken over Lin Leaving Knicks

    "The video reached Jeremy and he wants to Skype chat with my son and send him a Rockets #7 jersey! He's the luckiest kid in the world right now! Wishes Lin was﻿ still on the Knicks, but what a consolation!!"

  21. I think Knicks always get those national tv coverage b/c they are playing in ny. Last yr they had 27(maybe) games on espn/abc/TNT . Tv do what tv want. If they don't think rocket deserve playing on tv yet.

    1. That is true. Spike Lee said much the same about the difference in national exposure in playing for the Knicks versus playing for the Rockets in that Wall Street Journal article.

  22. Hate to continually be the contrarian - especially when I am wrong so often - but I don't think that Lin's return to New York will be that big of a story. Most of these "player X returns to his former home" stories are about guys who spent years playing for and accomplished a lot with a franchise. Lin only spent one season in New York, and the most that can be said about his tenure from the perspective of the Knicks as a franchise and a fan base is that he helped them get back to the playoffs that they had already made the previous season. So, Patrick Ewing returning to MSG it ain't. Also, while Lin fans believe that Lin was wronged and run out of town by Melo, Woodson and Dolan, the perception nationally is different. Sure, a lot of columnists are blaming the Knicks for not doing everything possible to keep Lin from leaving, but failing to hold onto a guy who is willing to leave is totally different from running off a guy who is trying his best to stay. The Knicks didn't cut Lin, they didn't trade him, were willing to match the Rockets' initial offer sheet, and had publicly committed to - and were planning their roster around - his being their starting PG next season and thereafter. So from a national perspective, there is no reason for there to be any more acrimony between Lin and the Knicks than there is with any of the other free agents that left their teams. And even among Lin fans, the real reason for the animosity against the Knicks was their firing D'Antoni, which is why Lin fans wanted Lin to leave regardless of how badly the Knicks wanted him or were willing to pay him. Sorry, but the Knicks firing D'Antoni isn't a national story, especially since the Knicks had a higher winning percentage under Woodson than they did under D'Antoni.

    The only scenario where I see Lin's return to New York being a major story will be if A) Lin and the Rockets burn up the NBA AND B) the Knicks struggle. On the former, it takes more than one great player to consistently win games in the NBA. And the latter just isn't going to happen so long as the Knicks stay healthy, because they are a talented team playing for a good coach that they respect in a weak division and conference. If the Knicks stay healthy, I can still see them winning 50+ games next season, and in an eastern conference where Derrick Rose will miss most of the year and Orlando will be a mess with or without Dwight Howard that will definitely be enough for #3 in the eastern conference and probably will be enough for #2.

    1. For instance, see this list of the 10 biggest NBA games.

      Heat-Lakers #1
      Nets-Knicks #2
      Ray Allen return to Boston #3
      Melo returns to Denver #4 (the Knicks and Denver didn't play last year)
      The Heat getting their rings #5
      Derrick Rose's first game back #6
      LeBron's return to Cleveland as a champion #7
      Thunder vs Heat in Miami #8
      Nash's first game with the Lakers #9
      Dwight Howard's return to Orlando #10

      Claiming that Lin's returning to where he played 35 games in a matchup of teams that aren't expected to contend for anything this year is more significant than any of those is difficult. Your best shot would be taking issue with #2, but even there the writer makes a compelling case for it. Meanwhile, you could easily add Steve Nash's return to Phoenix to that list, as well as the Thunder's visit to Los Angeles.

    2. I'd agree with you more if it was any other player.

      With so much hype, love, hate, etc etc directed at him and about him, it's not a stretch to expect Jeremy Lin to get higher billing on TV. Not even considering the draw power of the Knicks alone.... Not saying NYK-HOU should be a top ten game, but....

      I was disappointed with the lack of national Jeremy Lin games; I figured a lot of the schedule was probably worked out assuming Lin was going to be in NYC.

  23. @Unknown,
    It appears that we are living in parallel where personal opinion and bias override hard facts and reality.
    It is a FACT that the Knicks could have signed Jeremy for a 4 year/ 24 million dollar contract. Instead, they decided to let him set his market value and explore free agency which was a huge misstep. In addition, they told Lin they would be pursuing FOUR other point guards (Nash, Pablo, Felton, and Kidd) and never officially provided him with an offer. What kind of message did the Knicks send by doing that? Please elaborate your "opinions" on this. The real reasons why they didn't sign Lin were not financial. They were (1) the Knicks never believed in him as a player (2) Dolan making emotional decisions (3) Carmelo not supporting signing him- who the hell talks about other player contracts? This is the crux of why Lin fans are so angry with the Knicks.
    BTW, as for your original point, the Knicks/Rockets game with Lin will be the biggest game of the year. As I mentioned before, in your reality, Lin was a guy who played a couple of games and got the Knicks into the playoffs. In the real world, Lin was an underdog Asian American Christian kid from Harvard who exploded out of nowhere to have one of the greatest stretches of games ever (yeah you remember those starting pg stats for the first 7 games of his starting career that broke all kinds of NBA records?). He is a world-wide phenomena quote Charles Barkley "his story is one of the greatest stories I've seen since being involved in the nba" and Les Alexander at Lin's Rocket press conference "This press conference is 10 times bigger than Scottie Pippens". Again, please explain your "reality" with the real world.

  24. Link to JLin interview with Jim Rome. 07/27/12

    1. Subscription only. Summary?

    2. They should have a transcript article somewhere. It's ESPN.

  25. @Unknown:

    it's OK to be "unknown" to the truth, because you can always google/surf to make yourself "known" to the truth.

    but you should NOT be ignorant to the truth, or twisting the truth.

    and you should NOT be manipulated/used by NYK/Dolan's lies/propaganda.

    The truth is:

    * at the beginning of the offseason, NYK was chasing Nash like teen-aged girls, and Nash flirted back even though he knew he had no intention of joining NYK; at the same time, NYK did NOTHING for Lin, neither assuring they appreciated what Lin has done to NYK this past season, nor saying they would bring him back

    * then Nash decided to go to the Lakers, it's like Nash was telling NYK to get lost; still, NYK did NOTHING except telling Lin to test his market value, thinking no team will ever give him any offer sheet

    * the only thing NYK did for Lin during the free agency period was that meal in a fancy restaurant, that's it

    * jlinisasuperhero has summarized the rest of the story pretty well, so I'm not going to repeat again.

    So put yourself in Lin's shoes, supposed you made great contribution to your employer, and all your employer does is trying to discredit you using any means possible (through NY media, clowns like SAS/Isola, and so-called die-hard fans). What would you think?

    1. I think that the Knicks would've punked themselves whether they got Lin or not.
      If NY had kept Lin as a bench player, he'd make Jason Kidd look as drunk slow as he was when he was driving while intoxicated, spanked Raymond Felton over his knee like he did when Felton's Blazers lost to Lin's Knicks by 40, and been Pablo Prigione's Linstructor.

      Similarly, I honestly was looking forward to Steve Nash having to battle an enraged Jeremy Lin in practice. I think Steve Nash would have played just as effectively in practice against Lin as Baron Davis did.

      Oh well. The Knicks meekly let Lin walk, thus perserving their fossilized point guard rotation from daily punkings.

  26. I understandand the dilemma Jeremy was in; countless speepless nights, worrying over your career abd uncertainty awaiting you. KNICKS FO are using the media to carry out charater assassination Lin and some of his ex team mares jump into rhe bandwagon and started all the talks about how 'ridiculous' Lin to begin with and it was like wild bush fire, burning out of control. How would LIN percepts all these, feeling was gurt but he kept quite till the day he was officially became a ROCKETS. But its seems the media can't stop spinning storiea again, especially MY media and they keep on playing into the fans sentiments to fuel their stories; and now they try to clean up after Melo for his 'ridiculous' comment and he was not he reason KNICKS let Lin walk. NY press try to paint him as a misunderstood hero and Dolan was making business sense/cents? for letting Lin go So whatever Melo is truthful about his felling :" I like he kid and hope he can stays" is totally irrelevent now. I would say yo the press, get a life and move on.I would like to see how Jeremy development into a solid PG under ROCKETS in the next 3 years and he does understand that eyes are on him; fans, supporters, critics, doubters and haters. Media will pick on his every games; he has to face these hayenas day in and day out, he needs all the supporting systems available! I will rooted for his either on or out of court, first as a Christian fellowship and second as a bb fan.

  27. My only question is: At the time of JLin's free agency period, he was scheduled to visit Houston, Dallas, and Toronto ...

    Why did Lin choose Houston Rockets without looking at the other teams to see what they had to offer ?

    Did Morey make a promise to Lin that he will get Dwight Howard this off-season ? Or was it the Rocket's supposed connection to Yao Ming and the Chinese market that would open the door for more endorsement money ?

    Why sign with this inexperienced young team that is in rebuilding mode ?

    Dallas has an established core of championship veterans, if Lin signed with them he'd be an instant title contender.

    If he signed with Toronto, who also have veteran talent, they can also be a playoff team. And a fanbase that is already Linsane for him.

    Anybody who says the Rockets have more appeal in China is ignorant about social media and the internet. Lin can become popular in China no matter what NBA team he plays for. But most importantly he needs to WIN games in order to impress more Chinese fans.

    So, why Houston ?

    1. Chapter 6: The Lin Camp

      "In an effort to scare off competitors from trying to sign him, the club had been spreading the word for months that it would match any offer presented...


      ...At that point, Lin's representatives began going on the offensive, telling clubs that were interested in Lin, most notably the Toronto Raptors, that the Knicks were not likely to match a lucrative offer. But most teams, still convinced the Knicks wouldn't let Lin go, didn't believe them.

      Then along came the Houston Rockets..."

    2. If this is the truth as this this article depicted, KNICKS was using an understand tactic to burns all the bridges that might open more option for Lin to choose from.
      KNICKS mentality is to WIN NOW, they expect Lin to return to KNICKS with contract on hand so they can sign him on cheap and by bringing in the veteran PG, either at the pretext to mentor LIN or start them over LIN, all these might be insignificant to others but it must be a dagger straight to his heart and back.

    3. Lowballing him.

      "While no one claims Lin would have definitely taken less money to stay in New York, one source close to him says a reasonable Knicks offer on July 1 -- and "reasonable" in this case meant the full four years, $24.3 million -- would have made it tough for him to leave the team...

      "But instead of making an offer, the Knicks spoke in terms of concepts rather than numbers, a source said. And their concept, according to the source, was for Lin to sign a front-loaded contract that actually decreased in the third year of the deal, with no mention of a fourth year. Considering that the most Lin could get in the first year of the deal was $5.3 million, it seemed to Lin's representatives that the Knicks were asking him to settle for $4 million or even less in the third year."

    4. Les Alexander is a shrew businessman, ROCKETS upped LIN contract to a backloaded 15 mil on the 3rd yea; Dolan is fuming mad and took it out on Lin instead of deal with in the business stand point and not personal feelings get the best of him.

    5. And the douchebag's response to being outmanuevered is to scapegoat JLin, drag his name through the mud & turn the Nyk fanbase against him.
      Hopefully most Nyk fans can see through the demolition job.

    6. Normally I prefer not to taken side of any bb team for I've not rooted for any specific team and enjoy every games with great interest. But Jeremy is different issue, KNICKS FO, some of his ex team mates and that Mr S from ESPN, Frank Isola and a few sport writters which does render mentioning; has drag Jeremy's good name thru mud; lowballing him in his contract and other nasty tactics; it make my blood boiling hot and retaliate all the columns/ articles as much as I can. God forgive me for even thrashing these dxxxx bag everytime their name were mentioned. Call it a motherly insticnt!

    7. Don't worry, Michelle Wong.

      It's not a bad thing for Jeremy Lin to be kicked off such a classless loser franchise.

      Just take a calm deep breath and remember that Jeremy Lin has a fat new contract and is playing for a team that respects his game.

      That should solve it for you.

    8. Why Houston, ABC Baller?

      Simple. Houston was the only team that was interested in bringing in Jeremy Lin as their FIRST CHOICE STARTER.

      Toronto wanted Steve Nash to be the starter. Jeremy Lin would have been PUNKING Nash in practice as Nash's "backup".

      Dallas wanted Deron Williams to be the starter. Jeremy Lin would have been doing Linsanity on Williams as Deron's backup.

      Houston made it clear that Jeremy Lin was their #1 target in free agency. They got rid of both Goran Dragic and Kyle Lowry to get Lin to be their starting point guard.

      Lin went where the money, starting position, and RESPECT were.

    9. These teams still have doubts about LIN's ability with no full season experience under his belt yet. They place LIN as replacement only if their can't get their main targets. Furthermore hese teams also been scare off by KNICKS blabbering 'matching all offers'. It definately surprise everyone when KNICKS refuse to match ROCKETS contract. I hope LIN will make good use of his tenure in ROCKETS to develop his skills and maintain injury free and healthy throughout the seasons.

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