Monday, November 19, 2012

Rockets @ Jazz Game #11 Pregame Thread

We're aware of the issue when we have high comment volume. Unfortunately, we have full time jobs and busy family schedules like most of you. Please bare with us. We'll try to make multiple game threads to help alleviate this in the short term.

The Team


  1. You're doing fine. Thanks, as always.

    My more mischievous side has a couple of suggestions on how you can divvy up and title the multiple threads... but I'll just wait and see what you guys come up with ;)

  2. Lin can be a humble and unselfish person off the basketball court but no way can he be one on the professional basketball court. Lin must realize NBA is a place of high-priced thugs and he has to play tough,physical, and mean basketball or else he won't last long.

    Also, for a PG getting good rebound stat is not good. That's the job of the big guys and it means Lin is playing out of position, he isn't guarding his assigned enemy. No wonder the 3 point shots poured in because he wasn't around to defend and prevent that from happening.

    1. The coaching staff deploys Lin defensively as they see fit.

      All Lin is doing is following coaching orders.

      I don't see anything wrong in Lin's game other than his poor shooting.

    2. Agree Khuang. But that's the reason why jeremy must hold the ball and leave shots to teammates. Maybe, and i repeat maybe, he's tired cause his overall defence and lacks that extra bit when he attacks.

      Coaching staff is doing no good for jeremy. Hope things can get better. Maybe Sloan could turn jeremy in the new stockton..... He'd fit perfectly

    3. I agree with you. He is doing very well in all area but shooting? Really don't why? I thought he was doing well in the summer but how come he can't do it now? Rockets should have a shooting coach like Knicks to help him.

    4. Since NBA has a 24 sec. shot clock, there is nothing wrong to let your man dribble the ball aimlessly and wasting time. However, one needs to make sure the man he is guarding does not have a clear view, uncontested pass, or uncontested shot.

      How one guards a scorer or a non-scorer is also very different. I hope people understand that TD's suppose tight defense on every man he is guarding is not necessary good. If he is a scorer, like Kobe, you want he to pass the ball, so contesting the dribbling is good. If you have a non-scorer, let him dribble and keep the ball all he wants. Just no free uncontested shots.

      As for Rockets, I agree with KHuang that Rockets' design defense is to collapse to the paint if the ball is in the paint. Is it a good strategy? Well I believe the coach always need to adjust the defense during the game. When someone get hot outside, don't collapse as much.

      Lastly the Rockets' rebounding is bad. Yes Asik is doing very well, but only him. No boxing out. No body checking when opponents are moving through the paint. If you watch the games, the inside is always very crowded.

    5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    6. @Tigeramus:

      Last time i checked - he was the pro and we were not. So - he probably knows better than you or me what is required for a player to make it in the NBA. You probably mean well but Im really tired of people here who always claim that JLin needs to realize this or that.

      We dont know whats going on in JLins head. We dont know whats going on in the coaches heads. Unless we really know we should not make such remarks.

      JLin plays good d most of the time but he is not perfect. Nobody is. Then again - have you considered the possibility that his coaches told him to play help-d? If they didnt like it - they could have told him to stick to his man.

      Like KHuang - I have nothing to criticize about JLin - except that he is in a shooting slump right now. Check his stats - if he had made 2-3 more shots on different occasions he would have had a hand full of double-doubles.

  3. Hoping for a win tonight. Despite the back to back, our starters were rested early last night and hopefully that will pay off tonight. CP has been on a tear, and what did you guys think about TJones?!

    Lin's first career start was against Utah. Here's to hoping he can get something started again.

    1. Like to see more of T Jones. T Jone has a lot more BBall intelligence than P2P and MM. P2P and MM are two muscle guys that don't do too well in rebounding and boxing out.

      Asik is doing really, but I am sure the coach is telling him to keep the ball high. When he brings the ball down, even the guards can steal it from him.

      Jeremy needs to keep shooting until he gets out of the slump. I hope he forget the 3 point shots for now and move closer for easier 2s.

    2. The F spot is such a dilemma. I think TJ has the potential to take away PP's starting spot. On the other hand, as it stands, I kind of want that starting F to go to MM. He is our best 3 point shooter, and it would be nice for Lin to get assists for his outside passes (vs scramble for a rebound).

      re: Lin's shooting

      I just want him to drive. Yes, refs aren't giving him and 1's when he makes contact (although to be fair, I think they have been pretty consistent on this unless your name is Chris Bosh, and that's if you don't make contact). But that can't be his crutch. He is such a solid free throw shooter that he has to try. Paradoxically, Jeremy is such a woeful distance shooter right now that I would much rather him take a 3 than a long 2. Since I think it's a confidence issue, why reinforce the long 2? The last thing I want is for him to think he can't shoot a 3.

  4. Win or lose isn't important tonight, just want Lin to play like a true Hombre with true grit... and still play smart.

    1. Yes, I want him have a good stats. Also hope Rockets can change the coach asap.

  5. I just want to see Lin hit shots by NOT overthinking.

    Kevin McHale had great advice for Lin in preseason. He told Lin to just go out there and relax, have fun.

    Once Lin hits some of his jump shots, the ball will end up back in his hands. But Lin's gotta earn hat.

    I'm one of the few people that agree with the coaching decision to limit Lin's game touches until he starts shooting better.

    1. I agree with limiting his ISOLATIONS until he starts shooting better. But he still has to handle to ball and get dribble penetration.

      And he can still run high pick-and-rolls because he's great at hitting the roll man and can get FTs by attacking the rim aggresively (though not as often as last season).

      Even with Jeremy's poor shooting, the offense ALWAYS looks better with him running the show. Harden benefits too. He gets wide open jumpers and doesn't pile up TOs from trying to split double-teams.

  6. Eric found the positive in all this and I believe he is on to something. 10 assists is nothing to sneeze at. That's 2 games in a row of 10+ assists in a non ball dominant role. Something to build on. Let's hope he does well again tonight even if he doesn't shoot well.

    1. Yes indeed, I see steady progression in LIN' s overall game and I am sure we will see a fired up Lin again.

  7. Please jlin, stop shooting that funky elbow flying space shuttle arching shot. Go back to your old faithful shooting form. Thank you! :)

    1. "funky elbow flying space shuttle arching shot?"

      Pretty good, Bodhi!

      This is what I had to describe Lin's Twister style elevation and spastic crooked release:

      "Tyrannosaurus Rex Mini Me Water Pistol Girly Flick"

    2. haha! good one KHuang. Well lets hope our boy gets this ironed out soon. I'm positive he will!

  8. LOL

    From the observation of the people on this site, it feels like some people make a full-time living on this fan site. These people have abandoned their jobs and family to follow this site.

    As I stated before. These type of people are controlled by the devil. Jeremy has done a great job intentionally playing horrible to destroy their spirit, allowing the demons to take over their souls as they are watching the games. That is why Jeremy gets the big bucks.

    Again, game after game, I have been telling you all that Jeremy purposefully is playing horrible

    1. Groan.

      Nemo, I've had enough of your "humor".

      I'm gonna ignore your posts.

    2. because it makes his original "Christian" Linsanity story fans, who are predominantly innocent people who intend to do good, and convert them into evil-doers. Everytime Jeremy plays bad, performs a cringe-worthy move, or getting benched in important moments, it destroys these people's mental state. They end up feeling frustrated, defeated, violent, suicidal, and hostile towards others... and we clearly seen this on writing in this fan site. That's when the demons settle in their body and starts to take over. This is all planned and intentional. The devil loves to see you all like this. A big giveaway is how we never hear or see Jeremy do anything to praise God anymore (he's on the devils side now).

      This is all very clear to me. My question to you all is, can you also see this even when I explained this all to you in basic terms? I have provided the proof and have been right game after game. Time to wake up everyone and turn off this demonic weapon.

      Do something else. Learn a new language, find love, do something good for the community and meet other good people around your community, help people in need when they really need it whether it is to just saying hello or giving them a hand when in difficult situations. There much more good to be done out there, rather than getting sucked into Satanic traps.

      In ending, to everyone who has been watching all of the games thus far this season, I challenge you to just not watch/follow tonights game and do something for your community or family or friends today. And let me know if you can feel the difference afterwards.

      God bless,

    3. KHuang,

      I understand why you are feeling this, but have you ever considered that I am not joking after all?

      You know my history here on this site going back, but things have clearly changed. Not just me, you, or the people on this site. Jeremy has changed as well.

      I loved Linsanity. I'm not loving the Jeremy Lin this season. I can confidently say most people feel the same as well. The problem is that people are putting up with it only because they still remember the great feeling during Linsanity and are unconsiously waiting for that to happen again. Only though, Jeremy is intentionally not going full speed because he's under the control of the Devil in return for fortune and fame.

      A lot of things in life are not so obvious because we cannot see it, haven't seen it yet, or the mainstream media does not talk about it. Mainstream media is controlled by the devil, which controls the public's thinking process (The people who believe it as legitimate perspectives while anything else is false). That is why no one believes anything I am saying here. It's all part of the devil's plan.

      I hope you can one day see that this is very real and that you all are under attack without you even realizing it until it's too late.

      The only way you can is by believing now... or experience it the hard way... Its up to you. God Bless.


    4. Nemo, you need to take your medications to alleviate your DELUSIONS. You need to be locked in a mental asylum.

      I usually ignore your posts but you're getting annoying now. You regurgitate that devil nonsense and all of your conspiracy theories. This is a basketball site; if you want to spread your conspiracy theories then go to facebook, twitter, youtube and the like.

      Do you think anyone will believe that nonsense you just spewed?

      Before every game, you post basically the same thing. Your fear mongering will not work here.

      I really hope the admin warns you. What you spew is absolutely irrelevant to the purpose of this site.

      Just a piece of advice, if you don't like watching basketball, you are not required to watch. You are free to leave. You'll eventually get banned if you continue repeating this nonsense.

    5. I'll post this just once and only once. I'm not here to wage religious war against you or anyone, as I've been religiously targeted enough in real life to find it totally distasteful.

      Nemo, people are in charge of their own lives. Nobody can live somebody else's life. You have NO SAY over Lin's life or anybody else's and they have no say over yours. Thus your preaching here is having the OPPOSITE effect of what you intend - you've lost your "fanbase" including ME.

      Meanwhile, living up to perfection is a surefire recipe for FAILURE. Being too pure in one's life can be a gateway to evil. The most heinous crimes are committed not by those who have wilfully chosen evil, but by those who feel it is their divine right to repair and eradicate all the "heathens" that they feel need to be "corrected".

      I don't WANT to be pure. I WANT to be imperfect. I consider myself just as imperfect as any other human being. Consequently I try to respect people and have much disdain for those that think they're better than others. Nemo, you are not better than me or anyone else!

      As far as being "under attack", I'm strong enough to not only choose my own life but roar "BRING IT ON!!!"

    6. Nemo is crazy, has no friends and nobody likes him. Thats why he has given up his job to play "savior" on this site. He spends his whole life producing crappy "JLin is the devil" videos which he puts up on youtube (he claims his channel is a "tech company"). And yet - he is the one claiming that the normal JLin fans here are unemployed fulltime fanboys with social problems. See the irony?

      He is simply an insane coward who hides behind the internet to bother people. He doesnt even show his face on his videos -> ugly. Dont waste your time replying to his posts guys!

    7. @ wil

      I'll give it a try, anyhow. Maybe it's a misunderstanding? :)

      @ Nemo

      It seems to me you're overwhelmed by the sudden influx of posters [and haters] onto this site, and you're feeling alienated?
      You don't understand why people on here are flaming each other and just generally being crappy [some posters]?

      It has nothing to do with JLin. Some posters are just dbags who like to rile people up.

      It can be very stressful reading through the negative comments. Is this the "devil" you mean? Negativity?

      I understand what you are saying about disenfranchised ideas and such. We live in a consensus reality after all. One schema = another schema, really. They are just ways of ordering the world, to make it more manageable. Life makes no sense [isn't it why we have art? To make sense of things?] but we are so used to living within a culture-mediated reality that when things go off the script a little, we scramble to find "reasons."

      The devil is a go-to reason since time immemorial. Anything that may make us uncomfortable we dump into this catch-all. Your idea isn't so outrageous: The way you frame this reminds me of The Reptilians -> supposedly they deliberately foment dark negative energy in the populace, w/c they feed off of. Supposedly this explains all the crap mankind engages in, like wars. Their victims are said to be under psychic attacks. [I'm not mocking. I'm a curious person who's looked into various stuffs like Archons, Kingkill33, Jacque Vallee-esque stuffs, Crowley & co, Monarch-Springmeier, fringe-y other-perspective type things. They are alternative-narratives.]

      Anyhow, it might all just be stress, Nemo. :)

    8. Just to reiterate:

      It's might be burnout you're feeling.
      Try to de-stress...

  9. Last night's performance was overall JLin's worst performance this season.

    I'm confused as to why Jeremy is still shooting poorly (with 17 games total, including 7 preseason games). How did he shoot much better last year than this year so far? Why not shoot the same way as last year? If his shooting technique hasn't changed, then maybe it's time to change:

    It could be just his confidence level, but once his shots go in, confidence will follow. A player needs to regain his confidence BEFORE he can be successful again.

    Maybe he's letting the pressure get to him, in which case he should take his won advice to heart and play without pressure. Stop worrying (which amounts to negative visualization) and visualize only successful moves. There is a saying "You're trying too hard. Take it easy and try again" (no pressure; confidence). Also, playing with pressure, instead of with confidence, will cause the player to hesitate, as well as tighten up his muscles, in which case he can kiss the accurate muscle memory he worked on good bye.

    So many confident players - both young and old - are hitting their jump shots, including 3's almost as easily. It's been sad to see him struggle with his jump shots, which are relatively EASIER since they are based on muscle memory (eye-hand coordination from practice), while seeing him WORK HARD on things that are harder to do.

    The solution could be as simple as Lin needing new prescription contact lenses (because he's also been missing a lot of easy layups). And playing with confidence and swagger again.

    1. ztrta, Lin was shooting two different jump shots last year.

      He was bricking many shots last year using Doc Scheppler's girly form. But Lin was also making a ton of pressure baskets using the NBA side throwing soccer form learned from his DAD!

      This year, Lin has completely abandoned his dad's NBA style shooting method. Thus Lin's once vaunted accuracy has left him too!

    2. It's really weird..I don't know if you saw the Lin off-season video: There's a sequence in the video where Lin's brother was joking that he could shoot better than 76 percent (Lin's % from 3).

      I know that practice is totally different from game, but still, 76 percent from 3 is really good. He should be at least around 38 percent from 3. I don't get it. I'm bummed.

    3. Another thing JLin did last offseason was to train with Sparta. I had hoped that he'd do the same thing last Summer - motivated pros train with the best every offseason; his friend/trainer, Fan, traveled with him but that's not enough to compete with the best players. I know he had obligations, but he spent way too much time in Asia.

      Yeah.... after hearing about JLin's great shooting practice from his brother and the coach, it got our hopes up.

    4. It's simple, jlinisasuperhero.

      Doc Scheppler taught Lin improper footwork and torso positioning.

      Lin can hit unguarded 3 point shots in empty gyms only when he's able to get his body angle exactly where Doc taught him.

      But in actual NBA games, Lin has to shoot from whatever angle he gets. Even on open shots, that's likely not going to be at the angle Doc positioned him. This is one of the reasons why good practice shooters are often horrible game shooters.

      Lin shoots difficult leaners and pressure shots better than he shoots open jumpers. That's because he cannot corkscrew his torso the way Doc taught him.

      To see Lin revert to his side shooting jumpshot, watch last season's 38 point explosion in which Lin does two jab steps on Derek Fisher from a dead ball position with his back to the basket and then elevates for his side throwing soccer shot that was used by great shooters like John Stockton and Michael Jordan. Lin needs to shoot EVERY jump shot like that, just as Jordan and Stockton and Bird did!

    5. damn, it's so frustrating knowing this. I mean, does anyone from his inner circle see this and realize that doc sheppler isnt teaching him the proper mechanics? aggghh...he needs to train with top level training not with his buddies...

    6. For the first time ever, I have to disagree with KHuang.

      Jeremy is an NBA starter and Harvard grad with millions of dollars to spend on trainers and you really think he isn't aware of the issues you mentioned?

      Until his injury happened, Jeremy had only *improved* his shooting thanks to Doc Scheppler. It's just a matter of confidence and getting full LIFT in his knees. He rimmed two jumpers in and out last night, for example. That's the difference between a perfectly good 4-9 and an ugly 2-9.

  10. I'm hoping to see continued improvement tonight.

  11. It would be good to start a thread analyzing JLin's shooting mechanics this year vs. last year and use video evidence to document what is the problem.

  12. JLin's pretty good in assist statistics and steals statistics. I don't know why people are trippin' about his scoring stats. I don't mind if people call him Eremy Lin like they used to with Ason Kidd. At least he's being compared to Jason Kidd, not some scrub PG. If he plays good D ~ 2 steals per and averages 7-10 assists per, isn't that worth 25 million for 3 years? I just do not have too much expectations with JLin this year. He played free, when there was not a lot of expectations on him last year. Maybe he is praying differently to God this year. Last year's prayers for God in NY was a lot better.

    1. Fair enough. Jonathan.

      Unlike Jason Kidd who has NEVER had a shooter's touch, Lin has amply demonstrated at the NBA level that he can score with ease and hit open jumpshots. it's totally uncharacteristic of Lin to be shooting this poorly.

      Lin has always been a high percentage shooter at the professional level. While the bulk of his scoring comes from the inside, Lin has done enough damage from outside in his Golden State and D league stints such that we here on this board were not concerned about his shooting.

      Lin's shooting slump has NOTHING to do with his mindset or new team or current coaches or off court adjustment or even adjusted defenses. It has been a problem long brewing that has now cannot be ignored. Better NOW than later.

      Jonathan, we here KNOW that Lin has it in him to score. The instant he gets back to his old form, Lin's scoring will RAGE RIGHT BACK!!!

    2. i dont know much about pro shooting mechanics, but khuang, whats the average time it takes for a player to switch forms and be good at it?

    3. Tim Pham, Lin could start shooting as soon as TONIGHT!

      If he reverted to his childhood shot, he wouldn't be learning a new shot. He'd be doing what comes NATURALLY for him!

  13. I went to the Portland game with my son last Friday and I was surprised by the number of asian kids in the stands wearing Lin jerseys. Jeremy is carrying the hopes and dreams of so many young asian kids on his shoulders. I wonder how many other fans on this site have kids that look up to Jeremy as an inspiration? It would be so disappointing if he burns out from all the pressure so young in his career. His ethnicity may have hurt him in the past but it may help him keep his job for the time being if he keeps selling jerseys and young fans keep buying tickets. He now just needs to step up his game and show everyone that he wasn't just a flash in the pan.

    1. I love that so many kids/asian kids were wearing his jersey. It's something to be really proud of. he's a trailblazer, this first of his kind..there's a lot of pressure but I think he'll be able to manage it.

    2. I feel bad for these kids. They are wasting their time on this scam. They could have used that time to do other things such as learning a new langauge or learning a new skill.

    3. Nemo, you can keep your own worries and concern. Most people know how to control their life and times! and if they don't its their problems, not anyone else!

  14. houston's entire front court are gifted athletically and they were all primary scorer's in their respective colleges (except asik who is developing at a rapid pace)
    pattrick patterson is a karl malone type of player...he's got an amazing outside shot and he can post up against elite players
    t jones is a monster and has leaping ability...alleyoops should be going to him constantly
    asik is showing he has post moves of his own
    take that into account and the fact that houston shoots more 3 pointers than the majority of the nba, you come to realize that they're not leveraging their inside strentghs
    most of that is because they're pushing the ball ALL THE TIME and their own players don't get into a comfortable place to start their offense
    it's ALL reactive (which leads to the high turnover rate)
    now take a look at the back court...harden, lin, parson, toney douglas
    these guys all have great defense and there's plenty of offense there
    they can generate their own transition opportunities but they don't need to push the ball all the time
    so my proposal if i ran that offense would be to focus on the bigs
    if rockets get a steal, THEN push and transition
    but until then, focus on establishing the paint
    dribble penetrate and kick out
    if harden is going to be "THE MAN"
    he should play off the ball and allow lin to initiate to get him the ball for the open look or have him cut to the basket
    so lin gets a lot of assists and harden gets all the points least you're playing to their strengths
    right now harden is trying too hard to establish that he's their franchise
    the coaches want him to do it
    but i think it's a mistake to go in with that notion
    there's no surprise
    teams know the ball is going to the beard down the stretch
    so they'll shut him down and then rockets have no backup plan
    you couple that with the fact that you have lin sitting on the bench at the end of games..and you're basically handicapping yourself because there's not dribble penetration threat
    i DO NOT think mchale is the right coach if he sticks with his offensive plan
    my hope is that he realizes what he has and the modifies his strategy to maximize the talents of all his players
    especially the tjones, ppatterson, mmorris trio
    you basically have 3 potential allstars playing the same position
    gotta get them the rock where they can operate

  15. D'Antoni was on Loose Canons and they asked him about Jeremy's shooting struggles and whether the team is using him the best way he said the following, paraphrased:

    "Whether or not they think they're using him correctly is up to them. Jeremy's a bit of a marked man right now and everything he does will be blown out of proportion in the media. He's a great young player and will adjust as he needs but I have no doubt that he'll be back to where he was last year."

    the first response is kind of interesting, didn't sound like he really agrees that Houston is using him correctly and just wanted to deflect a negative comment.

  16. Just wanted to show some support. I'm playing Jeremy on my fantasy team tonight. Lets go Jeremy! My faith is as strong as ever!

    1. if your in a roto league Jeremy's actually rated pretty well, top 30 i believe. this is because he provides numbers in all stats.

    2. I'm not. Just head to head. 10 players. I picked him up 5th round. Everyone said I could've gotten him 6th maybe even 7th round pick, but hes just so damn inspirational so I made sure he was on my team.

  17. Chin up Lin. I’m confident that everything will click into place for him. I’ve missed all the games coached by Sampson due to the time difference so can’t really comment. One thing I do know is that I like Kevin McHale and his wicked sense of humour. I have always thought that there is a method to his madness where Lin is concerned. Taking into account that Lin is in recovery. He also understands the pressure and burden that Lin is and forever will be facing throughout his career.

    One thing I’m happy for Lin is that each team that he’s been with, he has a ‘soulmate’ – Landry Fields, Chandler Parsons, etc. As Parsons and McHale have stated, Lin should just tune out the negativity and just relax and play.

    Does anyone know if there’s a Kenny Atkinson style of coach/trainer on the Rockets for Lin? I mean in terms of his development? From what little vids I’ve seen on the Rockets site, Omer’s been consistently training with 1-2 coach/trainers. I’ve yet to see any for Lin compared to when he was on the Knicks. I’m not expecting Lin to monopolize any for himself :)

    I’m not in anyway dissing Lin but I understand that he’s surrounded with his family and trusted friends ie sister-in-law his business manager, Mr Fan as his recent personal trainer, etc. including Doc. I do hope that he’ll maybe get another set of eyes for his shooting form during the off season. If I’m not wrong, he had a different personal trainer too last season with Sparta right?

    Go Lin! Go Rockets!

    p/s: Don't forget to cast your all-star votes.

    1. Yes. will continue to support him and wish him the best!I believe he is also concern about a lot things right now and try to find the best way that fits him! Just hope he stay confident and relax about game wining and game losing, just go out there and do whatever he thinks the best, and of course I also hope he got a great trainer, friends and whatever that give him a strong back court support!

  18. I highly doubt Doc has given Jeremy anything but good shooting mechanics to internalize. Moreover, Jeremy Lin is not a newcomer to basketball. He knows the game and he knows what good shooting mechanics are. He's discerning. He's intelligent. He's a Harvard graduate. And he works hard...

    What am I getting at? Simple: Jeremy Lin has chosen to improve his shooting mechanics with the help of Doc. Obviously Doc knows his stuff.... Obviously Doc is an elite shooting coach otherwise Jeremy wouldn't have given him the time of day.

    So the question is: Should Jeremy revert back to his old shooting mechanics? Well, first of all, I don't know how much he has actually altered his shot but I'd bet that with Doc he only made small refinements.

    Further: When he was training with Doc it was reported his shot was very solid and consistent. This leads me to believe....

    That his shot is failing either because he's changed his technique since he's trained with Doc whether consciously or subconsciously or he simply lacks confidence and his mind is lacking the clarity to allow his muscle memory to do the work smoothly and, yes, unconsciously.

    Either way: Jeremy will get to the bottom of it and his shot being off won't continue for all that much more time. That's my belief.

    1. "he simply lacks confidence and his mind is lacking the clarity"


    2. Bamboo Forest I concur completely. His form is the same as last year. He needs to lower his arc. All of his misses are short! He's lost his confidence in his shot similar to a hitters slump, or a golfer or a tennis player or any athlete. He'll get it back. I'm sure that KHuang doesn't have many shooting clients... The improvement that Jeremy made in his shot from his rookie season to last year was nothing short of phenomenal..And by all accounts he was shooting great in the summer. Maybe its because he's not seeing Doc every day that hes struggling. By the way Khuang, Doc was a high school guys coach for 17 years prior to coaching girls. He's been teaching individually for 25 years and is a sought after shooting coach in the Bay Area. Jeremy will be fine when he lets go and let's if fly without thought.

    3. I'm totally with you. Jeremy and Doc and the Rockets training staff have forgotten more basketball than any of us will ever know.

      Jeremy is just lacking confidence (thanks to Sampson), rhythm (thanks to reduced FGAs) and proper elevation in his legs (thanks to his knee).

      He may struggle now, but he'll be much better off in the long run if he sticks to Doc's advice -- which helped him improve so much last year.

    4. I'm OK with you guys criticizing me for criticizing Doc Scheppler.

      That said, I'd like to see Lin train with a NBA shooting coach.

      Doc Scheppler is a GREAT coach. However, shooting is results oriented. Many great shooting coaches get fired for not getting results. Lin doesn't have results this season.

      Keep in mind that I WANT to be wrong. I want Lin and Doc to prove that I don't know anything about shooting! I hope Lin shoots so well that you guys can stomp all over me!!!

  19. The Rockets need to keep playing team ball for 4 quarters. What I've witnessed is that they play team ball for 3 1/2 quarters, build a lead, then they try to milk the clock by giving the ball to Harden to initiate a play with 5 seconds remaining on the shot clock. This allows the other team to rest on defense, focus on stopping one player and be in position to rebound the missed shot. This happened in the first Portland game and the Heat game. If they were able to close out the 2 games against Portland and the Heat game they would be 7-3 right now. I never understood why basketball teams resort to this tactic. NBA teams can erase a 10 point lead very quickly. When the Rockets have ball movement it is a thing of beauty, but when it is stuck in one person's (Harden's) hand milking the clock it takes them out of rhythm. Give the ball to Lin, set a high pick and roll for him and he will find the open man. Didn't they watch the films from last year for what he did for Novak?

  20. Sampson called it too much freedom for a PG and it's not happening on this team - in so many word; in a video interview.

  21. Most players: catch ball, shoot.
    Jeremy: Catch the ball, take deep breath, set feet, relax the shoulders, jump straight up, release ball at highest point with 30 degree angle, follow through, hope to at least draw iron.

    He needs to stop overthinking and just play.
    Rockets ran a play for him at the end of the first half and he had an open shot and missed. His coach and teammates will start losing confidence in him if he can't make open shots.

    Opposing teams are beginning to play Jeremy to pass first. Did anyone notice that Dwight Howard didn't even jump on 2 of Jeremy's shot attempts? One was a high floater that went in. The other was a close in bank shot that was too hard. Jeremy needs to be a scoring threat to open up the passing lanes.

  22. What a surprise no repercussions for Artest's blatant elbow to lins face. If lin had sold it like James harden or if lin was James harden by flopping on the ground and holding his head there would be suspensions, fine, something? Artest actually hit harden in the shoulder and neck while lin took a much harder shot right to the face. I also buy the wild 'celebration' much more than 'I thought there was a crazed fan behind me' elbow swing.

    1. man are you crazy? i get the impression you never actually saw the hit that James Harden received last season, it was brutal, right to the HEAD. Besides, the punch he gave Jeremy was unintentional.

  23. Dont blame Lin. How about count the very few number of times Asik goes to give him a screen so he can run the pick n roll. this is the works of the coach, they want to minimize Lin as much as possible. They won in pre season by pick n rock, fluid ball movement and finding the open man. Morey specifically told the coach he wants to build Hardens stats so Morey can prove hes worth 80 mill to kep his job. This is Bull****!!! Wake up Les, Youre headed to a losing season and disappointing your fans. You paid for Linsanity, Its time you stop holding back Lin and start letting Linsanity erupt

  24. this is what kelvin said about lin...

    “Jeremy’s pretty smart,” acting coach Kelvin Sampson said. “He plays to his strength. He’s a better scorer/slasher than he is a shooter. He’s not a spot-up shooter. Jeremy is a creator. We always encourage him to attack close-outs. If the ball is swung to him and the guy is closing out on him, we want him to attack the closeout, and usually something good happens on the weak side.”

    1. That's just the opposite of how the Rockets' coaches have played Lin for the first 8 games. They must have read all the complaints by fans - especially since Lin has been worse than usual with his jump shots.

      Sampson has put Lin in the PG role (a starter at that) since only 2 games ago, against the Blazers (3 games including this one). Everyone's roles should have been set before the start of the regular season, instead of continuing to experiment; of course I could see experimenting with game plans but not with a player's role.

  25. The Mo Williams - Lin match-up should be fun.

    I wouldn't take Williams to be my post-season PG, but he's capable in the regular season and can get hot. He has an ego, so I expect he'll get up for Lin. Not much else at PG for the Jazz - journeymen Foye and Tinsley. I don't know why Watson is inactive.

    Lin beat up on the Jazz in the 2nd game of the Linsanity run last season and they're not a better team now. When Williams gets hot, he's better than Devin Harris, though.

  26. If Asik starts dunking instead of throwing up a miss layup underneath the rim every time, then Lin would be averaging 10+ assists a game and they would've won all those close games.

    1. Absolutely!

      Asik will get better at dunking, but boy.... I wish the coach told him that earlier.

      Poor Asik, he's got stitches in two places on his face.

