Lin's Commitment to Avoid Turnovers Is Hurting Him
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CLYDE
Since he saved the season so far, saved D'antoni's job to date, plays his ass off, and gets no respect from his star players or the NBA, meaning he is getting hammered more and more each game, I suggest the following to him.
1 - Take charge of this team again, take the ball and do your thing. You decide who gets the ball. Prove to yourself and the league you are a real quality PG.
2 - Dare the coach to make you give it up to Melo, tell him you are the point guard. The Garden fans and NY media will back you up on this.
3 - If someone like J. Kidd hammers you, go right back at him on offense, show him he is not young anymore. Otherwise the league will drive you to the bench and back to the D league.
4 - Tell Stat & Melo you are getting double teamed, hammered, almost like there is a price on your head, if they don't have your back then their asses will not get the ball from you. Give it up to Jeffries who has your back.
5 - You will be a free agent, so make yourself as valuable as possible. That's how Stat, Melo, etc. players around the league got their money.
The problem is this would kind of "show up" his teammates..... It's not in Lin to even think about going this route...........
Someone told me he's noticed that Lin may have lost some confidence....... I think although he's cut down on the turnovers, I was one who thought unlike a lot of players, Lin's turnovers were not really hurting the team- His aggressiveness resulted in high shooting percentages and offensive rebounds, which more than negated the turnover problem.
I'd rather see Lin get 14 assists with 7 turnovers than 6 assists with one turnover. The other Knicks players were getting open looks and driving lanes in the former case, but not the latter. The team was getting offensive rebounds in the former case but not the latter.
The Knicks were winning in the former case, but not the latter.
What's the point in cutting down turnovers if the overall play otherwise hurts the team?
During Linsanity, Lin was doing crossover moves, reverse layups, hesitation moves, and pump fakes...... Making plays that show up on highlight reels...... Since he stated he'd work hard to cut down on the turnovers, these plays have mysteriously vanished. His play has become too deliberate, and a lot easier to defend. And he's not going to the free-throw line as often.
Sometimes statistics can be deceiving. In the case of Lin, the turnover prone fearless version beats the turnover conscious deliberate one. Big time.
When it comes to turnovers, in most cases, it determines the outcome of games. In Lin's case, it has been the exception. Until Lin's turnovers start resulting in Knicks defeats (the team has been losing, but not for that reason), we shouldn't even worry about the turnovers.
