A look at Jeremy Lin
Two games cannot provide a definitive answer on a player but like a good mystery novel, two games can offer clues. These clues can be used to paint a clearer picture of what a player is or is not capable of. Jeremy Lin’s case is no exception. Well it can be easy to rush to judgment on Lin before having an ample amount of data, let’s first see what information can be gleaned from his incredibly productive two game stretch.
The first thing that stood out about Lin’s two games actually didn’t have anything to do with him. The most noticeable thing was that the two defenses (Utah and New Jersey) he carved up were bad (Utah 21st in defensive efficiency) and atrocious (NJ dead last in same category), respectively. When looking at the tape you can see that Lin was definitely the beneficiary of some poor effort and execution by his opponents.
The first video contains three clips of Lin attacking these porous D’s. Against Utah, a simple dribble flip from Iman Shumpert and oncoming ball screen from Tyson Chandler somehow open a huge driving gap for Lin. His wide open layup is mainly a result from poor communication between Devin Harris (Lin’s defender) and Al Jefferson (Chandler’s defender). Then on the backside of the play, Gordon Hayward finds himself slow to rotate over and stop the drive.
The next clip in the sequence is particularly embarrassing for the Nets. Lin and Jared Jeffries engage in a pick and roll in the middle of the floor while Amar’e Stoudamire, located behind the action, is looking to fill behind. This play is typically designed for Stoudamire to get open near the weakside (in this case, left) elbow/pinch post for a jumper or isolation attack as his defender sinks in on the roll. However, for reasons unknown, his defender Shawne Williams, completely ignores his help responsibilities and faceguards Stoudamire. This results in a wide open dive to the rim for Jeffries and an easy pocket pass for Lin to tally one of his seven assists that night.
The final play against the woeful Nets defense shows Lin finding another easy scoring opportunity for himself. While going under screens will be a typical coverage he sees going forward, in certain areas of the floor, it simply can’t happen. In this third clip, Jordan Farmer goes under a screen set at the elbow allowing Lin to rhythm dribble into a wide open jumper a step inside the foul line. While Lin has historically had some shooting issues, a vast majority of NBA guards will hurt teams if given easy looks from this spot consistently.
It should be noted that bad defense isn’t a knock against Lin. In fact, if Lin hadn’t taken advantage of these situations (and others like them) I wouldn’t be writing this. It is simply worth noting that a fair amount of points and assists were opportunistic endeavors that he simply won’t see that often, especially against elite defensive teams.
Bad defense or not, though, Lin was still able to do a great job of getting to the rim. However, one noticeable thing was that he failed to utilize his left (weak) hand effectively during his forrays to the hoop. Looking back at old scouting reports, it seems as though this has been a consistent issue for Lin. In the following edit, we’ll see a rim attack that ends poorly due to a forced, right-hand finish as well as an awkward left-hand attempt that Lin fails to convert.
Being dominant with only one hand isn’t a total death sentence. in fact, players like Corey Maggette and Jason Terry have forged long careers as scorers despite showing a complete inability to do much with their off-hand. Lin, though, doesn’t possess physical advantages like Maggette’s strength and Terry’s quickness to compensate for it. One thing Lin can use to offset this malady is develop a nice two-foot floater or one-foot runner (preferably with both hands).
The next video showcases two clips. In the first, Lin attacks middle and is forced into an awkward runner that barely draws iron. Notice on that attempt how Lin pushes too deep instead reading what the defense is giving him. This a result of two things; his comfort level in his runner as a weapon for him to use and Lin being a typical young player who attacks without a plan. In the second clip, we see a tough missed jumper in the paint that could have easily been a great opportunity for a left-handed runner.
Despite some of these shortcomings, Lin definitely has some real positives to his game. The first is his ability to change speeds. For a guard without top end burst, being able to shift gears with the dribble (while changing body position or “status”) is an absolute must. Here is a great example of Lin doing exactly that:
The final thing, as Coach Thorpe also pointed out in his TrueHoopTV segment, is that Lin takes tremendous, attacking angles when coming off a ball screen. Pick and roll play is perhaps the trickiest thing for a player to get a feel for doing. A vast majority of young players really struggle with it so the fact that Lin has this nuance down bodes well for his future. Here is a look at such an example of taking a great, downhill, attacking angle coming off a screen:
While the evaluation of Lin will be an on-going for the next few weeks, these two games have given us some answers. He has certainly given a struggling Knicks team a spark, but there are enough concerns with his game to wonder if he can continue to do so going forward, especially against better teams. However, another big game or two this week could provide more clues that only deepen the mystery.
