After a few "Linsane" weeks in New York, Jeremy Lin faced lofty expectations when he signed with the Houston Rockets.The skeptics said he was a one-hit wonder who shouldn't have gotten a $25 million contract after only 25 games. The believers said he needed more experience.
It was a largely inconsistent year, hit-or-miss each game as his confidence level fluctuated.
There was the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in late December, where Lin had seven turnovers--tying a season high--and just one assist. But there was the game the day before (Christmas Day) against the Chicago Bulls, where Lin dazzled with 11 assists and 20 points on 66.7 percent from the floor.
In his first year as a full-time starter in the NBA, Lin clearly went through adversity. However, he made great improvements through the course of the season while adapting to his role in the offense.
He is a solid on-ball defender and finished the season with respectable offensive statistics (13.4 points per game on 44.1 percent shooting and 6.1 assists per game).
Still, for a player whose performances are put in the spotlight every game, there is plenty that Lin has to do to polish his game and maximize his potential in a Rockets uniform.
Ball Control/Decision-Making
As a point guard, you are relied upon to make plays, and therefore you are looking to get your teammates involved each time up the floor. The problem was that Lin was 10th in the NBA with 236 turnovers. His teammate, James Harden, led the league with 295 turnovers.
Lin would dump the ball off to Harden on the majority of possessions; when he did facilitate the offense, he was prone to making ill-advised passes. This can be partly attributed to his aggressive style of play.
Of his 236 turnovers, 131 were caused by bad passes and 89 were due to ball-handling, per 82games.
This problem ties in with decision-making. He is a crafty player who got into the lane to draw the defense, but he struggled with his kick-out passes.
Often times, Lin drove the lane and left his feet without having made a decision as to what he was going to do with the ball. It resulted in a lot of those ill-advised passes or traveling violations.
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