How can Jeremy Lin revive his career?

Remember the Linsanity a couple of years back? A hitherto unknown player who was part of the New York Knicks squad took the basketball world by storm, notching up incredible offensive performances earning himself a spot on the NBA Rising stars team. He dominated the month of February, averaging 20.9 points and 8.4 assists per game, hitting buzzer beaters and out-classing some of the best players in the NBA.

The 6’3″ Point Guard’s star has since then faded. Last season, he showed nothing more than flashes of Linsanity.

Everybody knew that Lin was on a hot streak and nobody expected him to maintain that incredible level of performance. On the other hand, nobody expected him to sink to the level of “just another NBA player”. While Lin may not be a player of All-Star calibre, he’s currently the most popular player in the world (owing that in large to his Asian ancestry).

With Harden taking over as the team’s primary ball handler, Lin was transformed from a global superstar to what he truly is – a 25-year-old experiencing the first real taste of the NBA.

How can Jeremy Lin revive his career? By playing as the sixth man.

The Houston Rockets have two incredibly talented offensive players in their roster. James Harden, probably the most efficient offensive player in the league, and Dwight Howard, the best center right now. With these two taking charge of the first unit, Jeremy Lin has absolutely no hopes of garnering enough attention to revive his career.

One might argue that Harden is a shooting guard and hence Lin playing alongside him might not be such a bad thing. After all, one improves by playing alongside better players. While Harden’s position in the team’s that of a Shooting Guard, that’s not his role in the team. He’s the floor general, the leader, the primary ball handler. That’s just the way the Rockets team is.

With Harden dominating the back-court, he needs a player who can support him, who’s willing to play second fiddle, who’s willing to pick up the slack when Harden cools off. And Lin doesn’t want to be that player. In this case, that guy is Patrick Beverly.

Beverly is a much better defender and a more efficient three pointer shooter than Lin. The 6’1″ PG gives up a little height on defense, but his energy and constant hounding of the opponents makes sure that the opponents are uncomfortable. While Beverly doesn’t make it to the highlight reel with his defensive prowess, his energy ultimately shifts the momentum in the Rockets’ favour. When Beverly’s on the court, the Rockets’ defensive efficiency reduces by 5.2 per 100 possessions when compared to Lin on the court.

While Lin isn’t a bad defender, he’s laterally slow and often gambles on defense. His pairing with Harden means that the Rockets will be talking a big risk on perimeter defense. Beverly is simply a better fit.

Beverly knocked down threes at a rate of 37.5 % while Lin shot his career best and hit just 33%.

Also, Beverly is less known than Lin. He doesn’t have the “global star” persona, which would make it easier for him and his ego to play second fiddle to Harden.

Despite how much I have ranted on about Beverly, he’s a player who’s just as capable of Lin. It’s just that Beverly is a better fit in the starting squad.

In 2011-12, when Linsanity prevailed, Lin averaged a usage rate of 27.6%. That means that Lin was involved in more than a quarter of the entire possession of the Knicks. However, after he got traded to the Rockets, Lin’s usage rate dropped to below 20, and similarly, his numbers across the boards dropped.

Last season, the Rockets had two basic plays which they used relentlessly on offense. Harden got into iso mode, and scored. When that went bust, he swung the ball to the perimeter shooters who were then forced into spot-up situations. Lin was more often than not on the receiving end of the swing pass.

But Lin’s not a shooter! He’s a facilitator. Under the pretext of moulding the team to suit the Superstar Shooting Guard, Harden, the Rockets mishandled Lin to the extent that his career is now in jeopardy.

Lin has no hope of picking up the usage rate if he plays alongside Harden and Howard. However, if he was leading the second unit, Lin will have a much better chance to play with freedom, dominate the possession and by extension, improve his numbers.

With Lin coming off the bench, he can play his natural game, which is that of a facilitator. Lin can dribble the ball, run circles around the defense and set up his teammates. He can also drive in occasionally and score. With no Harden to gobble up the possession, Lin might just have a chance to revive his career. Will the Rockets do that? Will they make Lin their sixth man? Guess we have to wait and watch.