Jeremy Lin: 'Houston was the ideal system for me'
Having endured a rather miserable 5-14 start to the season, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin waxed poetic about his time with the Houston Rockets.
“Houston was the ideal system for me,” Lin told Bill Oram of the Press Enterprise. “Personally as a player in terms of spreading the floor, running and making plays and having guys with a lot of space, stretch fours. That’s the ideal system, but that’s not what we have here.”
Lin moved from Houston to Los Angeles in an offseason trade. Despite playing in a less idealized system, Lin has managed to match his production in Houston playing in the Lakers' isolation-heavy offense.
| Statistic | Houston (2012-14) | Lakers (2014) |
|---|---|---|
| PPG | 13 | 11.8 |
| RPG | 2.4 | 2.9 |
| APG | 5.2 | 5.1 |
| TS% | 55.2 | 56.9 |
| PER | 14.6 | 14.2 |
For what it's worth, Lakers head coach Byron Scott agreed with Lin's assessment of needing to adjust to the Lakers' offensive scheme.
“I think in the system he was in (in 2012) in New York, the ball was in his hand 95 percent of the time,” Scott said, “so he was able to run pick-and-roll and be able to get to the basket and get shots for himself. This system you have to get other people shots as well. You have to be able to do both.
"There’s a fine line at times.”
Scott also chimed in on Lin's weaknesses, saying he needs to continue to “develop point guard instincts,” such as proper clock management and regularly finding the hot hand.