Hakeem Olajuwon was very impressed by Jeremy Lin’s post game, of all things, from Mark Berman of My Fox Houston: “In Aspen I worked with Jeremy Lin a little bit in the post and I was very impressed,” Olajuwon said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports. “He has a nice post move. I said ‘how come you are not using that in a game.’ He said ‘I played like that in college’ and Olajuwon pointed out to Lin ‘If you catch those little guys in the game that guard you, your advantage should be in the post.’ “I was told Jeremy’s very, very strong. If he’s stronger than a guy, take him in the post. The post is not just for big men. The post is for anybody that can take advantage of their size. Take him down in the post.”… This was Olajuwon’s second time to work with Howard in his new role with the franchise, but his first chance help Lin. “It was fun,” Olajuwon said. “The first thing I told him when I saw him shooting, you hear from different people, a lot of them say he cannot shoot. So I went to him and I said ‘I thought you can’t shoot,’ because the way he was shooting, I was very impressed. He was working on his shot. He was shooting tough shots and was making them.”
Lin, meanwhile, believes being good on paper means nothing, from Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld: “All of the best teams are the ones that have multiple options and multiple weapons,” Lin said. “I think, for us, we have a nice combination. We have a low-post presence, who is probably the best center in the NBA. We have possibly the best shooting guard in the NBA. We have Chandler, who is a shooter and slasher that doesn’t command the ball a lot and plays really well off of other people. Then, I’m also a pick-and-roll guy, who can be on the other side of James so that we’re able to attack both sides of the floor. I think if we do it right, if we draw it up right and if we bind, it’ll really be a well-balanced attack. “Right now, we’re feeling pretty good, but the end of the day being good on paper doesn’t mean anything. There have been teams in the past that have looked really looked good on paper, but haven’t materialized. For us, we understand that this is just the beginning of the battle and that we haven’t accomplished anything yet.”
Daryl Morey believes there are more than a couple of teams better than the Rockets heading into the season, from CBS Houston: ““I think there are probably at least three teams better than us if not more,” Morey said about the chances of winning a championship this season. “Until you’re going into a season felling like you are the top one or two I think it’s, and we haven’t really accomplished anything, I think it’s hard to talk about ‘hey we’re one of the favorites to win the championship.’ But I do think we go in with a chance, where as we haven’t in the last few years.” So, of those three or more teams ahead of the Rockets right now, who are they? Mike Meltser tossed out the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs to Morey.“I think those three, I would say going in for sure are better than us, and they’ve definitely proven more,” Morey said of the last three teams to appear in an NBA Finals. “I think the Bulls and the Pacers they’re very good as well this year. I am hoping we are in the mix with them, maybe equal quality.”
- Steve Blake believes Chris Kaman is a more dynamic option in the pick and roll than Dwight Howard, from Corey Hansford of Lakers Nation: “Chris Kaman is great in the pick and roll. He can shoot the mid range shot; he understands the game and where to be […] He has a willingness to be ok with running into the pick and roll every single time. He can roll; he can pop, it gives us a little bit more of a dynamic option than just Dwight rolling to the rim every single time.”
Jason Terry says all the trash talking he has done against the New York Knicks is all in fun, from Tim Bontemps of New York Post: “For me, I just think it’s a part of the game,” Terry said at a community event Tuesday. “I just watched my best friend, Gary Payton, go into the Hall of Fame, so I learned from the best as far as trash-talking and trying to get under the opponents’ skin. “But it’s all in fun. I mean, none of this translates into fighting or anything like that. It’s more like a competitive edge, a sort of a competitive spirit I like to call it. I’m one of the guys, myself, KG, that if you allow us to get underneath you, we’ll be there all night.”… “Well, for us, it’s line them up,” Terry said. “Whoever you put out in front of us, we want to beat them. Our goal is to win a championship, and we want to take it step by step. First thing is you have to win your division. You win your division and that positions you for home-court advantage, and then you just take it round by round.”
- An apparent fan of Kobe Bryant’s Aston Martin jump (fake) decided to try the move himself:
James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.