Lin to the Rockets: Right move for his career

By David Shepard, OTSL Special Contributor

Jeremy Lin made the right move in deciding to play for the Houston Rockets.  Aside from making more money it is a much better move for his career and here is why.

Spin Number 1: The Rockets have been a whole lot better as a franchise over the past decade

The New York Knicks in the past ten years have had just two winning seasons. They have been to the playoffs just three times. Even more surprisingly in those three playoff series they managed a total of just one win. Their best season has been just six wins over .500 in the past decade. Not to mention they have had seven different head coaches in the past ten years. 

Meanwhile, the Rockets have had just four coaches. Unlike the Knicks they have actually won a playoff series in the past ten years. They took the eventual world champions (Lakers) to a game seven in the second round in 2009. Houston has had a winning record in nine of their past ten seasons. The Rockets have won 16 playoff games compared to the Knicks one.

Knicks vs Rockets (Last Ten Years)

                               Rockets     Knicks

Playoff Victories        16              1

Winning Seasons        9              2 

Head Coaches            4              7

Spin Number 2: Lin will have a lot more opportunity with the Rockets

There is only one player on the Rockets that has averaged more than 10 shot attempts per game for their career: Kevin Martin. There are four players on the Knicks that have averaged at least 11.5 shot attempts per game for their careers. In looking at the top four Knicks when it comes to career field goal attempts per game it adds up to 56.7. When you add up the top four Rockets when it comes to shot attempts per game for their careers it comes to 36.1. That is 20 less field goal attempts for the top four Rockets compared to the Knicks. 

What this tells you is Jeremy Lin is going to a team where there is a lot more opportunity to get his shot attempts. He will have the opportunity to be a much more efficient scorer with the Rockets compared to the Knicks.

Career Shot Attempts Per Game (Top Four Players)

        Knicks                                        Rockets

Carmelo Anthony       19.3         Kevin Martin             12.5

Amare Stoudemire     14.8         Chandler Parsons     8.7     

Raymond Felton         12.1        Toney Douglas          8.2

Jason Kidd                  11.5        Patrick Patterson       6.7

Totals                          56.7                                          36.1

Spin Number 3: Amare is on the decline

Amare Stoudemire averaged 25.3 points per game last season. That was his best output since the 2004-05 season. He scored eight less points per game this season. He more than doubled his assist total last season compared to this season. He also shot 76.5 percent from the free throw line in the 2011-12 campaign. That is his lowest percentage since the 2004-05 season. He also shot under 50 percent from the floor this season. When he has played a full season that is his lowest percentage since his rookie campaign. His 7.9 boards per game is the lowest of his career. It is safe to say that one of the two main pieces for the Knicks has dramatically declined.

That's Not Amare (Last 2 Seasons)

            2011-12    2010-11

PPG        17.5         25.3

RPG          7.9*          8.1

FG%       48.3         50.2

APG          1.1           2.6

*Career Low

While Amare may improve with the return of Raymond Felton as the Knicks starting PG (remember, STAT played some of his best basketball with Felton setting him up), Jeremy Lin's best chance for improvement will come in Houston.  Knick fans may not want to hear it, but Lin made the best move for his career.