The website Reddit loves to host an event called AMA which stands for "ask me anything." Numerous movie stars and other public figures have taken part in the Q&A's as fans get the chance to let their voices be heard. Recently, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey took part. After an offseason that saw the team signing the biggest free agent, Dwight Howard, Morey got plenty of questions. However, the talk began to steer away from Howard and focused on point guard Jeremy Lin.
Lin is a new fan-favorite of the NBA. For a brief period of time, it was believed the Rockets would attempt to trade away Lin in favor of another marquee player to place alongside Howard and James Harden. Lin put up 13.4 points and 6.1 assists last season, but his overall efficiency is not fantastic. He takes a lot of hits from the public as some fans call him overhyped and overpaid, but Morey defended Lin during the AMA and his future in Houston.
The Point Forward summarized the key points from Morey's talk on Lin. The general manager chalked fan dislike of the point guard to being his slow start after starting last season with an injury. He also believes fans had elevated expectations of Lin since his time as the super star of the New York. Lin also struggled towards the end of the season after suffering another injury. Morey thinks fans but too much stock into the beginning and end of a season rather than the productivity that comes in between.
"Last year was Jeremy's 1st full year in the league. Essentially his rookie year. If last season would have been his rookie year and he never would have played in New York, right now people would be appropriately talking about him incessantly as one of the top young rookie stars in the league. He was the starting point guard on a playoff team in West at age 24!!! Don't get me started on this. Too late ...," Morey said.
Lin has been documenting his offseason work outs on his YouTube channel. The point guard noted that he has felt totally healthy this offseason, allowing him to really focus on improvement. Lin's main weaknesses fell in his lack of defense and only shooting 39.9 percent from midrange. The Rockets are surrounded with weapons this season, meaning it could be the year that Lin truly takes a step forward.