Jeremy Lin is trying to stay calm and humble when talking about the future of the Houston Rockets. After landing the biggest free agent of the summer, many are predicting the team could be a contender amongst the Western conference. While the point guard is downplaying the high expectations, Lin is confident their offense could be very deadly.
"I think Dwight Howard himself is already pretty deadly of a player," Lin said, via ESPN Radio. "For us, it's just a matter of getting on the same page and buying into the system, and I think adding [Howard] as a piece to the puzzle, it's incredible. I think we're all extremely excited and we know what we have, and he looks healthy, he looks explosive, and he's looking better and better in terms of recovering from his [back] surgery."
Lin understands just how big the signing of Howard was for the Rockets. Houston signed the center to a four-year, $88 million contract with the idea of contending for a championship sooner rather than later. Now, Howard will join with James Harden to create a power duo, lifting the Rockets into one of the top teams in the conference and possibly the league. Before everyone starts reserving their seats for the playoffs, Lin says there is plenty of room for improvement despite the upgraded roster.
"We don't have the [postseason] experience," Lin said, "so we're going to have to make up for that somehow, some way. And we don't really want to wait around and wait three years down the line to be able to compete for a championship; we want to do that now. ... If everything jells together in an ideal situation, I think we can be a championship contender for sure. But that's a big 'if,' and we understand that, and our coaching staff understands that."
Lin is not the only one that believes Howard makes the Rockets a next-level team. NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon went on Fox 26 in Houston to call the Rockets offense "very deadly" after Howard signed. The former Rocket knows the ins and outs of the center as he has worked with Howard multiple times throughout the offseason.
Howard and Lin have already begun to create chemistry getting in workouts before training camp and preseason begins. Many believe Howard's presence will take pressure off Lin this upcoming season. Expectations were very high for the point guard last season and now the center can help him relax more.
"I agree with that, more so now than ever," Lin said. "The majority of the pressure is leaning on other guys, and it's going to give me a little bit more space and a little bit more freedom to be able to just be myself, and I think that's something that I'm looking forward to for sure. For me, I have high expectations for myself, and in no way was I satisfied with my year last year."
