Knicks · Lin's off season training - he's not the same player he used to be (page 1)

There is a good reason for his explosion this season!
We can expect more of the same next season?

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WBUR podcast

His shooting coach Doc Scheppler talks at 17:00 - about his shooting, his game, moves, weaknesses and other stuff like Amare's defence or lack of :)
He can do all kinds of moves and shots, all of them up to 3 point range area at 65-70% accuracy
And he still has tricks up his sleeve...
They were preparing to kick Curry and Montey's butt, but he never got the chance to show it at Golden State....

http://onpoint.wbur.org/media-player?url...

Guests

Phil Taylor, senior writer, Sports Illustrated. He’s been following Jeremy Lin since his high school days
Doc Scheppler, He is the girl’s basketball coach at Pinewood high school in Los Altos, CA. He spent four months this past summer working with Jerem Lin on his game.
Jay Caspian Kang, editor at Grantland, which is owned by ESPN, and contributing writer to the New York times Magazine.
Frank Isola, the Knicks beatwriter for the New York Daily News.

added 12lbs, increase speed 30% and vertical 3.5 inches etc

CoolColJ wrote:-----------
WBUR podcast

His shooting coach Doc Scheppler talks at 17:00 - about his shooting, his game, moves, weaknesses and other stuff like Amare's defence or lack of :)
Doc Scheppler, He is the girl’s basketball coach at Pinewood high school in Los Altos, CA. He spent four months this past summer working with Jerem Lin on his game.

Maybe we need to hear from the CYO coach of Lin's 6th grade traveling team regarding Melo's chemistry and ISO problems. With a little commentary on D'Antoni's shortcomings and how to improve SSOL.

Jeez, this is really getting to "the Decision" level of media insanity.

Thanks for posting this. I found the comments from the Girls Basketball coach that worked with Lin on his game this summer was HIGHLY informative. Now it's clear that this kid was a diamond in the rough. Lin was just in need of a real opportunity and this was probably the best of all worlds for Lin. This team had no one and he was able to take full advantage of his chances. This coach did a great job with Jeremy and really got him ready for his big chance.

Lin is the real deal and we haven't even seen the best from him yet IMO. Lin can play a lot smarter and with fewer mistakes, which will eventually happen as he gains experience. Lin is stronger and more explosive and his skills are sharper than last year. I think that his summer work in combination with his D League stint which allowed him to catch on to what the system was about was a kind of perfect storm for Lin.

I'm convinced that Lin would've won the starting job if he was here in training camp. There would've been no way to hide his talent. MDA was too distracted with the mess he had to start the season and with no practice how could he really judge Lin's game? Thank goodness this kid didn't stick in GS and Houston. Thank Goodness TD, Shump, Bibby and Baron weren't up to the task. Thank Goodness MDA actually liked Lin's talent in the 1st place even if he wasn't sure how good he really was. Everything worked out perfectly in an almost fairytale kind of way.

Awesome video

nixluva wrote:Thank Goodness MDA actually liked Lin's talent in the 1st place even if he wasn't sure how good he really was. Everything worked out perfectly in an almost fairytale kind of way.

What about Grunwald? Has he not done a GREAT job?

mrKnickShot wrote:

nixluva wrote:Thank Goodness MDA actually liked Lin's talent in the 1st place even if he wasn't sure how good he really was. Everything worked out perfectly in an almost fairytale kind of way.

What about Grunwald? Has he not done a GREAT job?

Of course Glen has done a great job. I've said so in many other threads. I was speaking specifically about Lin and MDA, cuz MDA actually already liked Lin from the time they had him in for a pre draft workout and he made it clear to Walsh and Glen that he liked the kid and would welcome a chance to try and develop him. MDA has stated this in interviews. Lin wasn't just a random grab of an available PG. There are tons of guys that were out there, but few that had the kind of skills that Mike felt could be a good fit.

This video shows highlights from Jeremy Lin's first game at the draft camp 2 years ago.
You can see he pretty much plays the same way as he does now. It's not just due to the "system"
His vision and passing was already evident then.
But now he's more explosive, faster and more polished from his off season work

CoolColJ wrote:This video shows highlights from Jeremy Lin's first game at the draft camp 2 years ago.
You can see he pretty much plays the same way as he does now. It's not just due to the "system"
His vision and passing was already evident then.
But now he's more explosive, faster and more polished from his off season work

I get what you're saying about Lin, but I gotta say this video showed me nothing. All I see is bunch of mini-Steve Francises dribbling around in circles like it's an And1 tryout.

We all know that a player has to have the talent to begin with, so no one is taking anything away from Lin. Guys like Duhon and Felton aren't as talented as Lin and thus didn't perform at the level Lin is, however the system did in fact boost those guys performance and it also exposed them too.

Lin has the actual skills and talent to really excel in this system and that's why he's been a sensation and a winner with this team, whereas he's had only sporadic success with other teams. For the 1st time in his NBA career he's being allowed to play and use all of his talents without limitations. Lin is no longer looking over his shoulder and can play with complete confidence.

Article about Gary Payton working with Lin before the Summer League game

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...

"He's cocky," Gary Payton said. "The cockiness in him, it reminds me of myself. The way he puts his tongue out and laughs and smiles? That's a cocky arrogance, and that's the way he has to play—and the way he should play."

CoolColJ wrote:Article about Gary Payton working with Lin before the Summer League game

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...

"He's cocky," Gary Payton said. "The cockiness in him, it reminds me of myself. The way he puts his tongue out and laughs and smiles? That's a cocky arrogance, and that's the way he has to play—and the way he should play."

Hah! Good post. My favorite part:

Payton said he and Lin still exchange text messages, but never truly went head-to-head on the court in their training sessions. "He basically just wanted to play me all the time," Payton said. "That was his dream. I told him: You're not ready to do that. I'm not going to give you the opportunity until you prove it."

more detailed stuff - outlines the stuff he did in Golden State and since then

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/sports...

he ain't 200lbs anymore - 212!

He compared Lin to a stretched-out rubber band — flexible, but lacking that snap-back quality. The goal was to make him “stiffer,” through a training program of heavy weights and low repetition, in conjunction with a high-protein diet. With the added muscle, Lin pushed his weight to 212 pounds from 200, while increasing his vertical leap by 3.5 inches, Wagner said. The result is evident every time Lin barrels into the lane this season.

“The biggest thing I see is when he gets intro traffic, he’s able to maintain his direction and his balance, because he’s stronger,” Wagner said, adding, “He’s a physical guard. That’s where I see his hard work and the program he did with us paying off.”

Wagner added: “Before, he was a motorcycle: he was maneuverable, but very off-balance. Now he’s like a Porsche: he’s fast, but he’s stable.”

Funny, too bad all this research wasn't available when the whole "Lin needs to bulk up" debate was raging...

I feel very strongly that the posts about possible racism against an Asian player, or Kobe's rant about firing the scouts on the teams that passed him by him, is baloney. First Jeremy Lin needed to learn the intricacies of the pick and role. He needed additional upper body strength to allow him to finish a higher percentage of his shots. (from a motor cycle to a Porche) He also needed to increase his vertical lift by 3 1/2 inches to help him finish at the basket. Finally he needed to improve his shooting from the outside to convince his defenders that they had to guard him more closely. That actually gives him an advantage over Rajon Rondo, who drives great but isn't a threat from deep.

The miracle of Jeremy Lin is that he combined both the necessary vision to see the floor, but also the work ethic and intelligence to keep working constructively in the right direction on his game. His desire to succeed, allowed him to finally make himself into a different player. (Toney Douglas also had the necessary work ethic, but unfortunately he didn't possess the necessary floor vision.)

The other reason the Knicks managed to get him was the fortunate timing of his being put on waivers. If he was put on waivers during the shorpreseason, other teams might have been more interested. Also if there wasn't a dramatically shortened preseason, San Francisco probably would have had a much better opportunity observe all of the progress that Jeremy had made during the off season. Finally the Knicks got him because the quality of their bench was low enough back then, that it made sense to let someone go, to take a chance on Jeremy. Also fortunately, Jamal Crawford had earlier decided to go elsewhere.

rvwink wrote:I feel very strongly that the posts about possible racism against an Asian player, or Kobe's rant about firing the scouts on the teams that passed him by him, is baloney. First Jeremy Lin needed to learn the intricacies of the pick and role. He needed additional upper body strength to allow him to finish a higher percentage of his shots. (from a motor cycle to a Porche) He also needed to increase his vertical lift by 3 1/2 inches to help him finish at the basket. Finally he needed to improve his shooting from the outside to convince his defenders that they had to guard him more closely. That actually gives him an advantage over Rajon Rondo, who drives great but isn't a threat from deep.

The miracle of Jeremy Lin is that he combined both the necessary vision to see the floor, but also the work ethic and intelligence to keep working constructively in the right direction on his game. His desire to succeed, allowed him to finally make himself into a different player. (Toney Douglas also had the necessary work ethic, but unfortunately he didn't possess the necessary floor vision.)

The other reason the Knicks managed to get him was the fortunate timing of his being put on waivers. If he was put on waivers during the shorpreseason, other teams might have been more interested. Also if there wasn't a dramatically shortened preseason, San Francisco probably would have had a much better opportunity observe all of the progress that Jeremy had made during the off season. Finally the Knicks got him because the quality of their bench was low enough back then, that it made sense to let someone go, to take a chance on Jeremy. Also fortunately, Jamal Crawford had earlier decided to go elsewhere.

No one denies the limitations he had in his rookie season. The issue though is did he show enough promise that teams as a matter of logic should his previous teams have kept one of their fifteen roster spots for him and waited to see how he developed. His #s in limited playing time were not bad last year. Per 36 min, he averaged 10 points, 5 assists, 4 rbs, and 4 steals.

Bonn1997 wrote:

rvwink wrote:I feel very strongly that the posts about possible racism against an Asian player, or Kobe's rant about firing the scouts on the teams that passed him by him, is baloney. First Jeremy Lin needed to learn the intricacies of the pick and role. He needed additional upper body strength to allow him to finish a higher percentage of his shots. (from a motor cycle to a Porche) He also needed to increase his vertical lift by 3 1/2 inches to help him finish at the basket. Finally he needed to improve his shooting from the outside to convince his defenders that they had to guard him more closely. That actually gives him an advantage over Rajon Rondo, who drives great but isn't a threat from deep.

The miracle of Jeremy Lin is that he combined both the necessary vision to see the floor, but also the work ethic and intelligence to keep working constructively in the right direction on his game. His desire to succeed, allowed him to finally make himself into a different player. (Toney Douglas also had the necessary work ethic, but unfortunately he didn't possess the necessary floor vision.)

The other reason the Knicks managed to get him was the fortunate timing of his being put on waivers. If he was put on waivers during the shorpreseason, other teams might have been more interested. Also if there wasn't a dramatically shortened preseason, San Francisco probably would have had a much better opportunity observe all of the progress that Jeremy had made during the off season. Finally the Knicks got him because the quality of their bench was low enough back then, that it made sense to let someone go, to take a chance on Jeremy. Also fortunately, Jamal Crawford had earlier decided to go elsewhere.

No one denies the limitations he had in his rookie season. The issue though is did he show enough promise that teams as a matter of logic should his previous teams have kept one of their fifteen roster spots for him and waited to see how he developed. His #s in limited playing time were not bad last year. Per 36 min, he averaged 10 points, 5 assists, 4 rbs, and 4 steals.

The main reason for Lin success was.. the year of the Dragon.

rvwink wrote:
The other reason the Knicks managed to get him was the fortunate timing of his being put on waivers. If he was put on waivers during the shorpreseason, other teams might have been more interested. Also if there wasn't a dramatically shortened preseason, San Francisco probably would have had a much better opportunity observe all of the progress that Jeremy had made during the off season. Finally the Knicks got him because the quality of their bench was low enough back then, that it made sense to let someone go, to take a chance on Jeremy. Also fortunately, Jamal Crawford had earlier decided to go elsewhere.

Knicks weren't the only team after him when he was waived by Golden State though - Lakers and Celtics were, and Houston off course, but only the team with the worst record gets him - Houston in this case.
When he was waived by Houston, Lakers didn't bother since their record was just too good to get him, but Celtics again put in a claim. Since the Knicks had the worst record, they got him.
In any case we only know that the Knicks had the worst record of all the other teams that were interested in him the second time he was waived. That leaves quite a few teams that missed the ball

I just wanted to post this stuff in this thread

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http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/201...

AVERAGE SPEED
Jeremy Lin: 16.66 mph
Derrick Rose: 16.60 mph
John Wall: 16.48 mph
Kyrie Irving: 15.67 mph

Lin wins this battle.

START SPEED
Lin: 13.93 mph
Wall: 13.25 mph
Irving: 12.64 mph

For Rose, BAM has only average speed data.
Lin wins this battle too.

TOP SPEED
Lin: 18.85 mph
Wall: 19.30 mph
Irving: 18.74 mph

Lin comes in second to Wall.

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some numbers from http://thebamboxscore.com/2012/02/29/mor.../ ]Basic Athletic Measurement's blog. in progress

The speed protocol that BAM provides for both the NBA and Portsmouth is the ¾ court sprint (75 ft.). Additionally, with our timing gates, split times (data points) are captured, providing more detailed information.

The table below contain two scores. The BAM Total score is a cumulative score for speed, power, and agility. This score quantifies overall athletic intelligence. Highlighting both strengths and weaknesses for each athlete (more in future blogs). The ¾ court sprint is a standardized score for the sprint alone. On test day, the compared athletes had scores ranging from the 70 to the 82.

higher is better. on the left is their sprint time. Lin was the fastest running 75 feet. he's worse than Irving and Wall and tied with Rose on overall BAM. probably mainly vertical jump and leg strength

According to this chart Lin's acceleration is better than Usain Bolt trololololololololol. keep in mind that NBA teams SAW THIS ****** and still PASSED ON THIS NONATHLETIC ASIAN. who could have known? he's asian. no black coach could have possibly known Lin's athleticism merely because the most accurate scientific measurement known to man specifically broke it out for them to see on paper...

his top end speed is lower than John Wall but his acceleration is so good that his average foot speed is better than even Wall's

overall you can see that Lin is a very comparable athlete to Rose. VERY similar.

Rose's BAM scores seem to indicate similar weaknesses with strength and maybe vert. we don't have all the data points because BAM isn't broken down but it's safe to assume that Wall and Irving had much better vertical and strength scores which accounts for higher BAM (this is not specifically laid out in the data but it seems 99% certain that this is the difference). this has 2 indications:

First, in terms of actual basketball, because of Lin's superior acceleration and comparable speed Lin loses nothing to any of the most athletic point guards in the NBA in terms of penetration and fast breaks with the lone exception of finishing with dunks. even from an athletic POV he's very comparable to John Wall or Rose. he has some weaknesses including jump which obviously is important for finishing but has the advantage in acceleration, which is even more important and probably the #1 most important physical asset for a PG. this is also why even black racists have had to concede "Lin's first step"

Second, this makes sense in the context of his off season routine. The guy who runs Sparta spoke that Lin specifically asked to jump better off 2 feet and get stronger in the upper body. we don't have the BAM breakdowns but it's certain Lin himself saw these numbers, saw his run speed and running explosiveness was good but he probably got outperformed at generating power jumping off 2 legs and ******

he added 6 inches to his running jump

http://www.jeremylin.net/2012/03/intervi...

Interview With Jeremy's Trainer, Dr. Phil Wagner
We were very fortunate in getting this email interview with Dr. Phil Wagner, Founder and Coach at Sparta Performance Science. Dr. Phil and his crew were instrumental in getting Jeremy ready to succeed at the highest level in the NBA.

When did you first start working with Jeremy?

Phil: Last August on a referral from his skills coach Doc Scheppler.

How long did he work out with you?

Phil: Through October, right before the lockout broke.

Was he just coming off his knee surgery when he started at Sparta?

Phil: He was shortly removed from his procedure and looking for a place to seamlessly transition from rehab into performance training; a place where he could get the benefit of both.

I saw where he was only squating like 110 lbs coming in, was that due to the injury?

Phil: The injury and lack of lower body maximal strength.

Is his knee 100%?

Phil: Don't know if any pro athlete is ever 100% once the season starts but it is healthy and stable, yes.

What types of gains did you see with Jeremy over his time there?

Phil: Jeremy gained 12 pounds (15 pounds of muscle), improved his standing jump by 3 1/2 inches, his running jump by 6 inches and his lateral quickness by 32 percent.

Is he still able to do some of your exercises while he is in New York?

Phil: He does our "flexibility" routine for injury prevention, which consists of self myo-fascial release (rolling out), stability and mobility exercises everyday.

You work with elite high school, college, and pro athletes. How would you rate Jeremy as just an overall athlete?

Phil: Obviously he is a special athlete otherwise he wouldn't be in the NBA, however when he came to us he had a lot of room for improvement physically.

How much room for improvement does he have in regards to his explosiveness, quickness, and jumping ability?

Phil: We believe that everybody, even the pros that we deal with on a daily basis, have room for improvement.

What type of work ethic did he demonstrate?

Phil: An extremely high level of work ethic. The transformation he made is as much a testament to Jeremy's commitment and work ethic as they are to our program.

What impressed you most about Jeremy Lin?

Phil: His work ethic and his confidence in himself and his abilities regardless of how many people doubted him.

Why is your training program so much more effective than say the normal training that a professional athlete may get with his team?

Phil: One of our strengths is our ability to pinpoint, through our force plate technology and coaching experience, exactly which specific areas need to be improved most in each individual we train.

It looks like Jeremy can still fill out a bit in his upper body. What do you see as an optimal weight for him in the next year or two?

Phil: That will depend on how he moves, obviously increased muscle mass will improve his Ground Reaction Force (GRF) which is the major component in running faster and jumping higher, however, we will use his Force Plate scan to determine his optimal body weight based on GRF and relative strength (strength relative to body mass).

Have you been watching his games? Are you caught up in the Lin-sanity like everyone else?

Phil: We enjoy seeing all of the success Jeremy is having; it is well deserved and it couldn't happen to a more humble and level headed athlete..

Have you been able to keep up with the demand?

Phil: It has definitely brought Sparta to the attention of many other athletes who we look forward to helping achieve success as well.

Linsanity Means We are not the same people we used to be either

... Lin was also cut from his pre-Knick clubs because he lacked some abilities he’d develop later: coaches have mentioned him lacking explosiveness, balance, decision making and a consistent mid-range jump shot.

... another variable: Lin was almost certainly underestimated, or misevaluated, because as an Asian American he does not look the way scouts and general managers expect an NBA player to look. If he’d walked into the gym and wowed everyone right away he would’ve stood out, but when he didn’t, it confirmed the societal script that does not expect Asian Americans to be pro-level basketball players. That’s the prejudice Lin had to fight through. Stereotype threat is the potential internalization of that prejudice.

Doubt that comes from a circumstance that is beyond his control could be especially debilitating when he makes mistakes on the court. Lin, with the Knicks, has been turnover-prone and his old coaches have said his shooting wasn’t as good then as it is now. When Lin threw errant passes and missed shots it would’ve been natural for him to wonder if perhaps he did not belong in the NBA because of some innate deficiency. But Lin’s perseverance and his self-confidence prior to his breakout game tell me that he must not have allowed stereotype threat to invade his constellation of thoughts explaining why he wasn’t doing well.

Now that Lin is getting praise from players and decision makers there’s no longer a risk of stereotype threat. He has established himself as an individual who has the potential for success and his mistakes or shortcomings are his own and not indicative of some genetic lack and not likely to be judged as such. His victory resonates larger than himself... Indeed, Lin gives us all hope that others will not judge us based on stereotypes. But more, Lin’s inspirational story suggests we must give ourselves the freedom to push beyond society’s expectations of us.

- Toure, Time Magazine