Jeremy Lin Progress Report: Quarter Mark Update

The Rockets invested in Jeremy Lin this off-season, hoping he'd be a key piece in their overhaul of the roster. How much return has he given them on that investment through a quarter of the season? At least by the stats, not much. This isn't technically the quarter mark for the season, which would be the 20th game, but 17 is close enough and we'll be Texans heavy on Monday when the Rockets reach the official quarter mark. As most of you know, and have criticized me for, I was against the signing of Jeremy Lin. For those of you who don't know, I thought giving a guy eight million a year based off of only one month of quality performance was ridiculous. Through his first 17 games, I haven't seen anything on the court that's changed my mind.

Through his first 17 games as a starter last season, "Linsanity" averaged 20.4 points, 8.6 assists, 2.4 steals, shot 45% from the field, and 34% from behind the three point line. Those numbers would be worth every penny the Rockets are paying Lin, and in fact he'd probably be a little underpaid. However, as I predicted, he isn't performing at "Linsanity" levels. Through his first 17 starts this season, Lin is averaging 10.5 points, 6.4 assists, 1.9 steals, and is shooting 38% from the field and 25% from behind the three point line.

Why are his numbers down? Simple, he's not a good shooter. Through 17 games this season Jeremy Lin is shooting 26% on jump shots. The scouting report is out, other teams know he can't shoot. He was very successful last year when he was able to get to the rim off the pick and roll; when teams switch or take away his drive by playing off coverage, he hasn't been capable of making them pay with his jump shot.

He has cut down on his turnovers (from 4.8 per 36 minutes to 3.0), so that's one improvement. Outside of that, how can you not be disappointed with his performance so far? Unless, this is what you expected all along.