It maybe a stretch to say that it was all Jeremy Lin for why the Warriors went on their 8-0 run in the second quarter to bring the Warriors within 7 after the Rockets looked like they were about to blow this game out completely. Lin only played 4 minutes in that second quarter. But his contributions were immense as he played great hustle defense (aside from that one blunder fouling Kevin Martin on the 3-point line) and had a nice driving bucket that began the Warriors short run. Lin’s stat line may seem meager, but him along with that second unit looked solid against the Rocket’s b-team. He hasn’t done anything mind blowing, but Lin is beginning to look more comfortable on the court, not committing costly turnovers.
Jeff Adrien, the Warriors other active rookie, has not played well on the offensive end. In 11 minutes, he has grabbed 3 rebounds. But I expected him to be a little more explosive besides just being a big body. Adrien is not nearly as athletic as I assumed he would be given his ability to grab rebounds as anytime he tries to go up for shots, he gets blocked.
The foul disparity is getting wider (17-9) and, once again, this is costly as the Rockets have attempted 26 free throws, making 22. The Warriors have only shot 10, making 7. One of the issues is the lack of rebounding effort and poor rotations where help defense is slow. But another issue is the Warriors have failed to draw fouls, relying primarily on outside shooting. Granted, they are shooting 50%, but they’re not doing themselves any favors by not drawing fouls.