But look what happens to Lin's numbers in the 106 minutes he has played when Harden hits the bench: 19.7 points, 7.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds with an above-average 55.4 TS% and a 17.7 PER.
That's pretty darn good. If those numbers look familiar, there's a reason for it. Check out Lin's per-36 minute stat line in New York last season: 19.6 points, 8.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds. 55.2 TS% and a 19.9 PER.
What we're seeing here is when Lin plays without Harden, his shooting percentages and scoring rates are almost identical to his numbers from last season. In other words, he has shown he can still be the player that took the world by storm last season. But when he plays next to the ball-dominant shooting guard, everything changes. Context, as you can see, is incredibly important.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out why Lin hasn't been a perfect complement next to Harden. They're both masters of the pick-and-roll, but the problem is that they can't run a pick-and-roll at the same time. Because Harden is the better player of the two, Lin usually plays off the ball and lets Harden go to work. But if Lin had a reliable spot-up jump shot, this wouldn't be an issue. Unfortunately, Lin ranks 79th among 121 players in catch-and-shoot efficiency this season, according to SynergySports (minimum 50 such shots). Ray Allen, he is not.
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But without Harden on the court? Lin visits the free throw line more than three times as often (6.5 attempts per 36 minutes) while his attempts from beyond the arc essentially doesn't change (3.1 attempts). Lin's averages last season: 7.0 free throw attempts and 2.9 attempts from deep. Mirror images.
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It bears mentioning that Lin is still just 24 years old and also coming off offseason knee surgery. He still has room to grow as a professional basketball player, considering he has only 87 games under his belt. Since 1995, only one other player has averaged 15 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals per 36 minutes in their first three seasons in the league. His name: Chris Paul.