Tony Parker Compares His Early-Career Struggles to Jeremy Lin’s

“Linsanity” hasn’t exactly griped the city of Houston, as Jeremy Lin has fallen back down to earth. Tony Parker says it’s a matter of time and patience until we all learn what kind of player the Rockets have in their point guard — Parker went through a similar phase early on in his NBA journey. Per the Houston Chronicle: “Through 83 career games, Lin has made 42.1 percent of his shots, averaging 9.4 points per game, in an average of 22.1 minutes per game. Through 83 career games, Parker made 42.1 percent of his shots, averaging 10.2 points per game in an average of 31.7 minutes. […] ‘His shot will come,’ Parker said. ‘Me too. I couldn’t hit a shot at the beginning of my career. I was still able to go to the basket. His shot will improve. It will help, definitely, his game. Definitely. When I start making the outside jumper on a consistent basis, that’s when I was more consistent with my performance.’ […] ‘Just creating space, changing directions, using angles, floaters, his creativity in the lane,’ Lin said. ‘He’s exceptional with his footwork. There’s a lot of things he does that people take for granted for how good he is. I think he’s an elite point guard and someone I want to aspire to be in terms of how he leads his team to how he pushes the ball and makes plays.’ When Parker began his career, however, he struggled with the balance between playmaking and scoring. Through 83 games, he averaged 4.7 assists. Playing about eight fewer minutes per game, Lin is averaging 4.5 assists in his career so far. ‘It’s his first full year,’ Parker said. ‘There is a lot of attention on him. I think you have to be patient with his growth. When I first came into the league, I was a little raw. I was very aggressive. At the same time, I had to learn the point guard position and when to score, when to pass and try to find that happy middle, find the balance. I think Jeremy Lin is at that point. ‘He’s trying to find his position on the team. And he needs to fit with another guy who is very aggressive with James Harden. I had to do the same thing when I had Manu Ginobili being super aggressive. You have to find your spots. He will.'”