Houston Rockets: 4 Reasons Jeremy Lin Makes Them a Better Team

Bob Levey/Getty Images

Jeremy Lin came out of nowhere to become one of the biggest stars of the 2011-12 NBA season.

Injuries to the New York Knicks' biggest stars gave Lin a chance and he made the best of it.
In the offseason, the Houston Rockets offered Lin, a restricted free agent, a three-year, $25.1 million contract.

Having the chance to make that much money only a year after he was a waiver pickup, Lin took the deal. With the Knicks choosing not to match the offer, Lin officially became a member of the Houston Rockets.

While Lin still is unproven, the odds are that he will prove himself to be a full-fledged No. 1 point guard in the NBA.

Here are four reasons why Jeremy Lin will make the Houston Rockets a better team. 

A Clear No. 1 Point Guard

Elsa/Getty Images

In training camp last season, Jeremy Lin was on the Houston Rockets roster, but due to an overstocked point guard position, Lin was let go. That has obviously changed.

Kyle Lowry was dealt to the Toronto Raptors and Goran Dragic signed with the Phoenix Suns, which left Courtney Fortson as the only holdover at the point guard position for the Rockets.

Lin will now step into a position where he is the undisputed No.1 point guard and it will take a huge fall from grace for him to give it up.

Lin Will Be in a Better Position to Succeed

Bob Levey/Getty Images

Lin's greatest success last season came when he was the biggest star in the lineup. When players like Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony returned to the lineup, his stats dipped, although not that much, but enough to be noticeable.

With the only other big name player in the Rockets' lineup being Kevin Martin, Lin will be in the same position that he was in with New York when he first gained the starting job. He will get the majority of minutes and he will be able to play his game.

Add in the fact that Houston's offensive style is similar to the one he played in New York under Mike D'Antoni and he has the potential to be really be successful.

Marketability

Bob Levey/Getty Images

While Lin's marketability won't help the Rockets on the court, it will definitely help them off it. Houston's biggest star of the past decade was without question Yao Ming. Ming brought in a lot of Asian fans to the Rockets' fanbase and Lin should do the same.

Lin's popularity won't only help them sell tickets. For the months of February and March of this year, Lin's jersey was the top-selling in the NBA.

Ticket and merchandise sales don't impact a team on the court directly, but it does give a team money. As we all know, the more money a team has the better.

Prime-Time Experience

Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

While Houston isn't exactly a small city, it definitely pales in comparison to New York City.

If Lin can thrive in the pressure cooker that is New York, he should have no problem playing in a market like Houston. That should enable him to break out even more in the 2012-13 season.

While Lin only has 64 games of experience in the NBA, with 25 starts, playing for a team like the Knicks and having the kind of success he had prepared him for anything he could face in Houston.