After a quiet season with the Houston Rockets, Jeremy Lin has at least one believer: NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon. The former Rockets center believes Lin will have a huge season after working with him and Dwight Howard last week, ESPN reports.
Olajuwon, who works as a special instructor with the Rockets, believes the addition of Howard is just the ingredient Lin needs to be successful in Houston.
"Just the little offense I saw, that combination is very deadly," Olajuwon told Fox 26, via ESPN. "You can see that both of them are very excited, seeing that, 'Wow, we bring the right ingredients together.'
"When you see the players that are dedicated to succeed, it gives you that window to see what kind of season that we're looking for."
Lin, who signed a three-year deal worth $25 million last summer, said in August he might not have been as productive last season because he was too focused on living up to the "Linsanity" hype.
"I became so obsessed with becoming a great basketball player ... trying to be Linsanity, being this phenomenon that took the NBA by storm," Lin said at a youth conference in Taiwan, according to ESPN.
Olajuwon thinks having Howard and James Harden anchoring the team will alleviate some of the pressure on Lin.
"To be on the right team, which he is right now, he can really help and play his role very well and be effective," said Olajuwon. "There's no pressure on him now. It's on Dwight and James. His position is crucial for the team's success, and he can play that role very well."
As for Howard, Olajuwon is expecting big things from the 27-year-old.
"Dwight can clearly dominate this league comfortably," Olajuwon said. "He has everything that he needs, and he has desire and work ethic to do it."
