Jeremy Lin: Breaking Down His First Half; What Does He Need to Do To Help The Houston Rockets Reach the Playoffs?

There are a lot of words that can describe Jeremy Lin's 2012-13 season as a Houston Rocket to date.

Thrilling, at times, dreadful, other times. Inspired. Maddeningly inconsistent. Exciting. Unpredictable.

And, folks, that's just the first half of the season.

As Lin prepares to take on Russell Westbrook for Wednesday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder--a team that Lin has not fared well against this year--the popular Rockets point guard ended the last week before the NBA All-Star break on a respectable note, averaging 13.8 points and 6.0 assists in five games, each of those games in consistent double-digit scoring figures.

His shooting, however, hasn't improved much during that stretch, Lin hitting only 41.2 percent of his shots. That, in a nutshell, has been a microcosm of Lin's season thus far. Up and down. Highs and lows. Peaks and valleys.

On the one hand, he has turned in some fabulous, downright spectacular numbers during some games. His 38-point night against Southwest Division-leader San Antonio on Dec. 12. His 22-point, eight assist night against the Atlantic Division-leading Knicks in his return to New York on Dec. 17. Impressive showings against the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warrior--including a 28-point night where he went 5-of-8 from three-point range as the Rockets tied the NBA record for most three-pointers in a game, 21, on Feb. 5.

Yet, on the other hand, those numbers have been few and far between, Lin's scoring numbers vacillating wildly from November onwards. He would get hot, as he did for the last two weeks of December, where he averaged 15.8 points and 7.6 assists per game, and then taper off with single-digit scoring games marked by streaky shooting.

At times, for a few faint moments, it looked like Lin could find the balance with All-Star teammate James Harden, who came over via trade before the start of the season. But for the most part, Lin has been largely been struggling to find his rhythm with Harden on the court, deferring more shots to Harden and even to Chandler Parsons.

Lin has also continued to have his issues with turnovers, as he has coughed up the ball 2.9 times per game this season. Normally, it wouldn't be such an issue, as some of the leaders in turnovers are also devastating scorers such as Kobe Bryant, Harden, Jrue Holiday, Kevin Durant and Westbrook.

However, given the inconsistency of Lin's offensive production, that number becomes more magnified. Fans will forget the turnovers if a player drops between 20 and 28 points a night for their team; Lin doesn't.

In a way, it's almost unfair. Since Lin came from seemingly out of nowhere last season and led the Knicks on an amazing run known as "Linsanity," he's been held to a superbly high standard. Fans saw a player during that time that could be a leader on the floor, generate constant offense, and breathe excitement in the air of any arena he set foot in. In short, fans worldwide saw the signs of a superstar.

But living up to the legend of John Henry's hammer can be a daunting task--one that Lin admitted he wasn't up to in the first half of this season, despite finishing very close to Chris Paul in the All-Star starting lineup voting with 883,809 All-Star votes for Lin this season, the third-highest votes of any guard in the Western Conference.

"I'm kind of thankful I didn't get voted because when ... I want to make sure I'm fully, fully deserving of it, when I play," Lin told CSN Houston Monday after practice. "And I didn't feel like that was the case this year."

Indeed, if anything, the votes were a testament to Lin's popularity; not his performance.

Yet, there have been some positive signs. Overall, Lin's assist-to-turnover ratio has actually improved from last season in New York, when it was 1.71. This season, it is 2.17, meaning his ball control and protection has gotten a little better.

In addition, there's something to be said about the fact that Lin is the starting point guard for the Rockets, one of the league's most uncontainable offenses. Ranked No. 1 in the NBA at the break with 106.1 points scored on opponents per game, the Rockets are hard to keep up with, wearing down opponents with their young legs and perpetually-moving, fast-break heavy style. In some ways, Lin is the perfect point guard for Houston's offense, his pass-first playmaking mentality helping to create shots for others.

And while Lin can take a few chances on defense, he's been developing into one of the best pickpockets in the game, ranked fifth in the NBA in steals with 1.91 swipes per game. Only Brandon Jennings, Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley and Chris Paul have more steals, which is pretty impressive company.

However, going forward in the second half, there are some things that he needs to do. For starters, Lin needs to become more consistent. He'll need to work a little more on his shooting and his shot selection, getting to at least a 45 percent level from the field.

From his body of work, Lin looks like he is largely a confidence player; the more he's feeling it, the more likely he'll be to have a great night. One of the things that could help him develop that confidence is by attacking the basket more often. Lin has a great first step to the basket, but he hasn't used it to his advantage as much as he should be during games, certainly not like Harden has been.

For Lin to get going, he's going to need to penetrate to the basket more often. It will not only allow him to use his speed to his advantage, but penetrating will also open up the chance to hit a wide-open Parsons or Patterson with a timely pass for an easy bucket and assist.

The Rockets will undoubtedly be in the playoff hunt down the stretch, and likely to be competing with teams like Utah and Portland for playoff positioning. To get to that level, Lin doesn't have to be "Linsanity"-level great. He just needs to be more picky with his shot selection, more daring with attacking the rim, and more confident in his own ability to score.

This is still James Harden's team, and that's going to be the way it is for a long time. But that doesn't mean that Lin can't develop himself into the All-Star that he wants to be.