Of course it's two different players. Too different situations. Different teams. Coaches. Teammates. Fans. The whole 9. The only one to blame for this, is Jeremy Lin himself. No one physically forced Lin to sign a contract so high, in which the Knicks front office were forced to then have seconds thoughts. If he's ran out of the league or becomes a gigantic bust? Lin only has himself to blame for this. A true Knick at heart doesn't play 26 amazing games, makes a name for himself with rocking our iniform, the only team in which truly gave him a chance, the franchise that saved his basketball dream, a player who's now loved by the city, treated like a royal king, praised and repsected etc, etc and signs a contract so large, with the same exact team who cut him as practice trash. Then says he wishes he were still a Knick. He took his money, Most men and players would. It is what it is. Good for Lin, he's now a millionaire for life despite the fact that New York's marketing would've made him a potential billionaire (possibly).
If this isn't a good offensive system for Lin, it's his fault. He went to Harvard, right? He shoudl've used common sense, and remembered how he was treated with Houston his first go around. What type of offensive system they used/ran. He made a mentail mistake signing with the Rockets, of all teams. The truly great one's, the truly special one's, dominate the game of basketball regardless of head coach. From Jordan, to Shaq, Kobe, all the way back to Carmelo Anthony... The elite offensive players stand out. The cream always rises to the top. Not the ideal situation for Jeremy Lin? Was he then a product of a Mike D'Antoni coached/ran offense? He can't adjust on the fly? That sounds like a personal problem for Lin, not something die hard N.Y fans should feel sorry about. Not something Knick fans shouldn't mention in regards to his box score numbers and/or production on the basketball court.
Melo can be harped all over, and judged, and so can J.R Smith and Stoudemire, but yet.. Lin is too protected for that? Getting the Tebow treatment due to being a good person as if most players aren't? Is it because he's an underdog? Why do some fans of this franchise protect Lin from his critics? Melo's Nuggets franchise missed the playoffs during (I believe) 7-8 consecutive years without a playoff birth. Then the drafting of Melo happened. And that was that, during the elite/golden years of the Western Conference power house teams too. Denver then went on to land 7-8 consecutive trips to the postseason with Melo leading that franchise (on his back). Lets see if Jeremy Lin can do the same for a Houston franchise. If he's a franchise player, he'll rise to the top. If not? He'll continue to be mocked and rightfully so.
