 Having already traded Kyle Lowry and lost Goran Dragić to free agency , the Rockets made Lin the center of both their preseason " A New Age " publicity campaign as well as their initial ads on Comcast SportsNet Houston . Coming off his " Linsanity " performance in New York , Houston coach Kevin McHale said the expectations of Lin were undue . McHale said the public believed Lin would " average 28 [ points ] and 11 [ assists ] " , but he had never played a whole 82 @-@ game season before . Shortly before their regular @-@ season opener in October , the Rockets acquired James Harden , who supplanted Lin as the face of the team . Throughout the season , though , Lin still placed pressure on himself to live up to the expectations from Linsanity . However , Harden was a ball @-@ dominant , pick @-@ and @-@ roll player like Lin , and McHale chose to have the offense run through the more @-@ proven Harden . The Rockets started the season with a 5 – 7 record and the youngest roster in the league . Lin was averaging 10 points and 6 @.@ 3 assists , but was struggling shooting 33 @.@ 3 percent and 22 @.@ 9 percent of his 3 @-@ pointers . He was handling the ball less than he did with the Knicks , with Harden often controlling the ball on pick @-@ and @-@ rolls with Lin on the wing . In the Rockets ' next game on November 23 , Lin faced the Knicks for the first time since leaving as a free agent . The Knicks entered at 8 – 2 with the best record in the league , but Houston won at home 131 – 103 as Lin contributed 13 points , seven rebounds and three assists . He shot 6 @-@ for @-@ 12 , making half of his shots for the first time in eight games , and breaking a personal five @-@ game drought without a 3 @-@ pointer . 
