Playing for the New York Knicks is often difficult for younger and developing players, which is an aspect of Jeremy Lin's move to the Houston Rockets that he recognizes as a benefit.

"I just turned 24 and I'm pretty much the average age here," Lin says. "There I would be the second- or third-youngest. And I would be in a position to have to lead with so much still to learn; with so much urgency for everything to happen now. I do feel like for my career, I'm in a better position in Houston.

"Here, we're learning together. It's almost like we're thrown into the fire and you've got to figure it out. And the best part is that we have a coach [Kevin McHale] who knows exactly what he's doing to lead and guide us. It's different, because we're so young, we're going to have to make mistakes, and grow."

Lin is asked do less for the Rockets than expected since their acquisition of James Harden.

But Lin is still working to live up to his $25 million contract.

"I've always been a target," Lin said. "Everyone looks me and says, 'I'm not going to let that Asian kid embarrass me. I'm going to go at him.' That's how it's been my whole life. This has been different, though. Now, I was on the scouting report. People started to pay attention to what I could and couldn't do.

"But a target? I was used to that. I'm not saying I get everyone's best shot, but I would say people don't want to be embarrassed by me because of my skin color."