Rockets' Lin keen to work on Howard chemistry

BEIJING -- Jeremy Lin says he's looking forward to pairing up with the Houston Rockets' newly acquired star Dwight Howard.

Lin told reporters Sunday on a visit to Beijing that he saw a natural affinity in the pair's affection for the pick-and-roll game.

''We're not yet in Houston and haven't trained together so I don't know yet,'' said the 25-year-old point guard, who was in China to oversee a basketball camp.

''But he really likes to play pick-and-roll and I really like to play pick-and-roll, so I hope we can work really well together and really happily learn how to play with each other,'' Lin said.

Howard signed with Houston after playing for the Lakers, following a strong push by former Rockets starts, including Hakeem Olajuwon and China's Yao Ming.

The Rockets went 45-37 during Lin's first season with the team and lost to the Oklahoma Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. The addition of Howard is expected to put the team in contention for a title.

Lin said it was too early to talk about his future in Houston after his first season in which he started all 82 regular-season games and averaged more than 13 points and six assists.

''Right now I know there's always speculation about what might happen, but I haven't made any decisions I haven't thought about it and I'm going to approach that question when the time comes,'' Lin said.

Lin had become a star with the Knicks the previous season and started the ''Linsanity'' craze. Lin's parents are from Taiwan and he has been embraced by fans in mainland China.