Personally, I think for the NBA draft specifically, him being from Harvard (playing in a weak conference) was a bigger factor than him being Asian. There have been more Asian players in the NBA than Harvard grads.
Indirectly, I believe that race was a significant factor in his NBA draft because he did not receive any D1 basketball scholarships. So he went to Harvard, the only school that guaranteed him a spot on their team.
If Lin got a basketball scholarship to a school in a major or mid-major conference, I think he would have been drafted in the NBA because he would have gotten a lot more respect and credibility.
I forgot to mention: Basically, if you looked at Lin's high school performance without knowing he was Asian, he would have gotten major or mid-major scholarships.
Harvard was definitely a big factor being a small conference with weaker competition but teams also knew how he performed so well against Boston College and Connecticut (yes, small sample size) so it's just not just a case of Lin having an inflated number from playing in a weak conference.
Didn't the Lakers "promise" to draft him but that went nowhere? I'd say NBA teams knew they could get him on the cheap because noone else would have drafted him so why waste a draft pick on him.
Just like Houston (Les) was the only team extending a $25M offer to him and believed that he can sustain his level of performance (+marketing, of course) more than 25 games as a starter. Les definitely should get some credit.
I think being a loyal guy, Jeremy would remember this about Les when he decides to stay or leave Houston.
My point was if NBA teams are smart, they would've concluded Jeremy can consistently compete with players in the ranked schools like beating Boston College twice (#24 at one point) and dominating in the Connecticut loss.
Connecticut coach even admitted that Jeremy can play in any major conference after the game.
So there was a way to know that he can compete in the NBA but teams just wanted the safe route (Summer League) by not wasting a draft pick on him.
Even then, Jeremy only got ONE Summer League invite -- from the Mavs. I have to admit, I feel a little bad for Donnie Nelson. Part of me wishes Jeremy just spent rookie year in D-League and worked his way up.
We wouldn't have had "Linsanity," but Jeremy's way too good NOT to succeed in Dallas. With the messy PG situation and a smart coach like Rick Carlisle, I guarantee you Jeremy would be starting for the Mavs and leading them to the 5th seed right now.
Oh well. The past is past. If he keeps up his health and aggressive play...he'll do great here in Houston too...eventually.
Great point Zxcvb. I could've lived without Linsanity and everybody bitching about how he is overhyped and not as good as XYZ player had Jeremy stayed on the Mavs and slowly earned his PT.
Another thing about Linsanity, Jeremy could have given the same answer of his move to Houston, "You know, I think everything happened the way it was supposed to."
I truly believe Linsanity had to happen the way it was in NY because only then, it would have the world-wide impact to inspire millions of people and he can tell his stories of how God uses his life struggle to give hope for many.
What an amazing humble young man to be able to see God's plan to use his life to inspire others. I bet Melo and Dolan watched this and breathed a sigh of relief that Jeremy Lin didn't badmouth them :) Classy act!
psalm234 said, "Wow, the biggest surprise was David Stern admitting there were racism and stereotypes in teams not drafting Jeremy Lin in the NBA."
I disagree; Stern didn't admit to anything. If you listen to the exchange, he actually just nods acknowledgement to Charlie Rose's suggestion that Lin's not being drafted was related to his "background." That term, "background," is much broader than race. Stern says that being from Harvard was a factor in what Rose sums up--rather vaguely--as Lin's "background."
The interviews in that segment are actually a case study of how to talk AROUND the word racism. No one uses the word -- which is fair, because it is so loaded in America. There isn't really any substantive discussion, but a carefully orchestrated dance around the topic.
Coded language--as it is used in political campaigns--is a way of speaking to one's target demographic without alienating the larger public. That is exactly what is going on in that segment: people who want to read into the segment as actually talking about race can project what they want to hear into it, and people who feel uncomfortable with the topic are left unoffended because the topic isn't discussed in any meaningful detail.
A perfect example of not making anyone uncomfortable: the racial epithets that Lin heard, not a single one is cited on record in the interviews. I am not saying that Lin SHOULD have gone into detail about it, but just pointing out how weak and tame the segment is.
Occupati0, I don't think it was necessarily a dance-around the topic by David Stern.
I think it was a brilliantly prepared direct response to agree there was discrimination because he is Asian-American without using inciting words like "racism".
What did bother him was that after leading the Harvard team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals, not one NBA team drafted him.
Charlie Rose: Do you think there was ever any discrimination against him because he was an Asian American?
David Stern: I think in the rawest sense the answer to that is yes. In terms of looking at somebody who comes out of-- I don't know whether he was discriminated against because he was at Harvard.
Charlie Rose: Yes.
David Stern: Or because he was Asian.
Charlie Rose: In other words, there's a kind of prejudgment about him. That he can't be that good because he didn't--
David Stern: Correct.
Charlie Rose: --he doesn't have the same background as others.
David Stern: Correct.
See how David Stern provided a direct answer to confirm Charlie Rose's question that there was indeed discrimination because he was Asian-American.
And he said he didn't know if there was discrimination because of his Harvard school but he was quite certain about the discrimination due to his Asian-American background.
He could have speculate more on the Harvard being a smaller weaker conference as the bigger reason than his Asian-American background but he didn't.
Simple, direct answer to confirm Charlie Rose's question. 60 Minutes did a great job of addressing the issue of discrimination without using the fighting words of "racism".
Even some of us offer the explanation of his Harvard school. Not David Stern. I give full credit to David Stern. I think Jeremy will appreciate his direct answer.
The Lakers were going to draft him, but they gambled on Devin Ebanks (currently in his 3rd year but not doing much for the Lakers) and Derek Caracter (got waived). Both those players did fairly well and were ranked in the Top 10 in the same Summer League that Jeremy played in. He probably would have never gotten playing time under Phil Jackson that first season though because Fisher and Blake were still on there too. Who knows what happens during the lock-out with Mike Brown.
Lin did play in the D-League when he was with the Warriors, unless you mean just not have a NBA contract at all or be assigned by the Mavs. I don't know about that. I would say that first year with the Warriors, getting all that publicity made him ready for Linsanity.
Without Linsanity he doesn't get that $25 million contract. Also without that he doesn't get a shot at proving he's capable of being a NBA starter. Who knows how he would have turned out without Linsanity or if NBA teams would still have given him minutes to prove it like D'Antoni did.
Linsanity certainly provided a glimpse of what Lin was capable of in the right system to fully utilize his set of skills that Kobe said noone bothered to look for.
Without Linsanity, who knew how coaches would use Lin sparingly as a backup PG because of the "deceptive" lack of athleticism or inconsistent shooting?
Oh yeah, we're witnessing that somewhat in Houston.
A nice, light piece. Nothing too deep or controversial.
Especially loved how Jeremy's pops took a shot at Stanford: "Harvard is a better school.."
Houston and its fans embracing Jeremy? I guess they haven't met Clutch or gone to his site - supposedly with its true, diehard Rox fans..
IMO, the biggest racist thing for Jeremy was him not getting a division 1 school scholarship offer coming out of high school.
But you really can't discount him coming out of IVY as a large reason for not being drafted, although being an asian player certainly didn't help either. Plus I don't think Harvard even made the NCAA tournament when he was there.
"You really can't discount him coming out of IVY as a large reason for not being drafted"
Well, that argument is kinda beside the point. As you said, racism was the reason he was "forced" to go to Harvard in the first place.
Also, both Damian Lilliard and Kenneth Faried are from low major conferences that were even WEAKER than the Ivy League...and they still got drafted first round. Lilliard didn't even have any amazing performances against big time schools like UConn -- he struggled against elite teams.
I don't think you can really combine those two "steps" in his life. I mean how many IVY league school players gets drafted into NBA? Whitman was great that year, allowing Cornell to go pretty far in the NCAA tournament. I don't think he even got drafted. Jeremy being an asian player made it even less likely. He didn't even get to showcase his skills in the postseason.
If Lin had gone to Stanford/UCLA and then didn't get drafted, then I would blame racism as the only reason. But coming from Ivy, asian or not, it already puts him at a significant disadvantage. NBA teams just don't look to Ivy for their draft pick, PERIOD.
Athletic freaks like Faried do not have to come from a great school. Once you have the certain body type and athleticism, the teams are willing to take a chance
Lillard, don't know much about so can't comment - but he must've shown something.
Look, I am not saying that being asian didn;t matter. But being an Asian player from Ivy league school was a double whammy.
Lin high school team beat mater dei to win state championship. Mater Dei is a powerhouse school for sports. Heisman trophy winners (football) have come from that school. In the history of California basketball player of the year, Lin is the only one not to be offered a division I scholarship to play basketball.
Good point Lostology. Anyone who says JlLin as Asian American did not face racism just needs to be asked the question: Historically / statistically how many CA State Players of the Year who led their team to State Championships have not received a Divison 1 Scholarship? Only JLin. Why?
Lin had solid all-around stats (16.4 ppg, 4.5 apg), but nowhere near enough to overcome the Harvard disadvantage. If Lin had 24 ppg or 7 apg at Harvard, he would have been drafted. If Lin had his stats at a more respected basketball school, he would have been drafted. If Lillard had 16.4 ppg, 4.5 apg playing at Harvard, Lillard wouldn't have been drafted either.
That's why I feel that race was not a direct factor for the NBA not drafting Lin. It was an indirect factor because I'm pretty sure if Lin wasn't Asian he would've had several D1 scholarships, but that's not the NBA's fault.
Real-dsb, those are my points exactly. Lin was not as impactful in college as some people think. Yeah, he had a few great games, but he was NOT one of the greatest Ivy player ever. Remember Harvard never made the NCAA's during Lin's 4 years there. I followed Cornell closely during that time, and I knew Lin was good but no one thought he was a future nba player. It wasn't like he was dominating the league like he was way above everyone else in the league. Just a good solid player.
But not getting any scholarship offer after getting one of the highest accolades as a high school player in California was blatantly racist.
This just goes to show you that the way athletes blossom isn't equal across the board. Yes, Lin was very solid in college, but he's a far better player now. Many who dominate in college become mediocre NBA players. Talent isn't always easy to read. Though, with advanced stats, I suppose that may change.
Also... Lin is very, very unselfish and so... this will also have an impact on his stats.
Interestingly... I think Lin himself said had he went to UCLA he wouldn't have made it to the NBA. Maybe because he wouldn't have shined enough to get the starting position? Whatever the case......
Lillard also got invited to the Pre-Draft combine, which Lin never got a chance to go to. He only went to Portsmouth.
Lillard had a near 40 inch vertical, at 39.5 and a 6'7.75" wingspan.
Guess who had the best agility score tho? JET CHANG!!! lol. Too bad he played Division II and wasn't a PG, since that's what Minnesota wanted him to play.
You guys are drinking the NBA Kool Aid that a guy has to average a certain number of points to be able to play in the NBA.
It took me about 2 minutes of looking at Jeremy Lin's athleticism, skill set, and court sense to immediately know that he was a NBA player.
College basketball is littered with selfish scorers who shoot low percentages and do not help their teams win. There are also tons of freak athletes, many of whom are not black. And the vast majority of these players are completely unsuitable for playing winning NBA basketball.
Jeremy Lin played winning basketball in college despite having a weak team. He carried that team night after night on both ends of the court. And I don't buy you guys' argument that he didn't do enough statistically because he dominated in so many areas while playing team basketball. Even Ed Weiland made the mistake of saying that Lin's scoring needed to be higher.
KHuang, no, what we are saying is that a player needs to put up incredible numbers to be recognized by the NBA teams as a potential draft pick. That's the reality of the situation. One thing Jeremy could've done, perhaps, to raise his stocks was to play in the NCAA tourney and have a chance to showcase his skills in the national spotlight.
Whatever the case, the nba teams simply do not typically look to Ivys to find their mext draft pick. That will never change.
Really nice to see him a little more established, answering the questions with the emotions underneath. 60 mins is sometimes 18 months behind stories, like about the high tech behind the Iranian centrifuge hack by intelligence agencies (it was all over the web to any one who searched), but it's still nice to get the emotion under the answers. I really like seeing Lin 1 yr older. Haven't really seen him in this mode since the Linsanity post games. What a great guy. Just lucky the world has a guy like him to inspire kids and oldies alike.
Linsanity from his time with the Knicks and people questioning if he was OVERRATED.
Linsanity 2.0 IMO is him proving all the doubters that he's not an average marginal player that people like SAS proclaims him to be. If he comes back in the future and becomes a deserving All-star and helps lead his team to more success, there's a whole new story. It would give him another chance for the media to say he misjudged again.
Knicks aren't winning the NBA championship this year. They're on a hot streak but Carmelo is not going to carry them forever. All the other players surrounding Melo are "feast or famine" types and they're feasting NOW. We'll see about later.
Ditto. Just because the Knicks beat OKC today doesn't mean now they are a lock. They are definitely gonna compete, but they are too old and fragile minded to go all the way. And they are too dependent on Melo for scoring... No one can keep that up.
The Knicks *STARTERS* aren't that old. What the media says about them being "the oldest team" is misleading. It has dawned on me only recently (duh) that only the Knicks backups are old; their starters are all in their prime, albeit at the tail end (only Kidd was old, but he got moved to the bench some time ago). They have been on a roll since the KMart signing, but I don't expect them to go past the 2nd round.
The Lakers starters are the OLDEST in the league and they don't have a good bench like the Spurs, which is peppered with expensive players (the Lakers salary is grossly front heavy). The Nuggets have apparently emulated the Spurs in incorporating top notch players to the bench. A great contingency plan.
I enjoyed the 60 min piece, as well as the Linsanity doc. Both were very entertaining and inspiring. I have to admit, though I did like it, I had hoped for more from Linsanity. It was fun to watch Jeremy's journey as he overcame tremendous adversity to achieve the American dream, but the aftermath of his meteoric rise is just as interesting yet the film makers didn't go there. It has been acknowledged widely that Jeremy's effect on the industry of basketball was huge. Not only did he secure the Knicks playoff position last year, but he brought new worldwide audiences to the NBA. The curious thing is why does this talented, intelligent, spiritual, and humble young athlete engender so much love, AND so much HATE? Why are people so willing and quick to write him off as a no talent flash in the pan? After he saved the Knick team from ruin last year, why does he constantly have to prove himself? Why do so many people want to see him fail? If he were like any other young point guard in the league, he would be allowed to grow and develop with support and trust from his coaches and team mates. Jeremy has even had to deal with a coaching staff that treats him like a role player with limited capacity rather than a team foundation piece. Interviewing anti-fans from sites like clutch and the Rockets FB page, would be an interesting addition to a documentary about Jeremy's life. He is not a person that had his career handed to him on a silver platter. He fought every step of the way, and yet there is a jealousy and bitterness that these haters are consumed with that is unfathomable. Finally, how has this fame effected Jeremy's life and what source of strength does he rely on to overcome the many obstacles he still faces. Those are topics I wish the movie addressed more as well. If you get a chance, see Linsanity in any case. As a Lin fan, you will adore it. It is a love letter to all of us who admire and support Jeremy. Maybe someone will shoot a part two someday, Linsanity and Beyond! :)
Good points. He continues to battle daily. I think the Linsanity documentary really captures a lot more of what went on. Obviously, he still has to prove himself above and beyond to coaches, every game. But yeah, the aftermath and this year he has battled more playing adversity, which in many ways rivals and is tougher than before(considering he is the unquestioned started and still gets benched often).
Watch the documentary in a theater if you can. It is unreal. Especially when they show him in the midst of Linsanity - it is chilling.
I also like how his parents, both mom and dad are realistic.
Unfortunately, that is the state of media/society these days. The cycle is that the media hypes something up to extreme heights, society rides the hype/bandwagon to its peak, which is followed by an extreme backlash, and the media moves on to the next viral thing.
I think "Linsanity" was necessary for NBA coaches and media to wake up and recognize Lin's potential, otherwise Lin may have never overcome coaches' prejudices to ever become a starter, no matter how hard he worked and performed.
However, I do feel that "Linsanity" should be put to rest now that it has served it usefulness. It would be nice if Lin could just play his game and not be given any special treatment or extra backlash from "Linsanity".
Like any other pioneer in sports or business, the establishment simply doesn't like changes.
NY players were threatened by this Asian-American player who became the talk of the Big Apple. Everyone wanted a piece of Jeremy Lin to show him up.
But David Stern is in the business of promoting changes for the good of the NBA growth in China and the world. That's why he embraced the change and agreed that Jeremy was discriminated because he was Asian-American.
1. Melo is not going to give the spotlight to Lin. He may tried to talk like he didn't want to, but the truth is he came to NY wanting to be the SUPERSTAR. We all know deep down inside he doesn't want Lin to be that in NY. The Mecca of Basketball and Melo's hometown.
2. Yes, Blacks like Stephen A Smith do not want Lin to succeed. He's very pro-Black.
3. We may not admit it, but there's a lot of Lin fans especially on the internet and a lot are predominantly Asian. A lot of NBa fans were jealous that Yao Ming got voted into the All-Star game so many times, so any time a Chinese player or Chinese-American gets the spotlight, the fear and jealousy is that they will get unfair treatment like get voted into the All-star game. Linsanity made them completely jealous because they couldn't stand hearing about another ASIAN dude getting the spotlight. That's the truth.
I agree the 60 minutes piece was too brief and didn't really get into more interesting issues. The only similar thing to Linsanity I experienced in my own lifetime is when the Korean World Cup Soccer Team made it to semifinals in World Cup Soccer, and I happen to be in Korea. Coach Hiddink and the Korean National Soccer Team members achieved hero status. I happen to believe Lin will go on to do a lot of great things in his life, just because of his character.
Lin's teammate on Knicks, Landry Fields, played basketball in California. Fields got a scholarship from Stanfond and got drafted 39th overall by the knicks. They are both from the same graduating class. Stanford needing a point guard gave a scholarship to Fields instead.
I thought it was very subtle in the message but clear. His parenents for me did a great job to relating to the humanity of the issue as many of us are parents as well
If you accept that Stern and his successor want to use Lin to market the NBA in China and Asia, then the whole conspiracy theory about how NBA officiating is rigged from the top goes out the window.
If Stern and top management actually exerted real control over how individual players or teams are officiated, then it certainly doesn't show with Lin. His is a magnet for phantom calls on defense, and no-calls on offense. Didn't Stern get the memo: keep this guy you supposedly value healthy. Oh, and if you want to inflate someone's stat sheet, give him the calls that stars get.
If one believes the league's top management can exert influence on refs, then I don't see how that idea can be reconciled with the unfavorable treatment that Lin receives from refs, despite his obvious marketing value for the NBA.
Yet, given the marketing stakes, it seems strange to me that top management does so little to intervene.
Certainly Donaghy was not an isolated case, and I do believe some games are rigged for gambling reasons, but that is NOT the same as saying that rigging comes from top management during the regular season. (Playoffs on the other hand...)
The Donaghy case is about rigging connected to the mafia and gambling; it is NOT about rigging coming from top league management. One does not prove the other. Those are two separate things.
I've been following the NBA too long to know that it's NOT rigged.
Occupati0, you don't understand that David Stern is nothing more than the mouthpiece for the NBA. The real power are the owners that pay David Stern his salary.
Just like David Stern says that there is zero problem with performance enhancing drugs in the NBA, him saying that there is racism in the NBA is not going to stop racist refs from protecting franchises like the Lakers by letting players bash Lin illegally.
I myself would often rather start an unskilled muscle brute like Smith than a skilled softie like Motiejeunas or a jumping jack straw man like Jones or Robinson, especially since the Rockets don't need Greg Smith to create offensively for others.
I like Greg Smith too but I wouldn't say he's unskilled. He has the best touch around the basketball among all the big for the Rockets and plus he's free throw shooting is really coming around lately.
I would also say Greg Smith due to his ability to finish around the basket indicated by his high FG%. But he is quick to get into foul trouble on defense so he will not get a lot of playing time.
And although he lacked experience, TJones surprisingly emerged as a candidate for both physical PF with his superb athleticism (better than TRob) and stretch PF with his 3PT shooting! Why did McHale not try him sooner was a travesty.
DMo shouldn't be a starter at this point because he lacked confidence. Make him 2nd or 3rd string backup depending on matchup to regain aggressiveness.
This make it quite apparent that JLin didn't get a scholarship due to being Asian American: 2006 Cal-Hi Sports All-State First Team Scholarship Offers: First Team Jeremy Lin: No Ryan Anderson: Yes, UC Berkeley James Harden: Yes, Arizona State Taylor King: Yes, Duke Chase Budinger: Yes, University of Arizona James Keefe: Yes, UCLA Tre'Von Willis: Yes, UNLV
De'Shon Jackson: Yes, Univeristy of San Diego Adrian Oliver: Yes, University of Washington Alex Stepheson: Yes, University of North Carolina
Agreed. After all of the opinions about race/racism/discrimination and Lin giving his own opinion about his own personal experience, there are facts you cannot ignore. It all begins in high school. Looking at the above and the other award(s) Lin got, would he have gotten a scholarship if he were African American or White?
Led team to California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division II state title;
Named first-team All-State;
Named Northern California Division II Player of the Year;
Ended his senior year averaging 15.1 points, 7.1 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 5.0 steals.[17]
In other words, has there been anyone else who has achieved the above and not been offered a scholarship other than Lin? Whether race was THE factor or one factor, it was a factor, pure and simple. Stating a fact is not equivalent to complaining, especially when the interviewer is the one that asked the question.
Conclusion: Racism exists in America, and stereotypes permeate our society. End of story. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional, naive, or ignorant.
Some media outlets and people simply refuse to acknowledge it. Rather, they say, Lin got the contract and media attention because he is Asian American, and try to show that he benefited or got special treatment because he is Asian American. Lin got the money he probably would have gotten had things been different coming out of high school. The media attention had so many factors -- NY, underdog story, last man on the bench, Asian American, Harvard, etc. These are inextricably intertwined, but IMO the fact that it happened in NY probably made it the biggest story it could possibly be and they milked it for what it was worth. They all made money off of Lin's story.
And to those who say don't "complain" about racism. Well then, I guess we should never have had affirmative action and should stop "complaining" about racial profiling. The basic principle is the same -- certain treatment because of racial stereotypes.
Rant, over.
Ultimately, however, I too believe, everything happens for a reason and happens the way it was supposed to. Lin might not have become the player he is today had things been different coming out of high school.
There are talking heads who seem to imply that since JLin had supposedly benefited from being Asian American during Linsanity and onwards [ACCDG TO THEM], this should negate/ compensate for the blatant racism that shut him out in the past.
As if racism could ever be acceptable [under any circumstances.]
"We need to save spots on the basketball team for black students because we already got too many over-achieving asian students getting high GPAs. This will help us uphold affirmative-action" - says the College Admission Officer.
People seem to equate an athletic scholarship to free money at the expense of taxpayers. So the LOH are claiming that Lin complained about not getting free money for college.
Harvard and all Ivy League schools do not allow any athletic scholarships. What Jeremy really needed was a roster spot. That's all. And Harvard was the only school who offered him a guaranteed spot on the team. He was not financially in need of money to attend college.
Yall are acting as if the 60 min segment actually added something new to the conversation. This stuff has been discussed to death already in Lin fandom.
The only value of the segment was seeing kiddie Lin hooping in the vintage home videos.
Jeremy Lin's story is timeless. I can watch it again and again and it will just grow and grow on me. It will forever be something that I will never tire of talking about - to my kids and future grand kids. :)
Ian Begley @IanBegley @NYPost_Berman it was funny that 60 minutes' twitter feed referred 2 Lin as an ex-Knick instead of a Rocket. D Morey couldnt be happy w/that 9:27 PM - 7 Apr 13
it's amazing how bright and deep Lin's character is. to be so "soft, like water. to bend and not break". i can really identify with that. its only been 50 years since the repeal of the racist chinese immigration act by Lydon Johnson in the 1960s. the current generation of chinese immigrants dont really know about how the Toisan pioneers suffered in silence without family for a life time of lonliness. They've paid a high price for what we have today.
Lin isn't doing this interview for himself, he is already well past that emotional state of anger. For someone so young to have reached such a state of grace is remarkable, more remarkable than even his all of his basketball skills. I can only think of people like Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela who has that type of aura of grace. I wish I can become so forgiving of others for their ignorance.
a counterpoint to Lin is Tiger Woods. As great an athlete Tiger is, he holds onto his anger of his mistreatment as a black / Thai / multi racial person. one can only wonder if his incredible self inflicted public humiliation was not a freudian manifestation of that anger.
Lin allowed this interview to happen for the young chinese players following him so that they can have a better chance of getting a scholarship. Many will say that he is hyping himself but i don't agree. Lin has never needed anyone's help to get to where he is. Irreguardless of what haters will say, Lin's credibility has alre
Lin's credibilty is already well established. they exist in hard facts, in his stats and historical records. these things already speak for themselves. linis now speaking for those to follow.
Some use anger and perceived slight like Tiger and MJ to fuel themselves to prove others wrong but Jeremy uses grace and forgiveness to build others up, thus making potential enemies such as Melo and Dolan to be friends.
Not a very easy thing to do although his God calls for forgiveness, I know many Christians can't let themselves forgive others.
Those who holds anger are like people who got stabbed in the arm with the knife but refused to take out the knife for the next 40-50 years. The hate and anger fuels them but at the same time they refuse to let go and forgive in order to heal.
Lin's character is already a Hall-of-Famer in my eyes because he uses his platform to help so many people.
lol, can't be helped. You really need to create your Youtube ping-pong challenge for when JLin visits Asia :) Wear a Lin mask if you're shy. Gotta channel the energy somehow. haha
Whatever. Everything worked out brilliantly in the end. Besides, "humble hero from Stanford" wouldn't have quite the same ring, not to mention resonance.
Being from Harvard makes him even more removed from your average NBA jock. Everything about him is special.
A Fancam cached a argument between Grey Smith and Jame Harden than found Jeremy to do the judgement.
That scenes clearly show Jeremy Lin is the nature true leader of the team not Harden(or McFail)who always claim himself is the leader.
After Harden yelled to GS during Portland game last week, instead walk couple more steps to McFail to do the complain, GS walked to JL to complained about Harden. Haha... I really like what I saw.
@psalm - he looks awkward with his mouth guard but he can still talk, and yes he's being fair to both the team's first option in scoring and the rookie. no taking of sides
nice find. great to see that the Rockets can talk out their disagreements rather than blowing up at each other. they'll continue to build chemistry and be a stronger team!
By the way, Rockets better win against Phoenix. The easy games left are two games against Phoenix and one against Sacramento. Rockets has to win two of these three games if they want to make it to playoffs.
...Houston has a 99.9% chance of making the play-offs:
http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds
In fact, his odds suggest Houston has a slightly better chance than Golden State of getting the 6th seed, so please don't pretend Houston is on a knife's edge and we should all be wringing our hands. Houston is a good team.
“He texted me after almost every game, especially if I did good,” Jones said. “I texted him after his games, too, when I was down there. I talked to James (Harden) after almost every game. A lot of guys checked with me, but J-Lin especially. J-Lin was always texting everybody. J-Lin texted me every game pretty much every time I went down.
sure, John :) Good to know that Feigen and Jason Friedman have been writing more positive JLin articles lately. You can tell they have good relationship with Lin from their post-game interviews.
Bxx Vxxxxx @bxxxxxx @Highway_30 hasnt done one of these retweeting sprees in a while...i kinda missed it #BeWell #cyclONEnation 5:41 PM - 7 Apr 13
Sxxxxxxxx_Mxxxxxxxxx @sxxxxxxxxxxxxx @dxxxx_lxxxx @Highway_30 Roycy only acts out on twitter if there's a National, Local or Rockets story,,,, Jeremy Lin on 60 Minutes 2night 6:15 PM - 7 Apr 13
"Good to know that Feigen and Jason Friedman have been writing more positive JLin articles lately. You can tell they have good relationship with Lin from their post-game interviews."
whenever someone spends enough time with or observing Lin, they see the truth (great player and leader) rather than the "overhyped linsanity media machine"
I happen to just be looking at season stats today for jlin and many of the other PG's in the league. Looking at jlin's stats are very telling. You can see for yourself on espn the season splits and look at the FG%, 3p% and most telling is FGM vs FGA per 48. Someone like Russle Westbrook, who gets almost 11 more FGA PER 48 then jeremy, with less FG%. Even if the Rockets and Mchale is to stupid to see jeremy should be shooting more, another team won't ignore these stats if jlin can putt those numbers up next year as well. 11 more shots at 44% is in the 20pt+ range (depending on the shots). If the next team really builds jlin as one of the centerpieces I believe he can deliver some big numbers. Someone besides Houston will do that wait and see.
At this point I'm intrested in jlin getting playoff experience. Next year he knows what to work on but if the Rockets don't have better utilization, or if they want a Chalmers for their team I hope they trade him. Looking at Chalmers numbers I almost have to laugh. Anyway, he's doing well for all the road blocks his stupid coache putts in his way.
Nothing new but a nice CBS interview with Morey confirming the app measuring JLin to have the most explosive acceleration since the measurement started 3-4 years ago for Houston.
There goes the deceptively athletic argument for most Lin haters. CBS: Rockets GM: Lin is "explosive" April 8, 2013 9:35 AM Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets, describes player Jeremy Lin as "the most explosive, accelerating athlete [the team has] ever measured." How does he know? There's an app for that.
One thing that bothers me is that everyone says that Lin has trouble staying in front of small, quick guards. It's my impression that everyone has that same trouble. But it's a reflex for people to say it about Lin, as if he has especially slow lateral speed. The problem for me is that first step is very highly correlated with lateral speed too. Without proof, I have no idea whose eye tests are more legit. Beverly had a ton of trouble staying in front of Fournier at Denver, but you're never going to see sports writers or forum commenters qualify their statements about Beverly's defense with, "he has trouble staying in front of fast guards". My intuition is that bias plays a role here, too. My only contradictory evidence is that Morey also said that Lin can't stay in front of the fastest guards, and he is in the best position to know if that's true or not, but he didn't explicitly compare him to other players. So, again, I feel like no one can stay in front of the fastest guards, so it's irritating to single him out.
Lin not being able to stay in front of the fastest guards is just not true--pure buncum! Another racist lie by the anti-Lin media and even his GM. If you watched the Rox Nuggets game, the last one when Ty Lawson played, Lin shut him down cold and Lawson is one of the fastest guards. Ditto when the Rox last played the Thunder--Lin contained Westbrook. And Westbrook is jet speed.
I don't think Lin is that great laterally on defense based on my eye test, and I think it's clear I'm a huge Lin backer. I feel there are many people who are quicker laterally or "look" it, but Lin makes up for it because he tries harder on defense compared to 90 plus % of the other starting and backup PG's in the NBA. Also, Lin has strong instincts and understands generally the concept of team defense.
It could also be Lin is par laterally but has difficulty avoiding getting picked off on screens, but really, who doesn't? But I remember Clyde lavishing praise on TD because Clyde said TD knew how to avoid getting screened off...so maybe it's not purely lateral athleticism but some defensive skills/ability that Lin is lacking to some extent.
Also, a lot of it has to do with Lin actually trying...guys who try will get burned (ie Alonzo Morning who was a legit shot blocker but got dunked on just as much). Also like Brandon Knight actually trying to play defense on D Jordan of the Clips and getting dunked on badly...guys like that are trying to play real defense....you will never see CP3 or Dwill type guys get crushed by a dunk like that because they don't even try because they don't want to be on a poster...but over time, defenders like Lin and Knight make a difference to their team and improve overall defensive numbers.
But really even if Lin isn't the best laterally, it doesn't mean he is a weak defender....defense is 90% effort and 10% anticipation, imho.
I don't think Lin is the most athletic defensive guard, nor the fastest lateral defender guard. But he is a darn good defender who can even defend bigger guys on limited possessions.
He can't put as much pressure on ball handlers as those pesky guards like Avery Bradley or even Beverly. And it looks like he gets screened off a lot and also, when Lin runs back to close out on shooters, Lin doesn't have an elite vertical so he can't really affect those shots which almost always seem to go down against Lin.
To me, that's why the mainstream media, front offices, coaches, and fans say Lin stinks on D. And I think being Asian doesn't help because Asians aren't supposed to be athletic to those groups anyways...
Michael Terry, very nice post. I think you're right. It's one of those statements that, by itself, without context or comparison with other plays, seems reasonable but when you think about it, really is rather meaningless. Insofar as it is true, it is true merely in a facile way.
If short quick guards couldn't blow by many people, they would not be in the league. If Nate Robinson could not do that on most players, why would this midget be in the NBA?
We all saw Fournier get into the paint at will with Bev. Does that mean Bev's lateral quickness is notably bad? I don't know. I think a big factor is that he defended Fournier too tight, whereas Lin tends to give space to defend the dribble drive. TD also has the tendency to defend too tightly, and he defends too much using his arms/hands and not with his feet and positioning.
I think Lin positions himself really well. He's at the right spot, using the right angle, and he is very aware of where his own secondary help defenders are and positions himself accordingly. This isn't about athleticism though. (After seeing the Zach Lowe videos about 'ghost' players, I've been thinking about and looking out for player positioning in defense.)
btw, last night, I watched the OKC-Pacers game. Westbrook was just BLOWING BY George Hill, whose feet couldn't keep up. Also, Hill does not anticipate well what Westbrook will do. Also, Westbrook was just ABUSING Hill in the post, moving in the block at will. I thought to myself -- when Lin defends WB, WB looks uncomfortable out there, but he was just having his way with Hill.
@ swinglinezigzag Isaiah Thomas exemplifies the short quick guard. But Lin shut him down in the last game, and took him out of his comfort zone. How do you explain that if Lin has unremarkable later quickness?
If we go with the hypothesis that Michael Terry proposed, that first step is correlated to lateral quickness, then we should expect that Lin's lateral quickness is much better than it was earlier in the season (since his knee and first step are much better now).
There is always a lag for people's preconceptions (in this case, the preconception that Lin lacks later quickness) to update even when the reality has actually changed.
I think you can be a good defender without top level lateral quickness...
Look, Lin is a great offensive player, yet he lacks elite vertical jumping ability. That doesn't mean Lin stinks on offense or can't finish.
So just because he doesn't have elite lateral quickness, which is pure conjecture on my part, doesn't mean Lin is not a good defender.
Lin is smart, anticipates well, and plays physically. He IS quick, but he does seem to have issues with screens but has gotten better through the season at running directly into screens like he was at the start of the year.
Lin is an excellent off ball gambler. That is where he shines in my opinion on defense. If I were his coach, I would trust him and allow him to gamble conservatively and use his instincts. His steals have gone down probably because he isn't allowed to freelance as much anymore in order to improve his stats when it comes to sticking to his man.
I do think Lin is also screwed by refs who cheat him on offense and defense, not calling driving fouls on offense, and calling ticky tack BS on Lin on defense.
I saw CP3 maim D Howard yesterday and steal the ball, but CP3 wasn't called for a thing. If that was Lin, it'd be a technical foul (I'm exaggerating but you get my point).
@ swinglinezigzag Thanks for responding. I didn't review the tape for the Houston-Kings game, but I do recall that Lin shadowed Thomas really well on several occasions when Thomas tried to penetrate. I saw no lack of lateral quickness there. However, I do think that being able to shadow well also involves (as you mention) the ability to anticipate which side and where the offensive player is going.
The point you bring up about Lin 'running into screens', I've heard this observation brought up many times on several boards. I don't have a fixed opinion or confident conclusion about this. I'll just throw out some observations out that do not tend strongly towards one conclusion or another . 1. I think that Lin's footwork in working around screens could be better. Compare for example with how nimbly CP3 goes over screens. That's a high standard since I think CP3's footwork is as good as anyone's in the league.
2. My theory is that it is often part of the opposing team's plan to attack Lin using PnR (with the perception that he is a weak defender or the weak point in team's defense). That is perhaps why there is no shortage of illegal moving screens used on him (hips or elbows obstructing his pathway) which make his attempt to work through screens look more clumsy and ineffectual than other players. I'm not absolutely sure he gets substantially more moving picks on him than other PGs, that is just my perception. But if the game plan is to tire Lin out by forcing him to work through picks, it would not surprise me that opposing teams go through extra effort to cheat on picks by bumping him more than usual.
3. Does Lin's alleged problem of 'running into screens' really involve more ACTUAL collision than other PGs, or is this just an aesthetic issue? In other words, does he just look unpleasing the way he does it even though his method is not less effectual? (The criticism of Lin's handle is partly due to with expectations of what good handle is supposed to look like and Lin simply doesn't conform to that idea. Maybe that's also the case with his handling of screens.) I am not convinced that he is actually slowed down more than other defenders when going over picks. However, I'm still on the fence about this. Also, Lin's handling of screens is better than last year's so let's not treat the data as fixed and constant.
Maybe JLin has trouble with the screens because he's rather large and bulky (especially his butt) so he collides with the screener rather than slip through that tight space between the screener and the opposing PG? LOL (I'm just throwing the idea out there since I'm not sure of the mechanics of the screens).
Sometimes I see Beverley easily slip through in front of the screener even though there's a tight space. Beverley is a skinny guy.
I also find the "running into screens" argument extremely doubtful. I watch Lin against screens and then other guards against screens and I see no difference. Every team runs screens constantly for guards, and they do this for a good reason: They work fantastically! No one can go through someone else's body and a correctly run screen simply isn't defendable without a coached team defense. One player can't defend a screen. It sort of boggles my mind when people don't understand that there are dozens of pick and roll defensive coverages and that means team defense.
Lin's running two footed vertical is possibly not elite, but his standing vertical probably is: It was good enough to out jump John Wall in one of their two jump balls in Summer League, despite that John Wall has a significant reach advantage. His one footed running vertical is at least on the edge of elite. You may be misled because Lin doesn't have as long a wingspan as players like John Wall, so he doesn't appear to dunk as easily. I'm still not convinced Lin's lateral quickness average, especially not for his size.
Lin NEVER gets the benefit of calls when illegal moving screens get him.
When referees are trying to knock Lin out, a common tactic for them is tp call the foul against Lin when the screener is moving. I've even see the ballhandler HIT Lin into an illegal moving screen, which Lin gets called for.
There is no defender in the NBA who even comes close to Lin's defensive prowess. Not Avery Bradley, not Tony Allen, not Andre Iguodala, NO ONE. Even with refs cheating Lin, his league leading lateral quickness and hair trigger reaction time and unbeatable strength and flawless court sense make him the single best perimeter defender I have ever aeen in the NBA.
All players in any league should study Jeremy Lin defensive vdeos. Nobody can defend like Lin, and that's one of the reasons Lin's team always seems to win in the NBA even when refs are cheating him.
Michael Terry, it has occurred to me that first step quickness might be correlated with lateral quickness, but I hadn't really pondered it until you brought it up. Some thoughts:
Counterexample: IMO, Shumpert's first step is average at best, but he is credited with good lateral quickness. If he beats his man and gets to the bucket, I think it is due more to his strength than his first-step. (His first step is blunted by what I consider to be inefficient footwork, but that's neither here nor there. It's more herky jerky than direct north-south.)
Also, would you say that Tony Allen and Avery Bradley have great lateral quickness? Allen does not have a good first step, and Bradley never struck me (I may be wrong) as having a quick first step either.
With my amateur understanding of anatomy and body mechanics, I'm inclined to think that first step and lateral quickness involve different muscle groups.
It would be interesting to compare whether lateral speed equates to forward speed. I have a feeling they differ. The reason I say this is because people who are slower than me forward are faster than me running backwards.
James Harden @JHarden13 !!!!!!!!!!! RT @JLin7: Whoaaa 1,000,000 followers...THANKS to you guys!! Next up...lets get the beard man @JHarden13 there!
Since he pays attention to the # of twitter followers, perhaps we can help by following him after a game when he plays D. Then unfollow him after he disappears on D.
Fantastic piece on Jeremy Lin. Good to see him when he was young and his family. My heart swelled with pride to see how he overcame obstacles and remained humble. Thanks, Jeremy for being an inspiration to so many!
"As the new breed of statistical analysts like to point out, a primary scorer using extra shots to get his points means fewer shots for others (and hence fewer chances for additional points for the team). Assists lead directly to points, and every rebound gives your team a possession, which means a chance to score. Durant, in short, is an efficient player whose numbers translate into wins for his club. The same is true for LeBron James, Chris Paul and Tim Duncan. But not for Carmelo Anthony. And that’s why, at a 2012-13 salary of $19.4 million, Anthony tops our list as the NBA’s most overpaid player."
IIRC, I read somewhere that advertising from Chinese companies Lin brings into Toyota Center can pay for about 1/2 of Houston Rockets roster (lower half of team's salaries).
@ Joe, that advertising money goes to the league and is shared (I believe equally) among all the franchises. So it doesn't really make sense to say that Lin could pay for half the roster because the monies do not flow directly into Houston.
Stephen A. Smith, Rob Parker, Christian Fauria and Skip Bayless discuss Jeremy Lin's comments about race and how he is treated on the court.
Although the discussion that $25M/contract and not just skin color fuels other NBA players to target Lin is fair, I don't think they bring up the most important issue that it's not okay to chant racial epithets in college games or not giving a level playing field in getting D1 scholarship based on skin color.
At the end of the discussion, you get a feeling that Lin benefits from being in SI cover and getting $25M contract based on his skin color so the negatives of being on target on court is fair.
But they forgot to discuss the most important issue of having a level playing field in college for D1 scholarships as SAS correctly called it. It's conveniently left out of the conversation because there was no representation from Asian-American voices.
Lin represented more of a risk for scout to recommend for scholarship, because he did look different.
If he were black, he would have been a safer diamond in the rough type risk for someone to give him a scholarship, if he ended up being a bust (career risk for scout recommending him). I think it's like the saying that nobody gets fired for buying Microsoft (company's IT buying person may be fully aware that what Microsoft is selling to total and utter crap, but it is a safe choice if he is just interested in protecting his own job, not what is truly best for company's money).
But part of the magic of Linsanity, in addition to his underdog story, is that he is Asian American, and he is being rewarded greatly now for the injustices that may have been done onto him in past.
From the risk/reward perspective, I hope Les and Houston Rockets will get rewarded for investing in Jeremy Lin.
And whether it's discrimination on Asian/Black/White or other races, I hope we all stand up to speak up to say it's not okay.
ESPN First Take had good discussion but missed sending the message that discrimination especially in college scholarship are not okay for all races/background.
ESPN 1st Take didn't miss the message. They didn't want to address the real subject matter at all at all...and they put in some pathetic talking heads, minus Skip Bayless who is white, who went on a rant about black Americans being taken for granted when it comes to bball without saying it directly.
In essence, many black Americans, ballplayers & media alike, wanted Lin to be another Adam Morrison, another white hype bust, of which there were many. They wanted to put Jimmer and Reddick in that boat too esp. since they were touted so highly in college when black America feels there are so many better black players who are never covered to the same extent...
Reddick is probably the only one in a while who fought through it all and has established himself at least as a solid rotational player in the NBA. The rest basically for one reason or another, are busts.
Look, I grew up playing with a lot of black players in Cali. I know about the perception of the white hype bust. I'm sure many of you have heard the stereotypical jokes of just picking the team with more black players on it and you'll be right...that kinda thing...
And when guys like Morrison end up being white-hype busts, it reinforces that notion to black America that this BS is horsesh*t. And that goes to part of Skip's point that the white hype busts find a lot of the same type of hostility that Lin found as he was growing up and now in the NBA to a lesser extent.
Problem is Lin isn't a white-hype bust, lucky for us Lin fans and unfortunately for the black proponents of the white-hype busts.
They want and hoped that Lin would turn out to be another form of the white-hype bust which usually always turns out to be the case. But Lin just isn't a willing participant because they've never seen anything like Lin - an Asian American with game and confidence.
And those talking heads are at a loss, as it will become apparent, come this playoffs, that Lin is quite the opposite of the white hype bust.
Yeah I posted in on a couple of posts back. Thanks for bringing it up again and making it more clear. You hit it in the spot where they left the main part out of Lin not getting a D1 scholarship.
They just focused on what they thought was the positive rewards and consequences of him being Asian and forget to mention the negative aspects.
Anyways if you read what I wrote above and think back to Marc Lamont Hill's ridiculous article, you'll understand why he had the gall to write what he wrote.
He, like his peers, mistakenly thought Lin was akin to the white hype bust. They thought Lin would be "exposed" this year but Lin turned out to be the real deal and now the jokes on them...
Lin is only going to get better and make us proud.
You clarified their true agenda to equate Lin's contract to two guys (John Koncak having $13M undeserved contract > Bird/Magic/Jordan and another guy) who just happened to be white and turned out to be busts.
Thanks for posting it first, @Ety. It's clearly a hijacking attempt of the real discrimination issue by justifying the positive benefits of the discrimination.
It's like ignoring the message of African-American's slavery and cruel treatment of Native Americans in the US because they got some benefits through affirmative actions or casino restitution nowadays. Or bullying is ok when you got some money for restitution.
No matter what color it is, the message to discourage discrimination should not be omitted.
Good point swingline. I played BB with and against black players on the playground on recreational BB court during early 1980s. And there was a joke that when you pass to a Black player, the ball never comes back. As a result, when I got the ball, I always shot the ball as fast as I could, which led to our team losing most of times. But I didn't care because I rather lose with me shooting than someone else shooting. :)
LOL...that still holds true to this day HAHAHAHAHA...
I usually demand the ball so I can run PG...then don't pass it to them unless I have to HAHAHAHA...
There's less passing the ball around in pick up games these days, so if you want to have some fun play some defense and shoot the ball first before passing LOL
No, the only chance I had to shoot was before the ball went to certain players, i.e., black hole (no pun intended), so I had to shoot while I could. Otherwise, you just run for 30 minutes and have nothing to show for, especially when your friends or girls you like were watching. You know what I am saying. That's why I am all for Lin playing selfish. Screw a nice guy.
One more thing. I know many races were discriminated and suffered, but IMO Native Americans got screwed upon most by the growth of the US. And there is some justice in casinos run by Native Americans taking revenge now days. :)
Where I'm from (streets of NY), unselfish play was REWARDED.
I've never been a guy interested in personal glory, so I don't get offended if I'm not getting shots. All I cared about was my team getting the best shot, even if I had to set screens or pass off or space the court for that to happen. And ironically I have NEVER been ostracized on the basketball court, not even by black players.
Street basketball is different than organized basketball in that in streetball, a ballhog like Harden who shoots every time and doesn't play defense would be OSTRACIZED. If the Rockets were coachless, Lin would probably be the primary ballhandler and Harden would be his lead passing target.
I'm all for Lin continuing to play unselfishly. Since lin needs the help of his teammates to score (like ALL NBA players do), the right way to play is to do team basketball and shoot judiciously instead of selfishly.
Selfish players get rewarded by ostracization on the court. Even in the NBA, that's still true. That's why Lin should just keep playing his unselfish game, as the ball IS finding its way back to him.
eb5, I think there are good & bad, selfish and unselfish players of all races. I see ball hogs of all colors...
There are 2 kinds of ballhogs at the open gym level - one kind can't score efficiently at all or any better than you but never passes, and the second kind can hit almost every shot he takes and never passes.
Most "ballhogs" of any race I have played with were simply limited players, of limited skill or athleticism or intelligence (whether that level be NBA or high school). Those guys who hog the ball at the rec park are usually scrubs on real courts so when they end up being the biggest and fastest or "best" player on a weaker Court, they hog the ball and shoot a lot because they know they have no game in reality deep down inside or couldn't make it at the highest levels they got to. They ball hog to feed their ego / low self esteem.
Unfortunately, the gym is filled with guys like that these days.
The few real high level players who were successes at whatever final level they got stuck playing at almost never hogged the ball in my experience. They were so freaking good they pass it a lot and take over only when the team needs them to do so. I once read somewhere James Singletary played in some LA open gym and badly ball hogged against some average Joe's & that's exactly my point - James was a NBA fringe player who was treated like a scrub at the NBA level so when he played against some real scrubs, he felt he needed to ball hog to validate himself.
If you're going to play the race card game, then let's be honest -- if Beverley was Asian and Lin wasn't, either Beverley would be starting or a large group of people would be calling for the heads of the "idiots" McHale/Sampson/Morey/Alexander for keeping him on the bench. You'd also be saying that race was a factor as to why Beverleysanity was overlooked by the NBA and forced to play in Russia. That's just reality.
Who's better really doesn't matter... they are different players. Truth is, there hasn't been much of a dropoff when turning to Beverley, which is why it's not a shock when McHale plays the hot hand and sticks with Bev on nights where he's contributing and Lin isn't (the only thing that doesn't make much sense is the reaction of some fans to it). Jeremy has good upside and may prove to be the much better player, that just hasn't been the case overall this year.
I hated the post but I thought that was good to let other people see: even today on the own team’s fan base, the owner of the site wrote like this. Lin is still face the same thing. Nothing is changed...
Things are already changing. People who are skeptic about JLin's skills at the start of the season are starting turn around. However, there will always be doubters or haters. Usually the haters yell the loudest but eventually JLin's performance on the court will earn him more fans and collectively help drown out the noise. No one is loved 100% by others. All we can hope for is that there are more fans than haters.
Other than running an online forum, that person doesn't affect JLin in any way (as opposed to the opinion of Morey or the coaches) so it doesn't matter what he thinks. Other forum members are free to form their own opinions and some have called him out that his statement is wrong. There's no way that there's no drop off in play in the Rockets' offense if Beverley is subbed in for JLin. You can see that as recently as the Orlando game. And I don't hate Beverley. I think he's doing a good job being JLin's backup.
There are always going to be people who disagree on how good Lin is or will be, which is fine, because unless you are a LBJ or MJ, people are going to disagree. I don't think anyone (except perhaps 0.5% of NBA followers) think Lin is a scrub; therefore, this is an improvement. I think most NBA followers perceive Lin as a bona-fide NBA starter. Other than that, it's up to Lin to make his case by continued good performances. No NBA player has everything set up perfectly for him.
For example, if we were to grade Lin for his play during this season, I would give a "B" (note Lin gave himself a "C" during some interview), but someone might give a "B+" or "A-". Some people might say "He's a decent player", some might say "He's a good player". Some might say "He's a very good player", etc.
Anyways, my point isn't about Beverly its about how Lin is easily discounted as a player because of his race. And Clutch's post just proves my point, so even after what he did during Linsanity, even after helping this young team to an impressive record, after leading the team to good wins despite missing the team's best player, despite being the starting PG of the highest scoring team in the league, he STILL has to prove that he is better than his backup. Now we aren't even talking about if Beverly deserved the minutes when Lin was off, this is about how a lot of people including Clutch who is implying that Beverly is actually a better or at par player with Lin this year..... do you now get my point? I guess not.
I definitely agree with your point. I believe it's going to be like this for Lin for awhile or even for his whole lifetime. All we can do is to continue to support Lin, fight all the racists and haters with data, and believe in him.
Let's wait until playoff time and hope Lin continues to perform at a high level. I'm betting that he will bring his A+ game during playoffs.
Don't let any vocal but microscopic minority affect your editorial integrity, @via: Keep those links coming, every one! I really appreciate your efforts. :)
"Microspic", ha, ha. Like 0.0001 percent. Via, your posts are one of the main reasons why I like this site, so definitely keep your links coming. I really appreciate your efforts and interest.
Thomas' complaints about, what I presume to be, TD getting his minutes during the 4th quarter -- this shows that TD is a master at stealing starter's minutes to close games! I'm joking, but just half-joking.
It's amazing that a player can re-invent (or have to prove himself AGAIN) when he gets on a new team. As if coaching teams do not look at tape from previous games and seasons, and just let their performance during practice trump all else.
Interesting comments about how he thinks Lin and Harden will hopefully develop into Stockton and Malone type situation (Lin is leader in that he is THE point guard, and Harden is the CLOSER), and also how Clutch can get a bit impatient at times with new members who are, perhaps, just a bit over-exuberant in their enthusiastic support of Jeremy).
JLin is obviously the better PG with superior court vision. It all depends on the Rockets organization's ultimate decision to let JLin handle the ball most of the time or trade JLin for a shooter to pair with Harden (& let Harden become handle the PG duties).
I could see why Mac wants Bev to play in certain situations, against certain type of players. But I do not think Bev is a better shooter than Lin at this point, but I do think Bev can be a more effective defender against certain type of players.
Patrick Beverley is one of the WORST defensive players I have ever seen in the NBA.
His reaction time is at least a second slow, so he gets DESTROYED defensively. Whenever Beverley enters the game, the other team gains momentum because Beverley gets attacked. It's really bad when Bev is in with the guy who actively refuses to defend in James Harden.
There are so many point guards who are not drafted and aren't even in the D league that would be a zillion times better than Beverley. I predicted that he'd be a BUST in the NBA, and he's done wven worse than I thought. Even McHale and Morey force feeding him minutes at Lin's expense has only worsened his game impact, not made ot better.
People on this site are so mesmerized by his neevous hopping energy and hand waving. Quick physical motions do not necessarily mean quick reaction time, and let Bev be the example of how athleticism is UTTERLY USELESS in the NBA without court sense and reaction time to go with it.
On this part of the vid, Paul brought up an interesting point that McHale might have started to realize that Lin is the better PG than Harden by benching Harden in the Denver game. And the Lin haters might get scared by this fact.
I'm not convinced yet because Harden might be benched in just 1 game due to his low energy, lack of O and no D in the Denver game.
But it will be interesting to watch if McHale truly has this realization.
KHuang, I have to disagree with you there. I just don't see why you say Bev's reaction is at least a second slow. He's not a bad defender. He does hop too much, but I can't blame him for his style of play. I actually think Bev played better than expected.
However, Bev is getting ROASTED defensively because he cannot anticipate where his opponent is going nor can recover quickly when moves do happen.
Every game, I see Bev just get torched on screens. His man doesn't necessarily score, but Bev is a human turnstile that doesn't even need tokens added to spin. This contributes to the Rockets defense breaking down, which is why the Rockets always get into trouble when Bev is playing.
Also, Bev simply doesn't have NBA offensive court sense or breakdown skills or reaction. He simply can't react fast enough when players flash to open spots, and that's why the offense stagnates when Lin leaves. Plus, Bev doesn't have enough game to go past his guy and wouldn't even know what to do if he did. This is why opponents feel no pressure when Bev is on offense.
When a total NBA BUST like Kendall Marshall of the Suns can come in and pick up a head of steam against Bev's slow defense and nonexistent offense, there is a big problem. It infuriates me that a guy like Bev who has done NOTHING to show that he belongs in the NBA is in the league while there are D league nobodies like Scottie Reynolds who would literally play circles around Bev.
Beverly jumps around like a spastic chicken. He has made a fe great defensive plays, but he is no staring pg. Sadly it doesn't matter way we think. McHale loves him. The one time I really enjoyed watching him was when he and Jeremy played together. I wish McHale would let Harden rest a little more often and play Jeremy and Bev together. Harden will get healthier and Jeremy can make the bench better.
Michael Terry, "[Lin's standing vertical] was good enough to out jump John Wall in one of their two jump balls in Summer League"
Recently, there have been many stunning examples of Lin beating out much taller guys, or players credited with high vertical, during jump balls. There were like 3-4 remarkable cases lately, but the player names don't come to mind immediately. Anyone remember?
All I can say is that Terrence Jones... I think it was him, had a layup a few games back where he hanged in the air and altered the positioning of the ball so that he could get past the defender. It was maybe the most remarkable layup I've ever seen. Had MJ did just what he did it would have lived on indefinitely in highlight reels. I'm not suggesting TJones has the vertical leap or skill MJ has: Obviously not. But that one layup was still beyond belief.
There are SEVERAL instances of Lin outjumping guys in game.
Lin beat 7'3" Hamed Haddadi on a jump ball. That's the most dramatic example.
Lin also jumped with Shawn "The Matrix" Marion. Marion was called "The Matrix" because he elevates so high, seemingly in slow motion sometimes.
Every game, Lin makes at least one Michael Jordan style reverse layup in which he goes up, double clutches in the air, and lays it in gently. Now Lin's also doing the "George Gervin" by finger rolling over the league's best shotblocker. It amazes me that even on this fansite, nobody other than me notices Lin making these JORDAN STYLE highlight moves every game.
When Lin was making moves like these in college against the best teams, this is why I knew he had bona fide NBA All Star athleticism before Linsanity even starter.
Lin is very good at the reverse layup. I don't think Lin's vertical is outstanding even though it's solid. However, he uses what vertical leap he does have very effectively. but I think this underscores the nature of athletes. You don't have to have freak athleticism to be extremely good. Instead, you have to use what you do have extremely well.
Also, standing vertical testing or sprint testing do not simulate actual NBA jumping conditions.
It's just like how Larry Bird was slow in sprints and vertical leap but somehow managed to beat everyone down the floor and usually outjumped people for blocked shots and rebounds. I've always suspected that Bird would test out as a far superior athlete than people gave him credit for.
There are many guys who excel at athletic testing without NBA athletes banging on them. Then there are guys like Lin who skywalk in the lane and outquick the NBA's fastest guards and outjump 7'3" centers on jump balls. Lin routinely makes these elite athletic plays in the course of a game, and that's what counts.
random note: I just noticed that Jeremy Lin's career 3pt% (33.5%) is higher than Carmelo's 3pt% (33.3%).
ReplyDeleteWow, the biggest surprise was David Stern admitting there were racism and stereotypes in teams not drafting Jeremy Lin in the NBA.
ReplyDeleteI totally expected him to give a politically correct answer with many excuses.
Personally, I think for the NBA draft specifically, him being from Harvard (playing in a weak conference) was a bigger factor than him being Asian. There have been more Asian players in the NBA than Harvard grads.
DeleteIndirectly, I believe that race was a significant factor in his NBA draft because he did not receive any D1 basketball scholarships. So he went to Harvard, the only school that guaranteed him a spot on their team.
If Lin got a basketball scholarship to a school in a major or mid-major conference, I think he would have been drafted in the NBA because he would have gotten a lot more respect and credibility.
I forgot to mention: Basically, if you looked at Lin's high school performance without knowing he was Asian, he would have gotten major or mid-major scholarships.
DeleteHarvard was definitely a big factor being a small conference with weaker competition but teams also knew how he performed so well against Boston College and Connecticut (yes, small sample size) so it's just not just a case of Lin having an inflated number from playing in a weak conference.
DeleteDidn't the Lakers "promise" to draft him but that went nowhere? I'd say NBA teams knew they could get him on the cheap because noone else would have drafted him so why waste a draft pick on him.
Just like Houston (Les) was the only team extending a $25M offer to him and believed that he can sustain his level of performance (+marketing, of course) more than 25 games as a starter. Les definitely should get some credit.
I think being a loyal guy, Jeremy would remember this about Les when he decides to stay or leave Houston.
My point was if NBA teams are smart, they would've concluded Jeremy can consistently compete with players in the ranked schools like beating Boston College twice (#24 at one point) and dominating in the Connecticut loss.
DeleteConnecticut coach even admitted that Jeremy can play in any major conference after the game.
So there was a way to know that he can compete in the NBA but teams just wanted the safe route (Summer League) by not wasting a draft pick on him.
Even then, Jeremy only got ONE Summer League invite -- from the Mavs. I have to admit, I feel a little bad for Donnie Nelson. Part of me wishes Jeremy just spent rookie year in D-League and worked his way up.
DeleteWe wouldn't have had "Linsanity," but Jeremy's way too good NOT to succeed in Dallas. With the messy PG situation and a smart coach like Rick Carlisle, I guarantee you Jeremy would be starting for the Mavs and leading them to the 5th seed right now.
Oh well. The past is past. If he keeps up his health and aggressive play...he'll do great here in Houston too...eventually.
Great point Zxcvb. I could've lived without Linsanity and everybody bitching about how he is overhyped and not as good as XYZ player had Jeremy stayed on the Mavs and slowly earned his PT.
DeleteAnother thing about Linsanity, Jeremy could have given the same answer of his move to Houston, "You know, I think everything happened the way it was supposed to."
DeleteI truly believe Linsanity had to happen the way it was in NY because only then, it would have the world-wide impact to inspire millions of people and he can tell his stories of how God uses his life struggle to give hope for many.
What an amazing humble young man to be able to see God's plan to use his life to inspire others. I bet Melo and Dolan watched this and breathed a sigh of relief that Jeremy Lin didn't badmouth them :) Classy act!
psalm234 said, "Wow, the biggest surprise was David Stern admitting there were racism and stereotypes in teams not drafting Jeremy Lin in the NBA."
DeleteI disagree; Stern didn't admit to anything. If you listen to the exchange, he actually just nods acknowledgement to Charlie Rose's suggestion that Lin's not being drafted was related to his "background." That term, "background," is much broader than race. Stern says that being from Harvard was a factor in what Rose sums up--rather vaguely--as Lin's "background."
The interviews in that segment are actually a case study of how to talk AROUND the word racism. No one uses the word -- which is fair, because it is so loaded in America. There isn't really any substantive discussion, but a carefully orchestrated dance around the topic.
DeleteCoded language--as it is used in political campaigns--is a way of speaking to one's target demographic without alienating the larger public. That is exactly what is going on in that segment: people who want to read into the segment as actually talking about race can project what they want to hear into it, and people who feel uncomfortable with the topic are left unoffended because the topic isn't discussed in any meaningful detail.
A perfect example of not making anyone uncomfortable: the racial epithets that Lin heard, not a single one is cited on record in the interviews. I am not saying that Lin SHOULD have gone into detail about it, but just pointing out how weak and tame the segment is.
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DeleteOccupati0, I don't think it was necessarily a dance-around the topic by David Stern.
DeleteI think it was a brilliantly prepared direct response to agree there was discrimination because he is Asian-American without using inciting words like "racism".
Check out the CBS transcript below:
What did bother him was that after leading the Harvard team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals, not one NBA team drafted him.
Charlie Rose: Do you think there was ever any discrimination against him because he was an Asian American?
David Stern: I think in the rawest sense the answer to that is yes. In terms of looking at somebody who comes out of-- I don't know whether he was discriminated against because he was at Harvard.
Charlie Rose: Yes.
David Stern: Or because he was Asian.
Charlie Rose: In other words, there's a kind of prejudgment about him. That he can't be that good because he didn't--
David Stern: Correct.
Charlie Rose: --he doesn't have the same background as others.
David Stern: Correct.
See how David Stern provided a direct answer to confirm Charlie Rose's question that there was indeed discrimination because he was Asian-American.
And he said he didn't know if there was discrimination because of his Harvard school but he was quite certain about the discrimination due to his Asian-American background.
He could have speculate more on the Harvard being a smaller weaker conference as the bigger reason than his Asian-American background but he didn't.
Simple, direct answer to confirm Charlie Rose's question. 60 Minutes did a great job of addressing the issue of discrimination without using the fighting words of "racism".
Even some of us offer the explanation of his Harvard school. Not David Stern. I give full credit to David Stern. I think Jeremy will appreciate his direct answer.
And David Stern was not talking about not getting college scholarship for the reason of discrimination.
Delete... I don't know whether he was discriminated against because he was at Harvard.
So he clearly talked about the discrimination in the NBA draft after Jeremy was at Harvard.
And my speculation of why David Stern provided a direct answer? Simple. It's good for the NBA. Ka-ching!
DeleteNBA teams would have some kind of "affirmative action" to give more chances to Asian-American or Chinese players so they won't look bad.
NBA is intentionally promoting Jeremy Lin to reach out to the millions of Chinese basketball players and fans.
David Stern is simply brilliant!
The Lakers were going to draft him, but they gambled on Devin Ebanks (currently in his 3rd year but not doing much for the Lakers) and Derek Caracter (got waived). Both those players did fairly well and were ranked in the Top 10 in the same Summer League that Jeremy played in. He probably would have never gotten playing time under Phil Jackson that first season though because Fisher and Blake were still on there too. Who knows what happens during the lock-out with Mike Brown.
DeleteLin did play in the D-League when he was with the Warriors, unless you mean just not have a NBA contract at all or be assigned by the Mavs. I don't know about that. I would say that first year with the Warriors, getting all that publicity made him ready for Linsanity.
Without Linsanity he doesn't get that $25 million contract. Also without that he doesn't get a shot at proving he's capable of being a NBA starter. Who knows how he would have turned out without Linsanity or if NBA teams would still have given him minutes to prove it like D'Antoni did.
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DeleteGood point, @The One.
DeleteLinsanity certainly provided a glimpse of what Lin was capable of in the right system to fully utilize his set of skills that Kobe said noone bothered to look for.
Without Linsanity, who knew how coaches would use Lin sparingly as a backup PG because of the "deceptive" lack of athleticism or inconsistent shooting?
Oh yeah, we're witnessing that somewhat in Houston.
And thanks for the info on the Lakers drafting them (with 43rd and 58th picks). I just learned that Ebanks' uncle grew up with Lamar Odom and he lived closed to Odom and Artest so that played a part in the drafting process
too short! I wish it's one hour long!
ReplyDeleteYou can watch the interview here. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50144360n
ReplyDeleteThx, Joanne. Here is live link to not copy & paste.
Deletehttp://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50144360n
Thanks!
DeleteThe video can't be seen outside the US. This is THE SCRIPT TO THE SEGMENT.
Delete[Oops, here's the YTube copy]
DeleteLINSANITY: JEREMY LIN'S RISE TO STARDOM
[Kate Su]
I believe this has the link to the full 13 min of CBS "60 Minutes" documentary of Lin so everyone can watch:
ReplyDeleteRecapo: "60 Minutes: Jeremy Lin Racism, Linsanity & Christian Faith"
or just go straight to the CBS link that Joanne posted.
DeleteA nice, light piece. Nothing too deep or controversial.
ReplyDeleteEspecially loved how Jeremy's pops took a shot at Stanford: "Harvard is a better school.."
Houston and its fans embracing Jeremy? I guess they haven't met Clutch or gone to his site - supposedly with its true, diehard Rox fans..
IMO, the biggest racist thing for Jeremy was him not getting a division 1 school scholarship offer coming out of high school.
But you really can't discount him coming out of IVY as a large reason for not being drafted, although being an asian player certainly didn't help either. Plus I don't think Harvard even made the NCAA tournament when he was there.
"You really can't discount him coming out of IVY as a large reason for not being drafted"
DeleteWell, that argument is kinda beside the point. As you said, racism was the reason he was "forced" to go to Harvard in the first place.
Also, both Damian Lilliard and Kenneth Faried are from low major conferences that were even WEAKER than the Ivy League...and they still got drafted first round. Lilliard didn't even have any amazing performances against big time schools like UConn -- he struggled against elite teams.
I don't think you can really combine those two "steps" in his life. I mean how many IVY league school players gets drafted into NBA? Whitman was great that year, allowing Cornell to go pretty far in the NCAA tournament. I don't think he even got drafted. Jeremy being an asian player made it even less likely. He didn't even get to showcase his skills in the postseason.
DeleteIf Lin had gone to Stanford/UCLA and then didn't get drafted, then I would blame racism as the only reason. But coming from Ivy, asian or not, it already puts him at a significant disadvantage. NBA teams just don't look to Ivy for their draft pick, PERIOD.
Athletic freaks like Faried do not have to come from a great school. Once you have the certain body type and athleticism, the teams are willing to take a chance
Lillard, don't know much about so can't comment - but he must've shown something.
Look, I am not saying that being asian didn;t matter. But being an Asian player from Ivy league school was a double whammy.
Lin high school team beat mater dei to win state championship. Mater Dei is a powerhouse school for sports. Heisman trophy winners (football) have come from that school. In the history of California basketball player of the year, Lin is the only one not to be offered a division I scholarship to play basketball.
DeleteGood point Lostology. Anyone who says JlLin as Asian American did not face racism just needs to be asked the question: Historically / statistically how many CA State Players of the Year who led their team to State Championships have not received a Divison 1 Scholarship? Only JLin. Why?
DeleteAnd Lin's not an athletic freak?
DeleteThe guy was one of the greatest players in Ivy League history and dominated against top players the way a 1st overall pick would.
They may be in weak conferences, but Morehead and Weber St are respected basketball schools, whereas Harvard is laughed at (slowly changing now). Since the invention of the shot clock, Lin is the only Harvard player to play in the NBA. Morehead has 6 players, Weber St has 9.
DeleteLillard and Faried got drafted despite playing in weak conferences because they had monster stats. Lillard was the 2nd highest scorer in the country with 24.5 ppg. Faried was the top rebounder in the country with 14.5 rpg, and he also got a lot of exposure in the tourney by upsetting Louisville.
Lin had solid all-around stats (16.4 ppg, 4.5 apg), but nowhere near enough to overcome the Harvard disadvantage. If Lin had 24 ppg or 7 apg at Harvard, he would have been drafted. If Lin had his stats at a more respected basketball school, he would have been drafted. If Lillard had 16.4 ppg, 4.5 apg playing at Harvard, Lillard wouldn't have been drafted either.
That's why I feel that race was not a direct factor for the NBA not drafting Lin. It was an indirect factor because I'm pretty sure if Lin wasn't Asian he would've had several D1 scholarships, but that's not the NBA's fault.
Real-dsb, those are my points exactly. Lin was not as impactful in college as some people think. Yeah, he had a few great games, but he was NOT one of the greatest Ivy player ever. Remember Harvard never made the NCAA's during Lin's 4 years there. I followed Cornell closely during that time, and I knew Lin was good but no one thought he was a future nba player. It wasn't like he was dominating the league like he was way above everyone else in the league. Just a good solid player.
DeleteBut not getting any scholarship offer after getting one of the highest accolades as a high school player in California was blatantly racist.
real-dsb, I agree with your assessment.
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DeleteThis just goes to show you that the way athletes blossom isn't equal across the board. Yes, Lin was very solid in college, but he's a far better player now. Many who dominate in college become mediocre NBA players. Talent isn't always easy to read. Though, with advanced stats, I suppose that may change.
DeleteAlso... Lin is very, very unselfish and so... this will also have an impact on his stats.
Interestingly... I think Lin himself said had he went to UCLA he wouldn't have made it to the NBA. Maybe because he wouldn't have shined enough to get the starting position? Whatever the case......
DeleteLillard also got invited to the Pre-Draft combine, which Lin never got a chance to go to. He only went to Portsmouth.
DeleteLillard had a near 40 inch vertical, at 39.5 and a 6'7.75" wingspan.
Guess who had the best agility score tho? JET CHANG!!! lol. Too bad he played Division II and wasn't a PG, since that's what Minnesota wanted him to play.
You guys are drinking the NBA Kool Aid that a guy has to average a certain number of points to be able to play in the NBA.
DeleteIt took me about 2 minutes of looking at Jeremy Lin's athleticism, skill set, and court sense to immediately know that he was a NBA player.
College basketball is littered with selfish scorers who shoot low percentages and do not help their teams win. There are also tons of freak athletes, many of whom are not black. And the vast majority of these players are completely unsuitable for playing winning NBA basketball.
Jeremy Lin played winning basketball in college despite having a weak team. He carried that team night after night on both ends of the court. And I don't buy you guys' argument that he didn't do enough statistically because he dominated in so many areas while playing team basketball. Even Ed Weiland made the mistake of saying that Lin's scoring needed to be higher.
KHuang, no, what we are saying is that a player needs to put up incredible numbers to be recognized by the NBA teams as a potential draft pick. That's the reality of the situation. One thing Jeremy could've done, perhaps, to raise his stocks was to play in the NCAA tourney and have a chance to showcase his skills in the national spotlight.
DeleteWhatever the case, the nba teams simply do not typically look to Ivys to find their mext draft pick. That will never change.
Where is Jet Chang now?
DeleteReally nice to see him a little more established, answering the questions with the emotions underneath. 60 mins is sometimes 18 months behind stories, like about the high tech behind the Iranian centrifuge hack by intelligence agencies (it was all over the web to any one who searched), but it's still nice to get the emotion under the answers. I really like seeing Lin 1 yr older. Haven't really seen him in this mode since the Linsanity post games. What a great guy. Just lucky the world has a guy like him to inspire kids and oldies alike.
ReplyDeleteNice job of Lin answering questions. Answered question about being with Houston really well. Kid continues to shine brightly.
ReplyDeleteHe is becoming a top 5 point guard as we speak.
Who do you think is the other four?
DeleteIf the Knicks win the NBA championship this year.... Will that be the final end of Linsanity?
ReplyDeleteplease explain...
DeleteLinsanity from his time with the Knicks and people questioning if he was OVERRATED.
DeleteLinsanity 2.0 IMO is him proving all the doubters that he's not an average marginal player that people like SAS proclaims him to be. If he comes back in the future and becomes a deserving All-star and helps lead his team to more success, there's a whole new story. It would give him another chance for the media to say he misjudged again.
Knicks aren't winning the NBA championship this year. They're on a hot streak but Carmelo is not going to carry them forever. All the other players surrounding Melo are "feast or famine" types and they're feasting NOW. We'll see about later.
DeleteDitto. Just because the Knicks beat OKC today doesn't mean now they are a lock. They are definitely gonna compete, but they are too old and fragile minded to go all the way. And they are too dependent on Melo for scoring... No one can keep that up.
DeleteThe Knicks *STARTERS* aren't that old. What the media says about them being "the oldest team" is misleading. It has dawned on me only recently (duh) that only the Knicks backups are old; their starters are all in their prime, albeit at the tail end (only Kidd was old, but he got moved to the bench some time ago). They have been on a roll since the KMart signing, but I don't expect them to go past the 2nd round.
DeleteThe Lakers starters are the OLDEST in the league and they don't have a good bench like the Spurs, which is peppered with expensive players (the Lakers salary is grossly front heavy). The Nuggets have apparently emulated the Spurs in incorporating top notch players to the bench. A great contingency plan.
I enjoyed the 60 min piece, as well as the Linsanity doc. Both were very entertaining and inspiring. I have to admit, though I did like it, I had hoped for more from Linsanity. It was fun to watch Jeremy's journey as he overcame tremendous adversity to achieve the American dream, but the aftermath of his meteoric rise is just as interesting yet the film makers didn't go there. It has been acknowledged widely that Jeremy's effect on the industry of basketball was huge. Not only did he secure the Knicks playoff position last year, but he brought new worldwide audiences to the NBA. The curious thing is why does this talented, intelligent, spiritual, and humble young athlete engender so much love, AND so much HATE? Why are people so willing and quick to write him off as a no talent flash in the pan? After he saved the Knick team from ruin last year, why does he constantly have to prove himself? Why do so many people want to see him fail? If he were like any other young point guard in the league, he would be allowed to grow and develop with support and trust from his coaches and team mates. Jeremy has even had to deal with a coaching staff that treats him like a role player with limited capacity rather than a team foundation piece. Interviewing anti-fans from sites like clutch and the Rockets FB page, would be an interesting addition to a documentary about Jeremy's life. He is not a person that had his career handed to him on a silver platter. He fought every step of the way, and yet there is a jealousy and bitterness that these haters are consumed with that is unfathomable. Finally, how has this fame effected Jeremy's life and what source of strength does he rely on to overcome the many obstacles he still faces. Those are topics I wish the movie addressed more as well. If you get a chance, see Linsanity in any case. As a Lin fan, you will adore it. It is a love letter to all of us who admire and support Jeremy. Maybe someone will shoot a part two someday, Linsanity and Beyond! :)
ReplyDeleteGood points. He continues to battle daily. I think the Linsanity documentary really captures a lot more of what went on. Obviously, he still has to prove himself above and beyond to coaches, every game. But yeah, the aftermath and this year he has battled more playing adversity, which in many ways rivals and is tougher than before(considering he is the unquestioned started and still gets benched often).
DeleteWatch the documentary in a theater if you can. It is unreal. Especially when they show him in the midst of Linsanity - it is chilling.
I also like how his parents, both mom and dad are realistic.
Because Lin disrupts the status quo. Most blacks and some whites are threatened because they compose the vast majority of ethicities in the NBA.
DeleteSports are live and you can't edit it to force an agenda.
Unfortunately, that is the state of media/society these days. The cycle is that the media hypes something up to extreme heights, society rides the hype/bandwagon to its peak, which is followed by an extreme backlash, and the media moves on to the next viral thing.
DeleteI think "Linsanity" was necessary for NBA coaches and media to wake up and recognize Lin's potential, otherwise Lin may have never overcome coaches' prejudices to ever become a starter, no matter how hard he worked and performed.
However, I do feel that "Linsanity" should be put to rest now that it has served it usefulness. It would be nice if Lin could just play his game and not be given any special treatment or extra backlash from "Linsanity".
Rose,
DeleteLike any other pioneer in sports or business, the establishment simply doesn't like changes.
NY players were threatened by this Asian-American player who became the talk of the Big Apple. Everyone wanted a piece of Jeremy Lin to show him up.
But David Stern is in the business of promoting changes for the good of the NBA growth in China and the world. That's why he embraced the change and agreed that Jeremy was discriminated because he was Asian-American.
Kudos to him!
1. Melo is not going to give the spotlight to Lin. He may tried to talk like he didn't want to, but the truth is he came to NY wanting to be the SUPERSTAR. We all know deep down inside he doesn't want Lin to be that in NY. The Mecca of Basketball and Melo's hometown.
Delete2. Yes, Blacks like Stephen A Smith do not want Lin to succeed. He's very pro-Black.
3. We may not admit it, but there's a lot of Lin fans especially on the internet and a lot are predominantly Asian. A lot of NBa fans were jealous that Yao Ming got voted into the All-Star game so many times, so any time a Chinese player or Chinese-American gets the spotlight, the fear and jealousy is that they will get unfair treatment like get voted into the All-star game. Linsanity made them completely jealous because they couldn't stand hearing about another ASIAN dude getting the spotlight. That's the truth.
I agree the 60 minutes piece was too brief and didn't really get into more interesting issues. The only similar thing to Linsanity I experienced in my own lifetime is when the Korean World Cup Soccer Team made it to semifinals in World Cup Soccer, and I happen to be in Korea. Coach Hiddink and the Korean National Soccer Team members achieved hero status. I happen to believe Lin will go on to do a lot of great things in his life, just because of his character.
DeleteAny comments on your lack of vision...Trent Johnson? I think your the last few years at Stanford, you lacked an effective PG.
ReplyDeleteWhy Trent Johnson?
DeleteTRENT JOHNSON
DeleteMany thanks via!
DeleteFound the video on Youtube:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQDdNXEsxVg
Lin's teammate on Knicks, Landry Fields, played basketball in California. Fields got a scholarship from Stanfond and got drafted 39th overall by the knicks. They are both from the same graduating class. Stanford needing a point guard gave a scholarship to Fields instead.
ReplyDeleteStanford gave scholarships to Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Landry Fields, and Da`Veed Dildy.
ReplyDeleteLin could have went to UC Berkeley instead. They had Jerome Randle and Nikola Knezevic (Serbia), who was there for 4 years and averaged only 1.9 PPG.
I thought it was very subtle in the message but clear. His parenents for me did a great job to relating to the humanity of the issue as many of us are parents as well
ReplyDeleteIf you accept that Stern and his successor want to use Lin to market the NBA in China and Asia, then the whole conspiracy theory about how NBA officiating is rigged from the top goes out the window.
ReplyDeleteIf Stern and top management actually exerted real control over how individual players or teams are officiated, then it certainly doesn't show with Lin. His is a magnet for phantom calls on defense, and no-calls on offense. Didn't Stern get the memo: keep this guy you supposedly value healthy. Oh, and if you want to inflate someone's stat sheet, give him the calls that stars get.
If one believes the league's top management can exert influence on refs, then I don't see how that idea can be reconciled with the unfavorable treatment that Lin receives from refs, despite his obvious marketing value for the NBA.
DeleteYet, given the marketing stakes, it seems strange to me that top management does so little to intervene.
logical fallacy. lin, despite his lack of getting proper calls, is already a marketing bonanza.
Deletethe fakers on the other hand, do need rigged calls in order to garner heavy ratings during the playoffs.
also, proof the league is rigged:
Deletefakers vs kings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdOe4IxIvo0
not to mention convicted referee donaghy's admission of a rigged league.
Certainly Donaghy was not an isolated case, and I do believe some games are rigged for gambling reasons, but that is NOT the same as saying that rigging comes from top management during the regular season. (Playoffs on the other hand...)
DeleteThe Donaghy case is about rigging connected to the mafia and gambling; it is NOT about rigging coming from top league management. One does not prove the other. Those are two separate things.
DeleteI've been following the NBA too long to know that it's NOT rigged.
DeleteOccupati0, you don't understand that David Stern is nothing more than the mouthpiece for the NBA. The real power are the owners that pay David Stern his salary.
Just like David Stern says that there is zero problem with performance enhancing drugs in the NBA, him saying that there is racism in the NBA is not going to stop racist refs from protecting franchises like the Lakers by letting players bash Lin illegally.
Yeah, the OWNERS (i.e., the guys with the money) are the real powers behind the NBA, not their flunky David Stern.
DeleteThis is no different from pro sports in general like the NFL and MLB.
@Khuang and anyone else who can help me out -
ReplyDeleteWhich player do you prefer at PF for the rest of the season & playoffs, and why?
Greg Smith at this point.
DeleteI prefer power forwards to have POWER.
I myself would often rather start an unskilled muscle brute like Smith than a skilled softie like Motiejeunas or a jumping jack straw man like Jones or Robinson, especially since the Rockets don't need Greg Smith to create offensively for others.
I like Greg Smith too but I wouldn't say he's unskilled. He has the best touch around the basketball among all the big for the Rockets and plus he's free throw shooting is really coming around lately.
DeleteI would also say Greg Smith due to his ability to finish around the basket indicated by his high FG%. But he is quick to get into foul trouble on defense so he will not get a lot of playing time.
DeleteAnd although he lacked experience, TJones surprisingly emerged as a candidate for both physical PF with his superb athleticism (better than TRob) and stretch PF with his 3PT shooting! Why did McHale not try him sooner was a travesty.
DMo shouldn't be a starter at this point because he lacked confidence. Make him 2nd or 3rd string backup depending on matchup to regain aggressiveness.
This make it quite apparent that JLin didn't get a scholarship due to being Asian American:
ReplyDelete2006 Cal-Hi Sports All-State First Team
Scholarship Offers:
First Team
Jeremy Lin: No
Ryan Anderson: Yes, UC Berkeley
James Harden: Yes, Arizona State
Taylor King: Yes, Duke
Chase Budinger: Yes, University of Arizona
James Keefe: Yes, UCLA
Tre'Von Willis: Yes, UNLV
De'Shon Jackson: Yes, Univeristy of San Diego
Adrian Oliver: Yes, University of Washington
Alex Stepheson: Yes, University of North Carolina
Second Team
Landry Fields: Yes, Stanford
Third Team
Russel Westbrook; Yes, UCLA
http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/california/post/_/id/631/jeremy-lin-and-the-2006-all-state-team
Agreed. After all of the opinions about race/racism/discrimination and Lin giving his own opinion about his own personal experience, there are facts you cannot ignore. It all begins in high school. Looking at the above and the other award(s) Lin got, would he have gotten a scholarship if he were African American or White?
DeleteLed team to California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division II state title;
Named first-team All-State;
Named Northern California Division II Player of the Year;
Ended his senior year averaging 15.1 points, 7.1 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 5.0 steals.[17]
In other words, has there been anyone else who has achieved the above and not been offered a scholarship other than Lin? Whether race was THE factor or one factor, it was a factor, pure and simple. Stating a fact is not equivalent to complaining, especially when the interviewer is the one that asked the question.
Conclusion: Racism exists in America, and stereotypes permeate our society. End of story. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional, naive, or ignorant.
Some media outlets and people simply refuse to acknowledge it. Rather, they say, Lin got the contract and media attention because he is Asian American, and try to show that he benefited or got special treatment because he is Asian American. Lin got the money he probably would have gotten had things been different coming out of high school. The media attention had so many factors -- NY, underdog story, last man on the bench, Asian American, Harvard, etc. These are inextricably intertwined, but IMO the fact that it happened in NY probably made it the biggest story it could possibly be and they milked it for what it was worth. They all made money off of Lin's story.
And to those who say don't "complain" about racism. Well then, I guess we should never have had affirmative action and should stop "complaining" about racial profiling. The basic principle is the same -- certain treatment because of racial stereotypes.
Rant, over.
Ultimately, however, I too believe, everything happens for a reason and happens the way it was supposed to. Lin might not have become the player he is today had things been different coming out of high school.
There are talking heads who seem to imply that since JLin had supposedly benefited from being Asian American during Linsanity and onwards [ACCDG TO THEM], this should negate/ compensate for the blatant racism that shut him out in the past.
DeleteAs if racism could ever be acceptable [under any circumstances.]
* circumstance.
Delete"We need to save spots on the basketball team for black students because we already got too many over-achieving asian students getting high GPAs. This will help us uphold affirmative-action" - says the College Admission Officer.
DeletePeople seem to equate an athletic scholarship to free money at the expense of taxpayers. So the LOH are claiming that Lin complained about not getting free money for college.
ReplyDeleteHarvard and all Ivy League schools do not allow any athletic scholarships. What Jeremy really needed was a roster spot. That's all. And Harvard was the only school who offered him a guaranteed spot on the team.
He was not financially in need of money to attend college.
Yall are acting as if the 60 min segment actually added something new to the conversation. This stuff has been discussed to death already in Lin fandom.
ReplyDeleteThe only value of the segment was seeing kiddie Lin hooping in the vintage home videos.
Jeremy Lin's story is timeless. I can watch it again and again and it will just grow and grow on me. It will forever be something that I will never tire of talking about - to my kids and future grand kids. :)
DeleteJLin is such a gift to kids. :)
Delete[Wonder why it took so long for CBS to air it though...]
I know. This was old news in a way. I think someone mentioned that it had something to do with NCAA scheduling so 60 minutes aired it now?
DeleteHm I see.
DeletePICS - 60 MINUTES: LINSANITY
ReplyDeleteIan Begley @IanBegley
ReplyDelete@NYPost_Berman it was funny that 60 minutes' twitter feed referred 2 Lin as an ex-Knick instead of a Rocket. D Morey couldnt be happy w/that
9:27 PM - 7 Apr 13
it's amazing how bright and deep Lin's character is. to be so "soft, like water. to bend and not break". i can really identify with that. its only been 50 years since the repeal of the racist chinese immigration act by Lydon Johnson in the 1960s. the current generation of chinese immigrants dont really know about how the Toisan pioneers suffered in silence without family for a life time of lonliness. They've paid a high price for what we have today.
ReplyDeleteLin isn't doing this interview for himself, he is already well past that emotional state of anger. For someone so young to have reached such a state of grace is remarkable, more remarkable than even his all of his basketball skills. I can only think of people like Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela who has that type of aura of grace. I wish I can become so forgiving of others for their ignorance.
a counterpoint to Lin is Tiger Woods. As great an athlete Tiger is, he holds onto his anger
of his mistreatment as a black / Thai / multi racial person. one can only wonder if his incredible self inflicted public humiliation was not a freudian manifestation of that anger.
Lin allowed this interview to happen for the young chinese players following him so that they can have a better chance of getting a scholarship. Many will say that he is hyping
himself but i don't agree. Lin has never needed anyone's help to get to where he is. Irreguardless of what haters will say, Lin's credibility has alre
Lin's credibilty is already well established. they exist in hard facts, in his stats and historical records. these things already speak for themselves. linis now speaking for those to follow.
DeleteGreat post, Bob!
DeleteVery well said, Bob!
DeleteSome use anger and perceived slight like Tiger and MJ to fuel themselves to prove others wrong but Jeremy uses grace and forgiveness to build others up, thus making potential enemies such as Melo and Dolan to be friends.
Not a very easy thing to do although his God calls for forgiveness, I know many Christians can't let themselves forgive others.
Those who holds anger are like people who got stabbed in the arm with the knife but refused to take out the knife for the next 40-50 years. The hate and anger fuels them but at the same time they refuse to let go and forgive in order to heal.
Lin's character is already a Hall-of-Famer in my eyes because he uses his platform to help so many people.
I think I broke the replay button when I kept repeating that part where little Jeremy's saying,"turn it off, daddy."
ReplyDeleteI see the dream is evolving to imagine little Jeremy Lins running around :) Don't go there, IsabeliJane! There is no turning back :D haha
Delete@psalm-bahahahaha! if it can't be helped why not :) he likes kids and I have never seen a guy, in person or a celeb, who loves kids as much as he does
Deletelol, can't be helped. You really need to create your Youtube ping-pong challenge for when JLin visits Asia :) Wear a Lin mask if you're shy. Gotta channel the energy somehow. haha
DeleteWhatever. Everything worked out brilliantly in the end. Besides, "humble hero from Stanford" wouldn't have quite the same ring, not to mention resonance.
ReplyDeleteBeing from Harvard makes him even more removed from your average NBA jock. Everything about him is special.
E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKmGrUP60VE
ReplyDeleteA Fancam cached a argument between Grey Smith and Jame Harden than found Jeremy to do the judgement.
That scenes clearly show Jeremy Lin is the nature true leader of the team not Harden(or McFail)who always claim himself is the leader.
After Harden yelled to GS during Portland game last week, instead walk couple more steps to McFail to do the complain, GS walked to JL to complained about Harden. Haha... I really like what I saw.
Harden always put Greg Smith and Asik in foul trouble. If I were his teammate, I would be angry with him as well.
DeleteALPHA!
Deletethanks, alan!
DeleteGood to see Lin being a leader and a peacemaker (tapping on both GSmith and Harden).
I'm surprised Lin can do all those talking with his mouthguard :D
@psalm - he looks awkward with his mouth guard but he can still talk, and yes he's being fair to both the team's first option in scoring and the rookie. no taking of sides
Deletenice find. great to see that the Rockets can talk out their disagreements rather than blowing up at each other. they'll continue to build chemistry and be a stronger team!
DeleteBy the way, Rockets better win against Phoenix. The easy games left are two games against Phoenix and one against Sacramento. Rockets has to win two of these three games if they want to make it to playoffs.
ReplyDeleteI think they might be able to clinch tomorrow night with a win against pho and utah loss against okc that same night.
DeleteGS lost to utah last night so hou still in hunt for 6 seed.
According to John Hollinger, who has beaten Vegas the last two years and according to Pundit Tracker was the most accurate ESPN forecaster last year:
Deletehttp://blog.pundittracker.com/nba-pundits-2011-12-report-card/
...Houston has a 99.9% chance of making the play-offs:
http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds
In fact, his odds suggest Houston has a slightly better chance than Golden State of getting the 6th seed, so please don't pretend Houston is on a knife's edge and we should all be wringing our hands. Houston is a good team.
PHX have lost 6 straight road games [by an average of 19.0 pts.]
DeleteThat time that PHX beat HOU was perhaps the best they played all season as a team. It was anomalous. They are usually a misery to watch.
DeleteI sure hope so, 0ccupati0.
DeleteI have tickets to watch Phoenix vs Houston next week so I don't want the Suns having their best game against Houston again :(
thanks, Lydia :)
Deleteunfortunately, it would be hard to get autographs or good pics since I got cheaper tickets now :(
But I'll do my best!
Just hoping for a Linsanity game, that's all I ask. haha
An example of Lin's brand-new texting leadership. Harden prefers phone-call leadership.
ReplyDelete"Jeremy Lin builds team unity via texting"
“He texted me after almost every game, especially if I did good,” Jones said. “I texted him after his games, too, when I was down there. I talked to James (Harden) after almost every game. A lot of guys checked with me, but J-Lin especially. J-Lin was always texting everybody. J-Lin texted me every game pretty much every time I went down.
Nice read psalm. Thanks for sharing.
Deletesure, John :) Good to know that Feigen and Jason Friedman have been writing more positive JLin articles lately. You can tell they have good relationship with Lin from their post-game interviews.
DeleteI wonder what Lin and Royce's text conversations are like.
DeleteLin: Good game 2nite man
White: Games are just a illusion. The illusions to which my inner self thrives for the sake of being.
Lin: ok, have a good nite dude.
Copy it from CF site.
[Passing by and saw this...*shrug*]
DeleteBxx Vxxxxx @bxxxxxx
@Highway_30 hasnt done one of these retweeting sprees in a while...i kinda missed it #BeWell #cyclONEnation
5:41 PM - 7 Apr 13
Sxxxxxxxx_Mxxxxxxxxx @sxxxxxxxxxxxxx
@dxxxx_lxxxx @Highway_30 Roycy only acts out on twitter if there's a National, Local or Rockets story,,,, Jeremy Lin on 60 Minutes 2night
6:15 PM - 7 Apr 13
"Good to know that Feigen and Jason Friedman have been writing more positive JLin articles lately. You can tell they have good relationship with Lin from their post-game interviews."
Deletewhenever someone spends enough time with or observing Lin, they see the truth (great player and leader) rather than the "overhyped linsanity media machine"
word, real-dsb.
DeleteI'm sure Lin's made phone calls too. He spoke to Royce during his struggles and Machado/Lamb when Lamb got traded.
DeleteTJones highlighted that it was Lin, ESPECIALLY that reached out to him. Not Harden or anyone else.
I happen to just be looking at season stats today for jlin and many of the other PG's in the league. Looking at jlin's stats are very telling. You can see for yourself on espn the season splits and look at the FG%, 3p% and most telling is FGM vs FGA per 48. Someone like Russle Westbrook, who gets almost 11 more FGA PER 48 then jeremy, with less FG%. Even if the Rockets and Mchale is to stupid to see jeremy should be shooting more, another team won't ignore these stats if jlin can putt those numbers up next year as well. 11 more shots at 44% is in the 20pt+ range (depending on the shots). If the next team really builds jlin as one of the centerpieces I believe he can deliver some big numbers. Someone besides Houston will do that wait and see.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I'm intrested in jlin getting playoff experience. Next year he knows what to work on but if the Rockets don't have better utilization, or if they want a Chalmers for their team I hope they trade him. Looking at Chalmers numbers I almost have to laugh. Anyway, he's doing well for all the road blocks his stupid coache putts in his way.
Nothing new but a nice CBS interview with Morey confirming the app measuring JLin to have the most explosive acceleration since the measurement started 3-4 years ago for Houston.
ReplyDeleteThere goes the deceptively athletic argument for most Lin haters.
CBS: Rockets GM: Lin is "explosive"
April 8, 2013 9:35 AM
Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets, describes player Jeremy Lin as "the most explosive, accelerating athlete [the team has] ever measured." How does he know? There's an app for that.
One thing that bothers me is that everyone says that Lin has trouble staying in front of small, quick guards. It's my impression that everyone has that same trouble. But it's a reflex for people to say it about Lin, as if he has especially slow lateral speed. The problem for me is that first step is very highly correlated with lateral speed too. Without proof, I have no idea whose eye tests are more legit. Beverly had a ton of trouble staying in front of Fournier at Denver, but you're never going to see sports writers or forum commenters qualify their statements about Beverly's defense with, "he has trouble staying in front of fast guards". My intuition is that bias plays a role here, too. My only contradictory evidence is that Morey also said that Lin can't stay in front of the fastest guards, and he is in the best position to know if that's true or not, but he didn't explicitly compare him to other players. So, again, I feel like no one can stay in front of the fastest guards, so it's irritating to single him out.
DeleteLin not being able to stay in front of the fastest guards is just not true--pure buncum! Another racist lie by the anti-Lin media and even his GM. If you watched the Rox Nuggets game, the last one when Ty Lawson played, Lin shut him down cold and Lawson is one of the fastest guards. Ditto when the Rox last played the Thunder--Lin contained Westbrook. And Westbrook is jet speed.
DeleteI don't think Lin is that great laterally on defense based on my eye test, and I think it's clear I'm a huge Lin backer. I feel there are many people who are quicker laterally or "look" it, but Lin makes up for it because he tries harder on defense compared to 90 plus % of the other starting and backup PG's in the NBA. Also, Lin has strong instincts and understands generally the concept of team defense.
DeleteIt could also be Lin is par laterally but has difficulty avoiding getting picked off on screens, but really, who doesn't? But I remember Clyde lavishing praise on TD because Clyde said TD knew how to avoid getting screened off...so maybe it's not purely lateral athleticism but some defensive skills/ability that Lin is lacking to some extent.
Also, a lot of it has to do with Lin actually trying...guys who try will get burned (ie Alonzo Morning who was a legit shot blocker but got dunked on just as much). Also like Brandon Knight actually trying to play defense on D Jordan of the Clips and getting dunked on badly...guys like that are trying to play real defense....you will never see CP3 or Dwill type guys get crushed by a dunk like that because they don't even try because they don't want to be on a poster...but over time, defenders like Lin and Knight make a difference to their team and improve overall defensive numbers.
But really even if Lin isn't the best laterally, it doesn't mean he is a weak defender....defense is 90% effort and 10% anticipation, imho.
I don't think Lin is the most athletic defensive guard, nor the fastest lateral defender guard. But he is a darn good defender who can even defend bigger guys on limited possessions.
He can't put as much pressure on ball handlers as those pesky guards like Avery Bradley or even Beverly.
And it looks like he gets screened off a lot and also, when Lin runs back to close out on shooters, Lin doesn't have an elite vertical so he can't really affect those shots which almost always seem to go down against Lin.
To me, that's why the mainstream media, front offices, coaches, and fans say Lin stinks on D. And I think being Asian doesn't help because Asians aren't supposed to be athletic to those groups anyways...
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DeleteMichael Terry, very nice post. I think you're right. It's one of those statements that, by itself, without context or comparison with other plays, seems reasonable but when you think about it, really is rather meaningless. Insofar as it is true, it is true merely in a facile way.
DeleteIf short quick guards couldn't blow by many people, they would not be in the league. If Nate Robinson could not do that on most players, why would this midget be in the NBA?
We all saw Fournier get into the paint at will with Bev. Does that mean Bev's lateral quickness is notably bad? I don't know. I think a big factor is that he defended Fournier too tight, whereas Lin tends to give space to defend the dribble drive. TD also has the tendency to defend too tightly, and he defends too much using his arms/hands and not with his feet and positioning.
I think Lin positions himself really well. He's at the right spot, using the right angle, and he is very aware of where his own secondary help defenders are and positions himself accordingly. This isn't about athleticism though. (After seeing the Zach Lowe videos about 'ghost' players, I've been thinking about and looking out for player positioning in defense.)
btw, last night, I watched the OKC-Pacers game. Westbrook was just BLOWING BY George Hill, whose feet couldn't keep up. Also, Hill does not anticipate well what Westbrook will do. Also, Westbrook was just ABUSING Hill in the post, moving in the block at will. I thought to myself -- when Lin defends WB, WB looks uncomfortable out there, but he was just having his way with Hill.
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Delete@ swinglinezigzag
DeleteIsaiah Thomas exemplifies the short quick guard. But Lin shut him down in the last game, and took him out of his comfort zone. How do you explain that if Lin has unremarkable later quickness?
If we go with the hypothesis that Michael Terry proposed, that first step is correlated to lateral quickness, then we should expect that Lin's lateral quickness is much better than it was earlier in the season (since his knee and first step are much better now).
There is always a lag for people's preconceptions (in this case, the preconception that Lin lacks later quickness) to update even when the reality has actually changed.
I think you can be a good defender without top level lateral quickness...
DeleteLook, Lin is a great offensive player, yet he lacks elite vertical jumping ability. That doesn't mean Lin stinks on offense or can't finish.
So just because he doesn't have elite lateral quickness, which is pure conjecture on my part, doesn't mean Lin is not a good defender.
Lin is smart, anticipates well, and plays physically. He IS quick, but he does seem to have issues with screens but has gotten better through the season at running directly into screens like he was at the start of the year.
Lin is an excellent off ball gambler. That is where he shines in my opinion on defense. If I were his coach, I would trust him and allow him to gamble conservatively and use his instincts. His steals have gone down probably because he isn't allowed to freelance as much anymore in order to improve his stats when it comes to sticking to his man.
I do think Lin is also screwed by refs who cheat him on offense and defense, not calling driving fouls on offense, and calling ticky tack BS on Lin on defense.
I saw CP3 maim D Howard yesterday and steal the ball, but CP3 wasn't called for a thing. If that was Lin, it'd be a technical foul (I'm exaggerating but you get my point).
@ swinglinezigzag
DeleteThanks for responding. I didn't review the tape for the Houston-Kings game, but I do recall that Lin shadowed Thomas really well on several occasions when Thomas tried to penetrate. I saw no lack of lateral quickness there. However, I do think that being able to shadow well also involves (as you mention) the ability to anticipate which side and where the offensive player is going.
The point you bring up about Lin 'running into screens', I've heard this observation brought up many times on several boards. I don't have a fixed opinion or confident conclusion about this. I'll just throw out some observations out that do not tend strongly towards one conclusion or another
.
1. I think that Lin's footwork in working around screens could be better. Compare for example with how nimbly CP3 goes over screens. That's a high standard since I think CP3's footwork is as good as anyone's in the league.
2. My theory is that it is often part of the opposing team's plan to attack Lin using PnR (with the perception that he is a weak defender or the weak point in team's defense). That is perhaps why there is no shortage of illegal moving screens used on him (hips or elbows obstructing his pathway) which make his attempt to work through screens look more clumsy and ineffectual than other players. I'm not absolutely sure he gets substantially more moving picks on him than other PGs, that is just my perception. But if the game plan is to tire Lin out by forcing him to work through picks, it would not surprise me that opposing teams go through extra effort to cheat on picks by bumping him more than usual.
3. Does Lin's alleged problem of 'running into screens' really involve more ACTUAL collision than other PGs, or is this just an aesthetic issue? In other words, does he just look unpleasing the way he does it even though his method is not less effectual? (The criticism of Lin's handle is partly due to with expectations of what good handle is supposed to look like and Lin simply doesn't conform to that idea. Maybe that's also the case with his handling of screens.)
I am not convinced that he is actually slowed down more than other defenders when going over picks. However, I'm still on the fence about this. Also, Lin's handling of screens is better than last year's so let's not treat the data as fixed and constant.
Maybe JLin has trouble with the screens because he's rather large and bulky (especially his butt) so he collides with the screener rather than slip through that tight space between the screener and the opposing PG? LOL (I'm just throwing the idea out there since I'm not sure of the mechanics of the screens).
DeleteSometimes I see Beverley easily slip through in front of the screener even though there's a tight space. Beverley is a skinny guy.
I also find the "running into screens" argument extremely doubtful. I watch Lin against screens and then other guards against screens and I see no difference. Every team runs screens constantly for guards, and they do this for a good reason: They work fantastically! No one can go through someone else's body and a correctly run screen simply isn't defendable without a coached team defense. One player can't defend a screen. It sort of boggles my mind when people don't understand that there are dozens of pick and roll defensive coverages and that means team defense.
DeleteLin's running two footed vertical is possibly not elite, but his standing vertical probably is: It was good enough to out jump John Wall in one of their two jump balls in Summer League, despite that John Wall has a significant reach advantage. His one footed running vertical is at least on the edge of elite. You may be misled because Lin doesn't have as long a wingspan as players like John Wall, so he doesn't appear to dunk as easily. I'm still not convinced Lin's lateral quickness average, especially not for his size.
DeleteLin NEVER gets the benefit of calls when illegal moving screens get him.
DeleteWhen referees are trying to knock Lin out, a common tactic for them is tp call the foul against Lin when the screener is moving. I've even see the ballhandler HIT Lin into an illegal moving screen, which Lin gets called for.
There is no defender in the NBA who even comes close to Lin's defensive prowess. Not Avery Bradley, not Tony Allen, not Andre Iguodala, NO ONE. Even with refs cheating Lin, his league leading lateral quickness and hair trigger reaction time and unbeatable strength and flawless court sense make him the single best perimeter defender I have ever aeen in the NBA.
All players in any league should study Jeremy Lin defensive vdeos. Nobody can defend like Lin, and that's one of the reasons Lin's team always seems to win in the NBA even when refs are cheating him.
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DeleteMichael Terry, it has occurred to me that first step quickness might be correlated with lateral quickness, but I hadn't really pondered it until you brought it up. Some thoughts:
DeleteCounterexample: IMO, Shumpert's first step is average at best, but he is credited with good lateral quickness. If he beats his man and gets to the bucket, I think it is due more to his strength than his first-step. (His first step is blunted by what I consider to be inefficient footwork, but that's neither here nor there. It's more herky jerky than direct north-south.)
Also, would you say that Tony Allen and Avery Bradley have great lateral quickness? Allen does not have a good first step, and Bradley never struck me (I may be wrong) as having a quick first step either.
With my amateur understanding of anatomy and body mechanics, I'm inclined to think that first step and lateral quickness involve different muscle groups.
It would be interesting to compare whether lateral speed equates to forward speed. I have a feeling they differ. The reason I say this is because people who are slower than me forward are faster than me running backwards.
DeleteJeremy Lin @JLin7
ReplyDeleteWhoaaa 1,000,000 followers...THANKS to you guys!! Next up...lets get the beard man @JHarden13 there!
10:02 AM - 8 Apr 13
Harden appreciates the shoutout.
DeleteJames Harden @JHarden13
!!!!!!!!!!! RT @JLin7: Whoaaa 1,000,000 followers...THANKS to you guys!! Next up...lets get the beard man @JHarden13 there!
Since he pays attention to the # of twitter followers, perhaps we can help by following him after a game when he plays D. Then unfollow him after he disappears on D.
lydia, it's actually easy. We haven't had the need to follow him this season :)
DeleteB/R: Jeremy Lin's 60 Minutes Interview Points out Racial Discrimination in Basketball
ReplyDeleteFantastic piece on Jeremy Lin. Good to see him when he was young and his family. My heart swelled with pride to see how he overcame obstacles and remained humble. Thanks, Jeremy for being an inspiration to so many!
ReplyDelete"As the new breed of statistical analysts like to point out, a primary scorer using extra shots to get his points means fewer shots for others (and hence fewer chances for additional points for the team). Assists lead directly to points, and every rebound gives your team a possession, which means a chance to score. Durant, in short, is an efficient player whose numbers translate into wins for his club. The same is true for LeBron James, Chris Paul and Tim Duncan. But not for Carmelo Anthony. And that’s why, at a 2012-13 salary of $19.4 million, Anthony tops our list as the NBA’s most overpaid player."
ReplyDeleteRidiculous NBA Contracts
:)
IIRC, I read somewhere that advertising from Chinese companies Lin brings into Toyota Center can pay for about 1/2 of Houston Rockets roster (lower half of team's salaries).
Delete@ Joe, that advertising money goes to the league and is shared (I believe equally) among all the franchises. So it doesn't really make sense to say that Lin could pay for half the roster because the monies do not flow directly into Houston.
DeleteI think someone posted the First Take link of this before?
ReplyDeleteJeremy Lin Thinks Race Makes Him A Target On The Court
Stephen A. Smith, Rob Parker, Christian Fauria and Skip Bayless discuss Jeremy Lin's comments about race and how he is treated on the court.
Although the discussion that $25M/contract and not just skin color fuels other NBA players to target Lin is fair, I don't think they bring up the most important issue that it's not okay to chant racial epithets in college games or not giving a level playing field in getting D1 scholarship based on skin color.
At the end of the discussion, you get a feeling that Lin benefits from being in SI cover and getting $25M contract based on his skin color so the negatives of being on target on court is fair.
But they forgot to discuss the most important issue of having a level playing field in college for D1 scholarships as SAS correctly called it. It's conveniently left out of the conversation because there was no representation from Asian-American voices.
Lin represented more of a risk for scout to recommend for scholarship, because he did look different.
DeleteIf he were black, he would have been a safer diamond in the rough type risk for someone to give him a scholarship, if he ended up being a bust (career risk for scout recommending him). I think it's like the saying that nobody gets fired for buying Microsoft (company's IT buying person may be fully aware that what Microsoft is selling to total and utter crap, but it is a safe choice if he is just interested in protecting his own job, not what is truly best for company's money).
But part of the magic of Linsanity, in addition to his underdog story, is that he is Asian American, and he is being rewarded greatly now for the injustices that may have been done onto him in past.
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DeleteVery true, Joe.
DeleteFrom the risk/reward perspective, I hope Les and Houston Rockets will get rewarded for investing in Jeremy Lin.
And whether it's discrimination on Asian/Black/White or other races, I hope we all stand up to speak up to say it's not okay.
ESPN First Take had good discussion but missed sending the message that discrimination especially in college scholarship are not okay for all races/background.
ESPN 1st Take didn't miss the message. They didn't want to address the real subject matter at all at all...and they put in some pathetic talking heads, minus Skip Bayless who is white, who went on a rant about black Americans being taken for granted when it comes to bball without saying it directly.
DeleteIn essence, many black Americans, ballplayers & media alike, wanted Lin to be another Adam Morrison, another white hype bust, of which there were many.
They wanted to put Jimmer and Reddick in that boat too esp. since they were touted so highly in college when black America feels there are so many better black players who are never covered to the same extent...
Reddick is probably the only one in a while who fought through it all and has established himself at least as a solid rotational player in the NBA. The rest basically for one reason or another, are busts.
Look, I grew up playing with a lot of black players in Cali. I know about the perception of the white hype bust. I'm sure many of you have heard the stereotypical jokes of just picking the team with more black players on it and you'll be right...that kinda thing...
And when guys like Morrison end up being white-hype busts, it reinforces that notion to black America that this BS is horsesh*t. And that goes to part of Skip's point that the white hype busts find a lot of the same type of hostility that Lin found as he was growing up and now in the NBA to a lesser extent.
Problem is Lin isn't a white-hype bust, lucky for us Lin fans and unfortunately for the black proponents of the white-hype busts.
They want and hoped that Lin would turn out to be another form of the white-hype bust which usually always turns out to be the case. But Lin just isn't a willing participant because they've never seen anything like Lin - an Asian American with game and confidence.
And those talking heads are at a loss, as it will become apparent, come this playoffs, that Lin is quite the opposite of the white hype bust.
Yeah I posted in on a couple of posts back. Thanks for bringing it up again and making it more clear. You hit it in the spot where they left the main part out of Lin not getting a D1 scholarship.
DeleteThey just focused on what they thought was the positive rewards and consequences of him being Asian and forget to mention the negative aspects.
Anyways if you read what I wrote above and think back to Marc Lamont Hill's ridiculous article, you'll understand why he had the gall to write what he wrote.
DeleteHe, like his peers, mistakenly thought Lin was akin to the white hype bust. They thought Lin would be "exposed" this year but Lin turned out to be the real deal and now the jokes on them...
Lin is only going to get better and make us proud.
Thanks, swingline.
DeleteYou clarified their true agenda to equate Lin's contract to two guys (John Koncak having $13M undeserved contract > Bird/Magic/Jordan and another guy) who just happened to be white and turned out to be busts.
Thanks for posting it first, @Ety. It's clearly a hijacking attempt of the real discrimination issue by justifying the positive benefits of the discrimination.
It's like ignoring the message of African-American's slavery and cruel treatment of Native Americans in the US because they got some benefits through affirmative actions or casino restitution nowadays. Or bullying is ok when you got some money for restitution.
No matter what color it is, the message to discourage discrimination should not be omitted.
Good point swingline. I played BB with and against black players on the playground on recreational BB court during early 1980s. And there was a joke that when you pass to a Black player, the ball never comes back. As a result, when I got the ball, I always shot the ball as fast as I could, which led to our team losing most of times. But I didn't care because I rather lose with me shooting than someone else shooting. :)
DeleteI totally agree with your point swingline. Thanks for bringing that up. You're absolutely right!
Delete@eb5attorney
DeleteLOL...that still holds true to this day HAHAHAHAHA...
I usually demand the ball so I can run PG...then don't pass it to them unless I have to HAHAHAHA...
There's less passing the ball around in pick up games these days, so if you want to have some fun play some defense and shoot the ball first before passing LOL
That video was from earlier this year. I don't think it's a media response video to Lin's 60 minutes interview.
Delete@eb5attorney
DeleteWere you pulling a Harden ISO? lol
No, the only chance I had to shoot was before the ball went to certain players, i.e., black hole (no pun intended), so I had to shoot while I could. Otherwise, you just run for 30 minutes and have nothing to show for, especially when your friends or girls you like were watching. You know what I am saying. That's why I am all for Lin playing selfish. Screw a nice guy.
DeleteOne more thing. I know many races were discriminated and suffered, but IMO Native Americans got screwed upon most by the growth of the US. And there is some justice in casinos run by Native Americans taking revenge now days. :)
Deleteeb5, I can imagine you're doing your own Harden-ISO to impress girls :) haha
DeleteWhere I'm from (streets of NY), unselfish play was REWARDED.
DeleteI've never been a guy interested in personal glory, so I don't get offended if I'm not getting shots. All I cared about was my team getting the best shot, even if I had to set screens or pass off or space the court for that to happen. And ironically I have NEVER been ostracized on the basketball court, not even by black players.
Street basketball is different than organized basketball in that in streetball, a ballhog like Harden who shoots every time and doesn't play defense would be OSTRACIZED. If the Rockets were coachless, Lin would probably be the primary ballhandler and Harden would be his lead passing target.
I'm all for Lin continuing to play unselfishly. Since lin needs the help of his teammates to score (like ALL NBA players do), the right way to play is to do team basketball and shoot judiciously instead of selfishly.
Selfish players get rewarded by ostracization on the court. Even in the NBA, that's still true. That's why Lin should just keep playing his unselfish game, as the ball IS finding its way back to him.
eb5, I think there are good & bad, selfish and unselfish players of all races. I see ball hogs of all colors...
DeleteThere are 2 kinds of ballhogs at the open gym level - one kind can't score efficiently at all or any better than you but never passes, and the second kind can hit almost every shot he takes and never passes.
Most "ballhogs" of any race I have played with were simply limited players, of limited skill or athleticism or intelligence (whether that level be NBA or high school). Those guys who hog the ball at the rec park are usually scrubs on real courts so when they end up being the biggest and fastest or "best" player on a weaker Court, they hog the ball and shoot a lot because they know they have no game in reality deep down inside or couldn't make it at the highest levels they got to. They ball hog to feed their ego / low self esteem.
Unfortunately, the gym is filled with guys like that these days.
The few real high level players who were successes at whatever final level they got stuck playing at almost never hogged the ball in my experience. They were so freaking good they pass it a lot and take over only when the team needs them to do so. I once read somewhere James Singletary played in some LA open gym and badly ball hogged against some average Joe's & that's exactly my point - James was a NBA fringe player who was treated like a scrub at the NBA level so when he played against some real scrubs, he felt he needed to ball hog to validate himself.
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=236536&page=6
ReplyDeleteOriginally Posted by Clutch
If you're going to play the race card game, then let's be honest -- if Beverley was Asian and Lin wasn't, either Beverley would be starting or a large group of people would be calling for the heads of the "idiots" McHale/Sampson/Morey/Alexander for keeping him on the bench. You'd also be saying that race was a factor as to why Beverleysanity was overlooked by the NBA and forced to play in Russia. That's just reality.
Who's better really doesn't matter... they are different players. Truth is, there hasn't been much of a dropoff when turning to Beverley, which is why it's not a shock when McHale plays the hot hand and sticks with Bev on nights where he's contributing and Lin isn't (the only thing that doesn't make much sense is the reaction of some fans to it). Jeremy has good upside and may prove to be the much better player, that just hasn't been the case overall this year.
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DeleteI hated the post but I thought that was good to let other people see: even today on the own team’s fan base, the owner of the site wrote like this.
DeleteLin is still face the same thing. Nothing is changed...
Things are already changing. People who are skeptic about JLin's skills at the start of the season are starting turn around. However, there will always be doubters or haters. Usually the haters yell the loudest but eventually JLin's performance on the court will earn him more fans and collectively help drown out the noise. No one is loved 100% by others. All we can hope for is that there are more fans than haters.
DeleteOther than running an online forum, that person doesn't affect JLin in any way (as opposed to the opinion of Morey or the coaches) so it doesn't matter what he thinks. Other forum members are free to form their own opinions and some have called him out that his statement is wrong. There's no way that there's no drop off in play in the Rockets' offense if Beverley is subbed in for JLin. You can see that as recently as the Orlando game. And I don't hate Beverley. I think he's doing a good job being JLin's backup.
There are always going to be people who disagree on how good Lin is or will be, which is fine, because unless you are a LBJ or MJ, people are going to disagree. I don't think anyone (except perhaps 0.5% of NBA followers) think Lin is a scrub; therefore, this is an improvement. I think most NBA followers perceive Lin as a bona-fide NBA starter. Other than that, it's up to Lin to make his case by continued good performances. No NBA player has everything set up perfectly for him.
DeleteFor example, if we were to grade Lin for his play during this season, I would give a "B" (note Lin gave himself a "C" during some interview), but someone might give a "B+" or "A-". Some people might say "He's a decent player", some might say "He's a good player". Some might say "He's a very good player", etc.
DeleteBleedRed:
ReplyDeletehttp://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=236536&page=12
Anyways, my point isn't about Beverly its about how Lin is easily discounted as a player because of his race. And Clutch's post just proves my point, so even after what he did during Linsanity, even after helping this young team to an impressive record, after leading the team to good wins despite missing the team's best player, despite being the starting PG of the highest scoring team in the league, he STILL has to prove that he is better than his backup. Now we aren't even talking about if Beverly deserved the minutes when Lin was off, this is about how a lot of people including Clutch who is implying that Beverly is actually a better or at par player with Lin this year..... do you now get my point? I guess not.
I definitely agree with your point. I believe it's going to be like this for Lin for awhile or even for his whole lifetime. All we can do is to continue to support Lin, fight all the racists and haters with data, and believe in him.
DeleteLet's wait until playoff time and hope Lin continues to perform at a high level. I'm betting that he will bring his A+ game during playoffs.
Agreed. But I will believe that when Bev gets paid $25 Million USD for 3 years. Money talks.
Delete[OT]
ReplyDeleteKing’s players frustrated with Smart’s random rotations
Very interesting.
DeleteThanks Via. What IT and Evans said was pretty obvious.
DeleteDon't let any vocal but microscopic minority affect your editorial integrity, @via: Keep those links coming, every one! I really appreciate your efforts. :)
Delete"Microspic", ha, ha. Like 0.0001 percent. Via, your posts are one of the main reasons why I like this site, so definitely keep your links coming. I really appreciate your efforts and interest.
Delete"MIcroscopic".
Deleteall props to via!
Deleteidk how you do it but keep the fembot magic links coming :)
Thomas' complaints about, what I presume to be, TD getting his minutes during the 4th quarter -- this shows that TD is a master at stealing starter's minutes to close games! I'm joking, but just half-joking.
DeleteIt's amazing that a player can re-invent (or have to prove himself AGAIN) when he gets on a new team. As if coaching teams do not look at tape from previous games and seasons, and just let their performance during practice trump all else.
Thx for the encouragement, guys :)
DeleteCNM Jeremy Lin You Tube Channel is PhiSlammaJamma over at ClutchFans
ReplyDeleteInteresting comments about how he thinks Lin and Harden will hopefully develop into Stockton and Malone type situation (Lin is leader in that he is THE point guard, and Harden is the CLOSER), and also how Clutch can get a bit impatient at times with new members who are, perhaps, just a bit over-exuberant in their enthusiastic support of Jeremy).
Lin made the The point guard, not A point guard when 60 Minutes was taping, according to CNM Jeremy Lin You Tube Channel.
DeleteJLin is obviously the better PG with superior court vision. It all depends on the Rockets organization's ultimate decision to let JLin handle the ball most of the time or trade JLin for a shooter to pair with Harden (& let Harden become handle the PG duties).
DeleteI could see why Mac wants Bev to play in certain situations, against certain type of players. But I do not think Bev is a better shooter than Lin at this point, but I do think Bev can be a more effective defender against certain type of players.
DeletePatrick Beverley is one of the WORST defensive players I have ever seen in the NBA.
DeleteHis reaction time is at least a second slow, so he gets DESTROYED defensively. Whenever Beverley enters the game, the other team gains momentum because Beverley gets attacked. It's really bad when Bev is in with the guy who actively refuses to defend in James Harden.
There are so many point guards who are not drafted and aren't even in the D league that would be a zillion times better than Beverley. I predicted that he'd be a BUST in the NBA, and he's done wven worse than I thought. Even McHale and Morey force feeding him minutes at Lin's expense has only worsened his game impact, not made ot better.
People on this site are so mesmerized by his neevous hopping energy and hand waving. Quick physical motions do not necessarily mean quick reaction time, and let Bev be the example of how athleticism is UTTERLY USELESS in the NBA without court sense and reaction time to go with it.
Thanks, Joe.
DeleteOn this part of the vid, Paul brought up an interesting point that McHale might have started to realize that Lin is the better PG than Harden by benching Harden in the Denver game. And the Lin haters might get scared by this fact.
I'm not convinced yet because Harden might be benched in just 1 game due to his low energy, lack of O and no D in the Denver game.
But it will be interesting to watch if McHale truly has this realization.
KHuang, I have to disagree with you there. I just don't see why you say Bev's reaction is at least a second slow. He's not a bad defender. He does hop too much, but I can't blame him for his style of play. I actually think Bev played better than expected.
DeleteI am not mesmerized by Bev's nervous energy, so don't think I am influenced by Bev's hopping like a bunny all the time.
DeleteVery good, eb5attorney.
DeleteHowever, Bev is getting ROASTED defensively because he cannot anticipate where his opponent is going nor can recover quickly when moves do happen.
Every game, I see Bev just get torched on screens. His man doesn't necessarily score, but Bev is a human turnstile that doesn't even need tokens added to spin. This contributes to the Rockets defense breaking down, which is why the Rockets always get into trouble when Bev is playing.
Also, Bev simply doesn't have NBA offensive court sense or breakdown skills or reaction. He simply can't react fast enough when players flash to open spots, and that's why the offense stagnates when Lin leaves. Plus, Bev doesn't have enough game to go past his guy and wouldn't even know what to do if he did. This is why opponents feel no pressure when Bev is on offense.
When a total NBA BUST like Kendall Marshall of the Suns can come in and pick up a head of steam against Bev's slow defense and nonexistent offense, there is a big problem. It infuriates me that a guy like Bev who has done NOTHING to show that he belongs in the NBA is in the league while there are D league nobodies like Scottie Reynolds who would literally play circles around Bev.
Beverly jumps around like a spastic chicken. He has made a fe great defensive plays, but he is no staring
Deletepg. Sadly it doesn't matter way we think. McHale loves him. The one time I really enjoyed watching him was when he and Jeremy played together. I wish McHale would let Harden rest a little more often and play Jeremy and Bev together. Harden will get healthier and Jeremy can make the bench better.
Michael Terry, "[Lin's standing vertical] was good enough to out jump John Wall in one of their two jump balls in Summer League"
ReplyDeleteRecently, there have been many stunning examples of Lin beating out much taller guys, or players credited with high vertical, during jump balls. There were like 3-4 remarkable cases lately, but the player names don't come to mind immediately. Anyone remember?
All I can say is that Terrence Jones... I think it was him, had a layup a few games back where he hanged in the air and altered the positioning of the ball so that he could get past the defender. It was maybe the most remarkable layup I've ever seen. Had MJ did just what he did it would have lived on indefinitely in highlight reels. I'm not suggesting TJones has the vertical leap or skill MJ has: Obviously not. But that one layup was still beyond belief.
DeleteTJ is a serious badass. Yet, let rot on the bench for most of the season behind players like Morris.
DeleteThere are SEVERAL instances of Lin outjumping guys in game.
DeleteLin beat 7'3" Hamed Haddadi on a jump ball. That's the most dramatic example.
Lin also jumped with Shawn "The Matrix" Marion. Marion was called "The Matrix" because he elevates so high, seemingly in slow motion sometimes.
Every game, Lin makes at least one Michael Jordan style reverse layup in which he goes up, double clutches in the air, and lays it in gently. Now Lin's also doing the "George Gervin" by finger rolling over the league's best shotblocker. It amazes me that even on this fansite, nobody other than me notices Lin making these JORDAN STYLE highlight moves every game.
When Lin was making moves like these in college against the best teams, this is why I knew he had bona fide NBA All Star athleticism before Linsanity even starter.
Lin is very good at the reverse layup. I don't think Lin's vertical is outstanding even though it's solid. However, he uses what vertical leap he does have very effectively. but I think this underscores the nature of athletes. You don't have to have freak athleticism to be extremely good. Instead, you have to use what you do have extremely well.
DeleteAlso, standing vertical testing or sprint testing do not simulate actual NBA jumping conditions.
DeleteIt's just like how Larry Bird was slow in sprints and vertical leap but somehow managed to beat everyone down the floor and usually outjumped people for blocked shots and rebounds. I've always suspected that Bird would test out as a far superior athlete than people gave him credit for.
There are many guys who excel at athletic testing without NBA athletes banging on them. Then there are guys like Lin who skywalk in the lane and outquick the NBA's fastest guards and outjump 7'3" centers on jump balls. Lin routinely makes these elite athletic plays in the course of a game, and that's what counts.