Maybe, just maybe. The OP was being sarcastic? I do like to see players break out like this, just give them the right time and stuff like this will happen.
No one can honestly say he's had a fair shake. Give him a full season on a Western team that isn't Sac, and then I'll admit that he's a bust.
Yeah I got that Carl was being sarcastic, I guess my point was more about his performance compared to where he was drafted. Kinda like Anthony Bennett. Just because he finally had a couple decent games doesn't give him a pass for being terrible the rest of the year.
Nah. Lin is one of a kind. One of a kind in that in all my years of following the NBA he is the first player ever where nothing bad about his game is actually his fault at all. Rarest player in league history on that fact alone. Never to be duplicated.
Look at our very own D-Mo as a pertinent example of this. The guy looked like he had no place on an NBA team earlier this season, but consistent playing time mixed with an increase in confidence has turned him into a solid rotational player. I think for a lot of these "non-All-Star"-quality players, consistent minutes allow them to get acclimated to the speed of the game.
Jimmer has put up nice shooting percentages in the NBA, but he's not getting a lot of minutes. This year he's averaging just over 11 minutes per game. He's shooting almost 50% on 3 pointers this year -- leading the league. Remember, he was one of the best college players in his last two seasons at BYU, with PER ratings of over 30 both seasons.
Yup. Yup. And yup. You also have to make your teammates better, and make the whole city crazy, and be a global phenomenon. Good to see players getting a great game or a great story here and there, but Linsanity is a combination of many things, not just one person.
I would LOVE to have Jimmer. He isn't just a shooter, dude is a scorer. He definitely hasn't found his niche yet.
Jimmer was a first round draft pick and hyped. Lin was undrafted, no one even looked at him. But it was nice seeing Jimmer go off.
Jimmer has a bit of the Aaron Brooks/Steph Curry in him in terms of just being able to pull up from anywhere within 30 feet of the basket and jack off a shot that has a realistic chance of going in. Not really explosive but can get by a guy because you always have to close out on him. The question is which position he can defend. Rather slow to check PGs (other than Felton and Prigioni) and small for SG. I remember seeing him live at MSG 2 years ago (has to be almost to this day) when I went to a Knicks-Kings game during "Linsanity." He didn't really play much and the Kings lost. I thought that Jimmer must have thoght "Dude, Jeremy Lin stole my life! I'm supposed to be the underdog (i.e., non-black) phenom PG!"
Jimmer can be the modern day Steve Kerr. All he needs to do is survive long enough in the NBA for Lebron James and George Hill to team up and get on that team.
On the right team, Jimmer can be a superstar. Pure shooter point guards are the current fad in the NBA, like Curry, Irving, and Lillard. They don't need to do much else but knock down a lot of jumpshots. Defense, passing, and attacking the rim are non essential.