[Culture Map] Jeremy Lin unchained: NBA discrimination could finally end with recent run

OMG three foreigners? I'm sure they suffer discrimination too. And they're white! Didn't you ever hear of that movie White Boys Can't Jump? I still have scars. Never saw it. But the title alone crushed my bball dreams.

 

The implication in the article and some of the posts is that the Rockets won those games because Lin played in the 4th quarter. Lin did nothing in the 4th quarter of the Clippers game (for example) that noticeably contributed to the win. Lin did not play in the 4th quarter of the Magic win. Lin played the last 8 minutes of the Kings win and essentially did nothing of note during that time (1-4 with 1 assist). Lin played the first 8 minutes of the 4th quarter in the Portland win which was essentially well in hand by then.

In their recent run of success (which the article speaks directly to), it is more telling that they played some lousy teams rather than Lin getting increased playing time.

Note that I am NOT discrediting Lin's importance to the team. He has played well. It is just an article that is looking for a solution to a problem that did not exist (at least based on the last 6 games).

 

invoking Mel Kiper to backup your argument is a surest way to be wrong.

It's all about my fellow BC Eagle, Mike Mayock!

 

But but but the writer made a not-so-clever allusion with oppressed NBA minority Jeremy Lin to a Tarantino blaxploitation film.

 

Culture map (which I have never heard of before) are clearly LOFs. That's 2 articles slurping Jeremy.

 

All I hear nowadays is how imporatant J O'Neal is to the Rockets nowadays.

 

It was more of a joke, but come on. Half the time I can't tell if he's trying to be funny, trolling, serious, or just full blown crazy. He's a character that we all know and love here.

 

The J isn't silent anymore now that Jeremy's hitting his jumper.

 

My whole point is that the ridiculous article seemingly credits the Rockets' 5-1 record over the past 6 games to Lin getting increased playing time. (Not to mention the implication that McHale is a racist for not playing Lin more). That is not the case.

It could be argued that the Rockets should not have needed Lin to even be in the game in the last 5 minutes against the Suns had he (and the rest of the team) played better the first 40 minutes against the worst team int he Western Conference.

 

A broken clock is right twice a day. Perhaps he realized his mistaken assessment of Watt (high character, not elite athlete) and is correcting it with Lin (high character, not elite athlete)

 

Djlingo unchained.

 

Asik > Lin
Asik less mins than Lin
Asik sits in favor of small ball in the 4th

Discrimination?!

 

Such an AoF..
I wonder if there is a Turkish community out there that is actually pissed at McHale also, thinking about it just now hahah

 

I've been through the wars on this one. Let me explain what others on CF (not you or I) think:

1. Yao is a foreigner, not American: American Asian fans don't identify with him.
2. Yao has "abnormal genes" (a real quote) and is not someone people with more normal genes identify with.
3. Singling out one exception (Yao) to show you are not racist is actually the mark of the true racist (like "I myself have a friend who's a Negro!"). By saying "We had that one guy," we actually prove how few Asian guys we have employed.

Nevertheless, I agree that Yao is Asian. So accusing the Rockets of being racist employers seems to be disproven by Yao. Yao was actually played too many minutes, not too few. We need some narrower type of discrimination to describe it: race mixed with size and nationality. . . .

 

I'm pretty sure he is saying that Lin's impact in the 4th isn't near as significant as the article suggests to credit wins to increased 4th quarter playing time for Lin.

Lin contributed in the 4th quarter the same way every other player would contribute by being on the court, and he definitely gets credit for playing well.

However, making the assertion that Lin playing more in the 4th is the reason the Rockets are winning is just blatant dishonesty, and a mere jab at McSmart's coaching pattern.

Lin played well in all those stretches of games, but his presence in the 4th quarter was never anything eye popping to warrant the wins to Lin playing in the 4th.

 

Lin's presence alone is a plus. Defenders can't really sag off of him as they do for Beverly which makes it much easier for Harden.

 

And I'm sure that if McHale had not benched Lin for that Mavs game in which he was playing so well to begin with, we would have won that too. So McHale seems to be learning.