Is Jeremy Lin's race still a handicap? (rational responses only please)

I think it's very dangerous and unfair to suggest race plays any role in McHale's decision making.

 

Racism may not be a part of anything, cuz I guess it doesn't exist in our country anymore (I missed the newsflash) but ignorance and bias does. Lin's been called in this thread mediocre, average at best, 4th best player on our team at best. People equate Lin with a 3 week pickup from Russia, and diss him like it's the thing to do. No wonder you don't like him, you don't even think he's much better than a rookie picked up from Russia with a few weeks of expericence in the NBA. And before that, in your eyes, Toney Douglas was playing better than Lin too. And I'll bet everyone of you guys (the same guys) will think AB is better than Lin too. Isn't it pretty clear that your logic has been compromised? Can you not see that Lin has been shooting around 50% from 3 in the past month and a half! Of course not, he can't shoot.

Do you realize that most NBA forums (I frequent a looot of them) think Lin is slow, that he's just here for the Chinese sponsors, and that he gets owned by everyone and shouldn't be a starter? Is that what you really see? Is Lin getting blown out by every guard that we meet while not doing any damage of his own? His game is right in front of your eyes, how the hell do you not recognize game?? smh. Have any of you guys played ball before??? He affects the game in so many ways.

This team is so talented like you wouldn't believe. Asik, Parsons, Lin. All these guys are vastly underrated. Harden is a bona fide superstar. And most of you think Harden, as good as he is, is dragging this lottery team to the playoffs. Ridiculous. When you play basketball, do you not recognize who has game right away? How can you not recognize what Lin brings on the court offensively AND defensively? That's why I get so upset. It's right there for you to see! Jesus H. Ignorant Christ!!

 

Some blacks are the biggest fans of Lin, buddy.

 

"Players came at me extra hard becuz I'm asian, so I brought my skills to the CBA."

 

Agreed
As I said on the prior page, most of his millions of fans aren't Asian, as irrational haters like to falsely claim or think

 

Ahh the old "if we act like it doesn't exist, it'll go away...people bringing it up are making it worse!" view. I don't understand how people can be so naive.

 

I think there's a couple issues that are getting muddled here

1. Has Jeremy Lin faced discrimination/judgment due to being Asian in a largely African American sport?

2. Is McHale racist in not playing Lin at the end of games.

The answer to #1 is a clear, hell yes. It's clear that Lin wasn't given the chances that others of similar performance (and different skin color) were. Many people assume that an Asian (or whites for that matter) don't have the same "potential" as an African American basketball player, even despite results on the court. That assumption may or may not be malicious or racist, but more of a conditioned response since most of the league is black and that's what people are used to seeing.

I think Morey and also Rick Smith of the Texans are capitalizing on this inherent bias that people have. They're getting non-black players who can perform at a lower point in the draft or through free agency. Just look at JJ Watt, Owen Daniels, Brian Cushing, Brooks Reid, Chandler Parsons, and Omer Asik.

The answer to point number 2 is hard to prove or disprove. If McHale were making racist decisions then why does Lin get ANY playing time? It's not like the beginning of a game isn't important, also.

 

This reminds me of the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Larry goes on a tangent about how people always preface a offensive statement with "Promise me you wont get offended when I tell you this....."

Racism in Basketball is such a moot point because time has shown that basketball players (and athletes in general for the most part) just want to win. If you can play, I want you on my team. However, you do have to prove yourself... but that goes beyond color.

Im not saying there is no stereotypical judgement before you pick your team in a pickup game because it is natural to stereotype when you just DONT KNOW. You only have the outside shell to judge off of, but once you know the skills that person has to help you win, its a moot point. I want the guy that can help me win because right now, that's the most important thing to me as a competitor.

Also, Im not saying Racism doesn't exist(because it sure does, and is still a huge problem in this country), but there is something great about the game of basketball to unite so many different types of people under one common goal(blah blah... I know, its cheesy).

-(Story time)- I know firsthand growing up in south Houston as a average height white guy. I knew when I went to the rec the first time, and joined a pickup game, I was probably wasn't going to get picked first. However, I made damn sure that I made my mark on that game, and when total strangers started refering to me as Dirk... I knew I wasn't getting picked late again with this crew.

In professional sports, it shouldn't be this difficult to prove yourself night in and night out. These guys play together every day, and are like a big family. Probably disfunctional at times, but I guarantee you on a basketball team in this situation, at this level.... Race should play no part in basketball decisions... even subliminally. The only thing going on in McHale's mind in the 4th quarter when the team is down 2 points should be.... who can help me win this game.

 

Yes, I have African American colleagues in the office (NYC) still following him regularly. Even at the time Felton and Kidd were playing much better and Knicks were winning, they still said they missed Lin, coz he's different. He brought different atmosphere to the team and MSG. What they liked him most? They said it's his humbleness and team-win first attitude, AND his journey of overcoming all the adversity.

 

Not anymore than Yao's, and Yao wasn't even an American.

 

You should know by now that there is no subject on a board this big that everyone can agree on. It looks to me like he has a lot of trust in Lin and thinks he can ball. If he didn't, Douglas could have started, or Beverley or Brooks now. Just because he goes with a back-up who's hot to close the game doesn't mean he doesn't trust Lin. I won't bother with the rest of it, since we can't agree on the preamble, except to say that Lin obviously did get passed over for racial discrimination in the past (though in his recent past, coming out of Harvard was probably a much bigger strike than being Asian), but he's acquitted himself this year by showing he's still starter material outside of Linsanity, and I don't think he'll suffer as much going forward. Least of all from his own team.

 

How many times this season has Lin's backup gotten more minutes than him?

 

Your choices are:

1) but...

2) I have a friend who's...

 

McHale's not racist any more than any of us are. I can confidently tell you that right now. But (!!) he clearly does have a mental block when it comes to Lin, and what he wants from Lin is to be a role player which even if he did it well, you know you guys would be hating on him. It's like everything Lin does is like a thorn in his eye. He doesn't want any kind of Lin initiated offense at all, as we should have as much plays from Harden as possible, not seeing that there has to be various sets for us to run, not just pass pass and then give it Harden.

Even the haters here must recognize that an aggressive Lin is good for us, that's how compromised McHale is! In summary, Mchale's not racist, he just wants Lin to be a role player in the vein of Chalmers, but the vast majority of people here would not. That's why Mchale's presence is anathema to so many fans of Lin.

 

Lets put it this way... How come there wasn't a rush of fandom for Yi Jianlian in dallas?

 

You know the guy had over a million votes for the all-star right?

 

Link please.

 

You're going to defend mchale by that qualification?

Bev played 23 to Lin's 25 mins and Bev played 15 straight mins from the 3rd to the 4th to end the game in a loss and zero points for the game. If the situation was reversed, could you imagine the hate Lin would have gotten from "true Rox fans" afterwards who cares about the "team's success first"?

 

http://www.insidehoops.com/all-star-voting-results.shtml

 

David Hardisty was just on the radio saying Beverly is just as good, if not better than Lin in every aspect.

A PERFECT example of the deja vu unintentional prejudice Lin has experienced at every single stage of his life.

Confirmation bias is a funny thing. You look for things to support your bias and preconceived notions, and discount the things that go against this. You forget all the good plays and good games, and selectively remember the bad plays and bad games.