I rarely post as I just enjoy watching basketball but I've never felt a need to discuss it on forums and stuff... But yea, I've found myself doing just that over the last week. As an Asian-Canadian, it is inspiring to see a story like Lin happen. Not one div1 school offered him a scholarship, he goes undrafted, he gets cut by 2 teams, and he's sent to the d-league 4 times...AND he was a few days away from being cut by the Knicks. Being overlooked your entire life and then shining in the moment when an opportunity came to show your worth. It's a story a lot of people can relate to. It's a story a lot of Asian-born Americans/Canadians can relate to. And it's a completely different story from Yao... I loved Yao as an nba player and respected him for being a great ambassador but I never related to his story and neither did most CBC/ABC's (Canadian/American born chinese)... He's as different to us as an American is to a Frenchman. Spooner is looking at it from a one point of view. He's looking at whether his numbers alone justify all the story and hype. That's totally fine to do and it isn't wrong to do so. But the majority of people are looking at it from a different context and that's where all the hype is coming from. My 2c. Edit - That all said. I'll always root for the Rox... but at the same time, I will always root for inspirational individuals like Lin.
I didn't bring up flip or sessions. That was another poster. If you would read my posts you'll see I have said numerous times that I like Jeremy Lin. I'm just tired of Clutchfans being hijacked by Jeremy Lin. Not only in the Dish, but in the Garm as well. It is unwarranted. All I wanted to do was point out what should be fairly obvious. Claiming Lin will be a star at this point, as many of you have, is just mind blowing. And no, watching a potential top 10 pick slide into the late teens within a week is not fun. That doesn't seem to bother any one else though....
I said guards not point guards. I don't watch bucks and cavs, so I could be wrong about Sessions. The few games I watched him play he probably took many shots and that's probably where I got that impression from. Now, the Murry and Sessions comparisons have gotten thrown around here a lot, even by the cool kids. For that matter, add Brandon Jennings and Raymond Felton to the mix. So let's meet these comparisons with care and logic, and I will show you they are misplaced and irrelevant. First off, none of these guys, unlike Lin, had such a monstrous 5 game debut in the stints referred, and let alone led their teams to a perfect week. They couldn't even do that in their 3rd or 4th year with the help from their stars. Second, the closest stints that bear some semblance to what Lin has done was probably the 6 game stretch where Jennings scored 55 points in his first month of rookie season and led the bucks to a 5-1 record. However, unlike Lin, Jennings was a very well known talent before his debut, and he even played one year in Europe. So the surprise factor in his success stint is much less. Also don't forget, even though as much hyped as Lin's swirls this week nationwide beyond the basket world, Jennings' week referred to was very much talked about and hyped in the NBA. The others, the similarities are just much less. Sessions had a superb 3 - 4 game run in his 2nd year with the Bucks, but it was already 3 months into the season and he had played extensively for awhile. Besides, he had Bogut, Richard Jefferson, Vallinova etc on his side. Felton, I just couldn't find where he stringed a consecutive wins and scored 25+ on average with the Knicks and that was his 5th NBA season as the starter. Murray, ah, the similarity just not there. The facts just don't provide much muster to back up the point if looked at closely. And what exactly is the point? That Lin just like these guys will not be able to continue the level he is playing? Mind you, we are talking about different players with different skill sets and builds. I don't see how a few short stints of bursts shared by all of them will prove such a point. It is misplaced and illogical to prove that point. Is the point being that Lin got too much hype? Well, again, Lin's story is simply more amazing than all those guys, and I do not need to rehash it. Did Lin get a little bit more attention than he should even considering how amazing what he had done in the past week. I would say so. But these other guys short stints just don't prove such a point for their contexts were much different as shown. Thus, these coarse comparisons leave me the conclusion that I reached, and I admit it is a bit over-dramatic.
I didn't make the Sessions or Murray comparison. I just wanted to point out the fact that Sessions is not a shoot first point guard by any means. Having said that, it wouldn't be unrealistic to assume Lin becomes a better player than Sessions. It is true that Jennings was hyped a lot his rookie year. Today, he is far from a star in the league. Lin is getting even more hype considering his story.(Which is an incredible story.) But, it would be premature to make anything of it thus far. Calling him a star or a star in the making is just unwarranted right now. Again, I don't have an irrational hate of Jeremy Lin. Far from it. I'm just tired of the hundreds of threads about him all over the forum, and I'm tired of people discounting our own players so quickly. (If you remember, this all started with me trying to defend Dragic.) We are competing for 4th in the west midway through the season and all you see in the Rockets section of the forum are Jeremy Lin threads. As a fan of the Rockets, I have had a very intense interest in watching the Knicks lose. I have watched every Knicks game. Now that they have a solid point guard, things can change for the worst very quickly. We've gone from a top 10 pick to a late teen pick in a matter of a week, and Rockets fans are supposed to be happy about it? If Jeremy was on any other team, I would root for him. If he puts up great number on the Knicks it doesn't bother me nor should it. I just can't bring myself to root for him to win.
Make no mistake, many of us are happy for Lin because, as I will shamelessly, admit I am a Chinese. I started following Lin way before the past weeks. I am sure others have different reasons to root for him because he is such a an outstanding young man who transcends his ethinicity and religion. But, on the other hand, we are not delrious to call him an all star. Not yet. But that doesnt mean he will not be one one day. Thats the beef here. Sounds like your frustration should be channeled to the Morey regrets thread in the GARM. This is the Lin parade right here. j/k
My parents are from Greece. Naturally, I defended Spanoulis to the bitter end of his Rockets stint. lol. I was really hoping he would be a star, and he showed some considerable promise for a couple of games. Not even remotely the same, but I understand your sentiments. I just got irritated with all of the comparisons to our players so soon, and the few who say he is already a star. I also think Morey made the correct move here, its just that Lin was overlooked/would have never gotten time here. In fairness, Morey tried to trade Dragic already but it didnt work out. Is he or will he be as good or better than Dragic still remains to be seen. I'm definitely rooting for Lin next year, when he doesn't directly impact the Rockets. Even though I really don't like Melo/Amare.
I'm rooting for him because I'm Asian and he's Asian. No need to be ashamed about it. Need more positive stereotypes for my Asian people. Do it big Lin!
I pointed out how Lin gets numbers cuz he's playing with scrubs. He's the ONLY ONE with ANY HOPE of playmaking. He NEEDS to shoot. But its actually that he's WINNING with these guys thats crazy.
He is like the anti yao. Yao was born to two tall basketball players. He was bred for basketball. Lin was born to two short Taiwanese engineers. Yao was tutored by sports system designed to mold a basketball player. Lin was tutored by a guy a who learned basketball watching videos. Yao was highly ranked and got his start on the sharks. Lin was guaranteed a sport by two teams (Harvard and Brown), the other teams wanted him to walk on despite being cali player of the year. Yao was drafted no.1. Lin wasn't drafted. Yao eventually got the starting job his first year. Lin got cut and finally started after a lot of players sucked in his second year.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v5laQcZ4MH8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> #6. Dude just wins
Lin went to high school kinda close to mine. I don't think he's an all star just yet, but he is a beast, and exactly what knicks needed. This doesn't make knicks championship contenders, though.
If Asians want to excel they have to do more than hope to be recognized. However, whites are not the enemy
This probably belongs to the GARM. Here are my points anyways. First we dont know how hard Morey had tried to keep Lin. Its just some speculations by some poster based on the timing of roster moves. Second, The great limitation of moneyball is it fails when there is no data on a player like Lin to be gauged. The point here is not that Morey couldnt possibly predict Lin was this good or other teams passed on him or Knicks didnt value him either until som dumb luck. Lin himself did see all of this coming either. But, it is fair to criticze Morey for not valuing over other roster moves like cutting flynn or adries for a small cost. Sure, that was a gamble, but even many of us thought we should have taken the beton Lin at the time. At the end, we let Lin go, who we could really use as the 3rd string pg. I am sure he would have shined here as well if given the opportunity, which mchales probably would give at some point. A mistake is a mistake, All the excuses aside, Morey dropped the ball there. That said, nothing should be taken away from our season so far.
Totally understandable you feel this way. But think about it like this: how often will the Rockets get a chance at a lottery pick, or to trade for a star, sign a big FA, etc.? Every year, every trade deadline. How often do we get to witness a truly inspiring story of someone overcoming all the obstacles and finding this level of success? Far far less often, maybe once a decade or 2. It's just like the 22 game win streak our Rockets went on in '08 after everyone counted us out once Yao went down. I'm sure lots of fans around the nation, regardless of their home town, their preferred team, their preference to not see the Rockets in the playoffs, etc, still thought that was an amazing story. How could you call yourself a fan of the game and not be excited and inspired by stories like these? So sure, if you want to question our Rocket-patriotism or something, go ahead. Just thought I'd try and remind you to step back and look at the bigger picture once in a while.
