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ALL LIN TEAM

Discussion in 'NBA Dish' started by mcgrady33090, Feb 21, 2012.

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mcgrady33090 Member

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Anyone has the link to it?
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/stor...PERDiem-120221&_slug_=nba-all-jeremy-lin-team

#1 mcgrady33090, Feb 21, 2012

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He languished on the bench before finally getting his chance. He was given up on by multiple teams before the New York Knicks plucked him from the scrap heap.

Even then, New Yorkers hardly gave his existence a second thought until injuries forced him into the lineup; only then did he convince them through his shockingly good play. The impact could hardly have been greater: His team won seven of eight once he became a regular in the rotation.

Yes, that Steve Novak has made quite a difference for the Knicks of late.

Oh, you were thinking of somebody else?

Novak's sudden emergence gave the Knicks a big lift in the absence of Carmelo Anthony, with his long-range shot bringing the corner 3 back into Mike D'Antoni's offense. He has tried 63 triples in his past nine games and splashed in 27 of them, producing a 15.46 PER and one of the league's best TS%. Pretty solid stuff from a guy the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks all kicked to the curb.

Unfortunately, it's also another story that has barely registered on the horizon thanks to the blinding supernova known as Jeremy Lin. Although Lin's rise to the game's upper echelon has been one of the most surprising stories of the past decade, it also has swallowed up virtually every other news development in its path.

Which is a shame because we've had a lot of other mini-Jeremy Lins this season. None of these other players has produced the fan interest or can claim his backstory, obviously, and none can touch him in terms of performance (despite Monday's setback against New Jersey, Lin remains eighth in the NBA in PER), but there are a lot of stories like Novak's that we aren't hearing nearly enough about.

So today it's time to make amends for that with my All Jeremy Lin Team -- 10 guys you really ought to be hearing about but aren't because of the mania surrounding Lin. Novak tops the list, obviously, but here's the rest of the squad:

Nikola Pekovic, Minnesota Timberwolves: If not for Linsanity, this would be your winner of the Most Improved Player award. Pekovic has gone from a brutal rookie season to rather suddenly and unexpectedly solving the Timberwolves' center woes -- in fact, he's pushing for the league lead in PER among centers. A human wrecking ball who fouled on every play as a rookie (a league-leading and jaw-dropping 8.16 per 40 minutes), he has cut his foul rate in half to stay on the court and let his touch around the rim do the rest.

He's shooting 60 percent from the floor and has redoubled his efforts since taking over as the starter; he has seven double-doubles this month alone. Suffice it to say the Darko experiment is done; with 26-year-old Pekovic bashing heads alongside Kevin Love, no team brings more physicality around the basket.

Gustavo Ayon, New Orleans Hornets: New Yorkers who saw Ayon put a stop to the Linsanity on Friday with a series of flips around the basket were not witnessing a fluke; the unheralded import from Mexico by way of Spain has flourished of late.

At 6-foot-10 with a nice touch around the rim, he's a good finisher on pick-and-rolls who moves well without the ball, and he's a classic role player who absolutely, positively will not beat himself. Although Ayon's stratospheric PER is unlikely to remain quite this high, his strong two-way play is a big reason the Hornets finally tallied a three-game winning streak.

Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee Bucks: Did you know that Ilyasova had 29 points and 25 rebounds Sunday? Of course you didn't because it was a Bucks-Nets game. And that's not the only burst we've seen of late; he also had 19 boards against Houston and 16 against the Orlando Magic.

In Andrew Bogut's absence, he's helping keep the Bucks alive in the playoffs as something of a destitute man's Kevin Love, spacing the floor with his jumper on offense, then crashing the boards. He's seventh among power forwards in rebound rate and boasts an 18.33 PER, which is pretty strong work for a guy the Bucks were openly shopping in the offseason.

Brandan Wright, Dallas: Wright's per-minute and percentage numbers showed he could be productive, but he had a lot of knocks against him: He was constantly injured, and he didn't always play hard.

That's why the New Jersey Nets and Golden State Warriors gave up on him, but give the Mavs credit for plucking him from obscurity in a low-wattage move this offseason and playing to his strengths. They never have him battling big post players -- an area where he's hopelessly overmatched -- but instead pick his spots to take advantage of his superior length and elite finishing skills around the basket. And, by using him in zones, they've found a way to make his length a positive and his lack of strength less of a negative on defense.

The result? He's 12th among power forwards in PER, albeit in limited minutes, shooting 57.5 percent, and has become one of the keys to a shockingly productive Dallas bench.

Isaiah Thomas, Sacramento Kings: Thomas was the last player taken in the 2011 draft, and, thus, little was expected from him this season. For reference, three of the previous four players taken in that slot didn't play a single NBA game, and the one who did -- Semih Erden -- was traded halfway through his rookie season.

Suffice it to say Thomas has improved on that expectation, becoming almost indispensable for a Kings team that glaringly lacks a penetrating ball-mover when he's off the floor. His 16.51 PER ranks seventh among rookies and is better than that of Minnesota's Derrick Williams, a player who was taken 58 spots a head of him.

After hardly playing the first two weeks, he's become an increasingly vital part of the Kings' mix, culminating in Sunday' duel against top overall pick Kyrie Irving of Cleveland, in which Thomas held his own with 23 points and 11 assists.

Danny Green, San Antonio: Green spent two years wandering the NBA desert, including being cut by the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Spurs. On Sunday, he spent the entire fourth quarter and overtime guarding Chris Paul in one of the biggest games of the week. Taking advantage of an opening created by Manu Ginobili's injury, Green has used his defense, rebounding ability and 3-point shot to bull his way into the starting lineup and establish himself as a keeper. His development, in turn, is one of many reasons the Spurs are riding a league-best 11-game winning streak even with Ginobili barely participating.

Kyle Lowry, Houston: I feel obligated to make note of Lowry's existence, given that (a) he would have made the All-Star team in the East, (b) he's the best player on a surprisingly good Houston team and (c) said team is 17-8 in its past 25 games and may very well pass the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday for fifth place in the West.

Not so shabby for a guy who didn't start until his fifth NBA season after being the odd man out in a point guard battle with Mike Conley with the Memphis Grizzlies. His development as a 3-point shooter has been particularly surprising, making 37.6 percent a year ago and 38.3 percent this season after flinging up bricks his first four seasons.

Jonas Jerebko, Detroit Pistons: It doesn't quite have the same cachet as being the league's first prominent Asian-American, but the league's first Swede is also having a nice season in unexpected circumstances. Recovering from a torn Achilles that knocked him out all of last season, Jerebko hasn't skipped a beat. His numbers are virtually identical to those he put up as a rookie except better, given that (a) he's doing it with more touches and (b) offense in the league as a whole is way down.

And lo and behold, the Knicks aren't the only seeming doormats to suddenly win seven of nine games. Detroit has managed the same in its past nine, and, although that slate of schedule included most of the league's riffraff, give the Pistons props for recovering from a truly depressing first 24 games.
(As for reasons, here's a side note as a card-carrying Rodney Stuckey defender: Detroit is 9-6 when he plays at least 30 minutes, including all nine games in this recent stretch. The Pistons are 2-16 when he doesn't.)

Ryan Anderson, Orlando: You didn't think you were getting out of here without some love for the Grenade Launcher, did you? For all the flak we give Otis Smith, let's point out one thing he absolutely did right: getting Anderson as a throw-in in the Vince Carter trade with New Jersey. After two seasons as a reserve, he's emerging as a star this season -- in fact, he's sixth in the East in PER and pushing Dwight Howard for the Orlando team lead in that category, helping keep the Magic afloat at 21-12 despite the fact that their guards can barely get the ball across the time line.

Anderson's long ball is so deadly when paired with Howard's interior dominance that he has the second-best plus/minus difference in the NBA, exceeded only by that of the Clippers' Blake Griffin. Orlando is plus-9.41 points per 100 possessions with Anderson on the court but a ghastly minus-10.11 points per 100 possessions once he checks out.

With good reason. He leads the NBA in 3-pointers and has made 44 percent with his easy, over-the-shoulder motion, and the result is some insanely efficient offense. His 60.9 TS% is the best of any starting power forward, as is his shockingly low 4.4 turnover ratio. It's not always visually stimulating, but it's hard to argue with lots of high-percentage shots with no turnovers.

Before we wrap up, honorable mentions here must go out to New Jersey's Jordan Farmar, who is quietly having a great season despite being unceremoniously yanked from the rotation in the first quarter of the first game; to Corey Brewer of the Denver Nuggets for reviving his flagging career in a Denver system that suits him to a tee; to the Washington Wizards' Trevor Booker, who often seems to be the only player on that team who gives a hoot; and to Cleveland's Alonzo Gee, a D-League refugee who has harnessed his athletic gifts and turned into a real NBA basketball player.
Click to expand...

Here you go buddy

#2 ashiin, Feb 21, 2012
BleedRocketsRed Member

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The All Jeremy Lin Team

Here are some players who have been overlooked (PER Diem: Feb. 21, 2012)
By John Hollinger
ESPN.com

He languished on the bench before finally getting his chance. He was given up on by multiple teams before the New York Knicks plucked him from the scrap heap.

Even then, New Yorkers hardly gave his existence a second thought until injuries forced him into the lineup; only then did he convince them through his shockingly good play. The impact could hardly have been greater: His team won seven of eight once he became a regular in the rotation.

Yes, that Steve Novak has made quite a difference for the Knicks of late.

Oh, you were thinking of somebody else?

Novak's sudden emergence gave the Knicks a big lift in the absence of Carmelo Anthony, with his long-range shot bringing the corner 3 back into Mike D'Antoni's offense. He has tried 63 triples in his past nine games and splashed in 27 of them, producing a 15.46 PER and one of the league's best TS%. Pretty solid stuff from a guy the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks all kicked to the curb.

Unfortunately, it's also another story that has barely registered on the horizon thanks to the blinding supernova known as Jeremy Lin. Although Lin's rise to the game's upper echelon has been one of the most surprising stories of the past decade, it also has swallowed up virtually every other news development in its path.

Which is a shame because we've had a lot of other mini-Jeremy Lins this season. None of these other players has produced the fan interest or can claim his backstory, obviously, and none can touch him in terms of performance (despite Monday's setback against New Jersey, Lin remains eighth in the NBA in PER), but there are a lot of stories like Novak's that we aren't hearing nearly enough about.

So today it's time to make amends for that with my All Jeremy Lin Team -- 10 guys you really ought to be hearing about but aren't because of the mania surrounding Lin. Novak tops the list, obviously, but here's the rest of the squad:

Nikola Pekovic, Minnesota Timberwolves: If not for Linsanity, this would be your winner of the Most Improved Player award. Pekovic has gone from a brutal rookie season to rather suddenly and unexpectedly solving the Timberwolves' center woes -- in fact, he's pushing for the league lead in PER among centers. A human wrecking ball who fouled on every play as a rookie (a league-leading and jaw-dropping 8.16 per 40 minutes), he has cut his foul rate in half to stay on the court and let his touch around the rim do the rest.

He's shooting 60 percent from the floor and has redoubled his efforts since taking over as the starter; he has seven double-doubles this month alone. Suffice it to say the Darko experiment is done; with 26-year-old Pekovic bashing heads alongside Kevin Love, no team brings more physicality around the basket.

Gustavo Ayon, New Orleans Hornets: New Yorkers who saw Ayon put a stop to the Linsanity on Friday with a series of flips around the basket were not witnessing a fluke; the unheralded import from Mexico by way of Spain has flourished of late.

At 6-foot-10 with a nice touch around the rim, he's a good finisher on pick-and-rolls who moves well without the ball, and he's a classic role player who absolutely, positively will not beat himself. Although Ayon's stratospheric PER is unlikely to remain quite this high, his strong two-way play is a big reason the Hornets finally tallied a three-game winning streak.

Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee Bucks: Did you know that Ilyasova had 29 points and 25 rebounds Sunday? Of course you didn't because it was a Bucks-Nets game. And that's not the only burst we've seen of late; he also had 19 boards against Houston and 16 against the Orlando Magic.

In Andrew Bogut's absence, he's helping keep the Bucks alive in the playoffs as something of a destitute man's Kevin Love, spacing the floor with his jumper on offense, then crashing the boards. He's seventh among power forwards in rebound rate and boasts an 18.33 PER, which is pretty strong work for a guy the Bucks were openly shopping in the offseason.

Brandan Wright, Dallas: Wright's per-minute and percentage numbers showed he could be productive, but he had a lot of knocks against him: He was constantly injured, and he didn't always play hard.

That's why the New Jersey Nets and Golden State Warriors gave up on him, but give the Mavs credit for plucking him from obscurity in a low-wattage move this offseason and playing to his strengths. They never have him battling big post players -- an area where he's hopelessly overmatched -- but instead pick his spots to take advantage of his superior length and elite finishing skills around the basket. And, by using him in zones, they've found a way to make his length a positive and his lack of strength less of a negative on defense.

The result? He's 12th among power forwards in PER, albeit in limited minutes, shooting 57.5 percent, and has become one of the keys to a shockingly productive Dallas bench.

Isaiah Thomas, Sacramento Kings: Thomas was the last player taken in the 2011 draft, and, thus, little was expected from him this season. For reference, three of the previous four players taken in that slot didn't play a single NBA game, and the one who did -- Semih Erden -- was traded halfway through his rookie season.

Suffice it to say Thomas has improved on that expectation, becoming almost indispensable for a Kings team that glaringly lacks a penetrating ball-mover when he's off the floor. His 16.51 PER ranks seventh among rookies and is better than that of Minnesota's Derrick Williams, a player who was taken 58 spots a head of him.

After hardly playing the first two weeks, he's become an increasingly vital part of the Kings' mix, culminating in Sunday' duel against top overall pick Kyrie Irving of Cleveland, in which Thomas held his own with 23 points and 11 assists.

Danny Green, San Antonio: Green spent two years wandering the NBA desert, including being cut by the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Spurs. On Sunday, he spent the entire fourth quarter and overtime guarding Chris Paul in one of the biggest games of the week. Taking advantage of an opening created by Manu Ginobili's injury, Green has used his defense, rebounding ability and 3-point shot to bull his way into the starting lineup and establish himself as a keeper. His development, in turn, is one of many reasons the Spurs are riding a league-best 11-game winning streak even with Ginobili barely participating.

Kyle Lowry, Houston: I feel obligated to make note of Lowry's existence, given that (a) he would have made the All-Star team in the East, (b) he's the best player on a surprisingly good Houston team and (c) said team is 17-8 in its past 25 games and may very well pass the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday for fifth place in the West.

Not so shabby for a guy who didn't start until his fifth NBA season after being the odd man out in a point guard battle with Mike Conley with the Memphis Grizzlies. His development as a 3-point shooter has been particularly surprising, making 37.6 percent a year ago and 38.3 percent this season after flinging up bricks his first four seasons.

Jonas Jerebko, Detroit Pistons: It doesn't quite have the same cachet as being the league's first prominent Asian-American, but the league's first Swede is also having a nice season in unexpected circumstances. Recovering from a torn Achilles that knocked him out all of last season, Jerebko hasn't skipped a beat. His numbers are virtually identical to those he put up as a rookie except better, given that (a) he's doing it with more touches and (b) offense in the league as a whole is way down.

And lo and behold, the Knicks aren't the only seeming doormats to suddenly win seven of nine games. Detroit has managed the same in its past nine, and, although that slate of schedule included most of the league's riffraff, give the Pistons props for recovering from a truly depressing first 24 games.

(As for reasons, here's a side note as a card-carrying Rodney Stuckey defender: Detroit is 9-6 when he plays at least 30 minutes, including all nine games in this recent stretch. The Pistons are 2-16 when he doesn't.)

Ryan Anderson, Orlando: You didn't think you were getting out of here without some love for the Grenade Launcher, did you? For all the flak we give Otis Smith, let's point out one thing he absolutely did right: getting Anderson as a throw-in in the Vince Carter trade with New Jersey. After two seasons as a reserve, he's emerging as a star this season -- in fact, he's sixth in the East in PER and pushing Dwight Howard for the Orlando team lead in that category, helping keep the Magic afloat at 21-12 despite the fact that their guards can barely get the ball across the time line.

Anderson's long ball is so deadly when paired with Howard's interior dominance that he has the second-best plus/minus difference in the NBA, exceeded only by that of the Clippers' Blake Griffin. Orlando is plus-9.41 points per 100 possessions with Anderson on the court but a ghastly minus-10.11 points per 100 possessions once he checks out.

With good reason. He leads the NBA in 3-pointers and has made 44 percent with his easy, over-the-shoulder motion, and the result is some insanely efficient offense. His 60.9 TS% is the best of any starting power forward, as is his shockingly low 4.4 turnover ratio. It's not always visually stimulating, but it's hard to argue with lots of high-percentage shots with no turnovers.

Before we wrap up, honorable mentions here must go out to New Jersey's Jordan Farmar, who is quietly having a great season despite being unceremoniously yanked from the rotation in the first quarter of the first game; to Corey Brewer of the Denver Nuggets for reviving his flagging career in a Denver system that suits him to a tee; to the Washington Wizards' Trevor Booker, who often seems to be the only player on that team who gives a hoot; and to Cleveland's Alonzo Gee, a D-League refugee who has harnessed his athletic gifts and turned into a real NBA basketball player.
Click to expand...

Found it.

#3 BleedRocketsRed, Feb 21, 2012

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Lol..

#4 BleedRocketsRed, Feb 21, 2012
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I thought this would be the all-Jeremy Lin team.

PG Jeremy Lin
SG Sun Yue
SF ???
PF Yi JianLian
C Yao Ming

#5 BetterThanEver, Feb 21, 2012
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BetterThanEver said: ↑

I thought this would be the all-Jeremy Lin team.

PG Jeremy Lin
SG Sun Yue
SF ???
PF Yi JianLian
C Yao Ming
Click to expand...

Yi at the 3 wang mene @ the 4

#6 rsx_htown, Feb 21, 2012
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Dynasty.

#7 Yao11, Feb 21, 2012

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what about his buddy Liu Wei at the 1?

Liu
Lin
Sun Yue
Wang
Yao - Mengke Bateer as backup

#8 daywalker02, Feb 21, 2012
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The All-LIN team is basically the Knicks team before the return of STAT, Melo and Baron Davis. These guys have great chemistry together:

PG Jeremy Lin
SG Landry Fields
SF Steve Novak
PF Jared Jeffries
C Tyson Chandler

#9 vcchlw, Feb 21, 2012
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Jeremy Lin - Baron Davis
Fields
Latrell Sprewell
Jeffries
Tyson Chandler

#10 daywalker02, Feb 21, 2012
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nice... Kyle lowry getting some love

#11 GeneValgene, Feb 21, 2012
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That's a great article---thanks for the find! Glad to see other players getting some love too.

#12 tchou, Feb 21, 2012
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ESPN really has nothing better to talk about, do they?

#13 Mr. Clutch, Feb 21, 2012

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rsx_htown said: ↑

Yi at the 3 wang mene @ the 4
Click to expand...

Lin
Sun Yue
Yi
Wang Zhi Zhi
Yao

#14 TheRealist137, Feb 21, 2012
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14 posts in and no one caught the Yao slight? Interesting.

#15 verse, Feb 22, 2012
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verse said: ↑

14 posts in and no one caught the Yao slight? Interesting.
Click to expand...

What's the Yao slight?

#16 DrNuegebauer, Feb 22, 2012
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What ever happened to Yi JianLian?

I remember they used to hype up his game vs Yao every time they meet. What happened to this guy? He was flashy with his dunks

#17 CountyClerk, Feb 22, 2012
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^^^ i meant to say Yi JianLian, what happened to him?

#18 CountyClerk, Feb 22, 2012

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DrNuegebauer said: ↑

What's the Yao slight?
Click to expand...

"It doesn't quite have the same cachet as being the league's first prominent Asian-American, but the league's first Swede is also having a nice season in unexpected circumstances."

Considering there is only one AA talked about in the piece, it's quite logical to assume the writer was referring to Lin.

#19 verse, Feb 22, 2012
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No love for Mr. SUN MING MING??

#20 arjun, Feb 22, 2012

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