It's pretty evident we're a better team when Lin is the primary ball handler.

I know it's annoying. Also please stop quoting B/R. They're a joke.

 

This doesn't make much sense. People use the word potential all the time when talking about draft picks. Potential is a term that is universally used for all young players. Just a thought.

 

Newsflash

Oxford English Dictionary just added a new word to their entry.

GARM-sanity: People at Clutchfans have the same arguments about Lin and expect different results.

 

Potential is just a word that's easily toss around but doesn't mean anything.

 

From Zach Lowe's "10 Things I Like and Don't Like" today:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...mess-nba-loudest-arena-jeremy-lin-doing-right

 

I'm sure it means a lot, otherwise 4 year college players would dominate the lottery picks.

 

It does mean something. There is a reason why fans love young teams. Because they are frustrating and exciting but mostly because of there potential. They provide the promise of the unknown good or bad. People love that because they don't know what to expect. Look at the buzz surrounding Damian Llilard & Eric Bledsoe. It's potential. Just a thought.

 

It's just everyone uses that word to describe just about any professional athlete at one time or another and not many really reach it.

 

Just because not many people reach there potential doesn't mean that the word should be removed altogether. For every player that doesn't reach there potential there is another player who far exceeds expectations. Potential is the entire point of the NBA draft lol. Your'e arguing against an institutional structure. Just a thought.

 

I actually have no issue with him thinking Lin has the potential to be Kidd. The issue I have is his method of using stats to try and illustrate his point. First of all, he is using an insignificant sample size of 16 games that Lin played this season. Secondly, he didn't even attempt to find other players who had similar stats like I did, he just compared Lin to Kidd. Third, he had to make numerous assumptions like scaling Lin's stats to match Kidd's USG% rate which is a pretty huge assumption. Sounds like he was trying to manipulate the data so Lin comparable to Kidd rather than find players who actually have comparable stats to Lin at the start of their careers.

I think Lin has a lot of potential but his method is just flawed.

 

I'm just saying it's meaningless especially when ppl start comparing a point guard who is having an average to below average season with less than half a season worth of games to stars/superstars.

 

I really didn't pay much attention to his stats really, but I think he and the other poster saw things that Lin did in college, last year and this year that make them think he has similar traits as Kidd. Lin has started out slow this year and in my opinion there a lot of factors why, won't go into it here. He did almost get a triple double I think in one of the earlier games.

 

This really isn't about Lin anymore to be frank. Let's provide other examples. So when teams talk about the potential of a draft pick who has yet to even play an actual NBA game that is OK? Look at Kendall Marshall. He was drafted to be the heir apparent to Nash. Kendall is in the D-league right now.

I do agree with you that comparing any young player to a future HOFer is silly. I have said as much. But I think you are going about proving your argument the wrong way. Just a thought.

 

It's okay because that's all they can do. They draft on potential from their college resume.

 

My response is to this post below:

 

So what is the difference between what is done in the draft & what rocketsfan did? And notice I am talking strictly about Rocketsfan who actually talked of his personal experience watching both players & not the other poster who was using a highly flawed (adjusting for USG whatever that is) method to prove a point.. Rocketsfan talked about potential based on how Lin played in college vs Kidd in College. Both parties are doing the same thing. That is what I don't get. Just some things to think about.

 

The difference would be Lin is already in the NBA. If people still want to compare him to Kidd at least wait till after a full season. Not when he's playing like this and early into the season.

 

Even saying Lin has the potential to be a Kidd in college would sound ridiculous. Kidd was drafted 2nd overall first round.

 

Okay this conversation has become maddeningly circular lets just end it now. Thanks for the discussion though, sincerely, it was lively.

 

Man arguing with you is like debating the world's oldest broken record.

Lin was undrafted.. they thought he wasn't good enough to play in the NBA. He's categorically proven everyone wrong about that. If you look at everything he had achieved up to that point, I don't think if he was black, OR white, there's any chance he goes undrafted, but it is what it is.

It's like you can't see past the label that was stuck on him by a bunch of narrow minded old dudes.

Now you say look at him this season... ignoring all the other issues like coaching, chemistry, system etc.

Look at all the Lakers superstars sucking it up... nothing to do with chemistry or system right? They must be bad players.

Lebron and Wade... everyone was calling them a flop at the heat too in their first season together.

This idea that coaching or management has nothing to do with how a player performs has to be the dumbest thing I've read or heard any sports fan say. Go watch any sport. The same players can perform drastically different under different coaches and strategies. It's like you go out of the way to pretend that there are no mitigating factors where Lin is concerned.

I don't mind saying people shouldn't overhype Lin, that's fair enough, what I do mind is the ridiculous double standards that people apply to him and the mental gymnastics they go through to downplay his game or his potential (yes, I used that dirty word). And all I see is more of the same attitude and bias that resulted in him going undrafted in the first place.

The reason Lin has so many fans is not because he's asian. It's because narrow-minded and shortsighted people judged him without giving him a chance and that story is what a lot of people fell in love with. And I'm sorry to say, that's what you've done with him as well.

It's ironic, because when trolls, LOH's etc bash him all it does is make people who became his fans support him all the more ardently, especially when people have been unfair in their judgement of him as you have been.