[2014-15] Jeremy Lin as a Los Angeles Laker

Aw shoulda left out that last quote. I actually thought for a split second that "more of him" referred to Kobe haha

 

While the whole "basement dweller" thing is clearly an exaggeration, but I just want to chime in because while many make it out to be a smart/dumb thing, I actually feel that that has very little to do with the Lin situation, or even many debates that exist in sports fandom.

I work in a field where we help a lot of corporate executives and managers. All of them incredibly smart and incredible at their fields, and all of them more or less know nothing about the work I do, many times making statements that makes you wonder how did they get promoted in the first place. That's the thing. Being smart and being knowledgeable are entirely different concepts. And just because a person is smart and can get into Ivy League schools in of itself does not mean anything in sports. This is because sports in many ways work very different from every day life.

The biggest difference is volatility, which is a lot more common in sports. For example, if you meet a person for the first time and he's very polite, you expect him to be very polite in subsequent meetings. You go shopping at a store, then you can be certain in a week, that same store still exist with the same things you want to buy at likely the same price. But if you watch a player get steal and a fast break the other way, you don't expect it to happen immediately again. You feel it's possible to get that play 2-3 more times that game, but you can neither predict when it would happen, nor how often. You can make an educated guess, but you don't know. You know it may happen 10 times this game, and 2 times the next. And you have to accept that. But this type of thinking exist in very few areas of real life. So when people try to apply real world calmness into the chaos that is sports, is when "knee jerk" happens.

The thing that makes Lin so polarizing is that he is the perfect example of judging a player based on singular events like a good game, and based on large, sustained sample of results. Long time sports fans, smart or dumb, inherently recognize the need for large sample size to judge a player. Just as newer fans, smart or dumb, inherently cannot understand how a player can drop 30 in one game and 5 in the next. It's not really about intelligence, but rather how one truly can think of the world through the chaotic lens of sports.

 

Really good post, thank you for that. I never intended to imply Lin fans are more knowledgeable when it comes to basketball (and even said that in my original quote). I just wanted to bring a bit of balance back to the topic after some suggested that people who like Lin are dumb, or cannot pass the SAT's or something.

LOF's for sure can knee jerk or focus too much on an individual good game, thinking Lin is all-star potential if he drops 20+ or something, but Lin critics (most of whom are much more knowledgeable) do the same sometimes don't you think? I'm not talking about the average critic who talks about Lin's inconsistency (that's totally true of his game, and it's been like that the past 2 years), but some of the more vocal ones who think he does not belong in the league at all after he has a 6 point game.

PS. What is the field you work in called exactly?

 

I thought scott said there was gonna be lineup changes?

 

This thread should be retitled.

 

i see ur attempt to rationalize the situation. while on periphery it seems the disagreement is on performance, this little confrontation really has notthing to do with it. its between lin supporters and a few detractors who enjoy being snide and intrusive, my cousin was like that in high school, couldnt stop mocking his surroundings. all is normal on internet

but speaking of ur argument, ur right that human induced randomness add difficulties to modeling, and sport events dont have robust models. academic intelligence lin is said to have wont guarantee positice outcomes in bball, nor is there sufficient data to prove otherwise. a good idea is to constrcut a cstegory specific inteligence assessment , tho itd be a challlenge to quantify , ita still possible

anyway this board isnt a place for serious.discussion, i wont type this much again

 

Of course, it's a "racial" issue. He wouldn't be in the league if he was black. Or he would have been given a 2 year , $5 million deal with 1/4 of the opportunities he's had in the last 3 years. It has DEFINITELY worked in his favor, not the opposite as he and many in here would like to believe.

 

1. Wasn't really referring to that. You had previously made some blanket statements about Asians that was a bit derogatory and really unnecessary.

2. Addressing your point though, I agree that being Asian definitely helped Lin's case, although that was after he began his linsanity streak in NY. Prior to that, one can argue his race may have hurt him more than it helped. Really, it was a mixed blessing.

 

This downbytheriver that you are talking to is a well-known moron. This dumbass enjoys mocking the accents of the foreign-born English speakers.

 

kim jong il is the actual racist ---

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lol. you are super uptight and don't understand american culture. really aren't helping the case of lof's. hollywood marine is a much better representative.

 

Mocking the accents of the foreign-born speakers is American culture???

This is not our culture. We call fools doing dumb **** like that "morons". And yiu are one of these morons. Stop trying to insult American culture.

 

Uptight? I would pointed it out long time ago if I was really uptight. LOF? LOL. You are such a weak man to have to use labelling as a tactic in order to win an argument on the internet.

 

yes, mocking crazed dictators with funny accents is part of american culture. we've got a rap group called the wu tang clan and they don't have any asians in them - are they racist? if you want to be sensitive, you can find offense to everything. if anything, you should be ecstatic alec baldwin and lin were mentioned in the same sentence. baldwin is a master of his craft, lin... an eternal apprentice.

 

So mocking the accents of the crazed dictators are at the same level as mocking the accents of the foreign-born Americans? Give me an yes/no answer first, I will continue the debate.

 

please step away from the computer and don't continue the debate. help your mother out with the dishes, go to therapy, be a little productive instead of whining for the sake of it.


we mock rednecks, mexicans, city people, church people, the whole shebang in this country. if you're telling me i can't channel my inner kim jong il, or channel my inner redneck, then i'm here to tell you something. you're not gonna be happy anywhere you go. cherish the freedom this country gives you instead of trying to take it away from others.

'MERICA!

 

Why are you trying to avoid my question? Are you really such a coward? Or are you too busy cleaning the bathroom for your mom so you cannot think straight at this moment?

Once again, is mocking the accents of crazed dictators at the same level as mocking the accents of the foreign-born Americans? Yes or no? Take a break from cleaning your mom's bathroom. Man up to answer the question.

 

Everyone knows we have morons like you in this country who mock mexicans, church people, asians, etc. But it is not part of the American culture. Stop trying to insult American culture by saying the dumb **** that you have been doing is part of it.

 

You need to lighten up. Ive just about seen every kinda accent mocked wether its hoser Canadian accent, white trash redneck accent, jersey Guido accent, British accent, French candian accnet eastern European accent etc etc.

No need to throw a b**** fit about it on the internet.

 

Shots from tonight...Lakers/Pistons


J. Lin and Glenn from Walking Dead.




Jennings' lady wearing what appears to be a Wampa fur.

 

i don't understand your insult. am i being accused of

a)) cleaning the bathroom FOR my mother
b)) cleaning my mother's bathroom

and why is this not an admirable thing to do?