That is very important to note. Lin is about as American as it gets, and so is his game.
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Lin-sanity, have you checked it out?
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
That is very important to note. Lin is about as American as it gets, and so is his game.
I didn't know much about Lin before watching him play and seeing an interview with him. His voice sounds just like any other American and he was very humble about all the media coverage he has been getting. I am amazed that there's such a reaction to him being Asian, which I guess isn't a particularly well represented ethnic group in the NBA.
Kind of like African-Americans in the NHL I suppose. There's a few of them floating around, but there are few and far between and typically Canadian.
I haven't seen Lin play yet...I'm liking what I'm hearing so far, and I can't wait to see him do his thing.
I remember Lin dueling (then #1 draft pick) John Wall to a stand still in the summer league and being impressed with his aggressiveness. I was actually hoping my team (the Kings) would scoop him up but he bounced to the Warriors and then to the Knicks this year where he was buried on the bench and nearly cut to make room for a veteran PG.
While his being an Asian American is a big part of his story as a whole, I don't think it has anything to do with why he hasn't gotten an opportunity in the NBA so far. He's not a great athlete or physical specimen, he's a poor shooter from distance, he doesn't have the amazing court vision of a Kidd, Nash or even Rubio and he was an unheralded and undrafted prospect from an Ivy League School. His lack of opportunity stemmed from reasons that were entirely basketball related.
That said, I dig his game and I love seeing the success he's having. It's all the more enjoyable given that he plays on a Knicks team that bought into the Melo-drama and gave up the farm to land him only to struggle with their new superstar. Now this unknown kid is the one who has sparked a five game winning streak. It's not quite Roy Hobbs-esque but it isn't far off.
While his being an Asian American is a big part of his story as a whole, I don't think it has anything to do with why he hasn't gotten an opportunity in the NBA so far. He's not a great athlete or physical specimen, he's a poor shooter from distance, he doesn't have the amazing court vision of a Kidd, Nash or even Rubio and he was an unheralded and undrafted prospect from an Ivy League School. His lack of opportunity stemmed from reasons that were entirely basketball related.
That said, I dig his game and I love seeing the success he's having. It's all the more enjoyable given that he plays on a Knicks team that bought into the Melo-drama and gave up the farm to land him only to struggle with their new superstar. Now this unknown kid is the one who has sparked a five game winning streak. It's not quite Roy Hobbs-esque but it isn't far off.
How can you duel John Wall to a standstill and not be a very good athlete? I realize there are holes in his game, but I still believe that if he looked differently, the odds of someone noticing him and working with him earlier would have been greater.
STOOOoooop the Lin-SANITY !
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His interviews are pretty funny on ESPN radio. Sounds like a pretty grounded dude who has found his game. Pretty cool.
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His interviews are pretty funny on ESPN radio. Sounds like a pretty grounded dude who has found his game. Pretty cool.
Is a great athlete by most measures? Sure. Is he considered one when compared with the rest of the NBA? Nope. Quick but not elite, slight of frame and lacking great strength, not an explosive leaper and simply not a guy that jumps off of film as a specimen. There are plenty of NBA players with good to great careers who could be viewed similarly. All professional sports are preoccupied with the athletic marvel who drips with potential. Every year when guys skyrocket up NFL draft boards based on 40 times and measurable instead of game film I just shake my head.
But I digress.
Lin is making the most of an opportunity. But as someone who watched him and liked his game in the summer league I didn't think he was capable of this and neither did anyone in the NBA or he wouldn't have had to showcase himself just to make the deep bench of NBA rosters over the last two years. He's definitely a guy better suited for the NBA than the college or high school game (given the greater spacing in the pros) but even then, he's simply been a surprise.
Otherwise we could ask if Steve Nash would have been a higher pick and an all-star earlier if someone had seen his potential and he'd gone to a basketball powerhouse rather than Santa Clara. And some guys are just late bloomers (Scottie Pippen) and some simply have a rough road without breaks before they finally get their opportunities (Raja Bell among many others)
Scouts and evaluators miss on players all the time because they don't jump off the screen with amazing ability. It's why Tom Brady was a sixth round pick and why Billy Bean was able to assemble competitive A's teams on the cheap.
Perhaps I'm naive but I simply don't see any evidence of Lin being overlooked due to being an Asian American. In my junior year my high school team won the northern California championship for Division II though we lost in the state championship. I was the first guard off the bench behind two asian guards, both of whom got plenty of attention from college scouts, with our starting PG getting a full scholarship.
All I can say is that stereotyping happens, and the great majority of times it happens, no one will leave a memo admitting to it.
For sure, people with great numberrs always get attention, but often fail to produce. Often people with more modest numbers end up truly being great. For example, both Jerry Rice and Michael Jordan were considered somewhat slow coming out of college. Both ran 4.6 40 yard dashes. I remember Bruce Jenner actually dogging Michael Jordan because he did not think he had the athleticism to be a Decathlete (that was before he met his true calling on reality TV.
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I could've sworn he was Taiwanese. Maybe i'm wrong, just thought I read it somewhere.
^ Lin is an American-born man of Taiwanese descent; you heard right
As for me, I am a bit biased when it comes to Asian basketball players; it is the other way around, though. When I play against an Asian guy, I usually assume he is lightning quick and is smart with the basketball. And I'm usually right
Stereotyping happens; there is, of course, no definitive way to quantify how much it factors into decision making. I wouldn't doubt that some of it factored in to Lin's being overlooked; you just don't see Asian point guards in the NBA, after all. You think point guard, you think skinny, fast black guy with tattoos. If you want to take a walk on the wild side, you think skinny white guy who is "heady." IOW the Steve Nash prototype. We're only human, after all...
As for me, I am a bit biased when it comes to Asian basketball players; it is the other way around, though. When I play against an Asian guy, I usually assume he is lightning quick and is smart with the basketball. And I'm usually right
Stereotyping happens; there is, of course, no definitive way to quantify how much it factors into decision making. I wouldn't doubt that some of it factored in to Lin's being overlooked; you just don't see Asian point guards in the NBA, after all. You think point guard, you think skinny, fast black guy with tattoos. If you want to take a walk on the wild side, you think skinny white guy who is "heady." IOW the Steve Nash prototype. We're only human, after all...
As for me, I am a bit biased when it comes to Asian basketball players; it is the other way around, though. When I play against an Asian guy, I usually assume he is lightning quick and is smart with the basketball. And I'm usually right
Pretty much. Growing up playing ball in California my bias is also not at all that Asian American players are inferior.
Jared Lash said:
You and Tony are only speaking for yourselves. It makes no sense to assume others have your views or experiences.
The fact this dude rode the pine here in Houston before being unceremoniously shipped off is pissing me off pretty bad right now :scowl: 
Actually he is American.
His parents came from Taiwan and like most natives of Taiwan they are of chinese ethnicity.
bc
The fact this dude rode the pine here in Houston before being unceremoniously shipped off is pissing me off pretty bad right now :scowl:
He had absolutely 0 zero chance at play time in Houston. NY was a perfect storm for him as they had NO ONE at PG and took a flyer on the guy. D'antoni even said they had no real plans for him until they threw him in. Anyone that says they knew he would be this good is lying.
Lin hit the game winner tonight. He had 27 pts. 11 assists, and 8 turnovers. Toronto played him really tight and he has to cut down the turnovers, but the man scored the last six points with Amar 'e and Carmelo on the floor. I think he he is beyond hot, he is for real. The only thing to see now is how he will respond after a loss.
