Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Jeremy Lin: The Truth that Resides

ESPN proclaims "Linsanity!"

ESPN further proclaims "Knicks find their missing 'Lin'k."

Unfortunately, the puns about point guard Jeremy Lin don't stop there. Our own wonder blogger and resident soccer expert Hsuper wrote about Lin last June. Since then, Lin appeared more likely to bounce out of the NBA after a few years of unspectacular play off the bench of a bad team. All of that changed, when Mike D'Antoni played Lin for extended minutes on Monday night.

Let's take a look at Lin's professional basketball resume (via Real GM):
Jun 24, 2010 - Jeremy Lin went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft making him an Unrestricted FA.
Jul 21, 2010 - Jeremy Lin signed a multi-year contract with the Golden State Warriors.
Dec 28, 2010 - The Golden State Warriors assigned Jeremy Lin to the Reno Bighorns of the D-League.
Jan 3, 2011 - The Golden State Warriors recalled Jeremy Lin from the Reno Bighorns of the D-League.
Jan 9, 2011 - The Golden State Warriors assigned Jeremy Lin to the Reno Bighorns of the D-League.
Feb 5, 2011 - The Golden State Warriors recalled Jeremy Lin from the Reno Bighorns of the D-League.
Mar 17, 2011 - The Golden State Warriors assigned Jeremy Lin to the Reno Bighorns of the D-League.
Mar 28, 2011 - The Golden State Warriors recalled Jeremy Lin from the Reno Bighorns of the D-League.
Dec 9, 2011 - The Golden State Warriors placed the contract of Jeremy Lin on waivers.
Dec 11, 2011 - The Houston Rockets made a successful waiver claim for the contract of Jeremy Lin.
Dec 25, 2011 - The Houston Rockets placed the contract of Jeremy Lin on waivers.
Dec 27, 2011 - The New York Knicks made a successful waiver claim for the contract of Jeremy Lin.
Jan 17, 2012 - The New York Knicks assigned Jeremy Lin to the Erie BayHawks of the D-League.
Jan 23, 2012 - The New York Knicks recalled Jeremy Lin from the Erie BayHawks of the D-League.


In two stellar games at the "basketball Mecca," Lin has:
Feb. 6: 28 pts, 2 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, a three, but 8 turnovers.
Feb. 4: 25 pts, 5 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, and only one turnover.

Now the Knicks have their second win streak of the season and a short-term savior at the point guard position, despite those pesky turnovers in Lin's first start... against a perfectly average team with its own slew of injury problems.

Given that the Knicks play in New York, this means hyperbole and expectation untempered by reality reigns supreme. Sure, Lin could be the next Derrick Rose (though with a college degree), but then I could be the next Parris Glendening.

Analysis and hype aside, some folks have taken it to the perfectly sensible realm of satire. Witness the comments on today's Daily Dime:

28NYjets: Is it possible for Lin and Shump to share the ROY award? Or should they just give Lin the MVP and Shump the ROY?

EAGLESMETS14: all of u guys are so inmature like its a game so knicks fans get a little excited relax their not saying hes D-rose
28NYjets: yea, we're saying he's jason kidd

The_Truth_That_Resides: LIN IS NOW THE BENCHMARK FOR ELITE PG PLAY.

The_Truth_That_Resides: IF MAGIC JOHNSON AND MICHAEL JORDAN FUSED TOGETHER.. THEY STILL COULD NOT DEFEAT LIN.
CHI-TOWN-BULLS: Dumb...and your caps lock is on.
The_Truth_That_Resides: ACTUALLY IT IS NOT. I AM HOLDING SHIFT.


I will be very happy if Jeremy Lin becomes the new Chuck Norris-esque name in basketball, but even happier if someone makes me a shirt that says "CAPS LOCK IS NOT ON, ACTUALLY. I AM HOLDING SHIFT."

2 comments:

  1. I hoped, yet I doubted.

    JEREMY LIN = THE TRUTH THAT RESIDES.

    whatever that means.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Here's Lin's shot chart from his win against the Lakers tonight: http://twitgoo.com/5efwhu

    Take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0oaqWMLdwk and note that Lin likes to go to his right.

    Fisher can't handle that given his lack of lateral movement. Lin's for real, but he's vulnerable when he has to go to his left. For evidence, check his (amazing) game against the Jazz. 8 TOs.

    ReplyDelete