Slog Comments
Jeremy Lin Saves the NBA
2
i don't know that he's saving the NBA, but he does have excellent timing. he's explosive, he's got a great hesitation/stab step at the top of the circle, it allows him to split defense and drive to the cup quick. it also appears that he's got some great passing skills. kind of a weird jump shot, but it's working.
i'm curious to see if it can last. two years ago, folks were amazed at brandon jennings, he came out of nowhere for the bucks and had a great run. then, once other teams had amassed film on him and built a scouting report, they were able to shut him down. lin's got no dossier, so he's confusing for folks right now, and capitalizing. good for him.
seems like a pretty good dude, though he made sure to thank god in the post-game. whatevs to that.
if carmelo anthony had any sense of decency and fairness, he'd be giving his game checks to lin. carmelo makes over 18 million dollars this season, and sat out last night with an "injured groin". lin will make slightly less than $800,000 this season, and scored a season high for the knicks (38 points) this season in a win over the lakers.
carmelo made about $272,000 last night by pretending to be happy for lin on the sidelines.
lin made about $12,000 last night.
i'm curious to see if it can last. two years ago, folks were amazed at brandon jennings, he came out of nowhere for the bucks and had a great run. then, once other teams had amassed film on him and built a scouting report, they were able to shut him down. lin's got no dossier, so he's confusing for folks right now, and capitalizing. good for him.
seems like a pretty good dude, though he made sure to thank god in the post-game. whatevs to that.
if carmelo anthony had any sense of decency and fairness, he'd be giving his game checks to lin. carmelo makes over 18 million dollars this season, and sat out last night with an "injured groin". lin will make slightly less than $800,000 this season, and scored a season high for the knicks (38 points) this season in a win over the lakers.
carmelo made about $272,000 last night by pretending to be happy for lin on the sidelines.
lin made about $12,000 last night.
3
See, get a Harvard man to masturbate a bit less often and you never know what he might accomplish!
5
The New York Knicks drafted the first Asian American (Japanese), Wat Misaka, in the first round back in 1947:
http://www.nba.com/features/global_misak…
http://www.nba.com/features/global_misak…
6
And Lin has the nerdiest handshake imaginable with a Stanford grad teammate:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/jeremy-l…
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/jeremy-l…
7
Here's a column about Lin and race from a couple of years ago. It starts with commentary about that whites-only basketball league that some teabagger wanted to found. Here's a key passage:
"Coaches, scouts and recruiters have to be willing to be color-blind in their evaluation of players," says ESPN anchor Michael Kim. "But you have to wonder if they'd fairly judge a 6-foot 3-inch, 175 pound Asian guard with a similar talent and skillset as a black or white player. And in the case of Jeremy Lin, it doesn't appear as if they did."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg…
"Coaches, scouts and recruiters have to be willing to be color-blind in their evaluation of players," says ESPN anchor Michael Kim. "But you have to wonder if they'd fairly judge a 6-foot 3-inch, 175 pound Asian guard with a similar talent and skillset as a black or white player. And in the case of Jeremy Lin, it doesn't appear as if they did."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg…
8
What Spinoza actually said was "The object of the idea constituting the human mind is the body."
Give it up, Charles; concentrate on another philosopher.
Give it up, Charles; concentrate on another philosopher.
9
@2: Sort of a Devin Hester effect. He tore up the league his rookie season, but then people learned to stop kicking to him. Now he gets a return for TD every now and then instead of every other game the way he used to. (Of course, the Bears often get good field position precisely because the other team is kicking it away from Hester...)
@6: Brilliant!
@6: Brilliant!
10
talk to me in a year...if he is still putting up these numbers i will shut up but until then, he's doing great - NOW.
saving the NBA? get over it charles, david stern is the only one who can save the NBA by resigning.
saving the NBA? get over it charles, david stern is the only one who can save the NBA by resigning.
11
If you listen, the announcer said "I.Q. for the game". He's 6'3" 175lb, obviously he's got to be playing some smart basketball there.
And anyway, he went to Harvard, and it's not like he's a legacy or anything. I'm sure he does have a high I.Q. A lot has been made about his race, and it no doubt contributed to his under-recruitment, but there are other factors too, like that he doesn't show any flash of athletic brilliance in quick reviews, and coaches are rushed to make an assessment.
But regardless of his ethnicity, can we just enjoy the story and the playing?
And anyway, he went to Harvard, and it's not like he's a legacy or anything. I'm sure he does have a high I.Q. A lot has been made about his race, and it no doubt contributed to his under-recruitment, but there are other factors too, like that he doesn't show any flash of athletic brilliance in quick reviews, and coaches are rushed to make an assessment.
But regardless of his ethnicity, can we just enjoy the story and the playing?
12
As a basketball fan and a pickup basketball player, I am utterly spellbound by the athleticism, skill, and creativity of Jeremy Lin and--considering that basketball is the consummate team sport--by the remarkable, joyous chemistry that he has with his teammates. This is truly a case of the whole being greater the sum of its parts.
I also think it's no coincidence that Lin is seeing such success with Tyson Chandler as his teammate. Just as I think it was no coincidence that it was with Tyson Chandler that the Dallas Mavericks upset the Miami Heat by proving that a true team can defeat a collection of individual superstars. And I say this to in no way diminish Lin's accomplishments. The brilliance of Lin is a function of the brilliance of Chandler, and vice versa.
I also think it's no coincidence that Lin is seeing such success with Tyson Chandler as his teammate. Just as I think it was no coincidence that it was with Tyson Chandler that the Dallas Mavericks upset the Miami Heat by proving that a true team can defeat a collection of individual superstars. And I say this to in no way diminish Lin's accomplishments. The brilliance of Lin is a function of the brilliance of Chandler, and vice versa.
13
As for Charles Mudede's reaction to Jeremy Lin: I and many other people finally have a reason to watch professional basketball. That reason is Jeremy Lin.
Well, somehow I am not the least bit surprised, and I say that in a good way.
Well, somehow I am not the least bit surprised, and I say that in a good way.
15
Charles I think you misunderstand the race/iq thing, basketball iq is often applied to skilled point guards. They take command of the floor and have an innate ability to see how plays will develop before anyone else on the floor. Players like Oscar Robertson, Steve Nash, Mark Jackson, John Stockton etc.
Not to say there is zero racism...certain black players get described as athletic, and not much more...damning with faint praise. Similar white players are rarely described that way.
Not to say there is zero racism...certain black players get described as athletic, and not much more...damning with faint praise. Similar white players are rarely described that way.
16
His being Asian is definitely part of it, but c'mon, if he were any race, as an undrafted player from Harvard, sleeping on his brother's couch in the east village, and now practically the sole reason the Knicks are winning without their two biggest stars in the lineup, he'd be celebrated! It's not like NY has had a lot of reasons to celebrate the Knicks in the past decade! It's LIN-SANE!
17
As for Charles's discussion of basketball and intelligence and "IQ," I'm sure there is some correlation/overlap between the enormous intelligence that Jeremy Lin brings to the game of basketball and the intelligence that got him into Harvard.
But I'd also like to say something just for "basketball IQ." Basketball, much like soccer and hockey, is a sport where you're forced to continually make almost instantaneous decisions based on a multitude of possibilities. Sometimes the more creative and counterintuitive you can be, the more success you'll have; other times the simple choice is the right choice and you just have to execute.
I have no doubt that great NBA players like Chris Paul and Steve Nash have exceptional minds that they have honed to an efficiency that few of Lin's fellow Harvard alums could match. I'm supposed to have a high IQ, I get paid to think really hard, and yet, when I watch these guys, the thing I am most in awe of is not their physical gifts, it's their mental gifts.
But I'd also like to say something just for "basketball IQ." Basketball, much like soccer and hockey, is a sport where you're forced to continually make almost instantaneous decisions based on a multitude of possibilities. Sometimes the more creative and counterintuitive you can be, the more success you'll have; other times the simple choice is the right choice and you just have to execute.
I have no doubt that great NBA players like Chris Paul and Steve Nash have exceptional minds that they have honed to an efficiency that few of Lin's fellow Harvard alums could match. I'm supposed to have a high IQ, I get paid to think really hard, and yet, when I watch these guys, the thing I am most in awe of is not their physical gifts, it's their mental gifts.
18
One other thought and then I'll shut up. As long as we're talking basketball and "race" and intelligence, I can't help but be reminded of a little-known bit of basketball history. Back in the 1920s and 1930s, it wasn't African Americans who dominated basketball, it was American Jews.
And back in the day, Jewish basketball success was seen as a function of the Jewish mind. From an article Jewish Basketball Giants:
As a Jew (in some loose sense of the word), I'm happy to take all these stereotypes as compliments.
And back in the day, Jewish basketball success was seen as a function of the Jewish mind. From an article Jewish Basketball Giants:
"The reason, I suspect, that basketball appeals to the Hebrew with his Oriental background," wrote Paul Gallico, sports editor of the New York Daily News in the 1930s, "is that the game places a premium on an alert, scheming mind, flashy trickiness, artful dodging and general smart aleckness."
As a Jew (in some loose sense of the word), I'm happy to take all these stereotypes as compliments.
20
@17, if you look at a picture of the pitch/rink/court, it's easy to see that soccer, basketball, and hockey are all virtually the same game.
The funny thing about Lin is that less than two weeks ago the Knicks came within an inch of cutting him. Instead, they let him have his head, and he's turned the team completely around. The thing that I, as a non-basketball fan for the most part (Downtown Freddie Brown was my last hero), find interesting to watch is how much fun he looks like he's having.
The funny thing about Lin is that less than two weeks ago the Knicks came within an inch of cutting him. Instead, they let him have his head, and he's turned the team completely around. The thing that I, as a non-basketball fan for the most part (Downtown Freddie Brown was my last hero), find interesting to watch is how much fun he looks like he's having.
21
Nope, not enough to get me to care in the slightest about the NBA. Can't imagine anything that could possibly make pro basketball interesting, short of a return to the way it was played in the 60s and the reincarnation of Wilt, Russ, Oscar, Baylor, West, et al.
22
No Charles, the NBA is watchable because of:
Lebron James, Blake Griffin, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Dirk Nowitski, Kevin Love, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Dwight Howard...well, I could go on and on all night.
The overall talent level in the NBA is at its best in almost 20 years, but you're too ignorant to notice. Jeremy Lin is a nice story for about a week. When (not IF) he hits a dry spell, then we go back to talking about players who have proved themselves to be great over a much longer period of time.
Lebron James, Blake Griffin, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Dirk Nowitski, Kevin Love, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Dwight Howard...well, I could go on and on all night.
The overall talent level in the NBA is at its best in almost 20 years, but you're too ignorant to notice. Jeremy Lin is a nice story for about a week. When (not IF) he hits a dry spell, then we go back to talking about players who have proved themselves to be great over a much longer period of time.
23
Charles, comments 11 and 17 are correct, you have the racism part wrong, comment 7 accurately identified the institutionalized racism in the NBA.
Google Hubie Brown+basketball IQ, and you will get 6,900 returns. It is a specific term coaches use for a player knowing and doing the right play at the right time in a given situation.
Here, look at the coaches blackboard, and note that the Prinston Offense requires a "high basketball IQ".
http://www.coachesclipboard.net/Princeto…
Also, the announcer, Hubie Brown, is a former Knicks coach (a homer) that prefers players with "high basketball IQ's", would sooner play a smart veteran point guard over an athletically superior point guard.
The announcer, Hall of Fame coach Hubie Brown essentially invented the concept of the 5 players on the floor not just playing positions, but specifically numbered them 1 through 5, each having specific and complimentary attributes to run plays to perfection. Each player should have a high basketball IQ, it is essential for the playmaking point guard to have a supior knowledge of the game in motion. It is essential for the shooting guard (#2) to be an excellent scorer, it is essential that the small forward (#3) be able to do both defend the mid court well and possess a mid-range jumpshot, it is essential that the power forward (#4) both rebound the basketball well and defend the key, it is essential that the center (#5) both be able to score in the low post as well as defend the low post.
Back to comment 7, what I saw of the clips he would have been something close to a 1st round pick if he were black (but not French) or white (but not Spanish, Canadians ok).
More...
Google Hubie Brown+basketball IQ, and you will get 6,900 returns. It is a specific term coaches use for a player knowing and doing the right play at the right time in a given situation.
Here, look at the coaches blackboard, and note that the Prinston Offense requires a "high basketball IQ".
http://www.coachesclipboard.net/Princeto…
Also, the announcer, Hubie Brown, is a former Knicks coach (a homer) that prefers players with "high basketball IQ's", would sooner play a smart veteran point guard over an athletically superior point guard.
The announcer, Hall of Fame coach Hubie Brown essentially invented the concept of the 5 players on the floor not just playing positions, but specifically numbered them 1 through 5, each having specific and complimentary attributes to run plays to perfection. Each player should have a high basketball IQ, it is essential for the playmaking point guard to have a supior knowledge of the game in motion. It is essential for the shooting guard (#2) to be an excellent scorer, it is essential that the small forward (#3) be able to do both defend the mid court well and possess a mid-range jumpshot, it is essential that the power forward (#4) both rebound the basketball well and defend the key, it is essential that the center (#5) both be able to score in the low post as well as defend the low post.
Back to comment 7, what I saw of the clips he would have been something close to a 1st round pick if he were black (but not French) or white (but not Spanish, Canadians ok).
25
@23
Here's another article written today that includes a comment from a Sports Illustrated writer who started following Lin in 2005.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg…
That article I linked to in comment 7 was when I first became aware of Lin. A couple of days after that, I happened to be having a conversation with a UW men's basketballer about race and basketball, and when I mentioned Lin, who was finishing at Harvard then, the Husky smiled and nodded in recognition, because Lin had become known in NCAA circles.
Here's another article written today that includes a comment from a Sports Illustrated writer who started following Lin in 2005.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg…
That article I linked to in comment 7 was when I first became aware of Lin. A couple of days after that, I happened to be having a conversation with a UW men's basketballer about race and basketball, and when I mentioned Lin, who was finishing at Harvard then, the Husky smiled and nodded in recognition, because Lin had become known in NCAA circles.
27
Dear Charles:
Thanks, but we don't need you. If we need a basketball commentator that can't string a coherent sentence together we already have Magic.
Love,
nba fans
Thanks, but we don't need you. If we need a basketball commentator that can't string a coherent sentence together we already have Magic.
Love,
nba fans
28
charles harshes another mellow. over analyzes a good story. stick to critiquing movies nobody watches, please
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