P-BHAK’S CORNER
Jeremy Lin, the Harvard product, has taken the sports world by storm. The ultimate story of perseverance, Lin has answered his doubters game after game. Against the Lakers, Lin silenced his critics with a career game. So why was this gem of a player not given a chance by any NBA organization before the New York Knicks decided to play him in desperation?
The question is being asked by every single organization in the NBA right now. A quote from the film “Moneyball” answers this question well. Johan Hill’s character, Peter Brand, said, “It’s about getting things down to one number. Using stats to reread them, we’ll find the value of players that nobody else can see. People are over looked for a variety of biased reasons and perceived flaws. Age, appearance, personality.”
In a 2010 NBA draft preview article, Ed Weiland of HoopsAnalyst called Lin the best available point guard after the top draft picks. Weiland pointed out that Lin had the best two-point field goal percentage and scored extremely high in Weiland’s equation called RSB40. Surprisingly, Lin was not drafted by any team in the league.
After being cut by Golden State and Houston to make room for other players, Lin found himself with the Knicks as a fourth string point guard. Faith opened up the window of opportunity for Lin, who has excelled since. Ironically, the Knicks now have placed their faith in Lin’s hands. The Knicks were struggling while they couldn’t muster a flowing efficient offensive output. Now they have Jeremy Lin, the missing piece they were looking for, who can run offense the offense they need.
Whatever the biased reasons and perceived flaws that may have kept Lin from getting a chance, Lin now has a team and millions of fans around the world. In the city of New York, basketball is a beloved sport. New York hasn’t had a dynamic and charismatic player to cheer on at the Garden in a long, long time. Did I mention the Knicks are on a five-game “Linning” streak?
