Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Linsane


I love Jeremy Lin as much as the next guy (although it still upsets me that if Chris Paul was a Laker, Jeremy Lin would still be playing for my Houston Rockets) and I don't think this is a fluke. Jeremy Lin is really really good. But we should keep our expectations reasonable, and remember that, no matter how good he may seem against NBA teams that haven't practiced in 3 months, I'd still take 15 other PGs over him. Don't believe me? Here's the list:

Derron Williams: because he's stuck in Jersey, people forget that he might be the most talented PG in the game. Size, strength, speed, inside game, 3 pt shot, court vision, and defense. He has it all.

Derrick Rose: quickest player from the 3 point line to the rim in the league. Not to mention he's one of the best finishers in the league. His fight-for-everything underdog mentality is at the heart of everything the Bulls do.

Chris Paul: no one better at orchestrating an offense. The definition of a pure PG

Russell Westbrook: Westbrook makes 2 or 3 plays a game that no other PG in the world could make. Rising star

Tony Parker: People forget he was an NBA finals MVP

Steve Nash: I don't care how old he is. Arguably the best shooter in the league, and if he's on your team, you're guaranteed to have a top 5 offense in the NBA.

Kyle Lowry: 16 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals is an average night for K-Low. Best defensive PG in the league.

Rajon Rondo - If only he could shoot the ball. Everything else is an A+.

Steph Curry - 17-7-4. I've always been shocked that everyone just forgot about Stephon once he got to the NBA. Maybe it's because he plays for the Warriors.

Kyrie Irving - Your rookie of the year. 19 ppg on 49% (that's higher than Tebow's completion percentage!) shooting and 44% from 3.

Rubio - You know about the passing, but he's also second in the league in steals. Lots of potential.

John Wall - stuck in a black hole, but he's still the fastest player from one basket to the other in the NBA. If only he had someone to pass the ball to.

Brandon Jennings - Only 22 years old, and averages 19 ppg. Doesn't always make the best decisions, but can fill it up with the best of them.

Jrue Holliday - The best player on the 20-13 Sixers. Could be a an even better socrer, but it spends the 3 quarters getting his teammates involved before taking over in the 4th.

Tyreke Evans - Maybe he doesn't like to pass the ball, but someone who averages 20-5-5 his rookie year has a long career in front of him

Kemba Walker, Brendan Knight, and Ty Lawson all could also have made the list.

So before we start demanding that Jeremy Lin wins championships or get disappointed when he doesn't average 25-11 for the rest of his career, let's try to keep things in perspective.

11 comments:

  1. This is crazy talk, Tony Parker's over the hill, Steph Curry can't string three games together without getting hurt (and the same goes for Tyreke "Put my head down and drive" Evans), and Kemba Walker, Brandon Knight and Ty Lawson would have all been ridiculous, at least you left them off the list.

    And you didn't even mention that Jrue Holiday is ambi-dunkstrous.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I almost put the Dragon here. Look at those moves! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrMYRUTJX54

    But seriously,
    Tony Parker is only 30 and averaging 20-8. And he's performed in the playoffs
    Steph Curry has had stretches like Jeremy Lin's had, and he's only missed 10 games in first 2 years. If we're judging players based on injury history alone, than Amare just fell out of the top 10 PF
    I hate Tyreke. You can have that one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kyle Lowry was unstoppable at the beginning of the season, liked his game since day 1.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's cause he's asian, isn't he? that's just not fair.

    ReplyDelete
  5. How many of those other players have sixty wordplays on their name?

    Yeah, that's what I thought. I'd pick Lin over the other guys because he's still an unknown, and he's intimidating. And because he's Asian.

    ReplyDelete
  6. At the end of the day, he's still just a pretty good point guard. Can't contend with Le BJ.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kyrie Irving is the greatest player ever!!! Cleveland is back!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ideas need to be fleshed out more. This may have been better formatted as simply a list of the best point guards in the league. Not enough justification for why you would take the other players over Lin. Also you need to distinguish between potential and ability at this time, your criteria differs from player to player.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. captain critical,

      your last "sentence" needs a period instead of a comma.
      http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/runons.htm

      Delete