Probably the most comprehensive scouting report ever published on Jeremy Lin (12/15/09)

by Poor Man's Commish on Feb 9, 2012 8:14 AM PST in Hype

Could there be a bigger destination for The Jeremy Lin Show than the NBA? Well, actually...

Even to me, it's amazing that "The Jeremy Lin Show" has reached the NBA level (more on the origins of that phrase in a future blogpost). But not all of this is coming out of thin air. Yes, Jeremy has actually done this before, on a fairly consistent basis. Why didn't anyone think it was translatable to the NBA? That's a question that has a complex answer and is also probably worth a separate post.

Following up on Atma's fanshot, here's the link to the original "most comprehensive" scouting report, and if you want my brief take on it now looking back, hit the jump...

http://sbn.to/x0B3zD

Could I possibly go out on a limb again? Haha, sure. You only live once! Here you go:

Next stop for The Jeremy Lin Show: the Olympics. Why not? You never thought it was possible to reach the NBA despite what he did at Paly or Harvard. Why not for Team USA? You heard it here first.

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Re-reading the B-o-w to the Jeremy Lin Movement article as referenced before the jump, it's just crazy all the little nuances I have forgotten about Jeremy Lin. So it's not like he's pulling these last three games with the Knicks out of thin air. The only things I would've changed about this article I wrote in 2009 are...

So that it wouldn't be mistaken as a metric for drafting a player, explain that the dunk stats were more a rebuttal to all the people including Draft pundits who were telling me that Jeremy wasn't "athletic", and
Emphasize that I went over the top on the hype because NO ONE EXCEPT ME was taking Jeremy seriously as an NBA draft pick. No one. Not Jonathan Givony, not Tommy Amaker, not Peter Diepenbrock, not ex-AAU coach Jim Sutter, not his mom, not his dad, not his brothers, not even himself.

And yet, I had the evidence right there before me telling me otherwise. The reason the other people never had that aha moment that this could be translated to the NBA was that they didn't have the context or the precedent to do so.

I did. It was called Vegas Summer League. No, I don't mean that particular game in which Jeremy went off on John Wall. I mean Summer League, in general. I'd seen enough of the caliber of play at that level -- and, not to mention, the many, many, many rec league games and national tournaments for amateurs that I've done being the founder of Dream League (way way more than 10,000 hours, in case you're a reader of Malcolm Gladwell) -- to put what Jeremy was doing into some context. I suppose that's worth yet another blogpost, too.

While the road was rocky, Jeremy had his own way and was determined to make it to where he is now, based on meritocracy. I was never convinced that meritocracy was enough in American society. Now, even I've been proven wrong by him. But that's another blogpost (stay tuned)...

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More scouting report

I’m probably doing a “real” scouting report (i.e., how to stop him — wow, it’s amazing we’ve reached that point, cool) today or tomorrow, ahead of the LAL-NYK matchup.

I’ll fanshot it, but it will probably be with LakersNation and TheNoLookPass.

Twitter: @poormanscommish
Facebook: http://facebook.com/dreamleague

by Poor Man's Commish on Feb 9, 2012 8:15 AM PST reply actions

Wow! I just read your entire report on Lin! Cannot wait For Stop That Dragon Sequel! Do you have a crystal ball?

I particularly enjoyed reading the comments, at that time, to your BOW blog. The usual naysayers, shallow analysis, spotlight-big-conference-eyes-wide serial comments. I love it when you responded to one by simply saying you had SEEN him play and he showed more maturity, poise, insincts, etc. than the point guards that were the conference heavies. At any rate, great work! I will be reading you very carefully in the days ahead.

by dinohealth on Feb 9, 2012 10:43 AM PST up reply actions

Lin always able to drive to the basket and finish the play

Not just in the summer league, even in Warriors pre-season games last year, Lin and Reggie were great combo. Lin drives, either finish the shot, or get foul, or kick it out to Reggie for 3’s. To Smart’s eyes, it means Lin needs to work on his midrange and stop doing that. Go figure.

by ILoveWarriorsGirls on Feb 9, 2012 8:21 AM PST reply actions

The front page of Yahoo Sports asks if Lin is the next Tebow....

larry riley needs to leave. now.

It's lonely being the only Warriors fan at UMass :(

by j-spliff415 on Feb 9, 2012 8:36 AM PST reply actions

And media and fans were beginning to criticize Lacob for signing Jeremy Lin. Looks like we've all done a complete 180 and now we say we knew it all along.

by MonstaEllis on Feb 9, 2012 10:26 AM PST up reply actions

Naw...if they had done a complete 180, he would be on our roster! lol

by dinohealth on Feb 9, 2012 10:48 AM PST up reply actions

beginning?

Lin’s been controversial since he was signed. Some of us did, in fact, think he needed playing time to evaluate him, and that he had the potential to be very good. Some didn’t. But I haven’t seen much flipflopping on his evaluations – the folks who thought he had potential to play as well as he has still do, the folks who didn’t still don’t. All that’s changed is that their excuses for why he can’t are getting thinner the more he has a chance to play.

He's a one-legged skateboarding card sharp who knows the secret of the alien invasion. She's a transdimensional belly-dancing cab driver from beyond the grave. They fight crime!

by Rasputin10 on Feb 9, 2012 12:43 PM PST up reply actions

I always liked Lin since I read the above post. I love underdogs to an absolute fault though

Remember David Wood? Well he was one of my favorite players, for utterly no reason besides the fact that he barely ever played but when he did he sometimes dunked really hard. I also rooted hard for Donyell Marshall to somehow live up to his early hype while he was on the Warriors. Lin was just an extension of that want for the underdog to succeed. Oh yeah Bellineli too.

Then I saw him play defense at the end of the year. I also saw his D-League stats and I legitimately wanted him to be the backup point guard. I legitimately believed that he would be the first guard off the bench this year for the Warriors. When the Knicks got Lin I congratulated them on a good signing and gave them a scouting report.

I think there were many, many Warrior fans that saw what I saw and you can see their arguments on this site, especially in the game threads where Smart kept on insisting on playing Acie Law. I honestly think that there are people that post regularly on this blog I would be more comfortable with running this team than the current people running the team.

This off-season turned out to be in my opinion a catastrophe. Sure Rush was a good move and we got a few other guys that can come off the bench and play good D. We signed Robinson and that’s been going well for us. We even drafted pretty well(although I wouldn’t have drafted Thompson.) The issue I had was the incredible boneheaded move of amnestying Charlie Bell and letting Reggie Williams and Lin go for absolutely no reason. Even extending that offer to Jordan in the first place was a dumb move, we never had a chance. In essence we failed to get the guy we wanted and we lost two players with value to do it and we also failed to get rid of Biedrins contract to boot and lost a once in a decade opportunity to amnesty a significant contract.

by brutusbrutus on Feb 10, 2012 9:26 PM PST up reply actions

Woody

played that one season gone awry because of the Webber debacle. I liked Wood if for no other reason he could really get under Barkley’s skin. Good defender too, but Nelson only liked him cause he could shoot the 3.

by DomoKun on Feb 10, 2012 10:41 PM PST up reply actions

#linsanity

If you're watching a blowout, you can pass the time by counting the double teapots.
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Don't believe everything you read on the internet - Abraham Lincoln

by doubleteapot on Feb 9, 2012 8:43 AM PST reply actions

Poor Man's Commish

did you ever think he would be THIS good, though?

If you're watching a blowout, you can pass the time by counting the double teapots.
Samurai Champloo > Macross
I gif stuff
Don't believe everything you read on the internet - Abraham Lincoln

by doubleteapot on Feb 9, 2012 8:43 AM PST reply actions

Why didn't anyone think it was translatable to the NBA?

It was when I saw him play against UConn that I felt he had a chance at the NBA level. I mean alot of the hype prior to the game was on Walker and Jerome Dyson, but it ended up being Lin that stole the show. What you see now was evident in that game as well. He’s improved obviously, but this is not something he developed overnight.

What a happy outcome for Lin. You must feel a little vindicated. I know I really appreciated what you had to say while Lin was playing in the Portsmouth tourney.

by DomoKun on Feb 9, 2012 8:46 AM PST reply actions

No Pun intended

But I will call this blog Golden Lin of Mind. We got like 3 or more thread talking about Jeremy Lin. I don’t know where to post my comments anymore.

If you are still sour graping about, why we let go Lin. Blame it on Keith Smart for not playing him. For sending him to Reno. For Smart have a love interest on Acie Law and Radman. I am glad he is not our coach anymore. It is the same thing he does with Sac town he rarely play Jimmer. Only when Jimmer does not have shooting slump. He suck at rotation, he almost play Tyreke 40 min a night.

Win Or Lose Warriors For Life.........

mykelala01 is like the bouncer with the red rope for GSOM. You’re good to come in now.

by TheSoundOfHockey on Apr 24, 2011 9:24 PM PDT

by mykelala01 on Feb 9, 2012 9:42 AM PST reply actions 1 recs

Comish, I would love to know if you wrote anything on Reggie Williams! Another great player that went under the radar gun because people thought

2 NCAA scoring titles were not NBA-translatable. I know, he, too, was Big Dog and played for a conference similar to Lin’s (and Curry’s!).

by dinohealth on Feb 9, 2012 10:03 AM PST reply actions

I am bothered by players who get attention solely for being of a certain ethnicity. It’s like when all the Boston fans used to go gorillas for Brian Scalabrini. It isn’t Lin’s fault he gets all the attention, but it sours my opinion of him nonetheless.

Sittin in my scraper watchin Oakland goin wild, ta-dow!

by Supafishal on Feb 9, 2012 10:54 AM PST reply actions

Boston fans still go wild for Scal.

I dunno. It used to annoy me, but … the deal with Lin is that he can ~~play~~. Which is sweet.

Rose decides not to go 1-on-2 and I was thinking, "what are you doing?! You've got the numbers!" -Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live

by Prevenge on Feb 9, 2012 12:14 PM PST up reply actions

What are the chances of Linear regression?

Follow @thecity2

Read my Advanced Stats Primer

J-RIDAH: Its not 1 player in this draft better than Monta or Lee. Anthony Davis is no different than Al Farouq Aminu. Andre Drummond could be good but he is not impressive at this point at all besides his size. This draft is hella overated.

(JaVale) Mcgee is better than anybody in this draft.

by Evanz on Feb 9, 2012 11:05 AM PST reply actions 1 recs

Highly predictable; in this case, hopefully, later. It is such a joy ride. :-)

A dot out here, and a dot out there, is to be expected in the meantime. Kinda like those 8 turnovers. lol

by dinohealth on Feb 9, 2012 12:24 PM PST up reply actions

3 GAMES...

Let’s see him do this when Stat & Melo come back. I hope he does well but I think what he’s done in the last few games is not something he can do consistantly, especially with all-stars on the floor. If Stat & Melo actually trust him though, I could be wrong.

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by JonDoe on Feb 9, 2012 11:18 AM PST reply actions

For me, the point has been made

Even if he never does another thing beyond these three games, I think that he’s achieved far beyond what so many people thought was possible for him. Moving the bar just seems to begrudge that.

Remember all the posts around here that making him a Warrior was just a marketing stunt to sell tickets? I suppose it’s still possible those claims are right from an addled Warrior management POV, but Lin has now proved himself worthy of having that kind of game. Wow! Maybe someone has anecdotal evidence that it could be luck/random variation, but I’d be surprised.

I am so impressed that Poor Man’s Commish was on board that early and that fervently. Thanks for linking back to that.

"Your curses do not compare to those of Houston fans or Detroit fans, and especially not to those of fans from the northside of Chicago. You are not Hamlet. You are Valerie Bertinelli. Your victim act is schlocky, and totally unconvincing. You fancy yourself tormented. You are merely insecure."
-- Scott Burton to Red Sox fans, 6/12/02
http://espn.go.com/magazine/burton_20020612.html

by achiappanza on Feb 9, 2012 9:18 PM PST up reply actions

Jeebus, you'd think GSOM was Golden State of Lin ...

But here’s a REAL scouting report on his first two games:

http://nbaplaybook.com/2012/02/08/a-look-at-jeremy-lin/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NBAPlaybook+%28NBA+Playbook%29

by Ronaldinho on Feb 9, 2012 11:26 AM PST reply actions

Or as mykelala1 says above:

But I will call this blog Golden Lin of Mind.

Follow @thecity2

Read my Advanced Stats Primer

(JaVale) Mcgee is better than anybody in this draft.

by Evanz on Feb 9, 2012 11:33 AM PST up reply actions

I was thinking a name change was in order as well

My choice was GoldLin state of mind

by azw on Feb 9, 2012 12:36 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs

Thanks, Ronaldinho. Interesting reading.

Sounds like a lot of apologestics from a missed-the-mark prognasticator!

by dinohealth on Feb 9, 2012 12:45 PM PST up reply actions

"apologetics"

by dinohealth on Feb 9, 2012 12:46 PM PST up reply actions

Haha. I love scouting reports that try to "glean" (by their own admission), some tidbits and conclude by saying:

“However, another big game or two this week could provide more clues that only deepen the mystery. "

Well, the report was after the first two games, so, we have now had “another big game” at Washington.

So, what has changed?

Lin is either very good, or, a great “mystery”.

Gee, fellow, thanks a lot!

by dinohealth on Feb 9, 2012 12:39 PM PST reply actions

You don't think the discussion of how the defenses played (or didn't) is relevant?

by Ronaldinho on Feb 9, 2012 1:21 PM PST up reply actions

6 of the last 12 home page articles are about Jeremy Lin.

Not to mention all of the fanshots. I’m a huge Jeremy Lin fan and I’m happy to see him doing so well, but this is getting as ridiculous as ESPN’s infatuation with Tim Tebow.

by Pippen on Feb 9, 2012 1:41 PM PST reply actions

I know what you mean

But the core nature of the Internet (especially open posting corners of it) is that the only viable policy is “Let 1000 roses bloom.” When users do what they want to do, you just gotta accept it as an indicator of what the people want.

This can, of course, result in memes beat into the ground. But if I can sit through a million references to “TWSS,” Rick-Rolling, or sarchasm, I can stomach Lin fandom. It’ll go however it’s meant to go.

by achiappanza on Feb 9, 2012 9:27 PM PST up reply actions

It's an embarrassment to the Warriors...

Management and coaches to let a player like Lin walk for absolutely nothing. That’s why year in and year out we continue to be a bottom feeder. Morrow was another nice player who left for nothing. The list just continues…

by anhdazman on Feb 9, 2012 8:15 PM PST reply actions

An old poll and some comments on Jeremy Lin from when we first got him:

http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2010/10/12/1746394/thoughts-on-jeremy-lin

Like PoorMan’sCommish, I thought he was worth a first-round pick and had starter potential. Also, like PoorMansCommish, I did not expect him to be as good as he’s been over the last few games, certainly not another team.

I'm the soul brotha' like no other!

by Naticus on Feb 10, 2012 2:00 PM PST reply actions

I was reading through the comments in the Thoughts On Jeremy Lin thread, and I said bluntly, “He’s not going to be an all-star.” In hindsight, I don’t know why i was so sure he wouldn’t be. As it turns out, ya’ never know!

I'm the soul brotha' like no other!

by Naticus on Feb 10, 2012 2:07 PM PST up reply actions

Polls results from Warriors fans for Lin’s ceiling:

46%: backup PG
27%: NBA starter
7%: Euroleague material
6%: HOFer
5%: Don’t know. Not sure I’d tell you if I did.
4%: An All-Star
1%: A huge loser.
>1%: A perennial All-Star

As a side note, I edited the article, so it would be more appropriate for this discussion thread.

I'm the soul brotha' like no other!

by Naticus on Feb 10, 2012 2:12 PM PST up reply actions