Houston Rockets (16-11) at Golden State Warriors (9-14)
TV: CSN Bay Area / Radio: KNBR 680
Blog Buddy: The Dream Shake
In the ninth day following the birth of Linsanity (2/4/2012, for you numerologists), Jeremy Lin Former Team #2 faced off against Jeremy Lin Former Team #3. I'm defining JLFT #1 as the Mavericks, who let him walk despite his promising showing in the 2010 Las Vegas Summer League, including what seemed then to be a fluky outplaying of highly-hyped rookie John Wall. Misery loves company, so I take some small solace in the fact that Dallas and Houston are our partners in regret. Of course the Mavs have the saving grace of being, you know, NBA Champions; and the Rockets, being the Rockets, have somehow managed to parlay the solid play of Kyle Lowry (perhaps the most underrated PG in the league) and a motley assortment of role players to a 16-11 record. Meanwhile, in Warriorland, long-suffering fans get to watch their local hero shine from 3,000 miles away; the front office keeps trying like the dickens to make a consequential move; and the slightly sub-mediocre collection of players keeps plugging away gamely, making a seeming bee line to a #8-12 draft pick that the team will promptly have to convey to the Utah Jazz.
Sigh. On the bright side, there's a Warriors game tonight! Make the jump for some predictions about the game and a couple more Lin-ecdotes.
Lin-ecdotes
It's easy enough to throw around words like "phenomenal" and "historic," but sometimes the best way to measure the magnitude of a cultural phenomenon is through daily anecdotes. Yesterday, as I was walking down Pell Street in NYC's Chinatown (soup dumplings at Joe's Shanghai, mmm) I walked by two bars with hastily posted sandwich boards in front hyping big TVs on which patrons could watch Jeremy Lin the Knicks. This morning, I was watching an MSNBC report on the death of Whitney Houston (RIP, Whitney), and the subject turned to her role in the "crossover" appeal of black music in the 1980s. A panelist on the show, noting the degree to which any gap between black and white music is now almost completely a thing of the past, said something like, "these days if you mention the word 'crossover,' people think you're talking about Jeremy Lin..."
Lin-credible.
Predictions
• Curry puts up a Lin-like 28 points on 18 fga and 11 assists.
• Monta takes it to the rim like Jeremy Lin: 30 points.
• Rush, Klay, and Dorell continue to stroke it from three like Jeremy Lin: 11 3FG total
• Lee and Biedrins crash the glass like Jeremy Lin: 22 rebounds total
• Udoh continues to play D with Lin-like aggressiveness.
• Final score: Warriors 108-103
Poll
Best NBA Player of All-Time, not including Jordan or Lin:
This poll is closed
-
6%
Larry Bird
(43 votes) -
5%
Hakeem Olajuwon
(40 votes) -
23%
Magic Johnson
(164 votes) -
4%
Oscar Robertson
(34 votes) -
7%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
(53 votes) -
1%
Charles Barkley
(8 votes) -
0%
Karl Malone
(2 votes) -
1%
John Stockton
(9 votes) -
0%
Tim Duncan
(6 votes) -
0%
Kevin Garnett
(5 votes) -
0%
David Robinson
(3 votes) -
6%
LeBron James
(47 votes) -
10%
Bill Russell
(75 votes) -
0%
Julius Erving
(6 votes) -
1%
Jerry West
(10 votes) -
0%
Moses Malone
(2 votes) -
3%
Shaquille O'Neal
(24 votes) -
18%
Wilt Chamberlain
(133 votes) -
1%
Scottie Pippen
(8 votes) -
5%
Other (specify in comments)
(37 votes)