Sorts of Sports

Jeremy Lin or Michael Adams?

Everyone is talking about this Jeremy Lin guy, as if he is something amazing? I agree with Floyd Mayweather and his comments about Lin being Asian and getting all this credit. Really though, it helps that he plays for the Knicks, but if this was happening in Sacramento we wouldn't notice too much either. It was like Ryan Fitzpatrick doing well and people said, "Ryan Fitzpatrick from.... Harvard!".  Those are the facts, he is the first Asian American player, he is from Harvard and he is doing well. But he isn't anyone, yet. I remind people of Michael Adams.

Who is Michael Adams? I don't blame you for not knowing. He went to Boston College and graduated in 1985 and was drafted in the 3rd round of the NBA by the Sacramento Kings. He only averaged 2.2 points per game his rookie year and even spent time in the USBL during his first year. He was only 5-10, 160 lbs, but in a few years he would shine.

Adams started the 1991 season with the Washington Bullets and he put together a streak of nine straight games with 20+ points and 5+ assists. He made the All-Star team that year, but aside from two seasons, he didn't do anything in his 11 seasons in the NBA. You couldn't pick him out of a lineup, maybe because he was white? (Thankfully I posted his picture, you wouldn't know otherwise)

Jeremy Lin put together a streak of six games with 20+ points and 5+ assists before finally ending that streak tonight. Sure the Knicks and fans are inspired by his performance. It's the underdog story of the kid from.... Harvard, but who is he?  Lin went undrafted and although he excelled in college, he didn't gain the national attention. Teams have found major flaws in his game, like his inability to shoot well, consistently. The Warriors waived him going into the year to make room for DeAndre Jordan and the Knicks picked him up.

The Knicks used him as a 3rd string guard but sent him to the D-League. Playing inferior competition to Recreational League Basketball, Lin put up a triple-double and the Knicks brought him back. I was there the night the Knicks let him play for the first time bringing him back, and I said, "Who's this Asian kid?". He scored 2 points on 0-3 shooting in seven minutes of play. Apparently he impressed Mike D'Antoni, or as I'd like to believe, D'Antoni said to himself, "Well, I'm probably going to be fired, so I'll give this kid some time." The next six games Lin put up 20+ points and 5+ assists.

Let's not crown Lin yet. He is doing a decent job, but with such a small sample size for a guy who barely made the league, I'd like to see where we stand in 3 years from now. Congrats on giving the Knicks fans something to cheer for, but the Knicks fans once cheered for Eddie.