Jeremy Lin: NBA All-Star. Those five words might be closer to reality than people think.
The Houston Rockets' point guard and fellow teammate, the sensational James Harden, are now third and fourth in the voting to represent the backcourt of the Western Conference when the NBA All-Star Game comes to Houston in February.
Lin, who was previously roughly 55,000 votes behind the electrifying Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul in the first round of voting, has gained ground in the second round of fan voting, which was tallied this week, and is now only 46,431 votes behind Paul in the ballots for third place to start for the Western Conference.
Voting closes on Jan. 14 and the starters will be announced on Jan. 17.
Currently, Kobe Bryant, who leads all players in the voting category, leads the backcourt voting for the West at 977,444, while Chris Paul is second with 542,564 votes, Lin third at 496,133 votes and Harden fourth with 283,691 fan ballots cast for him.
Lin, who struggled in the beginning of the season, has been picking up the pace of his offense lately, resembling the player who coined the phrase "Linsanity" after his much-documented rise to instant stardom last season.
An Asian American from Palo Alto, Calif., Lin came off the bench last season with the New York Knicks to win a starting point guard job there with an offensive barrage that created buzz worldwide.
Since his highly televised return game to Madison Square Garden against New York on Dec. 17, where he scored 22 points to lead the Rockets to victory, the 24-year-old Lin has been on a tear in the last five games, averaging 16.6 points with 7.4 assists.
He also ranks 10th in the league in steals with 1.75 swipes per game.
Meanwhile, Harden, who has been scintillating this season since coming to the Rockets in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, is fifth among NBA players in scoring with 25.8 points per game.
Together, Lin and Harden have been spearheading the Rockets' high-powered offense, which is No.1 in the NBA in the team points per game category with 105.3 points per game.
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