After the first two weeks of NBA action, the Houston Rockets this week submitted four players up for consideration on the Western Conference's NBA All-Star Ballot-and one of them is Jeremy Lin.
But he'll have a long way to go in order to get there, particularly against the stacked level of elite point guards in the West--Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, and Steve Nash among them.
"If it were to happen, that would be a tremendous opportunity," Lin told SNTV this week about being placed on the All-Star ballot. "It would be a lot of fun. But it's pretty far off, so, we're not thinking too much about it. And it's one of those things where, you know, it's nice to have, but it's not what we step on the court for every single day, thinking about trying to make the team."
Team-first sentiments aside, while his season is only eight games old, Lin's stats, while respectable, could clearly use a little extra juice. According to his game statistics on NBA.com, in eight games, Lin is averaging 10.9 points per game, 6.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 2,5 turnovers, .353 percent field goal completions, and .276 in three-pointers.
However, here are Lin's game stats from the last three games, including Houston's Wednesday 100-96 win over the Hornets: 6.6 points, 6.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 3-for-12 three pointers, .280 Field goals on 7 of 25 shooting, and 1.3 turnovers. All of those numbers indicate a drop-off in critical point guard categories.
And here are the current season statistics from Lin's elite point guard counterparts in the West, as per NBA.com:
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers: 17.0 ppg, 2.2 steals, 10.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder: 20.7 ppg, 8.1 assists, 1.3 steals, 5.2 rebounds
Steve Nash, Los Angeles Lakers: 4.5 ppg, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 0.5 steals
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs: 13.6 ppg, 7.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 0.4 steals
The conclusion? Lin has a LONG way to go if he wants to beat out any of these guys for All-Star consideration. He has the popularity and the fan base to merit discussion, but if Lin, who played in last season's NBA Rising Stars game during All-Star weekend, wants to make it to the All-Star game and take his career to new heights, he must elevate his game, and will likely have to take a few more shots (and make them).
"But, if we were able to do it, if we were able to represent the city of Houston and be able to go out there and have some fun, that would be, that would be definitely a lifetime memory," Lin said.
Speaking on his first All-Star Game memories as a fan, Lin has fond memories of watching his favorite stars play the star-studded game growing up.
"Well, I remember (Michael) Jordan, I remember a lot of (Michael) Jordan," Lin said recently. "And then I remember, you know, I still have pictures when they had like, I think it was Steve Francis, and T-Mac (Tracy McGrady), and A.I. (Allen Iverson). And when (Tim) Duncan was in his prime, when (Kevin) Garnett was in his prime and Vince Carter when he threw that dunk off the backboard and then T-Mac (Tracy McGrady) did it the next year, and so, or maybe one or two years after. So, it was a lot of memories. I remember when Kobe (Bryant) and Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) won co-MVP's (Most Valuable Players) so, yeah."
Footage of Lin's interview can be seen here:
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