Perspective

            John Wall, 16.6 ppg, 6.5 apg, 4.3 rpg, and 46 fg% in 37 games played. Kyrie Irving, 17.5 ppg, 4.3 apg, 3.4 rpg, and 52 fg% in 11 games played. Both performances by Wall and Irving over the 09-10 and 10-11 seasons respectively earned each the honor of going number one overall the in NBA draft and each have earned just over five million dollars in 2012 and set to earn more over the course of the next several years.

            Now let’s look at player ‘x’, 18.2 ppg, 7.7 apg, 3.7 rpg, 45 fg% in 25 games played, of course if you have been following any of the hoopla, or “Linsanity” as it is most commonly referred to, then you know player ‘x’ is Jeremy Lin.

            Am I saying that Jeremy Lin has the same potential as Wall or Irving? No. Am I saying that he will continue to produce with the same caliber he did during his starting stint? No. What I would like to make very clear is that the contract offered by the Rockets is not as “ridiculous” as Carmelo Anthony and the majority of the media thinks it is.

            Each year the incoming rookies are evaluated on less than forty games played, against other college caliber players, then we dub the top performers of the year as top NBA draft picks, future all-stars, and possibly future hall of famers. And this all makes sense to us, we do it every year, because it is normal. Then comes the abnormality, Jeremy Lin. Because Lin didn’t do it the “traditional” way, his performance is questioned. “How could he get that money with only twenty five games?” “He hasn’t proven himself” etc.

            Lin has played in nearly as many games as most “one and done” college players, with as good or better stats and against NBA players, not college players whom the majority will never sniff NBA playing time.

And yet people question if he really has talent. It’s all about perspective, put him in college with the same numbers, and against lesser talent, and we peg him as a top three draft pick worthy of a big contract no questions asked. And it was originally because Lin played at Harvard, weaker Ivy League competition, that no one thought he had true NBA talent. So why do we continue to second guess him after a stint in the NBA.

Since Lin has had solid playing time in the NBA he has played lights out, remember the potential MVP talk if the Knicks made a run, so let’s cut him some slack and let him receive whatever contract the Rockets want to offer.