Linball

Yeah, because Lin is only a story because he wasn't drafted.

 

Just like Ben Wallace's story. Doofus.

 

How did Wallace do in his first seven games?

 

Jesus. The ONLY thing Ben Wallace and Jeremy Lin have in common is that neither was drafted. Do you think that's the only thing that makes Lin a significant story? Do you really?

 

If he were a three-point shooter or something like that, I could see more of the idea of this just being a hot start. But he has shown pretty good all-around skills while at the same time really not being a dominant shooter. There's a second-time-around-the-league question coming, especially if it's true that he can't go left, but it seems like Maas just got super hot at his one skill and then that faded. Lin seems like he can settle into a nice role even when he cools down.

 

Right. Lin played at a D-I school. Wallace played at Virginia Union. Lin came from the DEVELOPMENTAL league. Wallace came from nowhere.

I'd say the comparison is slightly in Wallace's favor.

 

That's exactly the kind of razor-sharp analysis I'd expect from you.

 

And the 38 points Lin scored against the Lakers equals the amount of points scored by Wallace in the month of January, 2008.

And here is the best undrafed basketball player I can come up with...

 

A noteworthy point brought up in Simmons' piece today: If David Stern hadn't vetoed that Chris Paul trade before the season, then Lin would likely be playing for Houston today.

 

1) The D-League didn't exist when Wallace came into the league. If it had, he would have been there.

2) The last Harvard player to make it in the NBA was in 1954. Since that time, eight Virginia Union players have played in the NBA, including three -- Wallace, Charles Oakley and Terry Davis -- who had careers of at least 12 years.

Ben Wallace was a good defensive player who helped win a championship. People respect him for that.

 

There have been countless stories written about Ben Wallace. He's got the exact amount of attention he's deserved for what kind of player he was and for his circumstances, so much so he was one of the original everyone talks about how he's so underrated he eventually becomes overrated guys.

 

That's what happens when you play for the Pistons.