There has been a lot of talk about Jeremy Lin lately, and the star is rising very fast. It’s obvious at this point that many people will be following the progress of his career very actively, and he seems to be the kind of player that has a lot to offer to the sport, and he also has a great, humble attitude to go along with his skills. So far, we’re probably just touching the tip of the iceberg as far as his performance is concerned – many people, including formerly prominent players, seem to agree that Lin has a lot of potential and we’re likely going to see great things from him down the road.
Among the people who have expressed positive expectations towards Lin, Michael Jordan recently made a public statement in which he said that he expects the player to actually be the Hornets’ biggest acquisition to date. Jordan went on to speak about various qualities that Lin possesses in detail, praising the player for what he has done to improve his game, and claiming that he excels in various aspects of the sport instead of just shining in one very particular area like many players nowadays seem to do.
Jordan was especially fond of Lin’s ability to shoot accurately and penetrate defenses, while at the same time he acknowledged that the player also has some great defensive qualities which tend to shine at just the right time during his playing. He went on to describe him as a great team player too, by reminding people that Lin passes the ball quite often and he’s very well coordinated with his teammates.
At the same time, some critics have questioned Jordan’s attitude, claiming that the player might be overlooking some other recent acquisitions by the team (and some not so recent ones) which could be just as good, if not better, in the long term. Still, we’re mostly hearing about Jeremy Lin in the news lately so it’s pretty obvious where the majority of interest from the public lies. There are other players on the team right now who are really skilled themselves, but Lin in particular knows how to bring a very particular combination of skills and technique to the game that we rarely see.
On the other hand, some critics have been skeptical of Jordan’s claims, stating that Lin is good and has various great qualities about him, but he’s most definitely not the biggest acquisition of the team, and there are other players worthier of that title.
In the end, there are some objective ways to judge this sort of thing and to categorize players by, but it’s really a matter of opinion and a highly subjective situation for the most part. Because of this, people can either agree or disagree with what Jordan said and none of that would make his statement and less (or more) valid. It’s notable that a major player like Jordan is so fond of Lin though, and that definitely says something about the player.
Michael Jordan is among the basketball players who truly know the game in and out, and they don’t just focus on the actual field skills but they also invest the time and effort to learn the metagame and the strategic aspect of basketball. That’s why he was so prominent during his most active years, and he knows a thing or two that most players and critics don’t.
It’s not only Jordan who say good things about Jeremy. Steve Nash has mouthful to say, the great Hakeem O. praises Lin and Howard’s pick and roll game yet Houston coaches did not run more of it during his ’13-’14 season. Kobe did say good things about Lin after their loss against Knicks during the height of Linsanity. These players are MVPs. Lin has game and they have seen it. Right now, I think JLin is in the right system to max his strength and skill set.
Lol Jordan had good things to say about Kwame Brown too.