Could Jeremy Lin bump Rose or Wade as an All Star Starter in 2013?

by TheHungarianJordan on Feb 21, 2012 7:10 PM CST

With all of the talk of Jeremy Lin, especially the size of his fan base amongst the Asian American and Chinese communities, I thought there might be a pretty decent chance he could be voted in as an all star starter next year. This would mean, of course, bumping either Derrick Rose or Dwayne Wade. Note that I am not saying Jeremy Lin SHOULD be an All Star over either player, but that he could potentially take advantage of the system voting in the top two vote getters at guard, regardless of their level of play during the course of the season.

First, let's look at the numbers of votes that Wade and Rose have gotten in the last 2 years since both have been starters for the game:

2012

Rose:1,514,723

Wade: 1,334,223

2011

Rose: 1,225,575

Wade: 1,499,768

It looks like Lin would need somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.4 million votes to be a lock. Now let's see how voting in China, with a population of 1.3 billion, has typically inflated All Star Starter numbers.

Of course, the best example to use here is Yao Ming. Yao holds the record for most all star votes with 2,557,278 in 2005. He also has the 2nd and 4th highest totals in history, each time receiving over 2.45 million votes.

While Yao was a fantastic player and a deserving all-star for the most part, this has not always been the case. Indeed, support from China seems to be the main reasons he was voted in 2007 as a starter with 2,451,718 votes while only playing in 27 games and again as a starter in 2011 with 1,146,426 votes after playing 0 games! He was also voted in as the All Star starter in his rookie season in which he averaged 13.5/8.2 over Shaq when Shaq was coming off 3 straight All Star MVPs.

It's clear that popularity trumps skill in the case of some of Yao's All Star appearances. Jeremy Lin probably isn't getting into the All Star game via the coach vote; Does the China effect give him a chance to possibly oust Derrick Rose or Dwayne Wade via the fan vote though in 2013?

Poll

Will Jeremy Lin bump Derrick Rose or Dwayne Wade as a 2013 All Star Game Starter?

yes

126 votes

no

111 votes

237 votes | Poll has closed

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oh my god

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by ThorCo on Feb 21, 2012 7:47 PM CST reply actions 6 recs

I don't really think it's a question at this point

Unless he completely fall off the face of the Earth, he’s basically guaranteed one of the two starting spots next season. And people keep saying that Wade will be the player dropped out of the SL, but I’m not so sure about that. Even though fans are told to choose two “Guards” as opposed to “Point Guard and Shooting Guard”, I do think that’s how most people think of it when placing their vote. So I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see a Lin’Wade backcourt next year, and for the foreseeable future.

As for Rose, yeah, it kinda sucks, but he’ll still be very popular. And he’s fucking horrid in these types of games anyway, so it really doesn’t matter.

The doctors thought I died. My heart stopped beating for almost a minute. I came back, and weeks later, when people asked me what I remembered, I told them: "Omer Asik".

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 21, 2012 7:56 PM CST reply actions

i dunno, man

rose is like #2 in china to kobe.

Look
I didn’t want to offend anyone by saying the "f" word or generalizing my statement to any particular sex by saying "gays" or lesbians" or "bi’s" so "homos" is the most "politically correct" term. I’m just trying to be more tact in a tactless blog.

by Hindut Patrol on Feb 15, 2011 2:51 PM EST

by Jaina on Feb 21, 2012 8:03 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

Not anymore...

The doctors thought I died. My heart stopped beating for almost a minute. I came back, and weeks later, when people asked me what I remembered, I told them: "Omer Asik".

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 21, 2012 8:09 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs

well my point is

just that he has a much stronger following than wade there. i think most people in china would probably vote lin/rose.

by Hindut Patrol on Feb 15, 2011 2:51 PM EST

by Jaina on Feb 21, 2012 8:41 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

Hope that's the case

The doctors thought I died. My heart stopped beating for almost a minute. I came back, and weeks later, when people asked me what I remembered, I told them: "Omer Asik".

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 21, 2012 8:44 PM CST up reply actions

Not sure I buy your logic

Yeah, most people in the US filling out a ballot pick a PG and SG, but all the people in China voting for Lin aren’t going to do that. Rose’s and Wade’s vote totals should be essentially what they would be without Lin.

by JeffD on Feb 21, 2012 8:10 PM CST up reply actions

What I'm saying is, assuming Lin gets all these votes next year

the votes are gonna be taken away from other people. And while, yeah, it’s very possible that Rose remains ahead of Wade, I also think there’s a good chance that Wade surpasses him due to position. I really think a lot of people vote positionally when they fill out those things, even though they don’t have to.

The doctors thought I died. My heart stopped beating for almost a minute. I came back, and weeks later, when people asked me what I remembered, I told them: "Omer Asik".

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 21, 2012 8:16 PM CST up reply actions

But they won't be taken away

There will just be a shitload added from China.

by JeffD on Feb 21, 2012 8:20 PM CST up reply actions

you, sir

aint gettin it.

That shit crayy

by OdwallaJuicish on Feb 21, 2012 11:03 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs

Oh, please explain it then

by JeffD on Feb 22, 2012 9:39 AM CST up reply actions

The people from china already vote for Rose and wade

If they vote for lin instead, then naturally, votes are being taken away from rose and wade

by ChiTownSportsMaster on Feb 22, 2012 12:45 PM CST up reply actions

This is not a zero sum game.

Some of the extra 1.3 billion people who don’t vote just might start.

by Hawkeyes on Feb 22, 2012 6:55 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

Exactly my point.

I would guess that the vast majority of votes for Linn would come from people who wouldn’t vote otherwise, and the only reason they are voting is to vote for Linn. They aren’t going to care what position the other guard plays.

by JeffD on Feb 23, 2012 10:48 AM CST up reply actions

wow, a misspelling of his name.

obviously espn isn’t giving him enough coverage, yet.

DUNK HIS ASS

by obnoxious american on Feb 23, 2012 1:32 PM CST up reply actions

I hear what you're saying

I agree with you. It’s likely that the people in China that voted for Yao and would vote for Lin don’t usually vote.

I never vote unless a player I want is “on the bubble”

I think it stands to reason the Chinese votes will be “new” votes, and they’ll go Rose/Lin.

by mexkrn on Feb 23, 2012 3:44 PM CST up reply actions

Wha?

I thought that all the votes were paid for by Yao. That’s why he always won the starting spot when he couldn’t walk.

by cubbybear on Feb 23, 2012 12:57 PM CST up reply actions

dude you still have to hang on as a player

its not like billions of asian fools are voting in Yi every year. Tall order for this dude to continue playing like he is, reduce the turnovers and get the national profile through sponsorships and stuff, I think. Yao was a transcendent player. Lin’s got a long way to go before he’s a basketball icon everyone would like to claim.

If you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball

by paddyfairview on Feb 21, 2012 7:59 PM CST reply actions

Yi was 3rd in All Star voting in 2009 for forwards

by TheHungarianJordan on Feb 21, 2012 8:01 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs

yeah, but after that they realized he was not worth voting in lol

by Hindut Patrol on Feb 15, 2011 2:51 PM EST

by Jaina on Feb 21, 2012 8:03 PM CST up reply actions

yeah he actually looked like a prospect for a minute there

If you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball

by paddyfairview on Feb 21, 2012 8:06 PM CST up reply actions

i think after that he got taken off the ballot

if he were still on he’d probably still be top 10 forwards

by TheHungarianJordan on Feb 21, 2012 8:55 PM CST up reply actions

i'll be honest

i actually kind of wanted him to win lol… they would have been forced to change the way the voting works if that fiasco had gone through.

by Hindut Patrol on Feb 15, 2011 2:51 PM EST

by Jaina on Feb 21, 2012 9:23 PM CST up reply actions

who knows how many votes Yi actually got.

The NBA probably just put up false numbers to make him come in behind other players. If we (not me cause I don’t vote) can vote an injured T-mac to start the allstar game, if Lin is halfway decent he will start from now on.

by pick1out on Feb 21, 2012 10:31 PM CST up reply actions

Pretty sure he simply wasn't on the ballot after that

by runningman on Feb 22, 2012 3:14 PM CST up reply actions

Let's do away with Roy Hibbert

and give the spot to somebody that, i don’t know, matters.

by Dogfishhead on Feb 21, 2012 8:41 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

Absolutely Yes. Barring injury or a free Taiwan comment, it is only a matter of time.

If I were a player, I would make sure NONE of my incentive clauses are related to starting in an All-Star game, as Jeremy Lin will prove that fan voting is completely unrelated to who the best player at a position is (at least Yao was top 2 at his position).

Don’t get me wrong, Lin is a good player, but I would rank him somewhere between 6-10 for point guards in the league, with Rose, Williams, and Nash comprising the top 3.

by chowder on Feb 21, 2012 9:18 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

but I would rank him somewhere between 6-10 for point guards in the league

How can you rank him 6-10 when he’s only played about 8 games? He shouldn’t even be in consideration. This is so retarded.

Do people realize that Kyle Lowry was like top 5 in PER for the first couple weeks of the season?

The doctors thought I died. My heart stopped beating for almost a minute. I came back, and weeks later, when people asked me what I remembered, I told them: "Omer Asik".

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 21, 2012 9:30 PM CST up reply actions 5 recs

well, that was assuming he maintains his level of play, which is unknown.

by chowder on Feb 21, 2012 9:31 PM CST up reply actions

If he maintains his current level of play he's better than Rose

by hitlesswonder on Feb 21, 2012 11:54 PM CST up reply actions

Just in case it wasn't clear, I think that's unlikely

by hitlesswonder on Feb 21, 2012 11:55 PM CST up reply actions

I wish this comment didn't exist.

He has proven nothing.

by cubbybear on Feb 22, 2012 12:47 AM CST up reply actions

I think you missed his point

Which is strange because he even clarified with another comment right after just to make sure everyone understood

The doctors thought I died. My heart stopped beating for almost a minute. I came back, and weeks later, when people asked me what I remembered, I told them: "Omer Asik".

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 22, 2012 1:16 AM CST up reply actions 4 recs

I think I got his point.

I don’t even think he’s established a level of play, but I get his correction.

by cubbybear on Feb 23, 2012 1:00 PM CST up reply actions

That's...not really true...

by Stacey_Is_King on Feb 24, 2012 3:06 PM CST up reply actions

edit

should be Paul not Nash

by chowder on Feb 21, 2012 9:30 PM CST up reply actions

all this means...

is that Kyrie Irving and Brandon Jennings will get screwed yearly at these all-star games

Gehen wir Bears!
Allons-y Bulls!
Vamos Cubs!
Forza Blackhawks!

by ChicagoTsar on Feb 21, 2012 10:37 PM CST reply actions 4 recs

i don't think there's a doubt

I hope Rose still starts though. Fuck the Heat.

by kpd on Feb 22, 2012 12:01 AM CST reply actions

aaaand

lin goes from good underdog story to hate

by lcohn89 on Feb 22, 2012 12:02 AM CST reply actions

Doesn't take long.

See Lebron. Underdog when he was trying to will shitty squads to bring victory to his hometown, then he’s pretty much the worst thing ever.

by cubbybear on Feb 22, 2012 12:48 AM CST up reply actions

VERY different situations

Lebron is one of the greatest basketball players that ever lived, and therefore deserves whatever coverage he is getting, be it positive or negative. In his case, a lot of the negative coverage was brought upon himself.

The doctors thought I died. My heart stopped beating for almost a minute. I came back, and weeks later, when people asked me what I remembered, I told them: "Omer Asik".

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 22, 2012 1:22 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs

Yes.

While we don’t need to rehash all of it, LBJ obviously had a number of I-Love-me-some-me moments. “the decision” was only one of those. Painting Lin with that brush would be incredibly wrong until he shows something even close to that kind of behavior. Given his humble beginnings and the NBA yawning over him for so long I find that unlikely to happen anytime soon.

"Fast Don't Lie"

by Sandberg's evil twin on Feb 22, 2012 11:58 PM CST up reply actions

I've hated the story from the start

Not that I wasn’t happy for the guy, because he seems cool, but because it was painfully obvious where things where headed. Still didn’t foresee him being on the cover of Sports Illustrated in consecutive weeks, though. I mean, that’s just retardation of the highest order.

The doctors thought I died. My heart stopped beating for almost a minute. I came back, and weeks later, when people asked me what I remembered, I told them: "Omer Asik".

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 22, 2012 1:20 AM CST up reply actions

I'm almost feeling sorry for him

Imagine having to live up to that hype.
That is some stress to perform against…

And if he fails at some point, the media would basically say, “yeah, I told you so”, or “it was just a matter of time”, or a hundred articles about how D’Antoni’s system inflates stats and all that….

Conan, what is best in life?
To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the Miami Heat.

by BCs71 on Feb 22, 2012 8:42 AM CST up reply actions

I've definitely grown to hate the story

“Oh my god, an asian guy is good at basketball!” I really didn’t think that aspect would last as long as it did. Now ESPN is following him around like he is the Beatles and writing stories about every comment he makes or comment made about him. The last two lin stories I read – one about how he doesn’t feel the booing of Kris Humphries is right (because we care about his opinion… why?) and another about dana white calling floyd mayweather a racist for criticizing Linsanity (which is basically the equivalent of two jerks in a bar arguing). Stop beating me over the head with it!

I think one reason it pisses me off is b/c, in comparison to the NFL, ;you can’t find mainstream sources talking seriously about basketball (not just trade talk or about the Heat, but the X and Os of basketball) but you can find endless supply of people willing to opine about what Jeremy Lin’s rise “reveals” about the NBA, fans, New York, America, yadda, yadda, yadda. Can I have my sports w/o the soap opera?

by Basketball Smurf on Feb 22, 2012 7:00 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs

Yep.

Completely out of his control in my mind so far but it’s really irritating. You hear so many times sportswriters seeing all the attention and trying to bring a racial angle to it, or just ramble on an on about “what a great story it is”. There’s almost no effort or thought behind the coverage. It’s amazing how lazy many to most of these so called sportswriters are with it. “How can I capitalize on all the attention he’s been generating…hmm I’ll just talk about where he played and that he’s asian. Plus he helped start a streak of 6 games won or whatever without Melo and Stoudamire” That’s literally all it seems to be. Add in a Lin-tastic pun and it’s a column or radio spot folks.

"Fast Don't Lie"

by Sandberg's evil twin on Feb 23, 2012 12:03 AM CST up reply actions

Just like the Detroit Lions

But Lin isn’t a dirty douchebag, and it won’t be his fault if people hate him, I’ll be the media’s

"Violence is not always the answer."
"Violence is the question, and the answers always YES!"

by T.Moore on Feb 22, 2012 8:36 AM CST up reply actions

I really don't care.

As long as he keeps making the team that’s all that matters. Getting voted in is nice, but it’s not everything.

SIN-BANNED-ITY!!!

by Dr. Handsome, D.D.S. on Feb 22, 2012 2:46 AM CST reply actions

China's two votes will go to Lin and Rose

1.4 billion votes later you will find that Wade is no longer a starter

by straylan on Feb 22, 2012 4:57 AM CST reply actions

If Lin stays good, he may just lead all vote-getters next year.

In addition to the Chinese market, let’s not forget he’s in the biggest media market in the U.S.

"Smith stripped. Smith stopped! Smith stopped again by Pippen!"

by ColonelFatheart on Feb 22, 2012 1:24 PM CST reply actions

If there was any doubt of that we will be reminded of it constantly with all the coverage.

Look on NBA.com tonight. New York is the lead story beating the Hawks. Not LAL/ Dallas, or Boston/OKC which in my mind were much better games. To me it’s much like the Heatles were last year…even if fans wanted to forget them or did, the mass media will keep feeding it to them so even the casual fan believes that’s what I should be reading about.

"Fast Don't Lie"

by Sandberg's evil twin on Feb 23, 2012 12:10 AM CST up reply actions