Jeremy Lin: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Tim Tebow

If you don't know who Tim Tebow is today then chances are you've never heard of Jeremy Lin either.

Let me bring you up to speed really quick:

Jeremy Lin is an American-born basketball player of Taiwanese descent. He is currently so popular, or should I say, "trending," that just an internet search of "Taiwanese descent" will bring you to the man himself.

Lin attended high school in Palo Alto, CA and then went on to Harvard College after receiving no "big time" offers to play collegiate basketball. Now he is a rising star with the New York Knicks after two other NBA teams let him go. Not only is he getting playing time on the Knicks, but he's breaking records and propelling the franchise.

Did I mention that he's Asian? No? Well, that matters here, a lot.

He's the kid who was probably passed over because of his heritage, good education and looks but is now the talk inside every sports bar.

That's Jeremy Lin.

On the other side of the ledger is what I'll call "the negative." In that column is a man-boy named Tim Tebow.

Unlike Lin, Tebow has been given every chance, every boost and every opportunity imaginable to become a "success story." He was raised by good parents, is white (I can't stress this enough), openly Christian, attended a college football powerhouse (Florida) and was picked in the first round of the NFL Draft despite his inability to do the one thing you really need to do well to succeed at his position: throw the football.

Despite all of these things in his favor, Tebow is considered an "underdog" similar to Jeremy Lin.

While both players were sitting on the bench for their respective teams, throngs of fans nationwide were demanding Tebow play. In Lin's case, if he had been cut the day before he started his first game with the Knicks, no one would have noticed.

In other words, the two players could not be more opposite. And yet they're being compared as if they are living the same reality. 

You could be asking yourself, "Well then, why are they constantly compared?"

The simple answers: The media and words like "trending."

The coverage of these two men and the fan bewilderment is overwhelming, but that's where it should end. It won't.

Rather than explain to you the absurdity of the media coverage, I suggest you just turn your television to any one of ESPN's channels, and see it for yourself. You can't miss it.

You might wonder if this article is just another comparison of these two athletes. Well, the reason I am writing this is because, despite all of the coverage, no one seems to have hit the most important point: 

Jeremy Lin has already become completely successful. Tim Tebow is not even close.

Because Lin came out of nowhere and is the first American-born Asian player to make it in the NBA, he has already reached a level of success. Whether or not he maintains this level of play we're currently witnessing, Lin has solidified a place for himself within the NBA. That is a tremendous accomplishment.

Even if he gets injured in his next game and never plays another minute of basketball, his legacy is secure. On some level, he's doing for hoops what Tiger Woods did for golf: breaking barriers.

Contrast this with Tim Tebow.

If he was injured tomorrow and never played another game again, his legacy would be far from secure. In fact, the likelihood is most knowledgeable fans would forget about his short time in the NFL. Surely people would reflect on all of the drama surrounding his career, but he wouldn't be spoken of in reverential terms as a player. In other words, as a football player, he wouldn't matter. This is because as a first-round draft pick—with nearly everything in life tilted in his favor—Tim Tebow hasn't proven very much at all.

The issue with this comparison is that the media refuses to acknowledge the supposed reality they created for the fans. Tebow is a media-created phenomenon. Any opportunity to mention him or compare him results in ratings.

Using Jeremy Lin's truly incredible and somewhat inspiring story is just another chance for media hype.

By the way, if you're not sick of the Jeremy Lin story yet, you sure will be when NBA players are dunking over the couch during the All-Star Weekend. This is happening. 

And if you're already sick of Jeremy Lin, you can thank the media's coverage of Tim Tebow for making you feel this way in the first place. Two feel-good stories in this short period of time is too much. The contrived nature of the first has soured the second.

Had the media only known a truly remarkable story was coming soon maybe they would have backed off their own fabricated version.

As for Lin's play, it's been phenomenal, but it's not going to last. Obviously, I'm saying what we all know. He will undoubtedly be a solid NBA player and may in fact carry the Knicks to the playoffs. But my guess is teams are going to figure him out a bit more than they already have. I'm actually surprised it has taken this long.

What Lin does well is obvious; he runs the "pick and roll" and essentially is a poor man's version of Steve Nash. He's a pretty good passer, an above average jump shooter and has the ability to play the game at the pace he wants it played. That is the sign of a good point guard, and Lin is just that.

There have been other NBA point guards who weren't very fast—Mark Jackson and Derek Harper. But they made sure the game was played at their speed.

One of the best parts of watching Lin play is how he uses fundamentals to overcome the lack of physical skills other great point guards possess. That's what is really exciting to so many.

On the other hand it's painfully obvious Jeremy Lin has an average left hand. When he's forced to go left he is only able to do so with the dribble; when he gets into the paint he brings the ball back to the right side of his body.

Unlike Derrick Rose, John Wall or Chris Paul, he cannot finish the play with either hand. In fact, even Nash can finish with either hand (he can do a hook shot with either)—even more impressive he can pass with either hand. This is something Lin cannot do. As far as finishing, he may not have big enough hands or be strong enough to use his left with command. The few occasions where he does, he flips the ball toward the basket in the hopes it goes in.

This flaw in his game won't result in him not being good because there's no doubt he will be, but he won't be an all-star caliber player year after year. Nor does he need to be.

Fortunately for Lin, he is on a relatively smart basketball team. Landry Fields graduated Stanford and understands the game. Iman Shumpert doesn't need to shoot much and relies on being set up to score. Amar'e Stoudamire benefits from having a pick and roll guard, similar to Nash, where he gets the ball in a position to score, and Carmelo Anthony has always been a good catch and shoot player but has never had a point guard able to set him up. Lin isn't playing with run-and-gun high school kids or players who recently came straight out of college after one season. He's mostly playing with a smart team.

In the end, Lin will be successful. Although a move back towards this stratosphere is happening very quickly. He'll turn the ball over less as he grows more comfortable, his stats will be more like 13 and 8 (still awesome) and his defense will be predicated on his offense. As one goes, so will the other.

In the end, it's been fun to watch, and I look forward to seeing if Jeremy Lin can get his team to the playoffs...

Like Tim Tebow did.