RaptorsHQ Lunchbox Links for Tuesday, February 14, 2012

by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Feb 14, 2012 12:00 PM EST

The Toronto Raptors hook up with the New York Knicks for a Valentine's Day tilt at the Air Canada Centre. With that in mind, I'd like to welcome you to the Linsanity — or linfengkuang — edition of the Lunchbox Links!

If you've been living under a rock for the past week or so, you've missed out on one of the biggest stories of the lockout-shortened NBA season. New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin went from the verge of being cut for a third time to overnight sensation thanks to an unprecedented scoring binge in the absence of ball-hogging teammates Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. Adding to the mystique are the facts that he's Asian, a Harvard grad, went undrafted, and sleeps on his brother's couch.

Lin's story has been compared to Notre Dame's Rudy Ruettiger.

ESPN's John Hollinger asks why didn't we all see this coming? Some advanced stats guys claim to have done just that.

The Wages of Wins Journal questions whether Mike D'Antoni should get credit for Lin's success... even if he only started giving Lin minutes at the suggestion of Anthony.

How crazy were the last few days for Lin?

Named Player of the Week
Helped propel MSG shares to record high
Boosted TV ratings
Seriously increased his marketability
Drew praise from Steve Nash and teammate Anthony
Became Grantland's latest Person of Interest

And then we have this. I'm at a loss for words.

But not everyone is feeling the Linsanity. Unbeaten boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. posted a swipe at the New York Knicks' point guard sensation on Twitter. And The Score's Dennis Velasco refuses to go all-Lin from a fantasy perspective.

Hardwood Paroxysm's round table offers some lingering thoughts on Lin and the Knicks.

More links (I promise to get to some actual Raptors news) after the jump...

Is DeMar DeRozan the poster child for biggest losers in the NBA?

In the latest edition of Statophile, Tom Liston of Raptors Republic has more on the "no easy baskets" philosophy.

Forget "Il Mago": Andrea Bargnani has a new nickname.

Basketball Prospectus lists franchise "wins above average" leaders. For the Raptors, Chris Bosh and Vince Carter lead the rest of the pack by a wide margin.

After helping set the All-Star ballot, Grantland's Bill Simmons reveals who should have made the cut.

Speaking of All-Stars, the Inside the NBA crew stages an intervention for LeBron James' hairline.

Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Bobcats are taking ineptness to new lows.

Plans are forming for a new NBA/NHL arena in Seattle.

Spanish team cut former University of Memphis guard Roburt Sallie for taking penis enlargement pills.

And, finally, I'd like to pass along some friendly advice from the folks at Deadspin: 10 hideous sports-themed gifts you shouldn't get your girlfriend for Valentine's Day.

Tweet Comment 5 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Nice Growth On His Beard

by Buddahfan on Feb 14, 2012 1:13 PM EST reply actions

Isn’t Charlotte doing what it needs to do? Tanking like no one has ever tanked before.

by McGateway on Feb 14, 2012 1:30 PM EST reply actions

Maybe I am misunderstanding the Basketball Prospectus but how can Charles Oakley be the worst Raptor of all time? I mean I seem to remember him doing a lot of the little things that help teams to win.

by McGateway on Feb 14, 2012 2:03 PM EST reply actions

I think the idea is that if you replaced Charles Oakley with an average NBA player, you would’ve added 10 wins to the team over his brief stint in Toronto. I don’t think that’s an outlandish statement. I mean, Oak was a great soundbite – but he was one of the most overrated Raptors of all time. A lot of his tenure involved bricking shots and behind-the-back passes that sailed out of bounds.

However, he does deserve credit for briefly allowing Vince Carter to play like he had a set of balls.

by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Feb 14, 2012 2:10 PM EST up reply actions

I got to call nonsense on this one. The metrics being used here are obviously not capturing defence adequately (not to mention intimidation factor and leadership). Suggesting that replacing Oak with an average NBA player would result in 10+ wins is ridiculous as this system doesn’t capture "intangibles" and Oak may have been the most productive "intangibles" player of his generation.

The Oak period was the most successful period of Raptors franchise history partly because the team assumed his personality on occasion or played with confidence under his "leadership". For this reason, I would suggest in this regard that Oak is still underrated. Unless you want to watch a matrix like series of statistics without actually watching games…

by MAS11 on Feb 14, 2012 3:02 PM EST up reply actions