NBA Global Games sidelights: Will Lin live up to the hype?

MANILA, Philippines - There are at least 10 books out on Jeremy Lin’s rise from obscurity to stardom in the NBA. He has graced the covers of GQ Magazine and Sports Illustrated. For a Harvard graduate to make it big in the NBA is a story that’s worth telling and retelling. And the tale is extra special because it involves a player of pure Chinese descent.

Lin, 25, was never drafted by an NBA franchise and probably broke in with the Golden State Warriors in 2010-11 as a vehicle to invite the Asian community to the games. As an NBA rookie, the 6-3 Lin averaged only 2.6 points in 29 games. After he was cut by the Warriors, Lin was signed by the Houston Rockets but never got to play a game during a 12-day stay. Then, the New York Knicks gave Lin a chance. He averaged 14.6 points in 35 contests with the Knicks in 2011-12, in the process setting a league record for the most points for a player’s first five games as a starter.

From New York, Lin moved to Houston after signing a three-year $25 Million contract. Last season, he averaged 13.4 points and 6.1 assists in 82 games. Today, Lin is the Rockets’ glue guy, the quarterback who sets things in motion on the floor. It’s his responsibility to call out the play and get everyone involved. His transformation from a twice-cut fringe player to a superstar is one for the books, make that at least 10 books.

“Jeremy’s story was one for the ages, a feel-good tale that resonated with basketball fans and even those who didn’t pay much attention to the sport,” wrote Mike Yorkey and Jesse Florea in the book “Linspired.” “What Jeremy accomplished in a short time goes deeper than the fact that he was the first Taiwanese-American in the NBA. Stories like Jeremy’s aren’t supposed to happen. It’s really unfathomable that an undrafted prospect – who logged just a few minutes in the NBA – could come roaring off the bench and turn around a storied franchise in the media mecca of New York City. But it did happen so people jumped to their feet to cheer the underdog who was told he wasn’t good enough.”

Lin’s parents came from Taiwan. His mother Shirley majored in computer science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and Purdue University while his father Gie Ming Lin earned a doctorate in computer engineering, also at Purdue. Their second child Jeremy was born 10 years to the day after Kobe Bryant.

Backing up Lin in the quarterback chores are 6-1 Patrick Beverley, six-foot Aaron Brooks and six-foot rookie Isaiah Canaan. Writer Jan Hubbard said Lin’s challenge is to mature as a facilitator. “Lin was at his most effective in New York when he was having big scoring games,” said Hubbard. “He is not the classic pass-first point guard but with scoring options James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Dwight Howard also needing shots, it will be up to Lin to improve his abilities as a distributor.”

For the record, 12 NBA teams are traveling 116,341 miles to play 10 games in 10 cities in seven countries in the league’s global coverage this season. It won’t only be in Manila where the NBA is playing a first game ever. Rio de Janeiro, Bilbao and Manchester are other cities where the NBA is making its debut.

The NBA reported that 1,138 media credentials were issued for the games, 215 countries will receive the broadcast feed and 455 million followers and likes have been generated from league, team and player pages on facebook, twitter, instagram, sina and tencent. Aside from the games, the NBA is launching 10 NBA Cares programs in nine cities in eight countries on four continents to enrich the global experience.

Since joining the NBA from the ABA in 1976, Indiana has made it to the Finals only once in 2000 with Larry Bird as coach. Before jumping to the NBA, the Pacers had captured three ABA crowns. After Bird took the Pacers to the Finals, he quit and Isiah Thomas took over the coaching reins. Thomas was later succeeded by Rick Carlisle then Jim O’Brien and finally, Frank Vogel. Bird is now the Indiana franchise’s president of basketball operations.

While Indiana has played in only one NBA Finals, Houston has made four trips, two ending in title conquests. The Rockets went to their first Finals in 1981 with Del Harris as coach and lost to the Boston Celtics coached by Bill Fitch. In 1986, Fitch piloted the Rockets in a switch and brought the team to the Finals only to bow to Boston again, this time coached by K. C. Jones. Next came Houston’s back-to-back championships in 1993-94 and 1994-95 with coach Rudy Tomjanovich.

Indiana has failed to advance to four playoffs since making the Finals in 2000 while the Rockets didn’t qualify in eight since their second title in 1995. Both squads are bidding to go deep in the playoffs this season with souped-up rosters.