NBA 2016-17 Asian invasion: Jeremy Lin, Yi Jianlian and Jordan Clarkson in the spotlight
NBA squads are beefing up with top Asians in their roster this 2016-17 preseason. Jeremy Lin signs for Brooklyn Nets while Chinese compatriot Yi Jianlian will join Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson in Los Angeles Lakers.
Starting with Jeremy Lin, he has ups and downs since Charlotte Hornets. He then starts four undefeated games in 2011-2012 season with the New York Knicks. He grabs an average of 27.3 points per game, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals in those four to earn him a nickname ‘Linsanity’.
Basketball fans saw a different version on Lin after he was traded with Los Angeles Lakers in 2014. Lin’s statistics drastically dipped low to 10.5 points per game and 4.5 assists despite appearing in 43 games. To cap the poor season, Lin missed five outings near the endgame due to lung problem.
The ‘Linsanity’ resurgence happened in the latter part of 2015-2016 season with Charlotte Hornets. Lin piled 35 points in Dec. 2015 against Toronto Raptors for a 109-99 win on extended time. Then in March 2016 match against the San Antonio Spurs, Lin scored 15 in the fourth quarter for a total of 29 points.
Now coming in to the 2016-17 season from the Nets, Lin has another chance to prove himself in the hard court. He will be the chief playmaker this season and is going to be a full starter for the squad.
Meanwhile, Chinese national player Yi Jianlian is away from the NBA for almost five seasons. Yi had a promising start with almost double-double figures in Milwaukee Bucks during his early NBA career but was not able to replicate the success. Several squads also offered Yi chances, including New Kersey Nets and Washington Wizards but all ended either with poor performance or injury-ridden seasons.
This 2016-17 NBA season, Los Angeles Lakers signs him for a minimum veteran’s salary. The Lakers decides to give Yi another chance after a good showing in the recently concluded Rio Games. Although not a starter, Yi will fill in the depth off the bench for power forward position behind Larry Nance Jr. and Julius Randle.
Now going to Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson, he is always in the list of underrated players. The reason is the stats that he sports while being affected by Kobe Bryant dominance in the Lakers. Clarkson boasts 15.8 points and 5 assists and 4.2 rebounds as a starting point guard per Basketball Reference data.
The All-Rookie First Team is also fast becoming the cornerstone for Lakers’ offense because of versatility, playing a shooting guard position as well. This made the Lakers signed Clarkson for a $50 million four-year contract in July. Observers agree that this is an indication of Lakers’ intention to invest and keep Clarkson for a long time.
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