Day 16: Could Linsanity ever repeat itself?

(Lin's fantasy value is soaring right now. Illustration courtesy of YihTak Wong)

James Harden sat out yesterday's game with a sore foot, and Jeremy Lin capitalized in a big way, scoring 34 points in an OT loss to the Sixers while adding 12 assists, 5 rebounds and a career-high 9 three's. He also turned it over 8 times, but if you own him in fantasy, that's just something you gotta live with when you get a 34-12-5-9 line.

Lin's performance was reminiscent of a few he had back in his "Linsanity" days in New York, back when -- for the briefest of moments -- Lin was a fantasy juggernaut. Back then, I picked up Lin off the waiver wire merely on a whim, with no real expectations of him being anything but a decent fill-in for the Knicks. Lin single-handedly rejuvenated my then-struggling fantasy team. He was exceptional, and the Knicks won with every great game of his. It was magical, and it was short-lived. Just a couple weeks into Linsanity, Carmelo Anthony returned from an injury and reasserted himself as the go-to, ball-hog, possession-ruining diva of the Knicks. And just like that, Linsanity as we knew it disappeared. Lin was serviceable for the rest of that season, but the player that he was for a stretch of 10 games, that 24-10-4-and-2 superstar, had more or less faded from existence.

When he first went to Houston, it looked like Lin was in an optimum situation to again put up monster statistics. But just days before he was to play his first game with the Rockets, the franchise pulled off a stunning, miraculous trade that brought in James Harden, who immediately made himself at home by scoring 82 points in his first two games. Lin was decent last year, averaging 13-6-and-3, numbers that are totally serviceable for fantasy purposes. Still, it was barely half of what he was doing at his peak with the Knicks. And so even though Lin had what would have otherwise been a great season, it was looked at as a disappointment. It seemed he was destined to be just a role player in the NBA; James Harden was simply a better player than him. 13-6-and-3 Lin was the reality; Linsanity was just a crazy blip on the radar.

Or at least, that's we all thought.

Lin's fantasy value has fluctuated wildly already in this young season. It had fallen dramatically coming into the year, with owners coming to terms with his unromantic role player status on the Rockets. He wasn't even the No. 1 point guard on Houston's depth chart coming into the year, and he still isn't. He's started five of the Rockets' nine games, but that's only because Harden and Patrick Beverley were out of action. When those two are both in lineup, Lin will begin the game on the bench. Backup point guards almost never hold value in fantasy basketball, and even though Lin was projected to be one of the rare exceptions, there'd certainly be a cap to how much he could possibly produce in any one game. The Linsanity days had never looked so incongruous to his actual fantasy worth. I own him in my primary league, but as recently as a few days ago, I was trying my hardest to trade him away.

And now I sit here, having just seen him put up 34 points, 12 assists and 9 three's, and I'm starting to wonder if the fantasy world is dead wrong about him. Which is weird, because all the negatives about him still exist. He was only able to score those 34 points because Harden was out. And even the game before this, when Lin posted 31, he only got to take a lot of shots because Patrick Beverley got into foul trouble. When Harden and Beverley are getting their normal minutes allotment, Lin -- coming off the bench -- can't possibly be such a worthwhile fantasy commodity. But you know what? Maybe that doesn't really matter, because Jeremy Lin is still fully capable of being the player that he was with the Knicks two years ago. He just needs the playing time/touches to make it happen. That's a fact that dawned on me the other day.

Last year, James Harden failed to play in just four games. And in those four games, Jeremy Lin averaged 21.5 points and 7 assists. Every time he's been given smallest avenue to have some success, Lin has made the most of it, without fail. Even this season, even when his default role is to come off the bench, Lin has quietly been one of the most efficient point guards in the entire league. Even before his performance against Philly, the ESPN Player Rater had him ranked as the fifth-best point guard in fantasy, a result of him averaging over 16 a game while shooting close to 55% from the floor.

So let's, for a second, ponder what would happen if James Harden were to be out for any great length of time. Lin, I now firmly believe, wouldn't merely be good if Harden suddenly couldn't play anymore; he'd be amazing, and it'd be a result of him having full control of the basketball again. The Rockets would be his team, like the Knicks were his team when Melo was out. I've seen him play too good too many times when he's gotten an opportunity like this for me to think otherwise. To answer the question posed in the headline of this post: yes, I do think a Linsanity revival is a possibility. Is it probable? Maybe not. When Harden returns, will he even be able to score 16 off the bench? Maybe not. But I know he'll do something. No matter what role Jeremy Lin is assigned, I'm convinced that he has the fortitude to make the most of it, without fail, the same way he somehow parlayed coming out of Harvard and starting out in the D-League into a successful, million-dollar basketball career.

If you own him and you feel like selling high on him, I'm not going to say that Lin will be amazing from here on out, because I can't. Like I said, his value is likely to sink once Harden gets on the court again. But given the immense stat ceiling he possesses if either Harden or Beverley goes down, I don't think it's necessary to move him either. Maybe I'm too enamored with his story and his recent success to compartmentalize how he's playing now from how he'll play three weeks from now. But for some reason, I don't think this is the last great stretch of games we'll see from him this season. Even though it doesn't seem like it should be the case, I somehow see Lin having the chance to repeat this.

Or... he could slip on a banana peel and be totally useless the rest of the way. Who knows? The future is a wild mistress that's hard to predict, you rotten land lovers, you. Avast, watcha say we sink our wooden teeth into some other fantasy basketball scallywags?

• There was a rumor yesterday that the Knicks and Nuggets were discussing a trade that would send Iman Shumpert to Denver and Kenneth Faried to New York. I honestly don't understand what the Knicks would get out of this deal, since they already have a surplus of centers that they don't know what to do with. The only thing the Knicks need to be looking for in a trade is a point guard, but then again, who am I to suggest how a basketball organization is run? One thing I do know is that any trade rumor involving the Knicks and Nuggets needs to be taken very, very seriously, because these two franchises make big trades with each other ALL THE TIME. In fact, Faried and Shumpert are more or the less the only players on either team that hasn't played for both franchises. Last night, Shumpert had the better all-around game (5 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals), while Faried was more conventionally productive (21 points and 13 rebounds).
• Timofey Mozgov blew up in 28 minutes off the bench, giving the Nuggets 23 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. He should be at least mildly serviceable for Denver for the next few months now that JaVale McGee is out of commission. But there are still too many bigs in Denver for Mozgov to be too high on your radar.
• In his first game of the year, Wilson Chandler scored 12 points and added 5 rebounds in 21 minutes. The Nuggets are bereft of talent at the wing positions, as evidenced by them starting both Randy Foye and Jordan Hamilton last night. Chandler gets hurt a lot, but considering the likeliness of him assuming a larger role on this Nuggets squad in a short amount of time, he's worthy of a pickup anyway if you're dying for a small forward.
• Arron Afflalo had the best game of his career on Wednesday, scoring 36 points and also chipping in with 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 8 three's and 2 steals. Afflalo has fantastic value at the moment and should continue to be a beast for however long it is that he's in Orlando. However, his production is likely to self-immolate if/when he gets traded to a contender later this year.
• Victor Oladipo had 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals off the bench for Orlando. His production has really only been decent so far this season, but it's to be expected given that he's playing behind Afflalo and Jameer Nelson (who had 8 points and 5 assists yesterday). One of those two players is guaranteed to get moved at some point this season, and Oladipo should become a fantasy monster once he's granted entry into the Magic's starting five. For now, fantasy owners just have to be patient.
• Trevor Ariza had to be pulled in the second quarter after straining his hamstring and did not return. Ariza has been money in the bank for the Wizards this year, so this injury is definitely ill-timed. The good news is that "strain" is a better word to be attached to an injury like this than sprain, but for now, there's no indication how long he'll be out. Hopefully he's just day-to-day.
• Martell Webster filled Ariza's place like a boss, playing 35 minutes off the bench for the Wizards and collecting 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 three's. Wizards coach Randy Whitman seems inclined to give monster minutes to every one of his starters, and if Webster gets a short run at being the Wizards' starting small forward, he should be pretty damn valuable for however long Ariza is out. Webster is absolutely worthy of your attention.
• James Anderson and Tony Wroten turned in amazing performances with Michael Carter-Williams out with an injury. Anderson scored a career-high 36 points and made 6 three's, including a ridiculously-difficult heave in the final 10 seconds of regulation to send the game to OT. Wroten, meanwhile, had a triple-double of 18 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and a block. Wroten will go back to being an afterthought when MCW returns, but Anderson could be an occasionally useful source of three's. The problem is that he doesn't do much more than hit open shots, but hey, he's a candidate to be serviceable from time to time.
• Jordan Crawford had another productive outing for the Celtics, scoring 16 and adding 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Crawford is in a beautiful situation right now, as there just aren't a lot of other scoring options on the Celtics. He should be a sneakily-productive fantasy option until Rajon Rondo returns from an injury. (Rondo, by the way, is reportedly going to be out until December now.)
• Kevin Love's amazing season continued on Wednesday, with the big man putting up 33-8-and-6 against the Cavaliers. Same ole, same ole.
• Chris Paul has been just as amazing as Love, if not more so. CP3 produced 14 points, 16 assists and 7 rebounds against the Thunder and has produced a double-double of points and assists in all 9 games he's played this season. Between Paul, Paul George, Love, Durant, LeBron or even Steph Curry, there are plenty of legitimate MVP candidates already in this young season.
• Steven Adams had a chance to really prove himself yesterday, as the Thunder were missing both Kendrick Perkins and then Serge Ibaka, after the latter got ejected for getting into a scuffle with Matt Barnes. Adams was only so-so, putting up 7 points, 4 rebounds and a block, and he even threw the ball into the hands of an opponent underneath the other team's basket at one point. Adams has a world of talent and should have a good future in the NBA, but given his shaky play that comes with the territory of being a rookie, it's hard to see him being a must-own factor once Kendrick Perkins returns.
• The Jordan Hill show was renewed for a second season on Wednesday, with the Laker big putting up 18 points and 15 rebounds on the road in Denver. He even went 6-6 from the foul line, which is pretty remarkable considering he missed 10 straight foul shots earlier in the year. Chris Kaman is going to cut into his minutes, but Hill still needs to be picked up in your league if he's available.
• Robin Lopez continued his excellent play on Wednesday, scoring 13 points and hauling in 15 rebounds. That's three straight double-doubles for the big man, and considering how much Terry Stotts loves to play his starters, Lopez should be a regular double-double candidate for the rest of the season. If you have to choose between him and Hill, it's a tough call. Lopez' situation is far more secure and he's less likely to get hurt, so he's probably the guy to own, though Hill is more likely to help you in the rebounding category.
• I need to apologize for how wonky the Disqus comments system has been lately. Sometimes, I'll scroll to the bottom of the page and it isn't even there. If this ever happens for you, just reload the page and the Disqus comments section should suddenly be there (why this is the case, I don't know). Believe me, Disqus is a sizable improvement over the even-crappier built-in Blogger comments box that I initially started out with. Still, things could definitely stand to be improved in that area, and I'm working to fix it.