Jeremy Lin went undrafted out of Harvard in 2010, and then got picked up by the Golden State Warriors, and everyone thought it was because San Francisco & Oakland have two of the largest Asian communities in the country. Lin did virtually nothing with the Warriors, but while with the team, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News asked Lin who he thought his game was like:

He thinks the best model for the way his game could develop is Phoenix 6th man Goran Dragic, especially the way Dragic attacks the rim in the pick-and-roll.

“Neither of us is a freak athlete, but we’re both effective and know how to play the game,” Lin said.

Dragic is a crafty, daredevil player who happens to back-up Steve Nash, whom some people believe is Curry’s greatest role model.

That is a smart comparison. By a smart guy.

Interesting comparison. Two smart, fundamentally-sound, unathletic point guards. Tyreke, Wall and Westbrook they’re not.

Lin’s had three strong performances this week, but nit-pickers are quick to point out they came against “weak” New Jersey, Utah and Washington. Deron Wiliams, Devin Harris and John Wall aren’t chopped liver, but those three teams aren’t very good at defending the pick-and-roll. Fair enough. Those bashing Lin aren’t as quick to point out that Lin’s teammates during this spurt have not included Melo & Amare, but rather Steve Novak, Bill Walker, and rookie Iman Shumpert.

Dragic’s claim to fame is that he torched the Spurs in the 4th quarter of a playoff game once. This performance remains etched in my memory, even though it was the only quarter of the game that I saw. After 23 points in 12 minutes, Dragic was briefly thought to be the heir apparent to Steve Nash, but it didn’t happen and then he was traded to Houston where he can’t unseat Kyle Lowry for the starting job.

It’s way too early to tell what will happen with Lin, but we should get a better idea not after Friday’s game against Kobe’s Lakers or Saturday’s game against Rubio’s Timberwolves, but next week, when the team is at full strength with Carmelo and Amare. Will D’Antoni still run the pick-and-roll relentlessly with Chandler, while Melo and Amare serve as high-priced decoys? [Mercury News]