Jeremy Lin, All-Star Game: Does Lin Deserve A Spot? Stats Comparison to Chris Paul

It wasn't too long ago that Jeremy Lin told ESPN that he would one day be an NBA All-Star.

According to the first round of early NBA All-Star voting, that day might be coming this February...as a starter.

The league revealed this week that among the first returns of 2012 All-Star ballots cast, Lin, who plays point guard for the Houston Rockets, received 289,319 votes to place second in the voting for the Western Conference starting point guard position, third among Western Conference guards and fourth overall among NBA guards receiving votes.

The vote puts Lin at only 55,284 votes behind Los Angeles Clippers superstar point guard Chris Paul, who leads in the Western Conference starting point guard vote at 353,603 votes.

Since then, fans and critics have been widely vocal regarding the prospect of Lin--who has been putting up modest, but not impressive offensive figures at 11.0 points per game this season-- potentially unseating Paul, who has made the All-Star Game five straight times since 2008 and is considered by many to be one of the top two or three point guards in the NBA.

"Us Asian are not allow to vote for our favorite player....When Asian get attention, people get jealous...well F**k all your haters. I'm gonna keep on voting for him," wrote truong972 on ESPN.

"Personally, I'm not trying to hate on Jeremy. He seems like a great person.. Just a very nice, honest person. But his play on the court does not warrant him to be an AllStar," wrote user Camaj77 on ESPN.

Another ESPN fan, chisoldier, wrote: "Lin has the third most votes amongst Western Conference guards? This is just sad. Lin is not even in the top 5 PG's in just the West. How is this guy gonna end up making an all star team."

"I wanna be entertained," wrote Hasani D on Bleacher Report. "I will cast my vote for Jlin7, his story is everything that is good about basketball."

Since Lin--who was the most searched athlete of 2012, according to Google Zeitgeist--rose to fame last season during his improbable midseason run in New York dubbed "Linsanity," fans and analysts have both praised and criticized his play.

 Had Lin been playing this season the way he had in February, when he was averaging 24.6 points and 9.2 assists in his first 10 games as a starter for the Knicks--including one 38-point stunner against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 10--Lin's eligibility would probably not be as controversial, but rather viewed as the rise of a new legitimate superstar in the NBA.

But this season, it's not just that Lin's point production has fallen. He had also struggled to find his shot. A career 42 percent shooter, Lin has shot a paltry 39 percent so far this season, and at one point made as low as 32 percent of his shots. That means that at one point, nearly 70 percent of what Lin was shooting up to the hoop was misfiring.

Over his last 10 games, Lin seems to have rediscovered his touch, shooting 48.0 percent from the field, but has only been scoring 12.2 points per game, while his superstar teammate James Harden has carried the load on offense with his fifth-ranked 24.8 points.

On a sidenote, Lin did show flashes of his old scoring prowess with a 38-point spectacle in a loss to San Antonio on Monday, going toe-to-toe with Tony Parker, who is only sixth in Western Conference guard voting at 69,983 votes. But since Harden returned after an injury scare, Lin's production regressed in the last two games, scoring 10 points in a win against Washington and only five points in the 101-89 win against Rondo and the Celtics on Friday.

Meanwhile, Paul, who is averaging 16.3 points per game this season, has been the driving force on the Pacific Division-leading L.A. Clippers (16-6). While fellow Clipper Blake Griffin outscores him at 18.2 points per game, the entire Clippers offense runs through Paul, who is second in the NBA in assists (9.1 per game) behind only the Boston Celtics' Rajon Rondo. In addition, Paul's defense is phenomenal, leading the league in steals with 2.5 swiped balls per game.

But what is it that merits being an All-Star? If it's performance, then by the numbers, Paul has the edge, hands down. The numbers, both for himself and for his team, are in his favor over Lin; even the most diehard Lin fans would be hard pressed to disagree. 

If it's intangibles, though debatable by everyone's different standards, it is likely that Lin would also be at a disadvantage.

While Lin, who played in the NBA's Rising Stars Game last season during the All-Star break--has been an incredibly unselfish player who teammates love to play with--and some say makes them better--he has taken a backseat in terms of leading the team to Harden. He can create his own shot, but his plummeting field goal attempt numbers show that he is clearly not doing so. Instead, he has opted to pass first, although that has worked out for Houston, who ranks ninth in the league in assists (22.5 per game) and third in offense (104.1).  They are fun to watch for the fans, hard to stop on offense, and Lin is a big part of that.

Paul is in a slightly similar position, as being a wildly talented point guard who is outscored by teammate Griffin. Yet Paul is the unquestioned leader of the Clippers, having been able to keep his teammates involved on offense--the Clippers score 101.8 points, sixth-best in the NBA, and dish 22.7 assists, seventh-best in the league--and yet can create his own shot off the dribble.

And while the Clippers play the same fast-paced style that the Rockets play, they are getting more wins.

There has been a lot of talk that the NBA All-Star game starting lineup votes have little to do with talent or performance, but rather popularity. With the injured Amar'e Stoudemire, Ricky Rubio and Andrew Bynum receiving more than 170,000 votes combined--in spite of the fact that none of them have played at all this season due to injury--there certainly seems to be merit to that argument.

And in terms of popularity, Lin dwarfs Paul by far. His play last season, and his humble, salt-of-the-earth attitude in interviews--as well as possibly, his Asian American background--have caused a media frenzy around his this year. Lin was the most popular athlete on the internet this year, searched more often than Olympic champions Michael Phelps and McKayla Maroney, and even higher than NFL quarterback king Peyton Manning.

The bottom line--if it comes down to popularity, Lin could indeed be announced as a starter when the All-Star Game comes to Houston in February. But if the numbers are the ultimate judge and jury, it means that Lin will have to wait at least another year before he can shine with the NBA's best.