Jeremy Lin News: Will Brooklyn Nets Guard Be All-Star For First Time? A Look At Early Voting For The Eastern Conference

Back and hamstring injuries have forced point guard Jeremy Lin to miss 22 games so far this season, including the last four, and the Brooklyn Nets (8-26) own the worst record in the NBA. But that hasn't slowed his voting for the upcoming All-Star game.

Based off the early voting results released Thursday for the NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans, the 28-year-old Lin’s 59,562 votes so far place him eighth among all Eastern Conference guards vying for a starting spot in Feb. 19’s showcase.

Based off his injury woes this season, Brooklyn’s lack of success and his middle of the pack stats when playing, Lin does seem like an unlikely All-Star starter, but due to his popularity among Chinese fans and his team's market size it’s possible he continues to rise in the voting rankings.

The proof is in the vote totals. Currently, Lin has more than 7,000 more votes than Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker, who’s having the best season of his career while guiding the Hornets near the top of the East, and almost 20,000 more votes than Boston Celtics shooting guard and top perimeter defender Avery Bradley.

Overall, Lin is netting 13.9 points, 5.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the floor. But if statistics alone decided All-Star spots, Walker would have a clear edge on Lin. The Hornets top scorer and playmaker is averaging 23.2 points – No. 17 in the league – along with 5.4 assists and 1.3 steals and he’s shooting 41.8 percent from three.

The Celtics’ Bradley, too, would top Lin. His 17.8 points and 6.9 rebounds are each career highs and Bradley’s considered to be among the small handful of players capable of defending both guard positions very well.

But, and not just in Lin’s case, players with better numbers on lesser teams do often get more votes than more worthy players. This year alone, injury-plagued Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade is second among all East guards with 278,052 votes, almost 25,000 more votes than Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, Boston’s Isaiah Thomas and Washington’s John Wall.

Over in the Western Conference, there’s a similar discrepancy. For the second straight season, Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia is threatening to start for the West frontcourt, thanks to votes pouring in from his native country of Georgia. The same thing happened last year and Pachulia, who’s averaging 5.2 points and 5.8 rebounds over 17.7 minutes a game this season, only missed out by a little more than 14,000 votes.

Similar to Lin, Pachulia is likely benefiting from his compatriots and the Warriors' team success in a big media market. Lin finds himself in the country’s biggest television market and the most populated city in the nation, New York, while Pachulia plays in front of the No. 6 TV market.

The next round of results won’t be released until Thursday, Jan. 12 and voting will go on until Jan. 16, leaving Lin plenty of time to rise in the vote tallies. The East and West All-Star starting lineups will be announced Jan. 19.