Before the month of February, New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin was simply the answer to some random trivia question that no one outside the Lin family circle or Harvard basketball fans could answer. Buried at the bottom of the Knicks bench, barely hanging on to his roster spot, Lin wasn’t just off the radar, he was completely off the map. But with the team in the midst of a terrible slump, Lin turned the Knicks woes into a global, jaw-dropping whoa!
After three largely disappointing seasons, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni stood firmly entrenched on the hot seat after the team found itself in a 2-11 freefall. Players were out of sync. Superstars Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire dominated the ball and the offense lacked fluidity. So in what amounted to throwing a bucket of darts at the wall and hoping one would stick, D’Antoni decided to see what Lin (who up to then had logged a total of 55 minutes all season) could offer off the bench versus the New Jersey Nets.
In a game that surprised everyone, the skinny 6’3″ point guard from Harvard toasted the Nets and perennial all-star point guard Deron Williams for 25 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds and more importantly a win. While it’s not uncommon for a “scrub” to get hot every once in a while, D’Antoni decided to roll with his hot hand. Over the next four games, his first four NBA starts, Lin helped the Knicks to five consecutive wins by embarrassing the Jazz, Wizards, Lakers and Timberwolves to the tune of 109 points, 38 of them coming versus Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. That point total is the highest for a player’s first four starts since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976 – more than Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James or Allen Iverson.
The monster game versus the Lakers is what prompted many confused observers to stop classifying his tremendous start as a fluke. Lin’s game is for real. Despite the gaudy scoring numbers, Lin is more of a pure point-guard with excellent vision and passing skills. However, despite his small frame, the Taiwanese-American has a knack for getting to the rack, especially off pick and rolls.
During his coming out party and the three subsequent starts, Lin sliced and slashed through the paint all night. The Timberwolves were likely the first team to prepare for Lin with a reasonable amount of game film, finally limited his success getting to the basket. But the fact that they had to put forth so much effort to keep the pesky point guard away, allowed him to distribute the ball freely, racking up 8 assists in a close win.
What makes it more interesting is that the dynamic duo of Anthony (injury) and Stoudamire (death in family) were absent during Lin’s starts. As they return, if Lin can continue to spread the ball around in true D’Antoni style, the Knicks can turnaround their season and save the coach’s job.
Though teams will ultimately build tape on Lin and being exposing his weaknesses, with two premier scorers on the team, he’ll still have ample opportunities to flourish. No, Lin won’t keep posting the same astronomical numbers once the big guns return. But if he can guide the Knicks back to the playoffs and past the first round, watch for Linsanity to explode to a whole ‘nother level.
