Jeremy Lin did it again, hitting the game-winning 3-pointer in Toronto. Lin now has at least 20 points and seven assists in six straight games, the longest streak in the NBA this season.
So what do you think?
The comments section is your forum, folks.
Type away.
UPDATE: I had my say this morning on the Jorge Sedano Show on 790 The Ticket in Miami, making the point that a future lineup of Lin/Baron Davis at PG, Iman Shumpert/Landry Fields at SG, Carmelo Anthony at 3, Amar’e Stoudemire at 4 and Tyson Chandler at 5 ain’t all that bad.
And if you throw J.R. Smith into the equation (Jorge thinks he’s going to the Clippers; I believe he is Knick-bound), the 3-point shooting the Knicks have been missing suddenly gets added to the equation. Is that a 7 or 8 seed the Heat would prefer to see over the Celtics? (Jorge had an answer for that, too).
Click here to listen to the interview.
5 of his TOs came in the first half and he really seemed like he was trying too hard to make things happen in the second quarter. Teams are obviously starting to key in on him, but the surprising thing for me is how he pushes the early struggles aside and is clutch when it counts. Amar’e having a terrible shooting night didn’t help out either. They were clearly not clicking early on.
On another note, it’s amazing how popular Lin is becoming. This morning, my lab manager (I work in a molecular biology lab), who is Chinese and really only watches/pays attention to sports during playoffs and championships, told he she watched this game and was drawn to Lin. He is clearly bringing back interest among Asian-Americans filling the void Yao left behind. Also interesting that she said she and other Chinese moms never thought that an Asian-American could play in the NBA.
Lin had the first triple double of his career last night.
One thing as a Knicks fan I have to love is, the way he has lifted the overall energy of the team. I’ve been a fan since the end of the Clyde Frazier/Red Holtzman days & seen guys like Bernard King, Patrick Ewing & the boys, Allan Houston & Sprewell on down, but I have never seen one player so heavily influence the energy & confidence of the team. The manner in which it has happened is flat out astonishing. To go from total obscurity to dominating games has never been seen before. Guys that do what he is doing we usually hear about by the time they’re seniors in high school but with Lin he is literally like catching lightning in a bottle. It cannot be overstated though how big the play of guys like Jared Jeffries, Landry Fields, Iman Shumpert & Tyson Chandler have been. Also, its no coincidence that Steve Novak has become a part of the rotation because Lin has been able to get him the ball in the right spots which is what any good PG is supposed to be able to do. The only negative about all of this is it has shown the obvious weakness of the guy he replaced in Toney Douglas. He’s been a model citizen in light of Lin-sanity & my hat goes off to him but his value & confidence have got to be at an all-time low. TD seems like a genuinely good guy so I hope before its all said & done, his is able to find his shot again & make a POSITIVE impact on the season, but if they sign JR Smith, then his days are probably over in a Knicks uni. I’ve been tweeting Lin & Shumpert since the Jazz game that the 2 of them as a backcourt tandem are going to be a major problem for the rest of the league but the fact is, they already ARE a problem.
A good friend of mine wrote this amazing piece on the whole Jeremy Lin thing and what it means to Asian-Americans. Please feel free to comment!
Overcoming Asian-American Stereotypes: The Jeremy Lin Story
by Mike Li
“You’re going to be the first Chinese player in the NBA,” I was told back in grade school during a schoolyard pickup game. Growing up, basketball was my life, and I was pretty damn good. I grew up with visions of NBA grandeur, but what do kids know?
It wasn’t until I got older that I did finally come to “know” how things really are. I grew wise the first time I heard a “ching-chang” joke directed my way or had the slanted eye gesture made toward me around the time of middle school. I learned that being born Chinese in America made me different, and somehow, a source of derogation.
As I now witness the unfolding of the Jeremy Lin NBA saga, to say that this is a historical happenstance for me doesn’t even come close to being a hyperbole. When Jesse Owens outran the competition in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Hitler’s Aryan theory of white superiority flew out the window. And yes, when Jeremy Lin turned the NBA into his personal playground, another momentous truth in history was delivered with sudden and extraordinary veracity.
And it is this fact: Asian Americans (the people that look and identify with Jeremy Lin physically, culturally, socially) are not inferior. We are no longer to be defined by the William Hungs of the world. We are to be taken seriously – no longer a joke, or a weakling, or a foreign entity, or worse of all, an afterthought.
We are a minority in America, this is true. Yet we are an important part of this country even though we have never really been embraced as part of this nation. We are not stereotypes. We are dynamic, and as Jeremy Lin has shown, we can achieve anything against all odds.
In a way, another irony is that Jeremy Lin is a devout Christian and speaks of Jesus Christ. The irony of course is the symbol Lin himself has become to a segment of the US populous thirsting for a savior that will raise us collectively out of obscurity, with each and every slashing drive to the hoop, kill down stereotype after stereotype. And finally, as the pandemonium of Linsanity quiets down from its fever pitch, I hear it again: “You’re going to be the first Chinese player in the NBA!” And I know now that dreams can and do actually come true in my lifetime!
His best quality by far is his humbleness and it comes off real, not some business choice made by his entourage (Lebron).
When it comes down to the most important thing, Linsanity got it done once again. He delivered with the game on the line. The turnovers can’t be too much of a concern. He’s obviously doing things right if he has found a way to turn this team around and win six straight. Keep it up young man!
Its a great story for the NY Knicks as well as the NBA. After the drama off the court, the league needed someone like Lin to come in and get the people excited about the product on the court. Is he the greatest PG, no but he’s learning on the job in the biggest stage in sports. The true test will be against better teams and when Melo comes back. He also needs to cut down on the turnovers. You have to love the kids poise and passion. Its been a while since the Knicks had a pure PG with some flare!
I agree with a few people that most of the players who lead the league in turnovers are really good PGs, and they lead the league because they have the ball in their hands the most. Even though I think Rose is the best PG in the league he still has too many turnovers. Of the great PGs only Chris Paul really standouts out as someone who does a great job of limiting turnovers while also making lots of impact plays (and I’m not basing this off stats, I’m basing this off of what I see/scout with my own eyes).
As far as his defense there really are not any great man-on-man defenders at the PG position in the league. While Rondo is great at playing the passing lanes and getting steals a good portion of his steals come from poking the ball away after his guy has gotten by him. I’m not saying the PGs in the league don’t try at defense, but there are just so many quick/skilled PGs right now that no PG can really defend another PG with out good team help/defense.
And normally I would say I need to see a larger sample size of Lin being good to think he has staying power, or point out the quality of most teams he is playing against; but right now what he is doing is just so fun to watch as a fan I am just trying to let it play out. It is players/moments like this that prove to me why I love the NBA so much, and sometimes I it feels great to feel like a little kid again and just enjoy without trying to think too much about the what and why of the situation. Even though I’m not a Knicks fan I couldn’t help but smile last night after I saw the highlights of Lin’s game winner against the Raptors.
While everyone is talking about turnovers, they have less to do with losses than wins.. ironically as a guy stated before me, some of the better pgs are leaders in turnovers and proven winners. Lets turn the page on this guy he’s clutch and a big deal, if they did not have him the knicks would be so utterly lost it’s not funny. Jeremy Lin is not a fluke as he’s been a winner he just had to battle through the stereotypes and why not, discrimination as an Asian american going against your prototypical black, white, latino, european, south american pg’s. The thing is he’s from harvard asian and in reality he’s a real stud. He deserves every single bit of praise and as a Laker fan I am appreciative of his overwhelming good character and the positive attention he brings to the NBA when most shows are reluctant to go with it. As an NBA fan this is a dream come true. Keep doing what you’re doing kid breaking down those barriers.
I like this Linsanity. But more importantly for me as a Knicks fan that they are winning and in playoff chase.
For a young player, he’s doing great, but he’s really gotta stop turning the ball over. Another 8 turnover tonight? That’s not acceptable. For now, it can be overlooked since he’s only been starting for a week and he’s barely into his NBA career, but for him to be a legit player, he’ll have to work on that.
I think he is going stick at about 17 ppg, 8 to 10 assists, 4 rebonds, 2 steals and 5 TO’s per game with occasional eruptions for 30 ppg or 14 assists.
He seems like he may become a fairly reliable player because he stays within the team concept very well.
One thing for sure is that he has a tangible winning attitude and the smarts that NY fans crave.
This is kid is great for hoops.
Long live the Lin
@jwss he already played deron. Lit him up!
Good point – I’d forgotten Williams. My concern isn’t on the offensive end (though it will be interesting to see what develops as more advance scouting is done). Lin has proven he can run the Knicks’ offence. What worries me is the defensive end. Calderon’s smart, experienced, and talented – but he’s easier to guard than Rose, Rondo, Westbrook, etc (and Williams too), and Lin couldn’t do it.
I like what he brings to the Knicks. What bothers me is the notion that we no longer need Melo or STAT on the team and all the analysts keep saying that Melo needs to adjust his game to Lin. Lin is the PG and its his and the coach’s duty to make sure his allstars get enough touches. Now if they can’t convert it’s on them.
My concern is how will Lin cope trying to guard points like Rondo, Rose, Westbrook, and Williams. He couldn’t stop Calderon at all. Those other guys could really torch him.
I agree.
There seems to be an overwhelming concern about Lin’s defense on Calderon last night but I think that the defense will come. He’s working harder on working the Knick system and getting some fluidity in the offense more than his defense at this point. He went into the locker room at halftime during the Laker game to look at how he can hit his big men not how he could better defend players. albeit was Derek Fisher and Steve Blake. But with repetition and experience in guarding NBA PGs this guy will be okay. No one learns how to guard an NBA PG over night and here we are discussing him defending the likes of Rondo, Rose, Westbrook, etc. Put him in a film session with Mike Woodson and staff and he’ll be better suited next time he plays Calderon.
Lin’s run reminds me of Flip Murray in 03′-04′, when he came out of nowhere and started putting up 20 points a night. I know Murray had nowhere near the fanfare of that run and he certainly didn’t halt SportsCenter, but I think the two arcs will be similar.
I think Lin will eventually settle in as a type of Earl Boykins-mold of point guard. Even though they are obviously different body types, they are both offensively-minded first. Both are nice bench options, but aren’t going to lead a team with their scoring. (Although Lin has done that so far, I’m speaking more of his eventually career arc.)
His scoring will most likely go down when both Melo and STAT are on the floor but his assists should go up.
The 8 turnovers were bad.
I think his assists were inflated because some of those plays his teamates took a pass and made the most of the pass to get the assist.
On the other hand his defense on cal wasnt terrible. He made a couple of bad reads early but it seemed like he was supposed to get over the screen and someone was supposed to hedge up on cal’s shot–and that didnt happen at least 5-6 times.
I’ve been hoping he succeeds since watching a random Harvard game on tv a couple years back and seeing this kid..
just pointing it out, Westbrook, Rondo, Nash, D Will, Wall and Rubio are all in the top 10 in the league in turnovers
Well, he did have eight turnovers, and Jose Calderon absolutely lit him up.
But it was a good win for the Knicks, a bad loss for the Raptors, and a heck of a buzzer shot.