New York Knicks Jeremy Lin Has Not Proved Much
What do you get when you mix a starving for a winner fan base, a team that plays a very easy schedule, and a sudden winning streak due to a very unlikely new hero? The answer is Linsanity. New York and the world appear to be suffering from Linsanity. Jeremy Lin is now everywhere. My only question is if this is only fifteen minutes of fame.
I will admit I love the story. Anybody that sits buried on a bench by a brain dead coach and then steps in and lights up the league is a tremendous story. Heck any time a guy breaks the record for most points in his first six starts is amazing with guys ranging from Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, to Shaquille O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain having dominated the league from their onset. Even if the Knicks were a perennial winner instead of the laughing stock they have become due to poor personnel moves, how can one not cheer for a Harvard graduate living on a family members couch.
The problem is that those that are ready to anoint this guy as the next superstar of the NBA have not looked at the situation. The first issue is this is only his first six starts. NBA defensive coaches have not had a real chance to get a look at this guy. They have not really had a chance to really figure out what truly bothers him and how to rattle him. This is a guy that was viewed primarily as a pick and roll player that is all of a sudden a guy that can shoot and run an offense? Before we anoint him a god lets make sure that he can adjust once coaches begin to figure him out. Even last night against the terrible Raptors, Lin struggled at times with certain coverages and turned the ball over.
The other factor is even if the coaches he were playing against had time to figure him out, they probably would not have. The teams that he played thus far are not contenders. New Jersey, Washington, and Toronto are terrible. Do any of those teams play any defense? Minnesota and Utah are solid, but hardly defensive teams. The only good team they played was LA. The problem with that game was LA had nothing left after playing a hard fought game against Boston the game before that went into over time. The Boston game clearly left LA with nothing as they had zero gas to play the rested Knicks.
Another issue is true failure. Anyone can play well with the world behind you. Can he continue to be this head strong should the Knicks inevitably go on a minor slide? What happens if he starts slumping? Can he get himself out of it and at the same time still contribute just enough for the team to win? These are serious questions that have not been answered in six games.
The other issue is the Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony factor. The fact is for most of this run for the Knicks, Lin should put up stats. He was the first option on offense for a team that runs and guns with Mike D’Antoni at the helm. He had the ball in his hands most of the time and his job was to shoot. When both these guys return healthy can they mesh and can he find a role in the offense?
Finding chemistry and sharing the ball is not as easy it looks. Granted Amare played last night and scored 22 points with Lin scoring 27 including the game winner, but they were only sharing the ball between two people. Carmelo Anthony is a once in a lifetime scorer that needs the ball and shots to be effective. Carmelo is not going to defer to Lin. If he did not defer to Chauncey Billups and his championship experience, he is not going to defer to a guy that was sleeping on someone’s couch that happens to be hot and on a run. A lot of Lin’s shots including the last procession that he won the game on may vanish once Melo returns. Can Lin be effective with fewer shots and less ball time?
The bottom line is right now this is a great story. New York Knicks fans are hungry for a winner and deserve one. When one is hungry sometimes even a Big Mac can look like filet mignon. Let us just wait a couple months and see where the dust settles. I hope Linsanity continues, but the reality is Lin has a lot more to prove.
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