The first time since I started my weekly recap, I was struggling for something to write about, since the NFL season had come to an end. Then I was thinking, what a better way to transition away from football then to make this a Valentine’s Day edition? When I think of Valentine’s Day, the first word that comes to mind is love. The second thing I thought of was how I was going to be able to tie this holiday into something relating to sports. What a better way to begin my discussion about Jeremy Lin then on Valentine’s Day.
Over the past week, we have witnessed the sports world’s love for this new superstar. In one week, Lin was talking about living on the couch in his brothers’ apartment, to outplaying Kobe Bryant on the biggest stage in basketball.
The New York Knicks received bad news after bad news. Last week, the Knicks found out that their two stars, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, would miss the next couple of games due to a groin strain and a death in the family, respectively.
Coach D’Antoni was looking for someone to turn to. D’Antoni inserted Lin into the starting lineup, and then, he captured the attention of everyone around the league. Lin has been the centerpiece to this team’s success during their five game win streak. In his last 10 games, Lin has averaged 18.6 points per game and 6.4 assists per game.
As of Feb. 4, NBA jerseys have been selling by the bulk. Yes, throughout that given time, LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Dwayne Wade and Bryant have sold a plethora of jerseys. But no one has sold more jerseys than Lin. Lin has trumped the best in the game with jersey sales for just over a week.
So what happens when Anthony and Stoudemire return to the Knicks lineup? Will Lin continue to brighten his stardom, or will he take a backseat to the already proven stars? I don’t see how Lin’s status can go any direction but upward. His points per game average might decrease, but his overall value as a player in this organization will skyrocket. He is a player that tends to make the players that are surrounding him better. If he has increased the productivity of players like Jared Jeffries and Steve Novak, I can only imagine the impact he will have on Stoudemire and Anthony’s game.
Up until this point, the Knicks were a team that had two of the top superstars in the game, but nothing to show for it. D’Antoni was struggling to find a point guard to fit his system. The Knicks were planning on Baron Davis to run their offense, but has not been cleared to play due to injury. The Knicks have also demonstrated with second year guard Toney Douglas and rookie guard Iman Shumpert at the point guard position, both to no avail.
Lin has the ability to run a fast pace offense while maintaining control of the game. Lin has been able to succeed under D’Antoni, reminding me of another point guard in D’Antoni’s system. Back when D’Antoni was the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, future hall of famer Steve Nash ran the offense, as the Suns became one of the best teams in the NBA.
I understand that Lin is far away from being a hall of famer, but you have to admit, he has gotten off to a LINcredible start.
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