LINSANITY!

The New York Knicks are back — but not for the reasons you might think!

Last season, the Knicks rebuilt their entire roster and added All-Star players Amare’ Stoudamire and Carmelo Anthony. Then they went a step further this season by adding former Dallas NBA championship center Tyson Chandler and injured Point Guard Baron Davis.  About 10 days ago the Knicks front office considered adding a legitimate Point Guard who could play in the absence of Baron Davis, which meant they would have had to cut 1 player from their already full 15 man roster.  The man at the end of the bench who was on the chopping block was a little used Asian Guard from Harvard named Jeremy Lin.  He was on his way out.  But then, something magical happened…

9 days ago, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni decided to throw Jeremy Lin into the game against the New Jersey Nets so as to give his starter some rest.  The moment Lin stepped onto the court the game changed.  He successfully directed traffic like a seasoned cop inside a busy urban intersection.  He successfully controlled the flow and tempo of the game.  He successfully made the players around him better.  And on the back of Jeremy Lin, the Knicks broke their losing streak and won the game.

His play was so unbelievably incredible, Coach D’Antoni decided only 2 days later to roll the dice, experiment and insert the former Ivy Leaguer into the starting line up against the Western Conference contending Utah Jazz.  On the back of Jeremy Lin, the Knicks won the game. 2 days later came the Washington Wizards.  The Knicks won. 2 days after that came Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.  The Knicks won. Then a day later came international phenomenon Ricky Rubio and the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Minnesota led practically the entire game.  But in the final minute, Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks pulled out a win!

The play of Lin has been absolutely astounding.  But what makes the 5 game winning streak on Lin’s back so much more exciting, is that it was done without Carmelo Anthony (out 2 weeks with a groin injury) and Amare’ Stoudamire (out several games due to the death of his brother).  The humble underdog Jeremy Lin strung together a 5 game winning streak without the Knicks’ All-Stars, but with the Knicks’ 2nd unit of players.  All of this from a guy who was passed up in his draft class, was cut by 2 NBA teams already this season (Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets) and was demoted to the NBA’s D-League 3 weeks ago!

Initially, Knicks fans and sports enthusiasts alike believed Lin was just on a 1 or 2 game lucky streak which would quickly disappear back into reality.  But the Utah win started turning heads.  Then when Kobe Bryant came to town and made the snarky comment that he’d never heard of Lin and didn’t know what all the fuss was about, Lin introduced himself to Mr. Bryant with a career high 38 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists calling card.  By the end of the night, Kobe knew who he was then.

“Linsanity” as it has been dubbed, has swept Madison Square Garden.  Jeremy Lin is the lead story on ESPN television, most sports radio talk shows and a proud Asian community happy to see the only Chinese-Amercan player in the league excel.  Hall of Famer Magic Johnson has sung his praises, calling Lin “the real deal.”  And the Knicks are playing their best basketball in perhaps a decade, whipping butt on the court and gaining a legion of adoring new fans, all because of the play of a little used and incredibly humble Asian Point Guard from Harvard who was only days from being cut.

Due to a non-guaranteed contract, Lin had been sleeping on his brother’s sofa, since he didn’t want to find an apartment and risk being traded mid-season.  But it is safe to assume now that Lin can probably go buy a large mansion somewhere in the New York area, because a star is born and he will be around for a LOOONNNNGGGG time.

Long live Linsanity!