Where Do I Even Beg"LIN"?????

By Sports Writer: Diz Cullifa

For at least another month I will only be the tender age of 20. While some of my exploits during my early years have been somewhat naïve and immature I always found time to keep up on the popular happenings in sports. It is kind of weird to say that because I was always the guy in grade school and high school who was the last to find out about everything. I could go a month without knowing a buddy of mine had broken up with his girlfriend until I asked him how his relationship was going. The normal response always ended up being a dirty look and then some jokes made towards me because I was so out of the loop that people could not believe how late I was. It was another story though when it came to sports and the new “fad” that was happening. Back in 06-07, it was announced that Greg Oden would be shooting free throws with his left hand during his first few games back with the Buckeyes from injury. I was the guy who brought it up in conversation and had Buckeye fans at my school eating out of my palm for new information. I would walk by groups of people talking and suddenly hear “hey did you hear what Greg Oden has to do..?” sure enough the person asking that question would be a nerd that I had previously told that news too and he would be acting like he was the one who found it out. Over time I grew to live with this type of attitude from other people because more than anything I was content with knowing what was going on in the sports world. If I had kept up with my ESPN articles and daily SportsCenter shows then I would be the go-to-guy in a conversation whenever any information needed clearing up. Basically I was feeling good about myself because I was “in-the-loop”, until I heard about this fellow named Jeremy Lin.

If you’re like me then you don’t like being the person who shows up to the party and does not realize its BYOB until someone asks you “didn’t you bring anything to drink?” this is basically how I found out about Jeremy Lin. I was sitting at home on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago when I saw the ESPN bottom line ticker flash “New York Knicks 99 New Jersey Nets 92, Lin – 25 points”. At first I just thought that some guy the Knicks called up from the D-League had the game of his life because no one from the Nets knew who he was and therefore had no game plan for him. Then the next game rolled around where the Knicks hosted the Utah Jazz and Lin dropped 28 and dished out 11 in his first NBA start. Again thinking that I knew more than what I did I paid no attention to the fact that Lin just dropped a double-double on a pretty decent Jazz team that MAYBE had a few lines dedicated to him on their morning scouting report. After the Knicks dropped the Wizards 107-93 for their third straight win I heard nothing more about Jeremy Lin until my dad (out of all people, the same guy who sleeps up to 60 hours a week) shoots me a text that said “DUDE that Asian Knick guy just dropped 23 and had 10 dimes against John Wall. WHO IS THIS GUY?” (For the record, Lin is Taiwanese) After having flashbacks to high school and once again being out of the loop I decided that enough is enough. I was going to watch Jeremy Lin’s next game and I was going to see what this new “Linsanity” was all about. I know I said I hate being the guy who did not get the BYOB memo, but when I am the guy that has to get sports information from his hibernating father that is when I start to get a little pissed.

I got lucky on Friday the 10th because not only did I get to work my bouncer job on a night that many considered the dead night of the weekend, but the Knicks were hosting the Lakers at home on ESPN. Since the only customers we had were older people who were still trying to live in their 20’s I had no problem posting up next to the lobster claw machine and getting my first “Linsanity” preview. The game started off the way I thought it would with Lin missing his first jumper. He didn’t have a bad jump shot, but he had a bit of a hitch and it seemed as though he would have a tough time hitting from behind the arc. Wouldn’t you know it a few minutes later he hits his first shot of the game which is a three pointer. Same motion, same hitch, same follow through and the net could be heard swishing on live TV over 19,000 drunken Knicks fans. I decided right then and there that I would quit asking so many questions about the guy and just watch him play, I did the same thing with Tebow and he turned out to be a better closer than Mariano Rivera and The Situation. Another minuet later Lin dishes a half court mini lob pass over Pau Gasol to a sprinting Tyson Chandler who finishes the play with a dunk. More than anything, that is what I wanted to see. I heard about Lin’s passing ability and for his first assist he throws a beautiful lob that Steve Nash would have slapped him on the butt for. Next offensive possession Lin takes another jump shot and J’s it. The very next possession he drives the lane past Derek Fisher for a nice layup. He ends up dropping 10 points and diming out 3 for his first quarter total.

As bad as I want to give a play by play of how well he played I just can’t because I feel like writing about it does not do him enough justice. It is something that has to be watched to really get a sense of how good he actually is. Along with an array of drives, jump shots and one sick spin move in the lane that gave him a #1 play on SportsCenter, Lin ended up outplaying Kobe. I will say that again, Jeremy Lin, the undrafted point guard out of Harvard who was cut by two teams prior to joining the Knicks and had only played 55 minutes the first 23 games of the year, was outplaying the second best NBA player and was doing it on the biggest stage possible. He ended the game with a game high 38 points and a game high 7 assist. After the game was over I texted my dad to see if he had watched it. He told me that he did but he was still unconvinced that this was actually happening. If anything this would only mean the beginning of the end for “Linsanity” It had to be, there was no way something like this could keep happening. I told him that I thought he was right, that Carmelo and Amare will come back and Lin will become an afterthought. But then a couple of nights ago Lin hit a game winning three against the Toronto Raptors with 0.5 seconds to go.

 I could only mouth these words “he isn’t going Linywhere”

I am amazed thus far with what Lin has done. It is something that the NBA or the human race has not seen before and he keeps doing it on a nightly basis. I thought it would be fun the other day to try and compare him to another sports figure and try to compare and contrast what they have done for themselves and the game thus far. Many people are saying that Lin is the Tebow of the NBA. That’s not a bad comparison but the contrasting points far outweigh the comparing ones in my opinion. Tebow was revered for his leadership and fourth quarter play and his playoff game against the Steelers. He almost singlehandedly lead them to the playoffs and gave people in Denver a reason to be proud fans again, but in my opinion that’s about it. I am a Tebow believer but I am also a realest in the sports world. Tebow throws like Tanner from the Bad News Bears and makes some decision that would make Jamarcus Russell scratch his head. The reason he was so successful was for the fact that he has an emerging star wide out in Demaryius Thomas, an offensive line that was considered one of the best in the NFL and a strong running game with Willis McGahee. Tebow also had a strong college career with two national titles and a Heisman Trophy. People knew who Tebow was before and after he was drafted. He has basically been in the spotlight since the Gators stomped the Buckeyes back in the 2006 national championship game.

When it comes to Lin you never really knew about him until the night he was put into the New Jersey game. Before the NBA, Lin was a pretty good player at Harvard. His senior year he average 16.4 points and 4.5 assist a game. When the 2010 draft came and went there were no takers until the Warriors called him up after and signed him to a two year deal. He made their opening night roster and even stuck with them the entire 2010-2011 season. Then Mark Jackson was hired and Lin had to prove himself again but this time he was cut. The Warriors were making roster moves in order to go after free agent center DeAndre Jordan and Lin was due almost 800,000$. He then moved on to Houston to try and win the backup point guard slot, where he was beat out by Kyle Lowry, Johnny Flynn, and Goran Dragic. Lin was then picked up later by the Knicks in order to fill roster space. The first 23 games, Lin saw limited action and was actually one of the guys that went in when the game was out of reach. Then the New Jersey game happened and as they say, the rest is history.

So now the question remains, where do Lin and the Knicks go from here? Being that I am a nerd and I like to read I found an article on Grantland.com by Jay Caspian Kang that really says it best on what to expect the rest of the year from Lin

“He can get to the hoop. Lin has been most effective in the pick-and-roll, which makes up about half of his possessions. He employs a series of hesitations, crossovers, and spin moves to get into the lane, an old-school style reminiscent of Sam Cassell's early days with the Rockets. Like the young Cassell, Lin uses his size and lateral quickness to shake defenders. Both have the ability to remain composed while driving to the basket. It's this quality, more than the scoring totals, that has contributed to the Knicks' five-game winning streak. Unlike Iman Shumpert, who seems to pre-program whatever he's going to do before he receives the ball (a good quality for a power forward, but a terrible one for a point guard), Lin seems to quickly run through a litany of options every time he touches the ball.”

If the Knicks want to make a deep playoff run with this no longer no name in their backcourt I think they need to do three things. First they need to realize that Lin’s passing ability will do wonders for Stoudemire but will take some points away from Carmelo who is a natural ball hog. I like Carmelo as a player and I give him props for marrying La-La who starred in You Got Served, but he is also that kid on the playground that everyone hopes they don’t get picked to be on his team because they will never see the ball in their hands. Second, Lin needs to stay focused as he has been for the time being and not worry about “Linsanity” because the first time he feels stressed or that he isn’t playing up to expectations, the Knicks will once again be out of a point guard (que Mike Bibby nodding slowly). Thirdly and lastly I think Tyson Chandler should have a bigger role in the offense. Go back and watch his New Orleans tapes and how well he finished around the rim when he had Chris Paul throwing him lobs and bounce passes of off pick and rolls. If the Knicks would get Chandler averaging between 13 and 14 points a game then I think they have a real shot at challenging the Heatles and Bulls for the Eastern crown. That being said there is still plenty of season left (about 33 games, which counts as “plenty” if you were slapped around by the lockout like most fans were) and you never know when something amazing can happen. (see what I did there?)

I like Jeremy Lin and what he brings to the table. I also like knowing now that I have enough knowledge to start a conversation with a stranger if I hear anyone mention Lin’s name. That being said I am glad “Linsanity” is still around but I will not miss it when it’s gone. Trends in the NBA come and go quicker than Jionni when he has to spend another awful night with Snooki. But with this shortened NBA season it has been nice to read about something other than a shortened NBA season, even if it happens to be about someone who screwed me over in the gossip world.

“If you do something wrong, you better make sure you do it right”

@DizCullifa