He scored: 25 points against the Nets, 28 against the Jazz, 23 against the Wizards, and now a an impressive 38 against the Lakers. In those games he is also averaging 8 assists and almost 2 steals. These numbers are impressive for a guy who had a hard time even making an NBA roster. In fact even New York was considering cutting him until he had his break out performance against New Jersey. In a span of about a week Jeremy Lin has become the most talked about guy in basketball. The big question is will this last?
Lin is a very talented and smart player (I mean he went to Harvard for goodness sakes). I see this run of his continuing at least until Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire are back in the rotation. Right now Lin is forced to be the offensive producer of the team. Without the two all-stars, the next best scorer is Tyson Chandler with just under 12 PPG and he is supposed to be the defensive minded player on the team. Once you bring back Stat and Melo, Lin's contribution is bound to change.
To be honest I've never felt that Melo was a great fit for this team, and as we saw with Denver, teams may be better off without him. A New York offense with Melo involves a lot of isolation while, without him, we see the D'Antoni offense we saw in Phoenix, utilizing pick and roles. Now, with the addition of Chandler over the offseason, the middle court is muddled up for Amare. This makes for an odd set up for New York starters. As talented as this team is, they don't really mesh together very well.
So were does this leave Lin? There will still be opportunity for him to play but I just don't see him being the main offensive contributor like he has been the past 4 games. The truth is he won't be dropping 25 points every game all year and he won't continue to lead the Knicks in scoring. That being said he still can be an effective point-guard. It would be realistic that Lin could be the 3rd best scoring option on the team once Stat and Melo return. The question is: will Lin be the commander of the offense upon Melo's return? Will be he effective distributing the ball to Amare and Carmelo or will he be pushed to the side, allowing Melo to do his thing? D'Antoni who might be on the hot seat as it is, has a mess to figure out here soon. The Knicks were a more balanced team before the Melo trade and are still struggling to find an identity. That may be one reason why the fans have grown fond of Jeremy Lin. People like seeing the underdog prevail, they like seeing a new success story. Not only that but New York likes seeing winning basketball in MSG.
Jeremy seems to be a class act and I look forward to seeing the Lin-sanity train continue. So that's sports: from the fan's perspective.
I know he's only played 4 games with starters' minutes, but I don't think you should underestimate the affect he has had on the team, and the crowd as well. Knicks fans would NOT be ok with the Knicks just going back to status quo when Carmelo and Stat come back, and I don't think D'Antoni wants that either. D'Antoni's a very talented offensive coach, and he finally has the point guard he needs to draw up plays. The Knicks will be a very different team, regardless of Carmelo and Stat - there's no going back.
ReplyDeleteAs a Knicks fan, I actually think it's good that Carmelo will take a couple of weeks to get back. This means that after Amare comes back, Lin and Amare will have a few games to establish the pick and roll, which will be awesome for the Knicks. Amare's talents have gone underutilized ever since 'Melo came over, especially without Billups this year. But with a speedy point guard that is as good at the pick and roll as Lin, Amare should be licking his chops. There will be only synergy between the two of them.
As far as 'Melo goes, chemistry is definitely more of an issue - 'Melo is a known ball-stopper, prompting the rest of the team to stand around and look at him while he works in iso situations. However, the good news for the Knicks is that Lin will be the primary ball-handler, and so he will be involved in the offense no matter what. 'Melo needs to get a lot of touches to be effective, so the challenge will be getting him the ball enough early in games to get him in rhythm so he can do what he does late in games. However, I have got to say that I hope their first offensive option will be running the pick and roll for Lin and Carmelo, and then getting it to 'Melo late in the count if that's not working.
It is undeniable that the ball-movement and teamwork the last few games are a breath of fresh air and exactly what the Knicks needed. D'Antoni would be foolish to allow 'Melo to take things back to how they were.
Hopefully he can remain consistent, I would love to see him just get better & better & still stay humble. Nice blog my friend.
ReplyDeleteLin-Sanity baby!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a Melo trade in the works for New York. Management may just not want to do it though. I completely agree with you assessment of of Melo stopping the offense causing the team to stand and watch. I am exciting to see Stat return but I still don't see how Melo fits if they wish to continue to use Lin like they do.
ReplyDeleteKnicks winning is simply good for all of basketball and I hope that D'Antoni does find a way to make this team mesh. If he can find a way to have this team run a fluid offense, they will be scary good.
I must also say Knicks fans are some of the most passionate and loyal fans in the game and they deserve a team that can compete. I just fear what Melo will do to that locker room if he doesn't get touches. If the Knicks continue winning though, it won't be an issue.
Nice underdog story, I'm tired of so called superstars underachieving... Go Lin Go
ReplyDeleteSeems like he had to jump through a couple hoops to get to where he is today. I'd like to see his continued success. It's nice a small talent work to big talent rather than the superstars becoming bigger superstars. Nice to have an Asian role model too :)
ReplyDeleteMy take on this is like this.
ReplyDeleteIf D'Antoni somehow finds a way to mesh Lin, Melo, STAT and Chandler then the Knicks will have a legit chance to make it to the East finals.
If Melo mess up the chemistry it is time to trade him. Simple as that.
There is no way New York will make it to the East finals! They will be ranked 7th or 8th at best. Lin-Sanity or no Lin-Sanity. They need to re-adjust and maybe trade across for Anthony.The chemistry is not right....and if it's ever gonna be right it wont be with Melo on the team.
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