[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by RichieLion

Ah, finally. I've been a Knicks fan my whole life. You can't discount the great Ewing years of the Knicks. They had to play against great teams then like the Michael Jordan Bulls, the Reggie Miller Pacers, the Olajuwon Rockets, the Robinson-Duncan Spurs etc, etc. They just missed their chance at B-Ball greatness on many occasions, breaking my Knicks heart over and over. It was great basketball, though.

The thing with this kid, Jeremy Lin, is that no one knew how great he might be; and I mean NO ONE. He was undrafted in 2010 and then signed by his favorite team, the Golden State Warriors. He never got much of a shot and was waived and signed by the Houston Rockets who didn't chance him either and eventually let him go, to sign a big man they thought they needed. Mike D'Antoni picked him up for the Knicks having been impressed with his Summer League play. He now sat at the end of the Knicks bench, out of the rotation.

Injuries and the uninspired play of Knicks point guard Tony Douglas and rookie Iman Shumpert, out of position at the point, left D'Antoni in risk of losing his job. The Knicks signed aging injured star Baron Davis, and he hasn't hit the hardwood yet. All this led to D'Antoni looking down his bench and giving this Harvard grad his shot, and BOY did he ever take advantage.

He scored over 20 pts and had at least 8 assists in his first 2 NBA starts, being the first player to do this since Lebron James and only the 6th player to do this since 1970. "Linsanity" took over Madison Square Garden. Even with stars Stoudemire and Carmelo not playing the Knicks were on fire. This unknown Asian-American kid outplaying every point guard he faced. On ESPN, Magic Johnson, in commentary, is comparing him to John Stockton and Steve Nash.

Everyone was waiting to see what would happen against the Kobe Bryant Lakers when they came to the Garden where Kobe once scored a Garden record 61 points. The Lakers would not be surprised by this kid, the commentators said, and this would be a defining game for Jeremy Lin.

What happened?; Jeremy Lin was the best player on the court, hands down. He got the Knicks all involved in the game, and when the Lakers stopped his pick and roll game, he calmly sank jump shot after jump shot and drove time and time again to the basket for layups, embarrassing All Star point guard Derek Fisher again and again.

Madison Square Gard-Lin is jumping; it's Lin-sane, The Knick are all-Lin, The Knicks are Lin-ing and Lin-ing every game, so far, with their new phenom point guard. Lin-sanity is ruling the Garden.

I hope it continues; it's been great to cheer this team again.

Originally Posted by RichieLion

Anything can happen, but Jeremy Lin has shown great basketball I.Q. to this point. He plays the pick and roll to perfection. If he's stopped he hits the jumper. If the defense is quick to guard his jump shot, he's drove around them with an assortment of moves that results in a lay-up, a foul on the drive, or a thundering dunk by Tyson Chandler as he gets a timely quick pass from Lin.

5 games in a row with 20 plus points and the whole team playing as a team. You notice the difference when Lin is on the floor and when he's not. The Knicks are better when he's there, no doubt about it.

I just hope D'Antoni doesn't hurt this kid with too many minutes. He's playing too much. That's why he faltered at the end of the Grizzlies game. But, to his credit, he had enough to force a driving foul at the end to set up the game winning free throws.

I wouldn't doubt this kid.

Richie;

Excellent posts. He was tired last night partly due to the accelerated schedule and minutes played as you stated.

Lin has started with the best 5 games of anyone who played that position. Even better than Magic Johnson.

Although I am not ready to put him in the Hall of Fame, my guess is that he will help this team tremendously with penetration and pick and roll type plays, even with Carmel Anthony.

I will take a wait and see attitude but he cerainly has energized the Knicks fan base.

Another feel good story from someone who came out of nowhere land. I didn't even know he was on the Knicks roster but I am aware of it now!!!!!