My problem with Jeremy Lin is not with Jeremy Lin himself, my problem is with the hype and talk I've been hearing about this guy. As a regular listener of sports radio, I have heard such outlandish comments as, "he's a poor man's Steve Nash" or "the Knicks need to trade Amar'e or Melo." I've even heard somebody advocate cutting Carmelo Anthony outright. Let's cool it right there folks. Jeremy Lin has put the Knicks on his back and provided a spark for the lifeless Knicks. He has been the centerpiece of the offense while Stat & Melo have been out but don't expect Lin to score 38 points once Stat & Melo return to action. His role when those two return is to run the Knicks offense and get the ball to the true scorers on the team. Any idiot who truly knows a thing about basketball knows that a point guard should not be the main scoring option, he should distribute the ball and make everyone around him better. The idiots who are making these comments are the same idiots who were serenading Carmelo Anthony during his first game at MSG with the Knicks. It just goes to show you how short our attention span is and how fickle sports fans can be. Folks, calm down with Jeremy Lin. Need I remind you that it has only been 5 games? I think about other examples of guys who've come to New York, rose from obscurity, made a splash, only to crash and burn. Does anyone remember Shane Spencer's September in 1998 when he hit .373 with 10 HR in 27 games? Have we already forgotten Aaron Small who went 10-0 in 2005 for a depleted Yankee rotation? What about Kevin Mass, who was supposedly the heir apparent to Don Mattingly when he burst on the scene in 1990? Shall I continue through the annals of flashes in the pan?
Again, I am not a hater of Lin, I am a fan who has tempered his expectations. Through the first five games, Lin has scored 191 points, the most by any player since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976. That's impressive. Here's what's not impressive to me. He's the first player ever to average 20 points and 7 assists through his first four games. I'm sorry but that does not impress me. It's an arbitrary stat taken from an arbitrary sample size. We've become so obsessed with stats, that we create these stats that skew numbers to prop a guy up. This happens all the time in sports. Who decided that four games is the baseline of which to measure players? Is Michael Jordan not the greatest player ever to play the game because he did not average 20 points and 7 assists through his first four games? Absolutely not.
Let's also realize that during the rise of Linsanity, the Knicks have played the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, who are a combined 57-84. Only two of those teams, the Lakers (16-12) and Jazz (14-13) have winning records. These teams are not exactly world beaters that Hurricane Lin has blown through. Friday's Laker game was a great game. Lin scored 38 points and became an instant sensation for a national viewing audience, however, the Laker team the Knicks beat is not a Laker team of earlier lore. Yes, these Lakers still have Kobe Bryant, but these Lakers are not the same Phil Jackson Lakers that were winning championships just a few years ago. These Lakers are the Mike Brown Lakers in a very weak Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Lin has begun to show some signs of fatigue with the increased workload. After scoring 38 on Friday, Lin scored 20 points on 8-24 shooting in Minnesota on Saturday. Lin looked gassed at the end of the game when he only made one of two free throws that put the Knicks up by one with 4.9 seconds left.
With the Knicks playing so well now, it's easy to point fingers and castigate Carmelo Anthony. I get it, the Knicks have not been very good since the trade for him. You have to accept Carmelo for what he is. Carmelo is a score first ballplayer who wants his points every night so he can contend for a scoring title. The Knicks are playing inspired basketball and are getting legitimate contributions from the Steve Novak's and Iman Shumpert's of the world. Naturally everyone will point a finger to Carmelo and use him as a scapegoat. It's human nature. The Knicks problem isn't Carmelo Anthony. You can debate me all you want on this but you're not going to sway my opinion. You can call him a black cloud, you can call him selfish, you can call him any name you want, it's uncalled for. At the end of the game, I want the ball in his hand to make a clutch shot, not Steve Novak (sorry Steve, I don't mean to call you out).
The biggest problem handicapping the Knicks right now is Mike "No-D"Antoni. D'Antoni should be Lin's biggest cheerleader because Lin has singlehandedly saved D'Anotni's job. Oh, and Mike, if you're reading this blog, buy the man a Rolex with the money you're stealing from the Knicks, he deserves it. D'Antoni couldn't find defense in a phonebook and for as long as he's the coach, the Knicks will never win a title. I think the only person who supports D'Antoni unequivocally besides D'Antoni himself is Bill Walton, and I'm not sure whether or not he smoked pot before commenting on his good friend.
“I’ve known Mike D’Antoni for 40 years. He is a brilliant basketball mind. He is a genius in terms of creativity and imagination. The NBA owes a huge debt of gratitude to Mike D’Antoni, who saved the sport 10 years ago...I stand by that statement...I stand tall on that statement. I stand tall as others have stood tall for me. Mike D’Antoni is a genius, he is a monument to the history of basketball...who has saved the sport of basketball from going down this disastrous path of nothing but standing around and grinding it out. It’s not about numbers,” said Walton. “It’s about a style, it’s about creativity, it’s about coming together, it’s about the fluidity of controlling and defining the terms of a conflict. That Knicks team has not come together yet.” (Listen to the entire audio: HERE)Until Lin, the Knicks have also lacked a true point guard. Having no point guard to distribute the ball is like having a football team sans quarterback. Would the Giants have won the Super Bowel without Eli Manning? Up until Lin emerged from the depths of the bench, the Knicks were pinning there hopes to the arcane Mike Bibby and the balky back of Baron Davis. Davis to date is still not healthy and who knows if he ever will be. Amar'e Stoudemire needs to snap out of his funk and learn how to coexist with Carmelo. Stoudemire was a legitimate MVP candidate last year before Carmelo arrived in NY. He needs to become aggressive again and attack the basket, which is something he stopped doing with Melo as his teammate. Maybe he suffers from a bruised ego that he is no longer the main attraction in NY, but his resurgence to pre Melo form is vital, as is Landry Fields, who has once again blossomed with Stat and Melo not in the lineup. If this article seems extremely Pro-Carmelo Anthony it is not. He does not get a free pass or be absolved from all wrong doing. He is culpable for the Knicks sluggish start. Carmelo needs to become a team player and learn to distribute the ball. The Knicks will not be successful if Melo continually gets fed the ball, stands around for 20 seconds and then takes a 20 ft shot time and time again.
The Knicks play at Toronto on Tuesday and Stat will be back in the lineup. We will see how Lin reacts to Stat and if Stat can run the pick n' roll to perfection with Lin the way he did with Raymond Felton. From there Carmelo Anthony should return within the next week or so and the Knicks will be back at full strength. Only time will tell how this story ends but before you auction off your first born just to get your official NBA Jeremy Lin jersey when it comes available, remember this, we've seen acts like this here in NY before.
No comments:
Post a Comment