10 Days. It was all it took Jeremy Lin to be given a spot on the court, take it and not leave it anymore, making it into the starting 5. It all started on February 4th. Mike d'Antoni, head coach of the New York Knicks, out of options after a very bad start in the season , throws a "kid" into the yard as a point guard. Jeremy Lin, 23, ex Golden State Warrior, ex Houston Rocket, undrafted in 2010, roughly 5 minutes per game so far this season with the Knicks. And then...
BOOM!
After 36 minutes, the fans, the staff, the WORLD had to rub their eyes to read the stats line! 25 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover against the New Jersey Nets, against All Star point guard Deron Williams... and the WIN!!... WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS HAPPENING!?!?
The Madison Square Garden found the most unexpected hero in this low profile so-far-under-the-radar young player of chinese descent. It was a total surprise to see him shine the way he did and help the Knicks obtain a long sought victory. TOTAL SURPRISE, you say? Well... it depends for who...
During the pre season of 2010-11, when Lin, fresh out of Harvard, was playing at the NBA Summer League in Vegas, he did quite an impression on some insiders. Especially when he was opposed to soon-to-be first round draft pick John Wall, and was far from ridiculous. 6/12 from the field in 28 min. (Wall was 4/19 in 33 min) owed him an ovation from the audience at the end of the game, and the interest of a few scouts from the NBA. He ultimately signed, undrafted, foro his home team, the Golden State Warriors, who were in no position to give him the place under the spotlight we now know him to deserve.
February 6th 2012. Big Star Melo Anthony out on an injury, Stoudemire out mourning his brother, dead in a car accident... Seems like Lin will be given another chance to run the show against Utah. 28 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals (8 turnovers...) and yet another win! HE DID IT AGAIN! To this point, the hype is starting to build up. So does criticism. "Lucky games", "he hasn't faced a real point guard yet" (REALLY??? what do you consider Deron Williams to be???), "that hype will crash once they play away from home"...
Ok, so the time has come. The opponent team? Washington Wizards. The place? Away. The direct opponent? no other than JOHN WALL HIMSELF. This starts to look like a real test now, doesn't it?And what's the verdict? Well... Wall ended the game with 29 points, 6 assists, 1 rebound, 1 block and 2 steals. Lin had 23 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal... and the victory AGAIN!!! History repeating, Lin is ovationed by the crowd, away from home, inside Wall's walls!
There is no denying it now! Lin is all over the news, America's newest sensation, and it didn't take him much longer to make the cover of Sports Illustrated: an epic win over the Lakers and a dream stats line - 38 pts, 4 rbds, 7 asts, 2 stls in 39 minutes; even Kobe, who prior to the game was saying Lin was «nothing to make a big fuss about», had to bow down to the New Emperor of New York!
After a hard earned win over the Minnesota TimberWolves, of Spanish boy wonder Ricky Rubo, Lin was submitted to his second big test: the return of Amar'e Stoudemire. Back from his mourning period, he was now to play with the new found starting point guard (since Baron Davis doesn't seem to be coming out of the infirmary anytime soon...). Observers said the challenge for Lin would be to keep that level of greatness once the two Superstars would return to the court. With Melo still out, it wasn't the real deal, but there was already half an answer there.
The game was not an easy one; José Calderon and his Raptors were well aware of what they were dealing with, so they gave NY no rest. Still, LINSANITY STRUCK AGAIN! He ended up being the top scorer of the game (27 points); he had the most assists (11). He pulled it off quite well, pick-and-rolling with Amar'e like we thought he would, paving his way into the basket everytime he could, giving the tempo for the born-again NYKnicks. but his last nail on the coffin, his coup de grâce was definitely his 3 point shot ForTheWin! AND ON VALENTINE'S DAY! (renamed Va-LIN-tine's Day for the occasion...) With 0.5 seconds to play after J-Lin dropped his nonchalant-like 3 point bomb, there wasn't much the Raptors could do. HE OFFICIALLY BECAME A LEGEND at that very moment!
The game was not an easy one; José Calderon and his Raptors were well aware of what they were dealing with, so they gave NY no rest. Still, LINSANITY STRUCK AGAIN! He ended up being the top scorer of the game (27 points); he had the most assists (11). He pulled it off quite well, pick-and-rolling with Amar'e like we thought he would, paving his way into the basket everytime he could, giving the tempo for the born-again NYKnicks. but his last nail on the coffin, his coup de grâce was definitely his 3 point shot ForTheWin! AND ON VALENTINE'S DAY! (renamed Va-LIN-tine's Day for the occasion...) With 0.5 seconds to play after J-Lin dropped his nonchalant-like 3 point bomb, there wasn't much the Raptors could do. HE OFFICIALLY BECAME A LEGEND at that very moment!
Would the season end now, this young player would be crowned the MIP of 2012. From unsigned hype to benchwarmer to clutch player in just a matter of days... The American Dream doesn't get any better than this! Hollywood could not have pulled this one off, by any stretch of the imagination!!!! No writer would have dared to combine such improbable odds and turn it into a movie, EVER! Ivy League graduate becomes New York's Finest! Anonymous player makes a staggering breakthrough in the NBA! Chinese player becomes 2012 NBA jersey's best seller! the Madison Square Garden stock is on the rise, thanks to merchandising profits generated by LINSANITY! Boy Wonder breaks Shaq's record for most points scored in the first 5 games as a starter in an NBA team!
So now, the city of New York, the entire United States, the whole Basketball Planet, as well as the financial world, the NY Stock Exchange, the top execs at Nike and over a billion people in the asian continent have their eyes focused on this young player of chinese descent. Does it really matter what origins he has? Well... I would love to say no, but the fact is that it does. It may have played a role on him being so underrated despite his playmaker skills. Had he had other physical features, he probably would have played more minutes in Golden State, and once they realised the gem they had in hands, he would never had flown away from home; had he not been of chinese origin (the most populous country in the world), the potential for sales in the asian population (as well as the one for All Star Game votes next year and the ones to come, if the phenomenon proves to be a lasting one) wouldn't have been this big in and out of the US, and he wouldn't have a signature shoe after only 10 days of media exposure (yet to be confirmed or discarded as a hoax, but so probable...)!!!!!!!!!!
And crazy as it sounds,Jeremy has only played six games since the 4th; he hasn't had time to take some time out and analyse what is happening to him; he sure must be feeling blessed to have had the opportunity to display his talents and help his team win. He sure must think it's crazy to be propelled into the BIG GAME like this. The media attention, the pressure, the absolute obligation to perform. He is dealing with it. One day at the time. One game at the time. Let's not put him just yet in Yao Ming's footsteps, but he sure is now single-handedly representing the asian community in the NBA. I sincerely wish him the best outcome to his American Dream!!!
PS: There is Sacramento on the menu tonight. Let's hope, for the sake of the fairy tale, that they keep winning, to even their W-L balance to 15-15.
