by Eric D.Graham
NORTH CAROLINA, (BASN)----He has single-handedly removed Lebron James and the Miami Heat from the headlines of sports pages by outscoring Kobe Bryant on the biggest basketball stage in the world, Madison Square Garden, when he scored 38 points on February 10.
And then, his jubilant game-winning 3-point jump-shot against the Toronto Raptors replaced Eli Manning and the New York Giants Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots, as the most talked about sporting event of the day.Yes, out of nowhere, straight off his brother's couch, Jeremy Lin, has become the newest hero of Gotham city.
He, without a shadow of doubt, is the biggest sports story in basketball. Or better yet, the biggest story in the world of sports. Lin's sensational story is truly inspirational and has become must see television as his popularity grows.
According to sports writer Pablo Torre, who penned the catch phrase "From Couch to Clutch" in his recent Sports Illustrated article said Lin is " an avatar for so-many underdogs, who never got a shot, the Asian-American kid" and all other long shots stories.
NORTH CAROLINA, (BASN)----He has single-handedly removed Lebron James and the Miami Heat from the headlines of sports pages by outscoring Kobe Bryant on the biggest basketball stage in the world, Madison Square Garden, when he scored 38 points on February 10.
And then, his jubilant game-winning 3-point jump-shot against the Toronto Raptors replaced Eli Manning and the New York Giants Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots, as the most talked about sporting event of the day.Yes, out of nowhere, straight off his brother's couch, Jeremy Lin, has become the newest hero of Gotham city.
He, without a shadow of doubt, is the biggest sports story in basketball. Or better yet, the biggest story in the world of sports. Lin's sensational story is truly inspirational and has become must see television as his popularity grows.
According to sports writer Pablo Torre, who penned the catch phrase "From Couch to Clutch" in his recent Sports Illustrated article said Lin is " an avatar for so-many underdogs, who never got a shot, the Asian-American kid" and all other long shots stories.
As a result, if Lin continues his great play on the court, he could, in fact, become the most popular player, not only in New York city, but in the entire world.Yes, his popularity may even surpass his friend, former Houston Rocket center Yao Ming, whom he has been calling after every game, since this unbelievable seven game winning streak begun.
A SPIKE LEE JOINT
For this reason, the sudden rise of Jeremy Lin, sounds like a Hollywood movie, directed by the No.1 Knicks fan, Spike Lee.The plot of Lee's potential blockbuster movie reads like this: A humble Harvard graduate, who learned the game of basketball by watching his father's (Gie-Ming) "old" videotapes of NBA legend Kareem Abdul Jabber, ends up becoming the starting point guard for the New York Knicks.
That's an amazing story!!!
But, there's more.Because, this terrific Taiwanese talent, who spend several trips in the D-League, was cut twice in 15 days by the Houston Rockets on Christmas Eve and by the Golden State Warriors on Dec.9.But despite these setbacks, Lin, who found himself sleeping on his brother's couch, signed a contract with the NY Knicks on Dec. 17.
Unfortunately, within days, he was at the end of the bench and on the cutting block once again, right before Carmelo Anthony, who encouraged coach Mike D' Antoni to play him, was injured.
LIN-SANITY BEGINS
And, that's when the LIN-SANITY began.LIn, who is the first American born Asian NBA player, didn't get recruited by any large university coming out of high school. As a result, he ended up playing in the Ivy League, at Harvard University, where he was, unquestionably, the best player on the team. After graduating mag·na cum lau·de, with a degree in Economics, no teams in the NBA drafted him.
Therefore, he lived a humble nomadic basketball lifestyle,until, surprisingly, finding himself leading the NY Knicks on a seven game-winning streak, where he scored 24.8 ppg, grabbed 3.8 rpg and dished out 8.5 assist per game, without Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire on the court.
POTENTIAL POINT GUARD
Yes, the New York Knickerbockers needed a point guard and they potentially have one in Jeremy Lin. Lin, who is 6'3, deceptively quick, has good court vision, a distant jump-shot and very crafty ball-handling skills, despite several turnovers through out this seven game winning streak.For this reason, some have compared him to two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, who also played in coach D'Antoni's uptempo system when he was at Phoenix.
With that said, Lin could eventually become the new Steve Nash for team mate Amare'e Stoudemire, whose NBA career benefited from playing with Nash while at the Suns, as they try to perfect their pick-and-roll game.
WINNING IS CONTAGIOUS
With the Knicks, now posting a (15-15) record, the question, however, still remains. Will the excitement as well as the winning continue, especially with the return of superstar Carmelo Anthony?Despite Anthony's absence from the starting line-up, Lin's youthfulness has sparked a Knick team, who looked stagnant offensively.
Lin's leadership on the court has improved the fluency of the Knicks offense. For, now, there is more ball movement and passing rather than the usual one-on-one isolation with Carmelo holding the ball.
Lin's confidence and enthusiasm on the court, definitely, has inspired and infected his teammates, who are finally playing as a team.
Plus, in the game of sports, everybody knows winning is contagious.As a result, Lin's recent basketball success in the NBA, culturally or multi-culturally, has been compared to Obama's historic election, and Tiger Woods winning the Masters in 1997.
While socially, it has been compared to Tim Tebow's fourth quarter comebacks, which had football fans talking about God and divine intervention in the NFL.Honestly, it's probably too early to tell and probably too foolish to make these comparisons, especially until we see Lin compete against the top point guards in the league, which include Derrick Rose (Bulls)Chris Paul (Clippers), Rajon Rondo (Celtics),Deron Williams (Nets) and Russell Westbrook (Thunder).
But, until, the Knicks lose, a game, let the LIN-SANITY continue!!
