What else is there to be said? Dallas is a top 5 defensive team and people were saying Shawn Marion who’s been their best defensive player, somebody they’ve used this season to shut down point guards, who’s 6’7″, might clamp down on Jeremy Lin. They were trapping Lin hard, throwing double teams, throwing different defenders at him.
Lin comes out with 28 points, 14 assists, 5 steals (and yes 7 turnovers), but more importantly another win, over a streaking Mavericks and the defending champions. I had no doubt this was going to happen.
If you watch videos or read interviews of Lin’s coaches at Harvard and Palo Alto high school, the one thing they say over and over is that Lin always steps up when the pressure is the highest, when they’re playing the best teams. We saw this against the Lakers and again today against the Mavericks, both nationally televised games. Lin plays his best when the lights are the brightest.
Lin played 45 minutes! He is logging serious minutes every game. The 3 minutes he was out, the Knicks were a mess offensively and Dallas came back. This is the most worrying thing because he can’t be playing 40+ minute games all the time. Which is why I think it will really help when Carmelo Anthony comes back and Baron Davis comes back. Because that should allow Lin to get more rest.
One great thing is that I think the Knicks played great defense and this will be key this season. Smith coming and adding a nice boost from long range though he was spotty down the stretch. Novak coming in and getting on fire. Chandler with another double-double with the rebounds and adding 3 blocks. Overall, a GREAT win. If you still doubt, Lin is the REAL DEAL.
Yes, turnovers are still an issue but they were trapping hard and double teaming and throwing bigger, stronger guys at Lin, but Lin played 45 minutes and handled the ball 80% of the time. And I think the big difference from the previous game is that a lot these are forced turnovers by the defense, and not a result of Lin trying to force the issue in traffic. Think about this for a second, an elite defensive team is throwing hard traps and double teams with bigger, stronger guys up high at the 3 point line at Lin. Basically designing their entire defense around Lin. You’d think Lin was some kind of unstoppable All-Star player. And Lin comes away with 28 points, 14 assists, and leads the Knicks to another win.
I mean, the Knicks literally can’t play without him. If you saw the game, the 3 minutes in the first half when he was rested makes this extremely obvious. Knicks are playing great team ball right now but I think Lin is the MVP. Everything runs through Lin now and this is exactly how D’antoni’s offensive scheme is designed. But the Knicks really need a backup point guard that can hold it down and give him rest.
Enjoy one small slice of Linsanity from today:
P.S. LOL, check out this sign from one of Lin’s female fans: “I want you LINside me“
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