Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin will be in the spotlight Friday when he faces the New York Knicks for the first time since Linsanity moved West. Game time in is 8 p.m. ET.
Lin, who maintains he’s not a schedule-watcher, is playing in Texas because the Knicks declined to match the Rockets’ backloaded, three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet in the offseason, setting up this circle-the-date meeting. (Speaking of circling the date: The Rockets go to New York for the first time this season on Dec. 17.)
Houston
Rockets guard Jeremy Lin will play the New York Knicks on Friday for
the first time since leaving the team this offseason. (AP Photo)
Despite playing for a different team, Lin is reminded of Linsanity everywhere he goes this season, the Houston Chronicle
reports. Each night, as Lin leaves the locker room for his pregame
warm-up, crowds of adoring fans await, especially on the road where his
appearances are special occasions.
“I always joke with him,” assistant coach Chris Finch, who works with Lin before games and after practices, told the Chronicle. “I tell him, ‘It’s amazing these people always cheer when I come out on the floor.’”
The fans’ reaction, home or road, hasn’t gone unnoticed by last season’s NBA phenomenon: “I think I’ve come to accept and get used to that,” Lin said, according to the newspaper. “It’s one of those things, it comes with the territory. Good game, bad game. There’s going to be a lot of people watching and talking.”
The irony of tonight’s matchup is that the Knicks, who at 8-2 are tied for the league’s best record, face Houston (5-7) while Lin, 24, is struggling like never before: He is shooting 33.3 from the floor and only 22.9 from beyond the 3-point arc, likely a combination of self-imposed pressure but also from opponents scouting him as a starter.
“I know I’ve been exposed a lot early in the season, and I have a lot to work on,” Lin told the Chronicle. “I’m young. I probably started 30-something games (37, actually) in my entire career. That’s what I have to keep in mind, even though I want everything to happen the way I want it to now.”
With the Knicks in town, Lin is reminded of how things have changed since last season in New York.
He expected to be back with the Knicks—and wanted to be, the Chronicle noted—but is happy with how things have worked out, saying they have never gone for him the way he expected.
Instead, he will revisit the Linsanity part of his past Friday and again next month, hoping to find the shots during games that still make his admirers shout before they begin.
“I’m just going to play, keep playing,” Lin said. “It’s funny. It’s ironic. Thanksgiving is a great reminder to be thankful for everything I have. I’m going to go out there (Friday) and play my heart out and try to approach it the same, just play my heart out and be OK with the results whatever they may be, trusting in God.
“It didn’t shake out the way everyone thought it would, but I’m still very, very at peace with it the way everything happened. I think I’m in a great situation right now.”
Lin, who maintains he’s not a schedule-watcher, is playing in Texas because the Knicks declined to match the Rockets’ backloaded, three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet in the offseason, setting up this circle-the-date meeting. (Speaking of circling the date: The Rockets go to New York for the first time this season on Dec. 17.)
Houston
Rockets guard Jeremy Lin will play the New York Knicks on Friday for
the first time since leaving the team this offseason. (AP Photo)“I always joke with him,” assistant coach Chris Finch, who works with Lin before games and after practices, told the Chronicle. “I tell him, ‘It’s amazing these people always cheer when I come out on the floor.’”
The fans’ reaction, home or road, hasn’t gone unnoticed by last season’s NBA phenomenon: “I think I’ve come to accept and get used to that,” Lin said, according to the newspaper. “It’s one of those things, it comes with the territory. Good game, bad game. There’s going to be a lot of people watching and talking.”
The irony of tonight’s matchup is that the Knicks, who at 8-2 are tied for the league’s best record, face Houston (5-7) while Lin, 24, is struggling like never before: He is shooting 33.3 from the floor and only 22.9 from beyond the 3-point arc, likely a combination of self-imposed pressure but also from opponents scouting him as a starter.
“I know I’ve been exposed a lot early in the season, and I have a lot to work on,” Lin told the Chronicle. “I’m young. I probably started 30-something games (37, actually) in my entire career. That’s what I have to keep in mind, even though I want everything to happen the way I want it to now.”
With the Knicks in town, Lin is reminded of how things have changed since last season in New York.
He expected to be back with the Knicks—and wanted to be, the Chronicle noted—but is happy with how things have worked out, saying they have never gone for him the way he expected.
Instead, he will revisit the Linsanity part of his past Friday and again next month, hoping to find the shots during games that still make his admirers shout before they begin.
“I’m just going to play, keep playing,” Lin said. “It’s funny. It’s ironic. Thanksgiving is a great reminder to be thankful for everything I have. I’m going to go out there (Friday) and play my heart out and try to approach it the same, just play my heart out and be OK with the results whatever they may be, trusting in God.
“It didn’t shake out the way everyone thought it would, but I’m still very, very at peace with it the way everything happened. I think I’m in a great situation right now.”
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