It was just about a year ago that point guard Jeremy Lin’s
career as an NBA player was greatly endangered. He had been let go by
the Warriors, the team that signed him to a two-year deal after he had
gone undrafted but had a good summer league in 2010. He was picked up by
Houston on December 12, but with Kyle Lowry and backup Goran Dragic on
hand, his prospects with the Rockets were dim, and he was waived on
Christmas Eve.
Three days later, he was signed by the Knicks. Six weeks after that—famously sleeping on his brother’s couch in the city in the meantime—he had his breakout game off the bench, scoring 25 points in a win over the Nets. And from there, the Lin legend, so firmly rooted at the center of the media world in Manhattan, was born.
A year after Linsanity, Jeremy Lin is making his return to New York City and Madison Square Garden. (AP Photo)
Tonight, for the first time since his Gotham career ended with a
three-year contract he signed in the summer with the Rockets, Lin will
return to Madison Square Garden.
When he left, of course, a large segment of Knicks fans were not happy. Lin was a restricted free agent, and New York could have matched the Rockets’ offer. He finished the season on the bench, having undergone knee surgery, but even before the injury, Lin’s role was being scaled back by coach Mike Woodson, who took over after the abrupt resignation of Mike D’Antoni. Still, the decision to pass on matching Houston’s offer was surprising, partly because Lin’s background—his parents are Taiwanese—opened avenues for the Knicks to sign deals with companies in the Far East. Instead, they let Lin walk, and brought in the point guard trio of Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni.
That was a risky move, from a business and public relations standpoint. But this year, the Knicks are 18-5, best in the Eastern Conference, and their revamped backcourt is a big reason why. All that winning has quickly extinguished the protests of Lin’s proponents.
“Your brand is as strong as your record,” former NBA star and NBATV analyst Chris Webber said. “So of course I think (the Knicks are) definitely a stronger brand. Lin is a good player, but you don’t want your brand to be a story about a good player. It’s great, the story of him on the couch and then how he played, as a basketball fan, it was great watching that. But after he has that breakout story, that’s more about his brand than the Knicks brand.
“I think the brand now is team play, toughness and defense, a solid coach, a good coach who has done a great job, about a leader in Carmelo (Anthony) that has been criticized all these years, but is playing his best ball. ... They put team first, and that is better than having a story about one player. The life of that story is only going to be one year, and that story would have no extension to this year. They have proven they’re team-first.”
Webber’s point is valid in light of Lin’s production with the Rockets—he is averaging 11.0 points, down from 14.6 last year, and is shooting just 39.7 percent from the field. He had an explosive game in which he scored 38 points in a showdown against the Spurs last week, but that marked only the second time this year he has topped 20 points. He has reached the 10-assist mark just three times this season.
He did have 13 points and seven rebounds in his first meeting with the Knicks, in Houston on Nov. 23. The Knicks will remember that night because they suffered their only bad loss of the year, falling 131-103, a defensive effort that Woodson termed “unacceptable.” Lin had been mired in a slump at that point, and was trying to move on past New York.
“I’m not looking to recreate what happened in New York,” he said then.
“I want to be a consistent player. I want to get better. I don’t know what my potential is. I don’t know if I can play any better than I did during that stretch, but I’m going to find out to see how close I can get.”
Back in New York, the guy who is essentially Lin’s replacement is inviting a warm reception for the Knicks’ one-time savior.
“I’m happy for him,” Felton told reporters. “He got his money. He’s Houston’s starting point guard. So I wasn’t coming in here trying to be him or be nobody. ... He came in and what he did was amazing. Like, I was watching every game. He hit game-winners, he was doing all that. He was amazing, but it’s time to move on. We’re 18-5, whatever the record is. We’re 10-0 at home. So there’s no need to talk about that no more.
“They should give him a standing ovation when he comes back here, without a doubt. He deserves nothing more but that, for sure.”
Three days later, he was signed by the Knicks. Six weeks after that—famously sleeping on his brother’s couch in the city in the meantime—he had his breakout game off the bench, scoring 25 points in a win over the Nets. And from there, the Lin legend, so firmly rooted at the center of the media world in Manhattan, was born.
A year after Linsanity, Jeremy Lin is making his return to New York City and Madison Square Garden. (AP Photo)When he left, of course, a large segment of Knicks fans were not happy. Lin was a restricted free agent, and New York could have matched the Rockets’ offer. He finished the season on the bench, having undergone knee surgery, but even before the injury, Lin’s role was being scaled back by coach Mike Woodson, who took over after the abrupt resignation of Mike D’Antoni. Still, the decision to pass on matching Houston’s offer was surprising, partly because Lin’s background—his parents are Taiwanese—opened avenues for the Knicks to sign deals with companies in the Far East. Instead, they let Lin walk, and brought in the point guard trio of Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni.
That was a risky move, from a business and public relations standpoint. But this year, the Knicks are 18-5, best in the Eastern Conference, and their revamped backcourt is a big reason why. All that winning has quickly extinguished the protests of Lin’s proponents.
“Your brand is as strong as your record,” former NBA star and NBATV analyst Chris Webber said. “So of course I think (the Knicks are) definitely a stronger brand. Lin is a good player, but you don’t want your brand to be a story about a good player. It’s great, the story of him on the couch and then how he played, as a basketball fan, it was great watching that. But after he has that breakout story, that’s more about his brand than the Knicks brand.
“I think the brand now is team play, toughness and defense, a solid coach, a good coach who has done a great job, about a leader in Carmelo (Anthony) that has been criticized all these years, but is playing his best ball. ... They put team first, and that is better than having a story about one player. The life of that story is only going to be one year, and that story would have no extension to this year. They have proven they’re team-first.”
Webber’s point is valid in light of Lin’s production with the Rockets—he is averaging 11.0 points, down from 14.6 last year, and is shooting just 39.7 percent from the field. He had an explosive game in which he scored 38 points in a showdown against the Spurs last week, but that marked only the second time this year he has topped 20 points. He has reached the 10-assist mark just three times this season.
He did have 13 points and seven rebounds in his first meeting with the Knicks, in Houston on Nov. 23. The Knicks will remember that night because they suffered their only bad loss of the year, falling 131-103, a defensive effort that Woodson termed “unacceptable.” Lin had been mired in a slump at that point, and was trying to move on past New York.
“I’m not looking to recreate what happened in New York,” he said then.
“I want to be a consistent player. I want to get better. I don’t know what my potential is. I don’t know if I can play any better than I did during that stretch, but I’m going to find out to see how close I can get.”
Back in New York, the guy who is essentially Lin’s replacement is inviting a warm reception for the Knicks’ one-time savior.
“I’m happy for him,” Felton told reporters. “He got his money. He’s Houston’s starting point guard. So I wasn’t coming in here trying to be him or be nobody. ... He came in and what he did was amazing. Like, I was watching every game. He hit game-winners, he was doing all that. He was amazing, but it’s time to move on. We’re 18-5, whatever the record is. We’re 10-0 at home. So there’s no need to talk about that no more.
“They should give him a standing ovation when he comes back here, without a doubt. He deserves nothing more but that, for sure.”
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