More on Lin

I've been very careful in this forum to avoid jinxing Jeremy Lin. All the praise I've leveled his way has had the caveat that this may all be an aberration. A bout of temporary success that would be untenable moving forward. This weekend Lin went a long way to proving me wrong. On Friday night, Lin torched the Lakers for 38, leading the rag tag Knicks to a dominant victory over the Lakers. On Satuday, he led the Knicks to a comeback win, scoring 20 points, dishing out 8 assists, and grabbing 6 rebounds. In the 5 games since he's become a centerpiece of the Knicks lineup. He's averaging 26.8 points, 8 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 2 steals. For his effort he won Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

My posts on Tuesday and Thursday illustrate my, and New York City's, growing love affair with the man now known as "Linsanity." On Friday night, Lin was introduced on the national stage with an absolutely stunning performance televised nationally on ESPN. The Madison Square Garden faithful was electric, cheering his every move. As I'd previously written, the Lakers were a good matchup for Lin because their point guard, Derek Fisher, is a poor defender. At one point Lin and Kobe Bryant traded a couple of baskets, and it was clear that they were equals, at least for the night. Through the whole game Lin was able to penetrate to the hoop with ease and make some long jumpers. The national announcers could barely contain their excitement as Lin's point total climbed higher and higher.

Though Lin had arguably his worst game on Saturday, it was perhaps the best win they've had during his tenure. Lin shot a horrific 1-13 in the second half, but his teammates stepped and the Knicks got a comeback victory. For the game Lin had a solid 20 points and 8 assists, but shot only 8-24. Lin faced perhaps the toughest challenge of his year thus far in the scrappy Spanish rookie Ricky Rubio. Rubio is a sensation in his own right, with his boyish looks belying an advanced knowledge of the game. For what it's worth, Lin held Rubio to 5-15 shooting. The Knicks were down 7 points with about 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter, but used stifling defense to eke out a victory. The Timberwolves only scored 11 points in the 4th and Jared Jeffries forced a key turnover with 4 seconds left to essentially seal the game.

Amar'e Stoudemire returns from his personal leave on Tuesday as the Knicks take on the Raptors. It remains to be seen how Amar'e will fit into the offense, but Knicks fans ought to be tantalized by the thought of him running a pick and roll with Lin. in has raised Tyson Chandler's game and should remake Amar'e into the force he was early in his Knicks career.

Or perhaps the Lin era is ending. Maybe opposing coaches saw something in the video tape of Lin's 1-13 performance, and will now be able to limit his effectiveness. In New York, Lin is already an icon. Even if he never regains the fine form of his first 4 starts, it will be a lasting memory for Knicks fans. It was a heady time. The Knicks appeared on the brink of another decade of losing basketball. Their talent was hamstrung by stubborn superstars and coaches and, most importantly a lack of a point guard to run the show. For one week, at least, we found our point guard and he made Knick fans believe again. Lin has exorcized the demons that haunted the Garden. Lin, perhaps because of his antithetical dichotomy between his skill and his ethnicity has been one of the most fun players to root for in the history of my fandom, and it seems many agree. Lin has been a revelation and I eagerly await the next spate of games, which should give us a clearer picture of just how good this guy is.