Linsanity

I'm pretty sure everyone knows or at least heard about the big craze that the basketball world is on top of right now. He's a trending topic on twitter. He's the headline of many newspapers. He's even a YouTube sensation! And on top of that, he's Asian too! And no, his name is not Yao Ming. Don't worry if you didn't know him before this week! That's perfectly normal! Many others never heard of him either! But, if you still don't know him or even know of him, even with the help of the title of this post, you must be living under a rock. This man has been the biggest story lately and has taken the basketball world into a state of amazement. His name is Jeremy Lin.

Let's take a look at his journey before becoming the latest craze.

"Rejected by Stanford, so I went to Harvard"

He's a 6'3 point guard out of Harvard. It fits all the Asian stereotypes now doesn't it? Asian + Harvard = Genius. Anyways! He was the best player on his team and then decided to take his talents to the NBA. He went undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft but did show enough potential to garner a summer league team. Donnie Nelson called him to play for the Dallas Maverick summer league team. He went head-to-head with fellow rookie, John Wall and ended up playing really well. And after the summer league concluded, he was offered a few contracts with some NBA teams.

He decided to spend his rookie year last season with the Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately, he didn't really get an opportunity to play. He was only put onto the court for 29 games and only totaling an average of less than 10 minutes a game. The reason wasn't that he couldn't play. It was just a tough environment to be in for an undrafted rookie because of the gluttony of guards the team had. Playing behind the likes of Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis and other decent veterans is obviously a tough task to compete with. When all was said and done for the 2011 season, he ended up with averages of 2.6 PPG, 1.5 AST, and 1.1 STL. It wasn't the most successful rookie campaign ever but he did well under the circumstances he was put in. With the limited amount of playing time he was given, he was able to make the best out of his opportunity on the court. Uh oh, I'm foreshadowing! Watch out!

Now this is where the real story begins.

Sadly, he was cut by the Warriors. Again, it wasn't about the team thinking he was useless or anything. He was let go in hopes that the Warriors could reel in free agent center, Deandre Jordan, whom eventually re-signed with the LA Clippers. The Warriors front office did really like him on the team but business is business. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Fortunately, he was signed by the Houston Rockets! Jeremy Lin was again put into a situation where there were a lot of guards on the team. They weren't as talented as the Warriors backcourt but there were more bodies competing in Houston. Lowry, Dragic, Flynn, and Lin were all fighting for that spot. Through two days of training camp, he was cut to make room for Samuel Dalembert. GM Daryl Morey did think that Lin had potential but he really needed that force in the middle.

And then, Jeremy was unemployed. Fortunately, it was only for three days! With the injury to rookie Iman Shumpert, the New York Knicks called to Lin to provide insurance at their point guard position. Lin was eventually sent to the D-League to play a couple games and develop there. He tore it up! He was the best player on the court and he recorded a triple double which lead to a recall from the Knicks a few days later. The Knicks were underachieving and they needed a big spark to come from anyone. But the question was: Who would step up?

And then.... it all started....

February 4 vs New Jersey
Imagine this. Let's say that you're a young player in the NBA with limited experience.You're team is in dire need of a decent point guard. Then i'll throw you out there against one of the best point guards in the NBA in Deron Williams. And did I mention that you'd be playing on the biggest stage in basketball? Tell me how you are supposed to play in this kind of pressure? Ask Jeremy Lin. It didn't even seem like there was any pressure. He came off the bench in this game and logged in a career high 36 minutes! The night was unexpected to say the least. He surprised the New York crowd with dazzling moves and his tenacity to get into the paint. He poured in a career high 25 points and dished out 7 dimes. At some times throughout the game, he made Deron Williams look lost. The Nets, his teammates, and the crowd were all shocked at the performance. Even he was a little surprised with his effort saying,“This night, it just hasn’t really sunk in yet to be honest. It’s like I’m still kind of in shock about everything that happened but I’m just trying to soak it all in right now.” (Thanks to Yahoo! Sports for providing me with that quote)

February 6 vs Utah
Jeremy Lin put up good numbers against the Nets two nights before and he was awarded with the starting gig on this night. But who really thinks that he'll put up another good performance? I certainly didn't. Although he turned the ball over 8 times, he made up for it by scoring 28 points and giving out 8 assists. With Amare out and Melo getting hurt in the early minutes of the game, they needed someone to carry the heavy load. He was carving the Jazz up from all over the court and he looked like an everyday starter. It was another solid performance by Lin and more importantly, a consecutive win for the struggling Knicks! By this time, the basketball world woke up and we all saw a little glimpse of the rising guard.

February 8 vs Washington

Coach D'Antoni was again pleased by the effort of Lin through his two games so he decided to keep in the starting lineup. Yet again, he made the right choice. It was a summer league rematch versus John Wall. Jeremy Lin ended up with 23 points and 10 assists! With this performance, he was making headlines and was trending on twitter. The "Linsanity" was born and everyone was onto it. "Lintendo", as some call him, has been playing at another level. See what I did there? I amuse myself sometimes.
He came out of nowhere and was starting to answer all the questions the Knicks were longing to answer. I think they've finally found their guy.

Feburary 10 vs LA Lakers
When asked about Lin, Kobe responded by saying that he didn't know who Lin was. I didn't know if that was a shot at Jeremy Lin or if he was actually being honest about not knowing him. But, by the end of their game, Kobe definitely knew about him. Jeremy took the Lakers by storm and provided instant scoring from the get-go. He had a magnificent first quarter and then eventually ended the game with two daggers from three point land. MVP chants from the crowd were pouring out and this was a defining moment for Lin and the Knicks. The Yellow Mamba defeated the Black Mamba and the Knicks won their fourth straight game!


Feel-good stories like these don't come around too often. Jeremy Lin is a perfect example of hard work and dedication will help you achieve your dreams. He came out of nowhere and provided an extra boost for the Knicks. He's the Tim Tebow of the NBA. He's providing hope to a fan-base that has been hurt for the last decade. He's bringing the life and excitement back to Madison Square Garden. Yeah, he may not be a household name but he's unquestionably making a name for himself. He has opened up everyone's eyes. He's showing us that anything is possible and although he may not be the first person to go through that example, he's undoubtedly one of the reasons why people continue to believe in this statement. I have hopped on the Jeremy Lin bandwagon and will probably stay on it for a long time. It's a great story and I hope it will not only continue for the rest of this year, but continue for the rest of his career. Let the Linsanity continue.

NBA All-Stars 2012

As we may all know by now, the NBA All-Star starters were implemented last week. I'm not a really big fan of fan votes to be honest. Many people don't deserve to be a starter, let alone an All-Star, but their popularity and huge fan-base really carries them. Anyone remember when AI made it as a member of the Detroit Pistons?! He was horrible that year but yet his fans took him to the All-Star game.

"I flex my biceps" - TBJ

As for this year, I'll give the fans credit for their choices. The East is shaped up looking pretty darn good. Lebron James and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat were virtually no brainers here. Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose were also clear-cut choices for the respective positions. All four of these guys aren't only popular to the NBA fan-base but they are well deserving superstars. No one can argue about the choices here. The only tiny, little, minor knock I have against the fans was the choice of Carmelo Anthony. Yeah, we all know what he's capable of. He can probably do anything offensively possible. He's definitely a star player and a game changer but does he deserve the starting gig in what is a down year for the Knicks? He's not an all too bad of a choice here but I would've given it to Chris Bosh.

 For the West, I honestly think that this was the best starting 5 you could get. LA dominated the starting 5 with 4 players. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have created nice chemistry with each other and the Clippers are rolling! Chris Paul is my clear-cut favourite point guard in the West and he deserves this spot. On the other hand, Blake Griffin is a 50/50 toss up with Kevin Love. I don't mind Griffin as the starter. He's exciting and is quickly becoming one of the top tier players in the league. Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum were the other two LA stars. Kobe is scoring the lights out this season and has no signs of slowing down with the wrist injury. Bynum is playing great basketball right now and is showing why the Lakers should keep him and not deal him for Superman. The last spot was given to Kevin Durant who in my opinion, is playing on the best team in the NBA. Again, another no-brainer at this slot. You can't go wrong with the choices here. Good one!

The reserves were announced today and I think they're okay. The East looked like this: Chris Bosh(MIA), Joe Johnson(ATL), Luol Deng(CHI), Paul Pierce(BOS), Andre Iguodala(PHI), Roy Hibbert(IND), and Deron Williams(NJN). I love the new faces that the coaches selected. Deng, Iguodala and Hibbert are all making their first appearances and they absolutely deserve every second of it. Bosh and Joe Johnson were locks in my opinion because of everything they have accomplished this year. Deron Williams is an all-star caliber player BUT I think Brandon Jennings deserved this spot. Maybe I'm being a little biased but hey, he's playing too well. Maybe next year buddy. And sadly, Josh Smith got snubbed again. When will he ever be on the team?! It's taking way too long now! I swear he's going to be snubbed every year. It's actually a crime to keep him off for this long.

As for the west reserves, it ended up looking like this: Kevin Love(MIN), LaMarcus Aldridge(POR), Russell Westbrook(OKC), Steve Nash(PHO), Marc Gasol(MEM), Dirk Nowitzki(DAL) and Tony Parker(SAS). The West is looking good. Kevin Love, Aldridge, and Westbrook were easy choices to make. The tougher decisions lied around the others. I can see why Nash was voted in. Despite playing on an underachieving team, he has done everything humanely possible to keep them competitive. It doesn't seem he'll be slowing down anytime soon either. I'm proud of Marc Gasol being on this list. One Grizzly had to get it and I'm glad it happened. He stepped up in the absence of Z-Bo and Memphis is rollin'. Tony Parker personally suprised me. I actually haven't been following the Spurs all too closely this year and I was in shock to see his name pop up today. It's a good shock though. I didn't know he was putting up the numbers he was and the Spurs are atop the Southwest division. And then it comes down to Dirk. Sadly, the Finals MVP does not deserve a spot on the team. He hasn't been producing the way he normally has in past years. But on the other hand, it's hard to leave out a player like him.

Now....Close your eyes and let's imagine an all-star game without Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. Can you?! NOPE! YOU CAN'T! It'll be weird without them. Their streaks are both over and its nearing the end of the road for some of the greats in our game. Time flies eh? AND I just want to say that Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings were definite snubs this year! There are many more but they were tough to include. Do you think the teams are as good as they get? We won't know until we actually watch but one thing is going to be certain. It's going to be a good weekend.