Thursday, February 16, 2012

Linning Me Over



Ahhhh it's been too deng long! It took something pretty incredible to get me back on the horse, to REALLY motivate me. I think we all know what that is...

You know it’s funny; I love the NBA. Regardless of that love though, I’ve never really had a favorite team. It’s not like it’s uncharacteristic of me to obsess over a single team, after-all I LITERALLY live and die by the New York Giants and watch every Yankees game that I can. For the NBA though, it’s always been different. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up in a basketball house or maybe it’s because the teams most local to me, the Nets and the Knicks, have been irrelevant for much of my lifetime.  Sure I’ve frequently gone to Nets games (Who wouldn’t at those seller dweller prices?!?!) and sure I always catch the Knicks whenever they’re on TV. I would never consider myself a fanatic of either though, just a fan of the game. It was as iff the Knicks were my “adopted” team that I literally just watched and rooted for because they were on. That was until a couple weeks ago…

THIS Knicks team makes me feel different.

I had watched the Knicks pretty regularly this season, albeit mostly for the jokes. They were a sad team with no rhythm or flow. No offense, no defense. (Come to think of it those are two very integral parts of a team. Was that Knicks team even a “team” at all?) Carmelo was in and out with injury and Amar’e was not playing up to the level he is used to. The worst part was, they had nothing that was even remotely similar to a point guard. Well that was until…

LINSANITY.

Jeremy Lin has taken not only New York, but also the sports world by storm. What makes this story so great? Is it because the Knicks were trash before he got in to rotation? Is it because he’s from Harvard, was undrafted, and cut by multiple NBA teams? Maybe because he’s Asian? Oh I know! It’s because he’s playing in New York.. Or it could be the fact that the Knicks are winning.. Or what about how well he is playing? What’s crazy is that this story is that it’s not one (two fingers pointing at you Floyd Mayweather), but all these things. And do you know what’s even MORE crazy? None of those things are my favorite part.

So what is my favorite part about the Lin Dynasty (my personal fave) so far? It’s the way the Knicks have looked as a team. Maybe I’m nuts (wouldn’t be the first time) but it seems like these guys actually like each other. Watching that kinda team basketball makes you can’t help but like them! Maybe this is only temporary but I love this team, and right now there is not TEAM (emphasis on team) that I’d rather be watching! We all know what Lin has been doing but what about the all around play of Landry Fields who is always in the right spot at the right time? And Iman Shumpert (Who, oh by the way, wins the award for coolest twitter avatar in all of sports.) who is turning into one of the best on ball defenders in the league! How about Jarred Jeffries who seems like the heart of this team! And the great white hope, Steve Novak knocking down 3’s left and right! How do you like Tyson Chandler very quietly being the team’s most consistent and reliable player night in and night out! I am convinced that if you put the White Momba himself, Brian Scalabrine, on this team he’d even be a contributing factor! This is awesome to watch and to be quite honest I cannot get enough.

There is one buzz killing disclaimer I, as a levelheaded fan need to point out. Jeremy Lin is not and will not ever be perfect.

I was watching the Knicks take on the Raptors this week with a couple of buddies. During the game I could see them on the edge of their seats with ever twist and turn of Jeremy Lin’s game. It was almost as if they felt like if he had a bad game the entire roller coaster ride was over. Like it was doomed to fail. I tried to remind them, and even myself, that Jeremy Lin is not going to be great every single night. (Jeremy Lin did his best to disproof this point that night, but that’s neither here nor there.) The Knicks aren’t going to win every game for the rest of the year either. It’s just not going to happen. So if it is at all possible I implore all Knicks fans to stay even keel and just enjoy the ride. There will probably be some bumps along the way but what is important is that now this team is in better shape to make a playoff run than it was just a month ago and no single game will change that. But for now, let’s just enjoy this thing because without exaggeration this is a one and a million story that only keeps getting better.

Oh and one last note; I have an Asian-American friend currently studying economics at Harvard. If he does not end up becoming a trail blazing starting point guard in the NBA, he has failed me.

Class Dismissed,
Student of Sports