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
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