Second-year point guard Jeremy Lin is currently the talk of the NBA, as he has come from almost nowhere to lead the New York Knicks to six consecutive wins.
During said streak, Lin has averaged 26 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals per contest. Pretty remarkable numbers for anyone, but especially for a player that wasn't even on a roster just two short months ago.
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| Photo by: Chris Trotman |
Like Nash, Lin excels at making the right decisions after utilizing a high ball screen. What's impressive about Lin is that he shows how simple and successful basketball can be just by making good decisions.
Think of Lin as a quarterback going through his offensive progressions as he reads what the defense is trying to do. If they trap the high screen, the screener slips the screen and Lin hits him in stride. If the defense sags, Lin can turn the corner with a full head of steam towards the hoop. If a help defender rotates, he has a knack for hitting the open shooter on the weakside. If there's no rotation, Lin pulls up for an open mid-range jumper or penetrates for a layup.
Basically, just read and react.
I think this guy is a legitimate NBA player who should be in the league for many years to come. He's athletic, makes great decisions and continues to improve his perimeter shooting.
What makes this scenario even more fascinating is not just how opponents will adjust to Lin's scoring and assist outburst, but how his own team will adjust now that they have their two biggest components returning: Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire.
Now that the offense is humming along at a more efficient clip with Lin leading the way, Carmelo must shift his focus back to being more of a catch and shoot threat - something he grew accustomed to as a member of the Denver Nuggets. Now, add Stoudemire and center Tyson Chandler setting ball screens for Lin to the equation, and it creates a two headed monster that opponents will have a hard time slowing down.
While Lin may not necessarily be the piece that gets the Knicks a championship, he could certainly be the player that can vault them to the top of the Eastern Conference.
No doubt Lin is the real deal. Hit a buzzer beater last night to beat the Raptors as well. Nothing but upside. He's just going to get better and better.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone is jumping on Lin's bandwagon way too early. Grant you he's had a nice run of late, but how about we wait a little while before we brand him as the next Steve Nash. Nash has been doing his thing for a decade. Lin's been doing his for like a week.
ReplyDeleteI actually feel sorry for Lin. While his early success has been great to watch, there's NO WAY he can possibly continue to perform at such a high level night in and night out, and as soon as he has a three or four game span where he struggles, the city of New York will turn on him so fast that his head will spin. When that happens his 15 minutes of fame will officially be up, so he better enjoy it while it lasts.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of if he keeps it up or not, Lin is exactly what the NBA needed this season. Alot of people were turned off basketball with the lockout. His story is bringing them back.
ReplyDeleteAfter that game winning 3 last night, I officially have Lin-sanity. Dudes awesome.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind the entire complexion of that Knicks team changes once Melo and Stoudemire are back.
ReplyDeleteThose two run that offense, not the point guard. I know that's not Mike's system, but it doesn't matter with a player like Melo.
Lin has to establish himself not only as an NBA player, but also a leader of that team. That's the only way he keeps control on offense.
Lin's going to have to stop turning the ball over so much. If he doesn't, it won't matter who the Knicks have in. The 40+ turnovers he had over his first 7 starts is also an NBA first...
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