Today marks the one-year anniversary of Linsanity. I remember that day last year like it was yesterday: NYC was already hyped enough for the Giants playing in the Super Bowl the next day after another improbable playoff run. The Knicks were desperate for a spark, having lost the first two games of a rare back-to-back-to-back set (thanks, lockout). I was offered a free ticket from my friend Jessica to sit in one of the suites at MSG for what would be my only Knicks game that season. I knew that Jeremy Lin would put in work that night, but I never expected 25 points and 7 assists against All-Star guard Deron Williams. And I certainly didn’t expect him to go on the run that he went on throughout the month of February.
But damn, was it fun to watch.
I bring this up today because the excitement that Lin brought to the Knicks last season has carried over to this season. Although he took his talents to Houston, the Knicks are playing their best ball in over a decade. The three-headed PG monster of Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni has been fantastic in controlling the pace. Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler are in beast mode following their Olympic run over the summer. Steve Novak and J.R. Smith have been lethal off the bench. And Amar’e Stoudemire has come back with a vengeance and taken the Knicks’ depth to another level. Y’all still wanna trade him?
I know football season is over now, and spring training is right around the corner. But with the way the Knicks have been playing basketball, I’ve got my eyes on a team who is going to be dangerous come playoff time and possibly make a long run into June. The buzz doesn’t happen without the emergence of an undrafted guard out of Harvard.
Thanks, Jeremy Lin, for rejuvenating the New York Knicks.
The Gospel of Smoov 