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Lintense: Teammates, Opponents, Reporters Linmazed By Jeremy Lin

Ben Yakas

Published Feb 11, 2012

Modified Feb 11, 2012

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Ben Yakas

Published Feb 11, 2012

Modified Feb 11, 2012

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Forget about the turbulent state of the Knicks, the underdog backstory and all the puns—last night, Jeremy Lin put on a true basketball show at MSG, besting Kobe Bryant with 38 points as he led the team to a 92-85 victory over the Lakers (see video highlights below). After the game, teammates, opposing players, fans and reporters were all in awe of what they just saw: “You don’t see many guys play like that in their whole career, let alone these past three or four games,” coach Mike D’Antoni said after the game. “Some of the stuff he’s doing is just amazing.”

D'Antoni further expanded on just what Lin proved in the stunning victory over the favored Lakers: “He answered a lot of questions tonight too: Can he pull a trigger in a big moment? Can he go against the defense when they force him a certain way?” His teammates were effervescent with their admiration: “He made winning plays the whole fourth quarter,” Jared Jeffries said. “You have to love a kid like that,” Tyson Chandler said. “It’s indescribable,” Landry Fields said. “It’s something I’ve never seen growing up in this game. He’s a great kid. It has to inspire you.” Doesnt Fields mean it's Lindescribable?

Three weeks ago, Lin was a bench warmer who was dropped to the D-League—now, he's earned the praise of several Lakers All-Stars. “He’s a lot like (Steve) Nash,’’ said Andrew Bynum. “Except that he’s more aggressive going to the basket.’’ Kobe Bryant, who claimed to have not heard of Lin in the days leading up to the game, seemed stunned by the performance: “I don’t have any suggestions, man,’’ he said. “I mean, the guy almost scored 40 points on us.’’ Pau Gasol said the team "overlooked him, I guess," and Bynum added that, "We added to his hype and probably kept him in the league for 10 years."

The LA Times summed up the Lakers' poor night fittingly: "Stop the Lin-sanity? The Lakers tried and tried. And failed. Badly." The NY Times pointed to the Lin mythology growing and growing: "There are, apparently, no boundaries to the N.B.A.’s most unlikely and compelling story."

The NY Post heaped praise onto Lin, then stepped back for some perspective: "It’s absurd. Every ounce of logic screams this can’t possibly last. But nobody ever said sports was logical. If anything, we spend our rooting lives prowling for reasons to be bowled over by the impossible." ESPN agreed with them, adding that "hope and surprise" has renewed the Knicks season: "All of a sudden, there's optimism in what had been a dismal New York Knicks season, a year filled with injuries and a clogged-up offense. And it's come from the most unlikely of sources: a guy whose contract wasn't even guaranteed until Tuesday."

Bryant seemed to (begrudgingly) give in to the Linsanity, even as you could feel his hated for praising an opponent: “I think it’s a great story,” Bryant said. “It’s a testament to perseverance and hard work, and I think a good example for kids everywhere.” Yahoo Sports looked at the big picture of the last decade-plus of Knicks futility and disappointment:

All these years of futility here, all these saviors marching into Madison Square Garden with the biggest names, the biggest reputations. Stephon Marbury and Isiah Thomas. Larry Brown and Carmelo Anthony. Big noise, big promises, and yet dysfunction and disillusionment rule the day. Soon, it’s onto someone else. Someone else is coming, and fresh salvation promises to be on its way. It’s the ultimate shell game with these Knicks, a reflection on a contaminated franchise culture.

For the first time, it feels like the Knicks opened a window and let the freshest of air inside the building. This time, salvation had come off the waiver wire and crashes on his brother’s couch in the city. This time, salvation still gets stopped at Madison Square Garden security, suspected of being one of the team’s trainers - not its point guard.

Tagged

basketball

jeremy lin

knicks

lakers

linsanity

msg

nba

sports

Ben Yakas

Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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