Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Linsanity Is Dead, Long Live Carmelodrama!
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 16, 2012
Modified Mar 16, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 16, 2012
Modified Mar 16, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
It was only 40 days ago that a long-overlooked Asian-American point guard from Harvard tore through the Nets, briefly giving hope to long-beleaguered Knicks fans while capturing the hearts of basketball fans across the globe with his swishing and dishing. And now, with the Knicks back in free fall and Mike D'Antoni gone, the local papers have all declared Linsanity officially over. And judging by how new coach Mike Woodson plans on running his offense, things don't look too bright for Jeremy Lin: “Woody’s inclination would not be to play him,” a person who has worked with Woodson told the Times.
Woodson held his first practice with the team yesterday, and made it clear that he would run the Knicks offense through Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, leaving Lin in the lurch: "Again, Jeremy's in a learning stage and everybody is as far as I'm concerned with me being the head coach," Woodson said. He also invoked legendary coach Red Holzman, “who taught me that rookies were to sit and listen and learn.” Instead, Woodson will run the offense like he did as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks—instead of D'Antoni's point guard-centric system, Woodson favors letting the stars create isolation plays. “His best players get the most shots,” the former associate told the Times. “Melo’s going to love it. Amar’e’s going to love it. And the other 12 guys are not going to like it so much.”
Though Lin will definitely lose a lot of touches and not be making as many shots, for now he'll still be the starting point guard. But it seems inevitable that veteran Baron Davis may usurp him soon—bench warmers Mike Bibby and Toney Douglas also might begin to eat into Lin's playing time as well.
But with D'Antoni gone, this was bound to happen. The whole reason D'Antoni and Anthony were at odds wasn't personal—it was because Anthony was never comfortable with D'Antoni's system, never wanted to sacrifice to the Lin-led offense, and was never happy not being the primary shooter. Lin is taking things in stride, but he had grown close to D'Antoni, who was the first NBA coach to really notice and take advantage of his prodigious skills: "I mean, I love D'Antoni's system," Lin told reporters. "It was perfect for me. But I had never been in D'Antoni's system until this year. I played in another system prior to this year. So, it's like going back to what I was doing before and stuff like that."
So how dead is Linsanity? Even Landry Fields won't be making Lin puns anymore: "Me: "I had Harvard Linning at least one game." Jeremy: "Can you not?"... Oh, the whole world can use puns, but I can't? smh." Another sign of the end-times: the utterly despicable Chicago Bulls fan in the video below, who takes gleeful pride in lathering his disgusting hand with spit before giving Lin a high five.
Tagged
basketball
jeremy lin
knicks
linsanity
nba
sports
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Bronx woman found dead and infant in critical condition after balcony fall, NYPD says
Police say it's still unclear whether the pair jumped, fell or were pushed.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 6, 2026 at 7:28 a.m. ET
After Trump defunding, thousands losing rental assistance in NYC may finally have relief
The Trump administration issued new guidance outlining a plan to replace expiring rental assistance vouchers with a new program.
By
David Brand
News
After Trump defunding, thousands losing rental assistance in NYC may finally have relief
The Trump administration issued new guidance outlining a plan to replace expiring rental assistance vouchers with a new program.
By
David Brand
Blind man dismissed from grand jury duty can sue NY for discrimination, judge rules
By
Samantha Max
Gatorade recall affects drinks sold in New York and New Jersey
By
Giulia Heyward
Gov. Hochul declares upstate NY measles outbreak a ‘disaster emergency’
By
Caroline Lewis
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .