Fuck Yea[h] NBA

This is getting out of hand. When I write that, it’s more in response to the way Jeremy Lin has, again, ratcheted up the fan’s expectations when those same fan yearnings already felt too imposing for the first year player from Harvard. Admittedly, I got choked up reading Howard Beck’s write-up of last night’s thrilling game in the Times and that’s before reading about Amar’e Stoudemire’s teardrop tattoo (™ The Game) to commemorate his late brother. Jeremy Lin is starting to make the most cynical Knicks observers, believe in his brilliance. 

Lin’s teammates are just as flustered by his continued play as we all are. Amar’e finally got a chance to suit up with the Taiwanese sensation, and admitted “‘I was simply amazed by, and still somewhat amazed, by the way he’s playing.’” How can you not be? 

Lin dropped 27 points and dished 11 assists (he has more points through his first five starts than anyone in the post-merger NBA; also, the most points through his first four starts), but it was the last shot that everyone is—and should be—talking about. Jose Calderon ruined his outstanding game by doing what I’ve been doing: underestimating Jeremy Lin. Calderone backed off Lin as the clock ticked down last night, expecting him to drive. You all know what happened next.  

Everyone has seen the game-winning 3-pointer Lin hit to give the Knicks their 6th consecutive win. It went down in Toronto before a strangely equivocal crowd on Asian Heritage Night. The most befuddling moment wasn’t Lin’s improbable 3 (he was 3/18 from downtown before his game-winner), but the intermittent smattering of boos for Lin as Toronto’s Calderone largely out-played the Asian sensation through 3 quarters. That’s right, they booed. 

“This was billed as Asian Heritage Night, but the crowd did not seem to know what to do with Lin. There were cheers during pregame introductions, periodic boos when he had the ball, then cheers again when he scored.” 

And I wonder what happens when Lin’s weaknesses: too many turnovers and questionable shot selection, start to overcome his strengths: penetration into the lane and pick and roll decision-making? If that happens and the Knicks lose, will Lin be blamed? Obviously some of Lin’s positive traits are intangible, like his ability to make basketball more fun for his teammates, but the Knicks will lose, and when they do, I’m scared for Jeremy Lin. If Canadian basketball fans can turn on him mid-way through his first game north of the border, than what are New Yorkers going to do when it happens? Blame Carmelo?

We’re all waiting for Carmelo to come back—Amar’e has already been deemed a perfect compliment for Lin’s penetrating offense—but while Melo: the ball stopper, threatens to unhinge the Knicks’ winning ways, I’m more concerned about when Lin stops Linning. 

So far, he’s made the effusive editorials accurate with his big-time play down the stretch, but everyone plays bad sometimes. How will fans and the media react if losses start to mount, and in turn: how will Lin respond if the reaction is New York’s own brand of criticism—directed at him? Sure, Carmelo would get some blame early on, since Lin is winning before he comes back from the groin strain, but that extra good-will Lin has engendered with this current winning streak, will—ultimately—run out.  

This is New York City, a place that ruined one homegrown talent from Coney Island and many others who have come to play for the Knicks. Lin is 23 years-old, and up until a week ago, slept on his brother’s couch. That makes great copy for the writers, but it’s also an enormous amount of pressure to bear for someone unaccustomed to the scrutiny. 

Within a couple weeks, Jeremy Lin has been on  the cover of Sports Illustrated; he’s been talked about endlessly on ESPN and Sportscenter; some rabid Lin fans are fuming that he’s not in the all-star game; Twitter is basically the #LinSanity tour; And bloggers are tripping over themselves to provide some unique take on the guy. What happens when that huge wave of (deserved) optimism and interest, turns into a tsunami of critique?

Because that’s what New York does. If Lin plays poorly and the Knicks start to lose, the Post and the Daily News will start coming up with clever headlines to indicate another loss. With Lin’s religion already public, I wouldn’t be surprised at a theistic Post headline about a “Lin Sin” after a particularly dreadful night shooting for Lin in late March. How will he handle the questions about his decision-making when the Knicks lose? 

Everyone is concerned with Carmelo Anthony’s return and how he’ll gel with Lin, but no one is pondering a 23 year-old overnight sensation of the highest magnitude—playing in the media capital of the country—, and what his response will be, not if, but when, he stumbles? 

By all accounts, Lin is a humble, genuine guy, with a lot of faith in God; he’s a great story and a great guy; a contemporary Rudy for American kids looking for a role-model (and he’s a GREAT role model). This New York love-fest might not wane for some time, or at least as long as the Knicks keep winning. But how will Lin respond when the linning stops? We know how New York will. 

[New York Times; Pic Via]