Courtesy of EURWeb
The story of Jeremy Lin is the reason why we watch sports. Anything can happen at any given moment.
Last week I sat in my living room in amazement during the New York Knicks game against the New Jersey Nets in which Lin played All Star point guard Deron Williams to a virtual standstill en route to a convincing New York Knicks trouncing of their tri-state little brothers. While Lin’s performance during that game was surprising it became less so the more I thought about it, and the more he performed. This ability didn’t come out of nowhere. Over the Knicks’ seven game winning streak he has displayed a shooting touch that from 3 point range, a lightening quick first step, court vision that rivals the very best in the game, and the confidence of a ten year veteran. His swagger was apparent almost immediately. He practiced with the Golden State Warriors for an entire season. You mean to tell me his skills went completely unnoticed? He practiced against Monte Ellis, arguably the second best shooting guard in the NBA behind Kobe Bryant, and hot shooting point guard Stephen Curry. These guys are among the leagues elite so it is understandable that he didn’t start there. But you mean to tell me he couldn’t crack the line up at all? A line up in which CJ Watson got considerable minutes in the back court in the 2010-11 season? CJ who? Exactly! I cannot bring myself to believe that his fearlessness and competitive nature was not on full display everyday in practice. So why didn’t he get any time there?
Lin would eventually be cut in the the off season because his salary was needed in the Warriors fruitless attempt at signing high-flying center DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers, who would eventually resign with Los Angeles. After being cut by the Golden State Warriors Lin was later waived by the Houston Rockets. Not unlike the Golden State Warriors, the Houston Rockets have a deep backcourt led by overachieving, yet powerful, point guard Kyle Lowry and flame-throwing two-guard Kevin Martin and a slew of former first round draft picks. With that being said it is still very difficult for me to believe that someone of his demonstrated abilities couldn’t find a home there. But it is easier for me to believe that he couldn’t catch on in Houston, than with the Warriors. But fate has a funny way of playing out. After failing to land a splashy free-agent point guard in the off-season the New York Knicks picked up oft-injured NBA retread Baron Davis and pressed combo guard Tony Douglas into service as the Knicks’ starting point guard. It was a job that he didn’t perform well. They would later pick up veteran guard Mike Bibby as an insurance policy. But that didn’t work well either as Bibby had always been more of a spot up shooter than a passer.