Is Linsanity the Real Deal or is he All Hype? by Lauren Beasley
Jeremy Lin aka Linsanity of the New York Knicks has been the talk of the NBA for the past couple of weeks. Jeremy Lin became the most talked about player in the NBA when the Knicks faced off against their hometown rival the New Jersey Nets. Since then he has lead the Knicks on 8-1 run, winning eight out of their last nine games.
Now I personally was not surprised by Jeremy Lin's intelligence, abilities and etc. I followed his career while he was at Harvard and even while he was in the D-League.
Many people have fallen in love with his great game and the energy that he has brought back to the Knicks. I must admit I am impressed with him as well. I am not only impressed with his skill set but with his resilience as a person who never gave up on his dream. He truly has proved to others that working hard and never giving up on your dreams can pay off.
Now getting back to him as a player I see some good things and some bad things. I will start with the good things first.
Offensively I love his ability to create for others; he has great vision and basketball IQ. He understands various game situations and is able to make the right play.
Scoring wise he is impressive as well. He definitely is more of slasher who loves to create contact. Lin may seem small but many people forget that Lin is 6’3 and 200 lb. Lin is a strong guard who has the strength to finish at the basket and has the ability to change his shot in midair.
Lin’s jump shot is decent; he does better when he is within 14 feet. Lin also is not afraid of big moments and has shown that he can make the big shot or create a big play to win the game for his team.
Defensively he is quick; he has good length and is able to defend on the ball in the passing lane. For point guards he is tough to get past, he is quick enough to keep up with quicker guards, yet he is strong and tall enough to check bigger and taller guards.
Now there is a hole in his armor. The main thing people notice is his three point shooting. I do agree that with athat assesment, his shooting is not consistent.
However, the part of his game that worries me is his assist and turnover ratio. Now yes, he averages 7.8 assists per game, but he also averages 5.2 turnovers game. As a point guard, especially if he plans to lead his team to a NBA Championship one day, he can’t
continue to turn the ball over on this consistent basis. If he can dissipate the multiple turnovers, I will truly have nothing bad to say about
him.
The Knicks soon will play the Heat, Bulls and Celtics; I am interested to see those matchups. The Miami Heat have three of the top players in the NBA; I am interested to see how he will help lead his team to a victory on the road. As for the Bulls and the Celtics those are two great point guard matchups for him both offensively and defensively.
Lastly I am curious to see how the Knicks will play when Carmelo Anthony returns. Jeremy Lin benefits everyone else on the Knicks so far, such as Amare Stoudamire, Tyson Chandler, even Landry Fields and J.R. Smith have benefited from him.
Carmelo Anthony is pure isolation player, that’s what makes him elite. Other than Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant; Melo is probably the best isolation player in the NBA, who can score anywhere on the court at any time. It will be truly interesting to see if Melo will continue to be the dominant isolation player or if he will adapt to the team aspect that has now been introduced through Jeremy Lin.
Back to Jeremy Lin, overall I am highly impressed with him. He has changed the dynamics of the New York Knicks and has people believing the Knicks can truly be a contender in the East. If he improves on the assist/turnover ratio and continues to work on his jump shot, he will have my ultimate respect. As of now Jeremy Lin in my opinion is not just hype, he is the real deal. I hope he continues to blossom as player and person.