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Even lifelong fans of rival teams are getting caught up in the Linsanity. (Photo: Flickr)

By DAVID GUTT
Channel: Sports

Linsanity has reached its apex. 

My ruptured eardrums can attest to that. Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, as the Knicks starting lineup was announced one-by-one to greet the visiting Atlanta Hawks, a cacophonous din erupted around me as if a demon were being summoned from beneath Manhattan. In the intimate Garden I could feel the vibrations deep in my stomach as Jeremy Lin ran out onto the court and jumped into the body of Carmelo Anthony. And if you think that is wild, you should have heard the shrieks and screams in reaction to Lin’s auto-tuned rendition of the Bell Biv DeVoe classic “Poison.” I imagine it must have been similar to what Elvis experienced.

That is the beauty of Knicks fans: they are unbelievably supportive of their players who are performing well, and lust after the blood of those who are not — every time Jared Jeffries touched the ball Wednesday night, I was glad to hear that there were enough boos coming from the crowd to drown out all the obscenities.

In their own way, Knicks fans are very honest. So it is no surprise that the Linsanity grows with every 20 and 9 game, with every “Poison” rendition, with every W. You can tell just how honest they are when you consider that their enormous support is actually an accurate reflection of how strong Lin’s game truly is, and how important a part he plays in determining the success of his team. 

That is not to say he is Steve Nash. In fact, his 8 point 8 turnover performance against a dominant Heat squad Thursday night stocks the Linsanity backlash with plenty of ammo — especially for nay-sayers and iconoclasts with turnovers on the brain. But, thus far, Jeremy Lin has demonstrated enough both on and off the court to be considered a very good to great point guard, a humble and strong-willed leader, and (who are we kidding here?) hade the Knicks opened the season with him as their starting point guard, even an all-star.

And he showed it against a Hawks team that seems as though it fell out of a 2003 time-warp, with a lineup at times consisting of: T-Mac, Erick Dampier, Vlad Radmanovic, and Kirk Hinrich.

There are many words that people have been using to describe Jeremy Lin and his game, most of which are Lin-related neologisms: lin-sane, lin-vincible, phenom-lin-al … and believe it or not, they get worse. However, for my money, the most accurate descriptor for the young ivy-leaguer is “fearless.” Maybe not as exciting or creative a word as the others, but, in my opinion, the most appropriate. This kid plays with no fear, caution to the wind, with reckless abandon, however you want to put it. He plays fearless, yet under control.

If coming up with puns were a sport, NBA fans the nation over would be vying for the title with their endless supply of nicknames for Jeremy Lin and the mania surrounding him. (Photo: Flickr)

It starts with the fact that the young man has serious guts. Believe it or not that is something special in this league. For those readers that have been watching the NBA for a few decades, how many times have you thought that Vince Carter in his prime would have been unstoppable if only he had the guts to attack the basket consistently? He could have been Dwayne Wade if not for the fact that he, the fans, and every opposing banger knew that one hard foul in the paint would keep Carter and his 40 inch-plus hops out of the key for the rest of the night. Such is not the case for Lin — at least not yet. 

On Wednesday night, time and again, Lin would penetrate to the hoop despite getting hammered or having his shot altered by the long-armed Josh Smith. He would drive hard, stop on a dime, raise up, and contort his body somehow to square with the rim before releasing. And about half the time, it went in (he scored 17 points on 6-11 shooting). It was impossible for me to miss that lightning quick first step, and not entirely due to the enormous Dad (complete with flat-brimmed blue and orange Dad-hat) sitting next to me shouting alongside his son, a sharp involuntary elbow assuring my alert attention with every possession.

No, Mr. Lin doesn’t have a world-class handle. For a point guard, he doesn’t “keep the ball on a string” as they say. But he attacks, and when he hits a wall he spins out, always alert of Chandler cutting inside or Fields (and now Smith and Novak — like the brilliant writing team) sitting behind the three-point line, open, awaiting the dish-and-pop. His less-than-amazing handle doesn’t keep him from being effective exactly because of this fearlessness.

Many times since he’s climbed to the top of the world’s stage, he has driven to the hole, a little off balance, bobbling the rock (much to the Knicks fans’ breathless chagrin), but somehow he stays aggressive and makes a play. Even when he turns the ball over, he doesn’t shy from attacking the very next time down court (something we saw, for better or worse, against the Heat’s stifling D on Thursday night). It really is something to behold. That is the Linsanity of it all.  

It doesn’t only appear in his willingness to dribble-drive either. Jeremy Lin is never afraid of taking the big shot. And when it comes to daggers, the young fella is practically Macbeth. He displays the very opposite of that timid affectation suffered by players the league over (*cough* LeBron James *cough*). I won’t go as far to call it Jordanesque, but it can easily be attributed to a player like Reggie Miller. Somebody who has a surprisingly beaming, if not irrational, confidence in the toughest moments. He seems to will the ball in on difficult, off-balance mid-range jumpers, the very type of shot that just about nobody east of Kobe Bryant seems to practice or execute at a high clip anymore.  And they look beautiful — a perfect parabola that everybody watching just knows will go in.

His quick release could very well be compared to Dan Marino. What is a Hawk to do? Kirk Hinrich, a solid, quick-twitch defender in his own right, could hardly manage more than a bowed head shake when Lin swished a late-clock three right in his eye. I don’t entirely blame Lin for the Hawks giving up in this game, but I wouldn’t have stayed until the end to watch many other players. 

Jeremy is also a heady player. Part of his larger than life iconography — part of the Linsanity — is his cool, even approach to just about any situation. It can be so beautiful to watch at times, that it will make you yell at your buddies: “Now that is a Crimson … or a Crimson player … or however they call ‘em …. You know, a Harvard dude.” 

Lin can be deferential to the superstars, especially since opposing defenses have started to trap him with more regularity. But if he sees a glimmer of light he takes it to the hole with a head on a swivel, jumping to score, or to make a pass seemingly an instant before his feet touch the ground. That is the kind of heads up initiative any NBA team needs, but especially one run by point guard guru Mike D’Antoni. 

In the end, the night was sloppy. The Hawks gave up early. But when Lin sat, the Knicks had a hard time converting turnover after turnover. This team certainly has attracted a lot of talent in the post-Isaiah age, including a couple of superstars and some outstanding role players.

But without Lin they weren’t even a .500 team. He is the linchpin. And it was beautiful to watch. That’s why I wrote this loveletter.