Posted on 03/16/2012 6:10:19 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
I suppose that one could make the argument that the Linsanity phenomenon ended when Carmelo Anthony rejoined the New York Knicks’ lineup earlier this month, but now that Mike Woodson has replaced Mike D’Antoni on the bench, Jeremy Lin’s days of being the team’s offensive catalyst are a thing of the past.
Woodson announced the death knell of Linsanity in comments to reporters about the new system he will put in place, one that will see Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire getting the lion’s share of touches and shots.
From SLAM contributor Jake Appleman, writing for the NY Times:
Woodson ran his first practice and began to make it clear to his players that this is now his team, at least for the rest of the season, and not Mike D’Antoni’s. That almost certainly means it will be a Knicks team that will slow things down on offense and run an isolation-heavy system more suited to Carmelo Anthony’s ball-dominating inclinations. “It’s everybody’s ball club,” Woodson said after practice Thursday, when he was asked if the Knicks were once again Anthony’s team, as they were before Jeremy Lin briefly took over. “I want everybody to feel comfortable. When I put a guy in the game, if he’s got a shot, I want him to feel comfortable about making that shot.”
But then he spoke more bluntly, saying that he wanted everybody to know that when “I’ve got to get a big shot, I’m going to go to Melo and Amar’e and guys that have done it,” a reference to Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. “A lot of these guys are young,” Woodson said in reference to their teammates. “They’re still trying to figure it out.”
Jeremy Lin momentarily appeared to have saved the Knicks’ season, leading them at one point to seven straight electrifying wins. But then Carmelo Anthony returned from injury, and it all went to hell during a nightmarish six-game losing streak, leading to the resignation of Mike D’Antoni.
Sad as this may be not just for Knicks fans, but for anyone who had fallen in love with the unbelievable-yet-true Jeremy Lin story, this is the way things were always supposed to be in New York. Team owner James Dolan didn’t gut the roster to acquire ‘Melo and STAT just to have them play second-fiddle to anyone else.
The Knicks will only go as far as Amar’e, Carmelo and Mike Woodson take them — frightening a thought as that may be for their fans.
Linsanity is dead; long live Linsanity.
Sure, strength of competition is a factor in these recent winning and losing streaks, but it seems like the team was quite a bit better when Melo was out. Sometimes the guys with the most talent are not necessarily the best guys to have on the court.
Has anyone noticed that the Knicks won without Anthony and are losing with him? Duh.
Lin got me to watch the Knicks for the first time in probably 15 years.
The Knicks mgt. are stupid businessmen.
Lin = more advertising revenue
Win or lose, the fans are gonna watch Lin coz you just don`t know what`s gonna happen next when he`s playing.
Same stupoid mistake Norte Dame made with their quarterbacks in 2011.
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory
Dallas should trade Lamar Odom for Lin....Odom, and his fat wife would be perfect in New York, just get them out of here.
The missing piece for the Los Angeles Lakers, not just this year, but for several years now, has been a good point guard; someone who can feed Kobe, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and the bigs consistently, be another scoring threat and defend the new generation of floor generals.
The current point guard — Derek Fisher is getting up there in years and will probably retire, if not after next season, then the season after that.
Jeremy Lin would be a GREAT ADDITION to the Lakers and I think he will like playing there. It’s also closer to home.
Lin got me to follow the Knicks first time EVER! Where Lin goes—I go. But, I’ve got to say that I like Novak and Fields, too. Hmmmm-— could it be because none of them have visible tattoos?
His opponents have taken away his drives to the basket and, until Lin can stop the unacceptable amount of turnovers, he'll probably be more useful in the future as a spark off the bench rather than a starter.
Basketball used to be about winning games.
I would love to see him in Atlanta. I haven’t watched a Hawks game in 10 years and it has been longer since I went to one. I would tune in to see Lin.
As I stated in the early days of Linsanity, he is merely the Knicks’ counterpart to the Yankees’ former phenom, Kevin Maas. New York tends to get a bit out of sorts when some random guy makes a splash. Lin may be a perfectly serviceable point guard (who needs to work on limiting his turnovers), but he was never going to live up to the hype.
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