JLin Breathes Life into the Knicks and MSG

I already wrote about how absolutely terribly the New York Knicks had been playing this season. The Knicks were supposed to be contenders in the East, but instead were 8-15 and had lost 11 of their last 13. The offense simply wasn't getting it down on the court. One of the main reasons was a lack of a true starting point guard. Veteran Baron Davis was supposed to be the answer, but he hasn't played at all this season with a back injury. The Knicks had tried just about everyone at the spot, so they turned to one of their last men on the bench, Jeremy Lin. Lin is a second year player out of Harvard. Before Saturday's game, he had only played 55 minutes all season and scored only 32 points.

On Saturday, the Knicks hosted the New Jersey Nets. Everyone hoped they could pick up a win here to end the losing drought. JLin came off the bench and was the leading scorer with 25 points and 7 assists. The Knicks won 99-92. Tonight, the Knicks hosted the Utah Jazz. Before the game began, the Knicks knew they would be without star Amare Stoudemire, who left to be with his family after the death of his older brother in a car accident. In tonight's game, JLin got his first career start, but things didn't look good when six minutes in, the Knicks' other start player, Carmelo Anthony, left the game with a strained right groin. This left the Knicks without any real identity. That didn't last long as JLin quickly took over. Lin scored a career-high 28 points and 8 assists. He was clutch down the stretch and nailed a moneyball three to help seal the Knicks' victory.

The Knicks knew they needed to turn around their season. People thought they needed to fire head coach Mike D'Antoni. They thought Carmelo or Amare would make it happen. They thought all sorts of things and theories, but few thought of little Jeremy Lin from Harvard. In two games, Lin might have single-handedly turned around the Knicks' season. I watched the game tonight and Madison Square Garden was rocking like it hadn't been in a very, very long time. Knicks fans have someone to believe in. That someone is Jeremy Lin.