Lin drains game-winner in Knicks win (video of winning 3-point shot)

Jeremy Lin made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with less than a second to play to cap his finishing flurry of six straight points, and the New York Knicks rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 90-87 Tuesday night, extending their winning streak to six games.

The NBA's first American-Taiwanese player, Lin had 27 points and a career-high 11 assists in his first game since being named Eastern Conference player of the week.

The season-high crowd of 20,092 roared as Lin drained a pull-up jumper from the top with half a second to play, giving the Knicks their first lead since the opening quarter.

Toronto's Rasual Butler airballed his attempt at the buzzer as the Knicks swarmed their newest hero at center court.

Local media also took note; some 75 reporters and 16 cameras packed a Tuesday morning press conference to hear Lin speak, with dozens more turned away to prevent overcrowding. More than 25 Chinese Canadian journalists were due to cover the game, including one who presented Lin with a book of "Year of the Dragon" stamps from Canada Post and asked him to record a message in Mandarin, which he did.

Even Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni was shocked by the size of the throng upon walking in for his turn at the microphone.

"Are we in the playoffs now?" D'Antoni joked as he made his way to the front of the room.

So, when will the Linsanity will end?

I’m not sure if I can answer the question. If the meaning of the question is -— When will normality return
to the Garden, I can’t answer that. Lin has single handedly causes the stock of Madison Square garden to shoot up 15%.

If on the other hand you are asking me for my (not-so-expert) basketball analysis as to when I think the Knicks
will end their winning streak, here’s my opinion as an avid basketball observer.

If the basketball scouts are doing their jobs ( and I believe they are), they should see by now that he mostly
drives from the RIGHT side of the court.

The opposing teams are studying him even as we speak and if they made a plot of the points he mostly scores (marking them with X’s), I bet you they will notice that most of them come from the RIGHT HALF of the basket. This is very different from the likes of say, Kobe Bryant or Derek Rose, who score from everywhere around the basket.

Toronto and Minnesota seems to have seen this and have adjusted to this accordingly, but not enough. Notice how successful they have been in causing him to turnover because of this ( he is TURNOVER PRONE ).

Lin’s pick and roll with Tyson Chandler seems to work better than with Amare and that’s another area where they have to practice ( since Amare has been out for over a week ).

As for shooting, his trainer tells us that THAT is one area he’s trying to be good at. Like the legendary Korean superstar, Shin Dong Pa before him, he’s practicing shooting everyday ( 1000 shots a session ). He can only get better.

He better be because those FOUL SHOTS are going to be very critical as he tends to draw the foul a lot with his drives.

Also, Lin needs to bulk up because they are going to beat him up by swarming all over him a lot. he’s going to have a HUGE mismatch trying to guard the likes of Dwayne Wade or Lebron James. Against Toronto, Lin really couldn’t stop the Spanish shooter, Jose Calderon. The game turned around when the defensive specialist, Iman Shumpert was asked to stop Jose Calderon instead ( and he was VERY successful at it, shutting him down and making the key steal).

Thus far, the Knicks have not played the best defensive teams with Jeremy on the point yet.

I believe the Linsanity will end when the Knicks meet the best defensive teams in the league -— DALLAS, CHICAGO, BOSTON and MIAMI.

RE: Lin is a devout Christian?

________________________________________________

YES HE IS.

WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE ON JEREMY LIN’s FAITH:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/new-york-knicks-jeremy-lin-dubbed-the-taiwanese-tebow/2012/02/14/gIQAavb9DR_story.html ___________________________________________________

New York Knicks’ Jeremy Lin dubbed the ‘Taiwanese Tebow’

By Daniel Burke| Religion News Service, Washington Post

New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin’s underdog story and outspoken evangelical faith have some sportswriters dubbing him the “Taiwanese Tebow.”But while Lin and Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow share similar Christian convictions, Lin’s rise to stardom is even more miraculous.Just a few weeks ago, the Harvard University graduate was buried on the bench and crashing on friends’ couches. Stadium security guards mistook Lin for a team trainer.After injuries to teammates, though, Lin was inserted into the starting lineup.

The Knicks have promptly won five straight games, with their new point guard leading the way, sending the New Yorkers and Asian-Americans across the country into a frenzy of “Linsanity.”Fans splurge for replicas of Lin’s jersey, the TV ratings of Knicks games have skyrocketed and shares of the Madison Square Garden Co., which owns the basketball team, reached an all-time high on Monday (Feb. 13).Like any good point guard, Lin knows the art of the pass — distributing the praise to his teammates and to God.“I’m just thankful to God for everything,” Lin said in a recent post-game interview. “Like the Bible says, ‘God works in all things for the good of those who love him.’”

Lin’s passing reference to Romans 8:28 was caught by his longtime pastor, Stephen Chen of Redeemer Bible Fellowship, a ministry within the Chinese Church in Christ in Mountain View, Calif.

Rev. Chen, a graduate of The Master’s Seminary, describes the church as full of first- and second-generation immigrants, like Lin and his parents, who are “conservative in nature” and evangelical in faith.“Very early in his life he decided to pay heed to the call of Christ to take up the cross daily and follow after him,” Chen said.Even during basketball season, when games went deep into Saturday night, Lin’s family made sure he was in the pews on Sunday morning, Chen said.

Lin also credits his parents with teaching him to play “godly basketball,” which measures success by sportsmanship, not stats. That means putting teammates first and showing respect to opponents and referees.

As his star rose, first at Harvard and then with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, Lin shared his faith testimony with youth groups and churches near his California home.In a 2011 appearance at River of Life Christian Church in Santa Clara, he quoted from the works of John Piper, a prominent neo-Calvinist pastor in Minneapolis, and spoke of trusting in “God’s sovereign plan.” Chen, who said he recently spoke to Lin, expects his sharp-shooting congregant to continue his evangelism in the bright lights of the Big Apple.

“He is really looking forward to using the platform that he has to share the gospel with others,” Chen said.

Lin has also expressed his desire to go to seminary to eventually become a pastor when his playing days are over.

He already uses his social media platforms to spread the Word.

His Twitter account’s description is, “to know him is to want to know him more.” His account’s avatar depicts Jesus telling a young man, “No, I’m not just talking about Twitter. I literally want you to follow me.” His Facebook page quotes Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

”Tom Krattenmaker, author of the book “Onward Christian Athletes,” is among the many who see some similarities between Lin and Tebow. Like Tebow, Lin has spoken of relying on faith to help carry him through highs and lows of his sports career, and both men often praise God during post-game interviews.

Lin himself has called Tebow “a polarizing figure,” but also said that he draws inspiration from the young quarterback’s example.

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