D'Antoni pretty excited about his new find
MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike D'Antoni has tried to avoid painting Jeremy Lin as the next Steve Nash or declaring the unexpected sensation a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
After Lin scored 38 points against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers on Friday night in his third NBA start, D'Antoni rattled off all the things his new point-guard find has done. Then he stopped himself -- somewhat.
"It's still early," D'Antoni said with a yeah-right look on his face and tone in his voice.
It's Lin-conceivable what the new point guard has done for the Knicks, who earned their fifth straight win by beating the Timberwolves, 100-98, Saturday night. He's an undrafted point guard from Harvard, was cut twice by NBA teams this season, nearly was waived by the Knicks and has had four stints in the D-League.
Yet Lin has averaged 26.8 points and 8.0 assists in the five-game winning streak. In his four starts, the numbers are 27.3 points and 8.3 assists. And he's drawing plenty of attention from the opposition, given that the Knicks are without Carmelo Anthony (strained groin) and Amar'e Stoudemire (death in the family).
In Lin's spectacular night against the Lakers, he showed the ability to do things other than run pick-and-rolls or get to the basket. His outside shot was falling, which is one of his weaknesses.
Late in the game, he pulled up on 7-footer Pau Gasol and knocked down a straightaway jumper from just inside the arc. He later canned a three that put the Knicks up 13.
"He answered a lot of questions," D'Antoni said. "Can he make an outside shot? If they switch, [can] he just pull up? Can he pull the trigger in a big moment?
"They switched, put a bigger guy on him, and he pulls him up and hits a big jumper in a clutch moment. To do that, that's tough. He answered that question. Now they're going to trap him, they're going to stay back, they're going to switch. If he can handle all that, you can't guard him."
In the five-game winning streak, Lin is only 3-for-17 from three-point range but has shot 50-for-97 overall. Playing 38:53 against the Timberwolves a night after going 38:34 against the Lakers, he shot 8-for-24 Saturday night, including 1-for-12 in the second half.
Lin is the story, but you can't overlook how the Knicks are playing collectively. They're being unselfish and making the extra pass and defending.
Steve Novak has worked his way into the rotation. Rookie Iman Shumpert is more comfortable and effective because he's at his natural position of shooting guard. Jared Jeffries' defense, selflessness and rebounding have been huge. He's even scoring some points -- and he wasn't booed Friday at the Garden, only cheered.
"As a team, he lifts us up," Jeffries said of Lin. "It's weird to have a guy come in and be your team leader who's bounced around. He inspires all of us to play harder because this kid gives his all on a daily basis.''
"It's a completely different team," Tyson Chandler said. "You can't look at this team the same."
Considering the road he took, it would be impressive if Lin did this in a smaller market. But he's blowing up in the spotlight of New York, where his every move is being watched, recorded and dissected all the time.
"I think I've grown as a player," Lin said. "One thing I can say is coach D'Antoni is an absolute offensive genius."
D'Antoni's offense once again is at the forefront because Lin is proving it works. It wasn't when Shumpert and Toney Douglas ran the point. The results speak for themselves, and Lin's play keeps bringing Nash to mind, even if D'Antoni doesn't say his name.
"If we just run our system that another kid ran pretty good a few years back, we'll kind of stay with that," he said. "That's what we do. We don't have to adjust much. That's what having great players does. You try to stay out of the way and let him play and let him figure it out. He'll figure it out."
