Will there be more defensive heat on Lin?
Jeremy Lin looks on against the New Jersey Nets. (Feb. 4, 2012) Credit: Jim McIsaac
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Is it possible that Jeremy Lin did not attract enough attention during his meteoric rise to NBA stardom?
We don't mean from fans or the media around the world. He's gotten plenty of that kind.
No, this is about the kind of attention Lin received from the Miami Heat in the Knicks' last game before the All-Star break on Thursday night. The kind of suffocating defensive focus that led Lin to have his worst game since he became an international sensation less than a month ago.
That's the kind of attention opposing teams probably are going to pay to Lin on a nightly basis as the second half of the season unfolds, starting with Wednesday's game against Cleveland.
Did the Heat figure out how to stop Lin, and can other teams use their success as a blueprint? Or was it simply a case of an inexperienced 23-year-old point guard having an off night against a defense Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni called "the best in the league"?
The Heat scouts, coaches and players had two days to prepare to defend Lin. The players were motivated by a desire to slow down Lin-sanity; their postgame comments made that clear.
Miami also is the defending Eastern Conference champion and was riding a seven-game winning streak that became eight after a 102-88 victory. Lin had eight points, three assists and eight turnovers. He shot 1-for-11.
"It wasn't a different scheme," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I wish I could tell you we developed some master plan. It's not a specific plan. What we wanted to do was treat him with the adequate respect he deserves."
The Heat tried to make Lin drive left, which is his weaker side. But every team has tried to do that.
"They were pushing me left," Lin said. "But I think it was the speed and the athleticism. Credit to them. Hopefully, when we play them next time, it will be a different story."
The Heat also defended Lin earlier in the shot clock, often sending its point guard to meet him at midcourt so he either had to expend energy dribbling to get free or give up the ball. That seemed to work well and could be a strategy other teams employ.
"I can't remember another game where it was hard to just take dribbles," Lin said. "So just got to move the ball. Maybe swing, swing, swing and then have it come back to me later in the shot clock, or something like that.
"Against a great team like this, you may not get something off your first pick-and- roll, or off your first look, and so it has to be putting them in rotation, making them work for 24 seconds and then having the ball come back. I think we have the weapons to do that, and I need to be able to deliver the ball where it needs to be when it needs to be there. That's just on me."
