ChuckBuck wrote:Not to beat a dead horse, but the only reason Lin finally got off the bench for the NJ game was Melo. There's seems to some discrepancies whether D'Antoni was trying to bring him along slowly, or he's not ready or this or that. NO. Straight from horse's mouth, Jeremy Lin:

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/7583284/jeremy-lin-got-my-shot-new-york-knicks-thanks-carmelo-anthony

Now, he's glad Anthony, and eventually D'Antoni, gave him the opportunity.

"It was worth the wait," Lin said.

the ONLY reason? or one of the reasons?

However, it is to the D-league’s benefit that their ilk will constantly preach over the course of #Linsanity that he utilized the D-League to spark his current play. Lin played two games for the Knicks’ D-League affiliate, the Erie Bayhawks, and took full advantage of playing in their D’Antoni’ offensive system to help ignite his current play. It caught the eye of coach Mike D’Antoni, and was enough to convince him after musing about it longer than needed, to insert Jeremy Lin into the starting lineup. I have a feeling this is only the beginning for Lin’s success.

Melo lobbies JR to sign in NY.

And as a result, we go from lottery team to championship contention

Kenny Atkinson is the guy behind the guy.

In the days and weeks before Jeremy Lin became an international phenomenon, the then-mostly anonymous second-year point guard from Harvard was just another fringe NBA player assigned to work with Atkinson, the Knicks’ mostly anonymous developmental coach and no-nonsense workaholic.

It was the perfect marriage: an undrafted guard with a dream and undrafted guard turned coach still living that dream through his players.

“I can’t say enough about that guy,” Lin says.

Lin is averaging 24.3 points and 9.5 assists over 37.8 minutes in six starts, including a 38-point performance against the Lakers, a career-high 13 assists against Sacramento and a last-second game-winning shot against Toronto. It speaks volumes about Lin’s work ethic and professional attitude that he kept himself in shape and mentally ready despite his limited playing time before Feb. 4.

And it also says something about Atkinson, whose job is to keep the non-rotation players ready for that moment when Mike D’Antoni calls on them.

“I mean this guy wakes up at 6 a.m. every morning,” Lin says. “I’ll text after a game at midnight, 1 o’clock when I go home and I’ll say, ‘Hey can I look at those turnovers. Can I look at the upcoming team? How they run pick and rolls?’ And he ’ll have the film ready when I walk into the facility the next morning.

“When I wasn’t playing much, we were working out before practice, and after practice he was picking apart my game, teaching me what it’s like to play in Coach D’Antoni’s system.”

Lin’s rise from last man on the roster to undefeated starter continues to gain momentum. The Knicks, who host the New Orleans Hornets Friday night, have won seven straight games, all since Lin began to see major minutes at point guard.

Lin’s performance as well as his deferential manner have drawn attention to the work of Atkinson, the 44-year-old basketball lifer who prefers to remain behind the scenes. He is in the perfect place because the Knicks do not allow Atkinson to speak to the press.

“There is nobody better than Kenny at developing players," says Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, who gave Atkinson his first NBA job, with the Houston Rockets. “We didn’t want to lose him but going to New York was a chance for him to go home.”

Atkinson, from Huntington, L.I., joined D’Antoni’s staff in 2008.

Lin’s journey has taken him from Harvard to Golden State to Houston and finally the Knicks. Atkinson’s career path led him around the globe.

He graduated from St. Anthony’s HS and played at Richmond. He was on the team that upset Syracuse to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 in 1988. Three years later, he tried out for the Knicks’ summer league team, coached by Pat Riley’s young assistant, Jeff Van Gundy, but was cut.

“I wish I remembered him but I don’t,” Van Gundy says. “But I know him as a coach and all I hear are great things about him. . . . Enough people have spoken highly of Kenny that you just know he is the real deal.”

After playing professionally in Italy, France, Germany and Spain, Atkinson worked for the Paris Basket Racing Club in France from 2004 to 2006. He also has served as a Reebok EuroCamp coach in Treviso, Italy, where he met Billy Bayno, a former UNLV head coach who now works on Adelman’s staff in Minnesota.

“Kenny is terrific working with players,” Bayno says. “I called my agent and said you got to get this guy. He should be working in the NBA. He’s head coaching material. One day, he’s going to get a chance. And he will have earned it.”

Lin is now the most talked-about basketball player in the world. And Atkinson, who still scrimmages with the players, isn’t just a faceless coach sitting behind the Knicks bench anymore.

“For a coach, it’s the most exciting thing, to have young players with a lot of talent and great potential,” Atkinson once said. “To get them better, that’s really the best thing about where we’re going and what we’re doing.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-knicks-assistant-ken-atkinson-helping-jeremy-lin-succeed-article-1.1024232#ixzz1mbtinsRh

islesfan wrote:So the bench players work with a lowly assistant coach. Guess what, that happens on every team in the league and pretty much on every basketball team in the world.

As usual the details evade you. It's about the results and in this case it seems that Atkinson wasn't just going thru the motions. Lin was ready when his time came and that's what a coach want to make sure is the case with all his players. Lin looked lost when he 1st got here and after working with Atkinson and then going to the D League where he played a couple of games in the system, then coming back and working even more, Lin got much more comfortable. Remember they had to do special work cuz there weren't any practice days.

And it also says something about Atkinson, whose job is to keep the non-rotation players ready for that moment when Mike D’Antoni calls on them.

“I mean this guy wakes up at 6 a.m. every morning,” Lin says. “I’ll text after a game at midnight, 1 o’clock when I go home and I’ll say, ‘Hey can I look at those turnovers. Can I look at the upcoming team? How they run pick and rolls?’ And he ’ll have the film ready when I walk into the facility the next morning.

“When I wasn’t playing much, we were working out before practice, and after practice he was picking apart my game, teaching me what it’s like to play in Coach D’Antoni’s system.”

Doesn't sound like this kid just fell thru the cracks on the Knicks. Sounds like they wanted to coach him up and get him ready. They didn't have to spend any time with Lin and could've just let him go and picked up a vet like Mike James, but they didn't!!! Why? If they didn't see something in Lin why keep him around when they could bring in a vet? READ BETWEEN THE FREAKIN LINES!!!

mrKnickShot wrote:

nixluva wrote:

islesfan wrote:So the bench players work with a lowly assistant coach. Guess what, that happens on every team in the league and pretty much on every basketball team in the world.

As usual the details evade you. It's about the results and in this case it seems that Atkinson wasn't just going thru the motions. Lin was ready when his time came and that's what a coach want to make sure is the case with all his players. Lin looked lost when he 1st got here and after working with Atkinson and then going to the D League where he played a couple of games in the system, then coming back and working even more, Lin got much more comfortable. Remember they had to do special work cuz there weren't any practice days.

And it also says something about Atkinson, whose job is to keep the non-rotation players ready for that moment when Mike D’Antoni calls on them.

“I mean this guy wakes up at 6 a.m. every morning,” Lin says. “I’ll text after a game at midnight, 1 o’clock when I go home and I’ll say, ‘Hey can I look at those turnovers. Can I look at the upcoming team? How they run pick and rolls?’ And he ’ll have the film ready when I walk into the facility the next morning.

“When I wasn’t playing much, we were working out before practice, and after practice he was picking apart my game, teaching me what it’s like to play in Coach D’Antoni’s system.”

Doesn't sound like this kid just fell thru the cracks on the Knicks. Sounds like they wanted to coach him up and get him ready. They didn't have to spend any time with Lin and could've just let him go and picked up a vet like Mike James, but they didn't!!! Why? If they didn't see something in Lin why keep him around when they could bring in a vet? READ BETWEEN THE FREAKIN LINES!!!

So pathetic! Get a life.

Every time someone says something negative about MDA or does not give him credit for something, you need to defend/respond. Spend crazy amount of time and energy drumming up articles and quotes that you can slant to your pathetic defenses. Belittle anyone who disagrees with you - so PATHETICALLY sad! GET A LIFE!

By the way, MDA is REALLY UGLY! Now find me an article that proves otherwise.

"HOW CAN YOU CALL MDA UGLY? HE USED TO MODEL UNDERWEAR IN FRANCE! AND WON AWARDS AND MODELING CONTRACTS THERE! ITS THE CAMERAS IN AMERICA, THEY DON'T KNOW LIGHTING LIKE THE EUROPEANS. GET HIM A GOOD CAMERA, A EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHER AND YOU WILL SEE AND AGREE THAT HE'S HOT!!!! MDA IS HOT! YOU ARE THE UGLY ONE! LOOK AT THIS ARTICLE FROM KEN BERGER:

[QUOTE]
MDA GOT HOT AT BILLY WALKER AFTER HE PASSED UP AN OPEN SHOT, DROVE TO THE HOOP AND GOT CALLED FOR HIS 9TH CHARGE OF THE GAME!
[QUOTE/]

SEE? EVEN KEN BERGER SAYS MDA IS "HOT"

"MMMMMM HOT MDA - NOT I CAN SLEEP NAKED AND LET NATURE TAKE ITS COURSE! RIGHT AFTER I CHECK THE UK AND MAKE SURE NOBODY SAD ANYTHING NEGATIVE ABOUT MY HOTTIE"

One question, did you ever post any MDA pictures in the ALBA thread? Go for it! You know you want to.

You know in every one of these threads where I take a stance in defense of MDA, I post many sources to support what I believe. What do you and all your buddies come up with? LAME ASS JOKES! You never have anything of substance to refute what I write. Just go and look at the threads I comment on or have started and I don't just put my opinion down I try to support my point of view with logic and reason. It's only because of all the dumb and biased statements that I come back with statements in defense of MDA. Someone should do it and i'm glad to be the one to smack the crap out of guys who post nonsense around here.

Next time come back with some substance or don't bother wasting the bandwidth with lame posts.