Are Knicks better without Lin?
Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith primed to push Knicks to the next level
Updated: October 19, 2012, 6:24 PM ET
By Chris Broussard | ESPN the Magazine
"Raymond Felton is back in the Big Apple and loving it. And with the last vestiges of "Linsanity" having dissipated, the New York Knicks' starting point guard said the team is in a better position -- point guard-wise -- than it was a year ago.
Felton said things will be much different this season for Lin. If you recall, Houston offered the overnight sensation $25 million over three years, so the Knicks passed. While Lin's 26-game run last season was spectacular, it will be a huge challenge for him to repeat that performance for the Rockets.
Felton was very complimentary of Jeremy Lin, saying Lin's run last season was "one of the best I've seen in a while.'' But he said Lin had better be ready this season, because he has a target on him.
"I'm happy for him; he's down in Houston starting in a new situation where the team is basically his,'' Felton said. "I hope he has a good season. But it's going to be tough. It's not as easy as people think it is, playing the point, knowing that people are coming at your head every night.
"It's going to be difficult," Felton added. "It's not going to be like it was last year when he made that run. It's going to be tough, because everybody's coming for you because you have that name. That's the difference this year -- every night as the main guy, every point guard in the league is going to be coming at you. So he's got to be prepared for that.''
Granted, it's only preseason, but so far Lin has not looked prepared.
In his first three preseason games with the Rockets, he averaged just 5.3 points on woeful 21.1 percent shooting. In 22.7 minutes a game, he handed out 4.7 assists a game over that stretch. Plus, in the preseason opener, Russell Westbrook burned Lin for 19 points in 16 first-half minutes.
Lin did show improvement in his fourth preseason game, dishing out a game-high 12 assists in 31 minutes during the Rockets' victory over Memphis. He still struggled with his shooting, however, going just 3-for-9 in scoring seven points.
As his struggles this preseason might indicate, Houston could end up regretting the contract it gave him. League sources have told me the Rockets' basketball people were never as high on Lin as ownership. I'm told that Rockets owner Leslie Alexander really pushed for the Lin signing, much more than the basketball side of the organization.
Lin is a solid player, but I don't believe he's a future star and certainly not one deserving of all the hoopla he has generated. I hope it works out for Lin, but because he's limited -- and because of the super target on his back that Felton referred to -- I think he could be a disappointment.
Felton said that some of the league's point guards (and other players as well) were bothered by all the attention Lin got for his brief run.
"I think it put a bull's-eye on him before the end of the season last year,'' Felton said. "I think a couple guys got kind of upset. I saw the game where Deron Williams had a pretty good game against him (Williams scored 38 points). That's for anybody, not just Jeremy. It's anybody. Anybody who has a good season and gets a lot of hype is going to have everybody coming at them. Having that name and getting the money he got this year, you have to know guys are coming at you every game. Everybody comes at LeBron James every night. But you know, LeBron James is LeBron James. He takes care of business. So we have to see if Jeremy is able to do the same.''
