Paladin55 wrote:The way last year ended for the team, burn out issues at my job, the NBA labor stalemate, and the terrible way we played at the beginning of the year, really turned me off to the sport and the Knicks. Getting a chance to watch Harrelson and Shumpert play kindled my interest, but this team was going nowhere until Lin resurrected the season, and these days I am actually setting aside time to watch Knicks games, something I was not doing before he came onto the scene.I'd never even think to say he is the best PG in the league, at least not until he has a few years under his belt and some playoff success, but Lin seems to have all the tools to be an excellent PG, and maybe a great one at certain times.
What has stunned me the most is his offensive versatility and his defensive skill. He has so many ways to hurt you as a scorer, including his jump shot, which was supposedly a major weakness in his game. He can finish, even with contact, hit the mid-range J, has that little running floater as he goes to the basket, and has shown a decent enough 3 pt stroke, especially in clutch situations.
He is also a surprisingly good defender- both man to man and off the ball. His physical strength is underrated, and the kid is an athlete and competitor who seems to up to the challenge of guarding the better PGs in the league. Down the line, with Lin at PG, and Shumpert at SG, we are going to have a solid defensive backcourt, without a doubt.
We struck gold with Lin, and it's easy to make a case that getting him the way we did is the equivalent of having another lottery pick in in the most recent draft. The turnovers are annoying, but he is basically a rookie at this point, and I expect him to have some issues in this area. This is where MDA is supposed to show what kind of coach he is as far as molding PGs. Hopefully they develop the same chemistry that MDA had with Nash.
Is he the best PG in the league? Nope... but he is playing like a contender for that title, and nobody could have expected him to be in this position at this point, or for the Knicks to have him on their roster.
Excellent post