CashMoney wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

toodarkmark wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

nehemiah wrote:This argument basically hinges on the OPINION that Lin can't keep up what he was doing. That he was basically "lucky".

It's pretty iffy logic when exceptional talent is hard to find most years. Even Dallas let go of Nash before he had his two MVP years. Dallas wouldn't match the 60-plus million offer. It was the BEST bargain in the NBA that year. My opinion is that this is an even greater mistake.

I don't think anyone said that Lin was lucky....he can obviously play. The Knicks letting Lin go is worse than the Mavs letting Nash go? So is it your OPINION that Lin is going to have a Nash like career after seeing Lin play in 25 games?

25 games where he WON. 25 games where he put up sick numbers. 25 games that captured imaginations.

So tired of people point out how he only did it in 25 games. He did more in 25 games than Clarence Weatherspoon did in 5 years and we paid him 6 million a year for 5 years back more than a decade ago. AND?

15-10, Lin's record as a starter. He didn't win 25 games. Only about 7 games or so he captured imaginations, the rest were average or pedestrian.

You are going to break Lin's game down to some simpleton statistics?

Watching Lin play and never looking at stats was more than enough for me. The stats, actually, just support the great player my eyes saw.

If you are going to use the W-L record, there are more responsible party's on the team to blame.

EMS

Dude, get some glasses. Great player? NO. Good player? Yes. Ignore that Lin did most of his damage while dominating the ball. Ignore the massive amount of turnovers and ignore the fact that he struggled when he wansn't the main scoring option. Let me clarify, this is not me hating on Lin it's me pointint out whay many choose to ignore.

I think Lin was a great player. He changed this team around more than Melo, Stat, etc. did. He isn't a superstar or star, but he is one of those guys that just changes the chemistry and feel of the team.
Your brilliant "get some glasses" statement, though funny, doesn't really add credence to your words. Stat is making 20 million a year and I would MUCH SOONER have Lin than Stat and it isn't because of Stat's knees.

Don't get caught up in an argument of semantics. Lin did more to turn this team around than any player in recent times. I like Melo, but the team hasn't exactly become a "team" with him here. I do hope things change some in that regard though.

ChuckBuck wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

toodarkmark wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

nehemiah wrote:This argument basically hinges on the OPINION that Lin can't keep up what he was doing. That he was basically "lucky".

It's pretty iffy logic when exceptional talent is hard to find most years. Even Dallas let go of Nash before he had his two MVP years. Dallas wouldn't match the 60-plus million offer. It was the BEST bargain in the NBA that year. My opinion is that this is an even greater mistake.

I don't think anyone said that Lin was lucky....he can obviously play. The Knicks letting Lin go is worse than the Mavs letting Nash go? So is it your OPINION that Lin is going to have a Nash like career after seeing Lin play in 25 games?

25 games where he WON. 25 games where he put up sick numbers. 25 games that captured imaginations.

So tired of people point out how he only did it in 25 games. He did more in 25 games than Clarence Weatherspoon did in 5 years and we paid him 6 million a year for 5 years back more than a decade ago. AND?

15-10, Lin's record as a starter. He didn't win 25 games. Only about 7 games or so he captured imaginations, the rest were average or pedestrian.

You are going to break Lin's game down to some simpleton statistics?

Watching Lin play and never looking at stats was more than enough for me. The stats, actually, just support the great player my eyes saw.

If you are going to use the W-L record, there are more responsible party's on the team to blame.

EMS

Dude, get some glasses. Great player? NO. Good player? Yes. Ignore that Lin did most of his damage while dominating the ball. Ignore the massive amount of turnovers and ignore the fact that he struggled when he wansn't the main scoring option. Let me clarify, this is not me hating on Lin it's me pointint out whay many choose to ignore.

I think Lin was a great player. He changed this team around more than Melo, Stat, etc. did. He isn't a superstar or star, but he is one of those guys that just changes the chemistry and feel of the team.
Your brilliant "get some glasses" statement, though funny, doesn't really add credence to your words. Stat is making 20 million a year and I would MUCH SOONER have Lin than Stat and it isn't because of Stat's knees.

Don't get caught up in an argument of semantics. Lin did more to turn this team around than any player in recent times. I like Melo, but the team hasn't exactly become a "team" with him here. I do hope things change some in that regard though.

How many playoff games did Lin win for us?

1

the one win that he didn't play in

earthmansurfer wrote:

Knicksfan wrote:Im starting to wonder if this Lin situation will take the fun and excitement out of what seems to be a promising 2012-2013 season. I know its still a recent issue and some fans are mad, but do we really have to keep dissecting every single aspect of the Lin decision? People have pretty much stated where they stand on this and its probable that those who hate management for the decision will still hate them and those who defend the decision will still do it.

I really hope next season isn't overshadowed by this because we might have the strongest Knicks team we've had in more than a decade.

I think no matter how well the team plays (and I do think we will have a GREAT team) the Lin thing will hang over our heads. A lot depends on how he plays in Houston. I think he clearly puts up better numbers there than he would here (due to no Melo, Stat, etc.) and it's going to be tough in that regard.

The thing that will go down as "The night NY Died, Part II", will be if we have one serious injury to Stat or Melo - Our season will be finished. Remember, Stat is coming off of two years of back injuries. We won't hear the end of it, and to be honest, I will be one of those pointing it out. But I am rooting for the team regardless. Still, Lin was an insurance policy and then some, that paid for itself mind you.

I just think the Lin thing was personal and not financial and that our best chance of winning a championship is to have 3 players of Stat, Melo and Lins caliber. Now we have two, if one goes down, we have one. Miami has three of those players, one in Lebron that almost is like have two great players. And they are a great defensive team, it will be interesting to see how we play against them now in a 7 game series. We just don't have the speed from the PG position - both defending and scoring the ball. And we don't really have anyone outside of Melo that is up there (and consistent - JR can do it here and there.)

I think Lin will always put up better numbers....You usually do that each year, if you work on your craft as a young NBA player. What does that have to do with winning a championship right now? Stats means nothing without a ring. Lin's best chance of winning a ring was with NY. And that would've been from the bench, cheering on Kidd (with a 25 million dollar chant) in the 4th quarter. But that boat has sailed off now and he's not thinking about winning a championship for us NY fans....He's thinking about himself, going from sleeping on the couch to buying a large brick home, with his NEW MONEY HUNGRY agent and that 25 million dollar pay raise and huge playing time so he can continue to fill up his stats and tear his other knee.

He even said it himself...Linsanity started to get to his head. He had different priorities with his own personal career branding, holding hands with Tebow, spreading love and happiness (James Brown). We need players focused on winning a championship, not individual accolades. Lebron and company took a pay cut to win a championship, not to increase their branding....

What happened the last time Lin played heavy minutes under Dantoni? Beware of Linsanity's health, and stability, playing 40 minutes a game, with a target on your back, and old knick fans waiting and media waiting for him to fail.... He's no longer a sleeper or that Lin guy that almost got cut. He's paid like an NBA starter. Solid players will destroy Lin, similar to what Deron Williams did. Average to below average players will use Lin to prove that they belong in the NBA, even at half the price of Lin's contract. He will get muscled in the post and abused on those hard drives in the paint. Unless people are saying hes the next Alan Iverson (which I hope not)....He's not built for the slashing game, against NBA bigs all season, playing 40 minutes a game on a team with no talent.

I can't wait til mid season. I'm just going to sit back and watch all these Lin lovers reverse everything they are saying right now. Lin doesn't have super human powers people. This is not some super hero movie. He's a decent combo guard / tweener (not even a pg) with a great skill at getting to the basket. Other than that, he's just a great story, and a great person. I really don't understand all the hype. And maybe because I've played with and against guards all the time with talent similar and better than Lin. Melo is the same way....If we missed on adding Melo, most people would be all over Dolan, just like the Lin issue, including me. Once you become a knick, you are family in my eyes. Everybody else are enemies! If you're a real Knick fan, you understand.

But the same thing is going to be said that Mark Cuban said later: "Why couldn't he play like an MVP for us?". Which was a stupid thing to say, because Nash asked them to match (wanting to stay with the Mavs -- what's he supposed to say, "I know I'm going to be MVP twice"?)

But not there's not really a way of looking smart I guess for Cuban in this decision after the way things turned out.

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

toodarkmark wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

nehemiah wrote:This argument basically hinges on the OPINION that Lin can't keep up what he was doing. That he was basically "lucky".

It's pretty iffy logic when exceptional talent is hard to find most years. Even Dallas let go of Nash before he had his two MVP years. Dallas wouldn't match the 60-plus million offer. It was the BEST bargain in the NBA that year. My opinion is that this is an even greater mistake.

I don't think anyone said that Lin was lucky....he can obviously play. The Knicks letting Lin go is worse than the Mavs letting Nash go? So is it your OPINION that Lin is going to have a Nash like career after seeing Lin play in 25 games?

25 games where he WON. 25 games where he put up sick numbers. 25 games that captured imaginations.

So tired of people point out how he only did it in 25 games. He did more in 25 games than Clarence Weatherspoon did in 5 years and we paid him 6 million a year for 5 years back more than a decade ago. AND?

15-10, Lin's record as a starter. He didn't win 25 games. Only about 7 games or so he captured imaginations, the rest were average or pedestrian.

You are going to break Lin's game down to some simpleton statistics?

Watching Lin play and never looking at stats was more than enough for me. The stats, actually, just support the great player my eyes saw.

If you are going to use the W-L record, there are more responsible party's on the team to blame.

EMS

Dude, get some glasses. Great player? NO. Good player? Yes. Ignore that Lin did most of his damage while dominating the ball. Ignore the massive amount of turnovers and ignore the fact that he struggled when he wansn't the main scoring option. Let me clarify, this is not me hating on Lin it's me pointint out whay many choose to ignore.

I think Lin was a great player. He changed this team around more than Melo, Stat, etc. did. He isn't a superstar or star, but he is one of those guys that just changes the chemistry and feel of the team.
Your brilliant "get some glasses" statement, though funny, doesn't really add credence to your words. Stat is making 20 million a year and I would MUCH SOONER have Lin than Stat and it isn't because of Stat's knees.

Don't get caught up in an argument of semantics. Lin did more to turn this team around than any player in recent times. I like Melo, but the team hasn't exactly become a "team" with him here. I do hope things change some in that regard though.

How many playoff games did Lin win for us?

Brilliant and well thought out comeback. I loved how you brought up him recovering from surgery... oh wait.

How about this, if not for Lin, we wouldn't have made the playoffs.

Really? Lin was there in April, when the Knicks made their playoff push? Did he win player of the month?

Forgot who won April player of the month, could you remind me if it was Lin?

ChuckBuck wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

toodarkmark wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

nehemiah wrote:This argument basically hinges on the OPINION that Lin can't keep up what he was doing. That he was basically "lucky".

It's pretty iffy logic when exceptional talent is hard to find most years. Even Dallas let go of Nash before he had his two MVP years. Dallas wouldn't match the 60-plus million offer. It was the BEST bargain in the NBA that year. My opinion is that this is an even greater mistake.

I don't think anyone said that Lin was lucky....he can obviously play. The Knicks letting Lin go is worse than the Mavs letting Nash go? So is it your OPINION that Lin is going to have a Nash like career after seeing Lin play in 25 games?

25 games where he WON. 25 games where he put up sick numbers. 25 games that captured imaginations.

So tired of people point out how he only did it in 25 games. He did more in 25 games than Clarence Weatherspoon did in 5 years and we paid him 6 million a year for 5 years back more than a decade ago. AND?

15-10, Lin's record as a starter. He didn't win 25 games. Only about 7 games or so he captured imaginations, the rest were average or pedestrian.

You are going to break Lin's game down to some simpleton statistics?

Watching Lin play and never looking at stats was more than enough for me. The stats, actually, just support the great player my eyes saw.

If you are going to use the W-L record, there are more responsible party's on the team to blame.

EMS

Dude, get some glasses. Great player? NO. Good player? Yes. Ignore that Lin did most of his damage while dominating the ball. Ignore the massive amount of turnovers and ignore the fact that he struggled when he wansn't the main scoring option. Let me clarify, this is not me hating on Lin it's me pointint out whay many choose to ignore.

I think Lin was a great player. He changed this team around more than Melo, Stat, etc. did. He isn't a superstar or star, but he is one of those guys that just changes the chemistry and feel of the team.
Your brilliant "get some glasses" statement, though funny, doesn't really add credence to your words. Stat is making 20 million a year and I would MUCH SOONER have Lin than Stat and it isn't because of Stat's knees.

Don't get caught up in an argument of semantics. Lin did more to turn this team around than any player in recent times. I like Melo, but the team hasn't exactly become a "team" with him here. I do hope things change some in that regard though.

How many playoff games did Lin win for us?

Brilliant and well thought out comeback. I loved how you brought up him recovering from surgery... oh wait.

How about this, if not for Lin, we wouldn't have made the playoffs.

Really? Lin was there in April, when the Knicks made their playoff push? Did he win player of the month?

Forgot who won April player of the month, could you remind me if it was Lin?

stop dragging logic into the equation. it has no place on these boards

CashMoney wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

toodarkmark wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

nehemiah wrote:This argument basically hinges on the OPINION that Lin can't keep up what he was doing. That he was basically "lucky".

It's pretty iffy logic when exceptional talent is hard to find most years. Even Dallas let go of Nash before he had his two MVP years. Dallas wouldn't match the 60-plus million offer. It was the BEST bargain in the NBA that year. My opinion is that this is an even greater mistake.

I don't think anyone said that Lin was lucky....he can obviously play. The Knicks letting Lin go is worse than the Mavs letting Nash go? So is it your OPINION that Lin is going to have a Nash like career after seeing Lin play in 25 games?

25 games where he WON. 25 games where he put up sick numbers. 25 games that captured imaginations.

So tired of people point out how he only did it in 25 games. He did more in 25 games than Clarence Weatherspoon did in 5 years and we paid him 6 million a year for 5 years back more than a decade ago. AND?

15-10, Lin's record as a starter. He didn't win 25 games. Only about 7 games or so he captured imaginations, the rest were average or pedestrian.

You are going to break Lin's game down to some simpleton statistics?

Watching Lin play and never looking at stats was more than enough for me. The stats, actually, just support the great player my eyes saw.

If you are going to use the W-L record, there are more responsible party's on the team to blame.

EMS

Dude, get some glasses. Great player? NO. Good player? Yes. Ignore that Lin did most of his damage while dominating the ball. Ignore the massive amount of turnovers and ignore the fact that he struggled when he wansn't the main scoring option. Let me clarify, this is not me hating on Lin it's me pointint out whay many choose to ignore.

I think Lin was a great player. He changed this team around more than Melo, Stat, etc. did. He isn't a superstar or star, but he is one of those guys that just changes the chemistry and feel of the team.
Your brilliant "get some glasses" statement, though funny, doesn't really add credence to your words. Stat is making 20 million a year and I would MUCH SOONER have Lin than Stat and it isn't because of Stat's knees.

Don't get caught up in an argument of semantics. Lin did more to turn this team around than any player in recent times. I like Melo, but the team hasn't exactly become a "team" with him here. I do hope things change some in that regard though.

Of course, the Knicks don't make the playoffs without Lin carrying the team to 7 straight wins without STAT and Melo, for the most part but Lin changed this team more than Melo? When Lin went down the Knicks were not guaranteed a playoff spot. Melo got them into the playoffs going 11 and 5 down the stretch. No Lin for 16 games and he also didn't have STAT for 13 of those games.

4 games in February with no Lin and no STAT
27 PTS, 7.5 REB, 2.75 AST, 2 STL .479 FG%

Melo's numbers in March with No Lin & 9 games with no STAT.
29.8 PTS, 7.3 REB, 3.6 AST, 1.1 STL, .495 FG%

Lin over STAT? Glad you're not the GM bud.

On this team, it has been clear that Stat and Melo don't play well together (thus far). This is going back over a year. I'm not saying that will continue, but I'm not just looking at stats blindly and saying Lin is the better player - I'm considering all things. Remember, there is a reason that a lot of Knicks fans want/ed Stat off this team e.g. - Contract, falloff in production, lower IQ play, poor defender, etc. But, all the experts around the league (if that means anything) said we couldn't dump Stat.

So, to say that Stat is a better player when we can't even give him away and that Lin is inferior (and making 5 + 5 + 15 million) over the next 3 years, doesn't exactly make sense to the overall sentiment out there, nor to the affect Stat and Lin have had on the team.

To break players down to merely stats and remove what our eyes have seen, just cheapens the whole comparison and ignores things like intelligence, team cohesion, etc.

If I was the GM, we would have the same team PLUS Lin. To each his own.

ChuckBuck wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

toodarkmark wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

nehemiah wrote:This argument basically hinges on the OPINION that Lin can't keep up what he was doing. That he was basically "lucky".

It's pretty iffy logic when exceptional talent is hard to find most years. Even Dallas let go of Nash before he had his two MVP years. Dallas wouldn't match the 60-plus million offer. It was the BEST bargain in the NBA that year. My opinion is that this is an even greater mistake.

I don't think anyone said that Lin was lucky....he can obviously play. The Knicks letting Lin go is worse than the Mavs letting Nash go? So is it your OPINION that Lin is going to have a Nash like career after seeing Lin play in 25 games?

25 games where he WON. 25 games where he put up sick numbers. 25 games that captured imaginations.

So tired of people point out how he only did it in 25 games. He did more in 25 games than Clarence Weatherspoon did in 5 years and we paid him 6 million a year for 5 years back more than a decade ago. AND?

15-10, Lin's record as a starter. He didn't win 25 games. Only about 7 games or so he captured imaginations, the rest were average or pedestrian.

You are going to break Lin's game down to some simpleton statistics?

Watching Lin play and never looking at stats was more than enough for me. The stats, actually, just support the great player my eyes saw.

If you are going to use the W-L record, there are more responsible party's on the team to blame.

EMS

Dude, get some glasses. Great player? NO. Good player? Yes. Ignore that Lin did most of his damage while dominating the ball. Ignore the massive amount of turnovers and ignore the fact that he struggled when he wansn't the main scoring option. Let me clarify, this is not me hating on Lin it's me pointint out whay many choose to ignore.

I think Lin was a great player. He changed this team around more than Melo, Stat, etc. did. He isn't a superstar or star, but he is one of those guys that just changes the chemistry and feel of the team.
Your brilliant "get some glasses" statement, though funny, doesn't really add credence to your words. Stat is making 20 million a year and I would MUCH SOONER have Lin than Stat and it isn't because of Stat's knees.

Don't get caught up in an argument of semantics. Lin did more to turn this team around than any player in recent times. I like Melo, but the team hasn't exactly become a "team" with him here. I do hope things change some in that regard though.

How many playoff games did Lin win for us?

Brilliant and well thought out comeback. I loved how you brought up him recovering from surgery... oh wait.

How about this, if not for Lin, we wouldn't have made the playoffs.

Really? Lin was there in April, when the Knicks made their playoff push? Did he win player of the month?

Forgot who won April player of the month, could you remind me if it was Lin?

I'm not taking away from what Melo did getting us there. What I am saying was, had Lin not did what he did during that 9 game or so stretch when he first came on, the season would have been in the toilet. We wouldn't have been able to even try to get in. Props to the team as a whole for getting us there, of course.

Supremecommander - I'm not taking away from the value of Melo or the team game. Understand, the team game mostly dissapeared for a while with Melo out there and I'm not hating. It was a big complaint on the boards and basically has followed Melo around his whole career. I do see him changing now. I'm just talking about Lin here cause that is this thread and he seemed to bring the team together. He wasn't scoring 40 points a night and taking over, he was scoring at a good clip and getting a good amount of assists. Again, regardless of the STats, what I witnessed, what we as Knick fans witnessed was really special. There is a reason Lin brought so many new fans to the game. It wasn't just this unknown Asian cat, it was how he inspired the team, brought team ball, etc.

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

toodarkmark wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

nehemiah wrote:This argument basically hinges on the OPINION that Lin can't keep up what he was doing. That he was basically "lucky".

It's pretty iffy logic when exceptional talent is hard to find most years. Even Dallas let go of Nash before he had his two MVP years. Dallas wouldn't match the 60-plus million offer. It was the BEST bargain in the NBA that year. My opinion is that this is an even greater mistake.

I don't think anyone said that Lin was lucky....he can obviously play. The Knicks letting Lin go is worse than the Mavs letting Nash go? So is it your OPINION that Lin is going to have a Nash like career after seeing Lin play in 25 games?

25 games where he WON. 25 games where he put up sick numbers. 25 games that captured imaginations.

So tired of people point out how he only did it in 25 games. He did more in 25 games than Clarence Weatherspoon did in 5 years and we paid him 6 million a year for 5 years back more than a decade ago. AND?

15-10, Lin's record as a starter. He didn't win 25 games. Only about 7 games or so he captured imaginations, the rest were average or pedestrian.

You are going to break Lin's game down to some simpleton statistics?

Watching Lin play and never looking at stats was more than enough for me. The stats, actually, just support the great player my eyes saw.

If you are going to use the W-L record, there are more responsible party's on the team to blame.

EMS

Dude, get some glasses. Great player? NO. Good player? Yes. Ignore that Lin did most of his damage while dominating the ball. Ignore the massive amount of turnovers and ignore the fact that he struggled when he wansn't the main scoring option. Let me clarify, this is not me hating on Lin it's me pointint out whay many choose to ignore.

I think Lin was a great player. He changed this team around more than Melo, Stat, etc. did. He isn't a superstar or star, but he is one of those guys that just changes the chemistry and feel of the team.
Your brilliant "get some glasses" statement, though funny, doesn't really add credence to your words. Stat is making 20 million a year and I would MUCH SOONER have Lin than Stat and it isn't because of Stat's knees.

Don't get caught up in an argument of semantics. Lin did more to turn this team around than any player in recent times. I like Melo, but the team hasn't exactly become a "team" with him here. I do hope things change some in that regard though.

How many playoff games did Lin win for us?

Brilliant and well thought out comeback. I loved how you brought up him recovering from surgery... oh wait.

How about this, if not for Lin, we wouldn't have made the playoffs.

Really? Lin was there in April, when the Knicks made their playoff push? Did he win player of the month?

Forgot who won April player of the month, could you remind me if it was Lin?

I'm not taking away from what Melo did getting us there. What I am saying was, had Lin not did what he did during that 9 game or so stretch when he first came on, the season would have been in the toilet. We wouldn't have been able to even try to get in. Props to the team as a whole for getting us there, of course.

Supremecommander - I'm not taking away from the value of Melo or the team game. Understand, the team game mostly dissapeared for a while with Melo out there and I'm not hating. It was a big complaint on the boards and basically has followed Melo around his whole career. I do see him changing now. I'm just talking about Lin here cause that is this thread and he seemed to bring the team together. He wasn't scoring 40 points a night and taking over, he was scoring at a good clip and getting a good amount of assists. Again, regardless of the STats, what I witnessed, what we as Knick fans witnessed was really special. There is a reason Lin brought so many new fans to the game. It wasn't just this unknown Asian cat, it was how he inspired the team, brought team ball, etc.

fair enough... we're actually closer on our position than I though. Melo definitely played like **** for large stretches last season. I thought ultimately he performed well though, when you think about him having to play point forward and power forward

SupremeCommander wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

toodarkmark wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

nehemiah wrote:This argument basically hinges on the OPINION that Lin can't keep up what he was doing. That he was basically "lucky".

It's pretty iffy logic when exceptional talent is hard to find most years. Even Dallas let go of Nash before he had his two MVP years. Dallas wouldn't match the 60-plus million offer. It was the BEST bargain in the NBA that year. My opinion is that this is an even greater mistake.

I don't think anyone said that Lin was lucky....he can obviously play. The Knicks letting Lin go is worse than the Mavs letting Nash go? So is it your OPINION that Lin is going to have a Nash like career after seeing Lin play in 25 games?

25 games where he WON. 25 games where he put up sick numbers. 25 games that captured imaginations.

So tired of people point out how he only did it in 25 games. He did more in 25 games than Clarence Weatherspoon did in 5 years and we paid him 6 million a year for 5 years back more than a decade ago. AND?

15-10, Lin's record as a starter. He didn't win 25 games. Only about 7 games or so he captured imaginations, the rest were average or pedestrian.

You are going to break Lin's game down to some simpleton statistics?

Watching Lin play and never looking at stats was more than enough for me. The stats, actually, just support the great player my eyes saw.

If you are going to use the W-L record, there are more responsible party's on the team to blame.

EMS

Dude, get some glasses. Great player? NO. Good player? Yes. Ignore that Lin did most of his damage while dominating the ball. Ignore the massive amount of turnovers and ignore the fact that he struggled when he wansn't the main scoring option. Let me clarify, this is not me hating on Lin it's me pointint out whay many choose to ignore.

I think Lin was a great player. He changed this team around more than Melo, Stat, etc. did. He isn't a superstar or star, but he is one of those guys that just changes the chemistry and feel of the team.
Your brilliant "get some glasses" statement, though funny, doesn't really add credence to your words. Stat is making 20 million a year and I would MUCH SOONER have Lin than Stat and it isn't because of Stat's knees.

Don't get caught up in an argument of semantics. Lin did more to turn this team around than any player in recent times. I like Melo, but the team hasn't exactly become a "team" with him here. I do hope things change some in that regard though.

How many playoff games did Lin win for us?

Brilliant and well thought out comeback. I loved how you brought up him recovering from surgery... oh wait.

How about this, if not for Lin, we wouldn't have made the playoffs.

Really? Lin was there in April, when the Knicks made their playoff push? Did he win player of the month?

Forgot who won April player of the month, could you remind me if it was Lin?

I'm not taking away from what Melo did getting us there. What I am saying was, had Lin not did what he did during that 9 game or so stretch when he first came on, the season would have been in the toilet. We wouldn't have been able to even try to get in. Props to the team as a whole for getting us there, of course.

Supremecommander - I'm not taking away from the value of Melo or the team game. Understand, the team game mostly dissapeared for a while with Melo out there and I'm not hating. It was a big complaint on the boards and basically has followed Melo around his whole career. I do see him changing now. I'm just talking about Lin here cause that is this thread and he seemed to bring the team together. He wasn't scoring 40 points a night and taking over, he was scoring at a good clip and getting a good amount of assists. Again, regardless of the STats, what I witnessed, what we as Knick fans witnessed was really special. There is a reason Lin brought so many new fans to the game. It wasn't just this unknown Asian cat, it was how he inspired the team, brought team ball, etc.

fair enough... we're actually closer on our position than I though. Melo definitely played like **** for large stretches last season. I thought ultimately he performed well though, when you think about him having to play point forward and power forward

Agreed. I was a "ME"lo hater for those stretches last year but I remained open to him. He has talent, he just had to play more team oriented and he did. There was that stretch right before the playoffs (I think) where he was just playing so well and dishing the ball. It was effortless. But come the playoffs no one else was performing it was back to ISO ball, no choice really.

The problem with being Pro Lin is that people think you are anti Melo, or the like.

My whole point can be summarized really easily. If I was the GM we would have basically the team we have plus Lin. That, imo, would give us the best chance against Miami and OKC. I do think, if our chemistry comes together we can challenge. But we are in a tight place. Miami won last year with no Bosh. If one of Melo, Stat or Chandler go down, I think our playoffs are finished (again). With Lin here, I'd say we are mostly ok as he can score and dish. Lin was like a pay for itself insurance policy (with the money he brought to MSG).