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Nice article by Hahn: "No One Is Bigger Than the TEAM"
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martin
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2/14/2012  12:17 AM
No One Is Bigger Than the TEAM

http://www.msg.com/blogs/alan-hahn/the-knicks-fix-no-one-is-bigger-than-the-team-1.83197

Tyson Chandler made the most pointed statement of the night after the Knicks' gutsy win in Minnesota on Saturday. It was perceived as a warning shot rather than a mentality for a team that seemed to be finally developing an identity.

"The game should dictate the star," Chandler said, "not the individual."

Chandler's mantra -- which spawned 48 hours of hand-wringing over Carmelo Anthony's impact on Linsanity -- brought back to life a message originally promoted by legendary coach Red Holzman, who in the early 1970s had a team of stars but got them to sacrifice for the greater good.

Chandler's quote echoes the principle of Mike D'Antoni's offense and Holzman's "Find the Open Man" credo, which emphasizes the idea that the high-scorer or offensive star isn't established by the player, but by the game. It's what the opponent gives you. It's who has the hot hand. Not who has to "get theirs."

For instance, Walt Frazier, the point guard whose job was to set up others, put forth one of the greatest Game 7 performances of all-time in the 1970 NBA Finals. "That night," he often recalls, "I was the open man."

Other nights it was someone else. No one player was more emblematic of giving up personal achievements for the sake of team success more than Earl Monroe, who came to the team in 1971, a superstar from the Baltimore Bullets with the reputation as a dynamic soloist.

The criticism was that there was no way Monroe and his one-on-one game could fit into Holzman's symphony, with Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere and Willis Reed. Before agreeing to the trade, even Monroe wondered if it would work, but the more he heard the doubts from others, he turned it into a challenge.

"The ego thing always creeps in there, but at the same time, if you're a good basketball player, you know how to win," Monroe told Knicks historian Dennis D'Agostino in the terrific book, Garden Glory. "I was always a winning basketball player. Even when I wasn't scoring an awful lot of points, guys always wanted to play with me. So I didn't have any problems with that. I just knew it was Clyde's ball and I'd have to fit my way in there."

In the midst of his prime years, Monroe sacrificed statistics (his scoring average dropped dramatically) but came away with an elusive -- and unforgettable -- championship ring in 1973.

Enter Melo, who, like Monroe, finds amusing the notion that he can't -- or won't -- buy into the beautiful team-concept flow the Knicks have played in the emergence of Jeremy Lin.

"People questioning whether I can fit in, I don't even know where that's coming from," Anthony said after Monday's practice. "I can play with anybody. It's funny for me."

Melo is still out with a groin strain, but could return to the lineup later this week, perhaps by Friday's game against the New Orleans Hornets. But the turnaround of the Knicks in his absence has not been lost on the all-star forward. Actually, what few people know is he's one of the reasons why Lin got that chance against the Nets. Melo was one of the voices that encouraged D'Antoni to give the unknown, undrafted point guard more minutes.

And now people expect him to destroy what he helped create? Lin, as Carmelo said, is "thriving" in "the system that we're running" and that's undeniable. Though it is a small sample, Lin's success isn't just in points or assists, but in Player Efficiency Rating (PER), which is 25.9, and Assist Percentage, which is 47.7. Compare those numbers to the current league leaders and Lin would rank fourth in PER behind LeBron James (31.8), Chris Paul (27.0) and Kevin Durant (26.3) and second in Assist Percentage behind Steve Nash (58.1). [Note: PER is a measure of Per-Minute production and Assist Percentage is percentage of team's baskets Lin assists on when he's in the game].

It should be pointed out here that Melo's highest scoring season came while playing with Andre Miller, a traditional point guard, and Allen Iverson, a ball-dominant scoring guard. Not to mention that with the ball in Lin's hands, the pressure is now off Melo to be a facilitator and now he can focus on what he does best: scoring.

"It's very exciting time right now for myself to just sit back and intake all of this information and intake everybody's opinion," he said. "I'm telling you, I couldn’t be in a more blessed situation right now."

Make no mistake, it's on Melo to do it within the team concept that has awakened this team. And he knows it. If he puts in the effort to fit into the symphony, the way Monroe did, the possibilities are endless. If he falls into the habit of being a ball-dominating, isolation player, the way many of his critics are predicting, an entire city that is captivated by this team in a way it hasn't been in many years, will turn on him.

"When I get back it will be that much more fun for myself," Melo said. "It will be that much more fun for the New York Knicks."

AMAR'E: 'SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT'

The Melo Effect -- and the penchant for doomsday prophesizing that is so distinctly New York -- overshadows the intrigue of Amar'e Stoudemire's return to the team after his painful week mourning the death of his brother.

A somber Stoudemire appeared to still have a heavy heart after practice, but said that Lin's emergence and the success of the team in his absence gave him "something to smile about right now."

Lin, who was given a "recovery day," did not scrimmage with the team in practice so there were no sneak previews of he and Stoudemire in the pick-and-roll. But the anticipation is the two should be able to quickly develop -- will it be as early as Tuesday's game in Toronto? -- a chemistry similar to something seen in Phoenix a few years ago.

Stoudemire even acknowledged "some similarities" between Lin and his former pick-and-roll partner, Steve Nash.

"He's definitely on his way," Stoudemire said. "Steve's obviously one of the all-time greats. If Jeremy keeps improving, he can continue to find success, and he'll be right there with Nash."

Nash last week tweeted his appreciation for Lin's amazing story. Perhaps the former two-time MVP might share some notes with the Harvard grad on how to get the most out of Stoudemire and D'Antoni's system?

"Oh sure," Lin said. "Whatever advice he has, how can you not listen to Nash?"

Amar'e already loves the swagger of Linsanity. "Only in New York can you become an international icon overnight," he said.

FIXINS

• Of all the amazing feats Lin has made over the last 10 days, the fact that he was named on Monday NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week was almost an afterthought. Lin averaged 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2 steals per game in four games -- the NBA "week" goes from Monday to Sunday, so it included the Jazz, Wizards, Lakers and Timberwolves wins -- to capture the award. As reported by CBSSports.com's Ken Berger, Lin became the first player to win D-League Player of the Week honors (last season) and NBA Player of the Week honors.

• Lin was asked which nicknames he has enjoyed most. "I like Jeremy," he said. He did eventually admit that "Super Lin-tendo" was pretty cool.

• A notably lean Baron Davis, still working his way back from a herniated disk, spent most of practice doing some very intense-looking core exercises on a side court and then participated in a pick-and-roll based shooting drill with Stoudemire.

• Chatted a bit with sharpshooting forward Steve Novak, who is averaging 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game over the last four games and is shooting a sizzling 16-for-31 (51.6 percent) from downtown in that span. Told him, "I've never been happier with being proven terribly wrong" and admitted I questioned his ability to rebound and defend as reasons why he wasn't getting rotation minutes. He shrugged and said he originally thought I was an awful studio analyst. I guess we're even.

A FAN'S VIEW OF LINSANITY

Frank Levy is a professor of Urban Economics at MIT and despite his location so deep in enemy territory outside of Boston, he is a lifelong Knicks fan. Many of us in the media have spent the past week trying to put to words the impact Jeremy Lin's story -- and game -- has had on this team, this franchise and this city, but I think Frank put it best in an email to me today:

“In October of 1969, I was living in the Bay Area. It was the beginning of the first full season with Reed at center and DeBusschere at forward. It was about 5:00 PM and I was driving home listening on the car radio to the Warriors/Knicks playing at MSG. The Warriors broadcaster was Bill King, a terrific guy who called games pretty straight. Frazier executed a backdoor play with Bradley and King went nuts - "I have never seen a backdoor executed that well..." You just knew something very special was beginning to happen.

In fact, the Knicks lost that game but it was THE brilliant season. Over the next 40 years, I haven't had that feeling many other times but I am getting that feeling now. Fingers crossed."

The point is that having stars is great. We spent the last four years focusing on stars through the LeBronathon, signing Amar'e, the Melopalooza and even the Chris Paul sweepstakes. But what really inspires people is when talent comes together to create something special.

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WindsorPl
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2/14/2012  12:34 AM
That is a well written article that touches on the high points of what linsanity means to me. team basketball. I am glad Novak was mentioned in there. Shump, JJ2, Landry have all chipped in. Lin is not going to keep scoring at the current clip with Melo and Amare in the line up, but if everyone plays selflessly, this team has a bright future.
Fans should get off this hero worship, it's annoying.
nixluva
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2/14/2012  1:43 AM
I read that earlier and thought it was very well done. It's true that we've been seeing the results of TEAM BB over just having star talent but no team chemistry. This is what MDA is all about and NY still has a love affair with the championship Knicks teams that personified Team Ball. You can't get any better than that for NY fans. This has been the most uplifting experience in a VERY long time for Knicks BB. In a way the most amazing game was their worst one. The win in Minny was a testament to team effort and sacrifice. They really won that game as a team and that win brought them even closer together and in belief of the TEAM concept.

Lin is the genesis of this rebirth of team ball, but he has said rightly that he's not the central point of this success. It's about the effect he's had in helping make his teammates better. Yes he's been the star and taking most of the shots, but at the same exact time he's given everyone confidence. That's how a star is supposed to be. Guys like Nash that can not only score then his team needs it, but spends a lot of the game making sure that his teammates get better shots and build in confidence. That's the beauty of Lin and the reason why MDA and the Knicks wanted CP3. This coach needed a player like Lin even if he didn't know that Lin would end up being the one.

MDA and the Knicks were banking on Baron but even then they wondered if he could be more of a distributor than scorer. Now we see exactly what it can mean to this offense to have a PG that looks for his teammates and still there's plenty of opportunities for that PG to score. No wonder Baron said he was dying to play in this offense. It's so geared toward the PG that it's got to be PG HEAVEN to play in this system. Now we also know why MDA didn't want certain PG's to run his system, cuz a selfish PG would be a disaster. All that free reign could be a problem if the PG had only a scorers mentality and talent. This kid is a perfect blend of both and much like Nash, Lin has been able to balance the scorer and the passer in him, to the benefit of the team.

PhilinLA
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2/14/2012  3:08 AM
I was a little kid when we got Earl Monroe, who had been killing us with the Bullets. I remember hearing the news before I went to school and thinking -- this is just unfair, we will now win every single year. Boy, did that turn out to be wrong.
http://amonthhoffundays.blogspot.com/ We got a ringer.
earthmansurfer
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2/14/2012  3:53 AM
Great Read.

Laughed at his part from Hahn:

Chatted a bit with sharpshooting forward Steve Novak, who is averaging 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game over the last four games and is shooting a sizzling 16-for-31 (51.6 percent) from downtown in that span. Told him, "I've never been happier with being proven terribly wrong" and admitted I questioned his ability to rebound and defend as reasons why he wasn't getting rotation minutes. He shrugged and said he originally thought I was an awful studio analyst. I guess we're even.
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. Albert Einstein
misterearl
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2/14/2012  5:26 AM
Steve Novak Rocks and Tyson Chandler IS our Willis Reed

"The point is that having stars is great. We spent the last four years focusing on stars through the LeBronathon, signing Amar'e, the Melopalooza and even the Chris Paul sweepstakes. But what really inspires people is when talent comes together to create something special."

The most important thing about this Knicks team, should they become a team in the rue sense of the word, is sacrifice.

Has there been a better time to be a Knicks fan?

once a knick always a knick
CashMoney
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2/14/2012  7:30 AM
misterearl wrote:Steve Novak Rocks and Tyson Chandler IS our Willis Reed

"The point is that having stars is great. We spent the last four years focusing on stars through the LeBronathon, signing Amar'e, the Melopalooza and even the Chris Paul sweepstakes. But what really inspires people is when talent comes together to create something special."

The most important thing about this Knicks team, should they become a team in the rue sense of the word, is sacrifice.

Has there been a better time to be a Knicks fan?

For the first time in a long time.

Blue & Orange 4 Life!
Markji
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2/14/2012  8:38 AM
misterearl wrote:Steve Novak Rocks and Tyson Chandler IS our Willis Reed

"The point is that having stars is great. We spent the last four years focusing on stars through the LeBronathon, signing Amar'e, the Melopalooza and even the Chris Paul sweepstakes. But what really inspires people is when talent comes together to create something special."

The most important thing about this Knicks team, should they become a team in the rue sense of the word, is sacrifice.

Has there been a better time to be a Knicks fan?


You are right about Tyson Chandler. Like Willis Reed, not in his scoring, but in his leadership and team play. Tyson knows how to win - he was a Big part of Dallas winning last year with team play.

Chandler also immediately formed a strong friendship with Lin, talking with him on the bench, discussing plays, etc.

Linsanity is fun.

The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense. Tom Clancy - author
SupremeCommander
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2/14/2012  9:07 AM
um, Eddy Curry? Jerome James???
DLeethal wrote: Lol Rick needs a safe space
JesseDark
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2/14/2012  9:08 AM

If Chandler is our Reed then that makes Novak our Jerry Lucas. I wonder if he can memorize a phone book?

misterearl wrote:Steve Novak Rocks and Tyson Chandler IS our Willis Reed

"The point is that having stars is great. We spent the last four years focusing on stars through the LeBronathon, signing Amar'e, the Melopalooza and even the Chris Paul sweepstakes. But what really inspires people is when talent comes together to create something special."

The most important thing about this Knicks team, should they become a team in the rue sense of the word, is sacrifice.

Has there been a better time to be a Knicks fan?

Bring back dee-fense
jrodmc
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2/14/2012  10:46 AM
I'm just glad reading Hahn's sheehit is finally free.

Newsday (and anything else that's pay-to-read) suhucks major donkey kong.

misterearl
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2/14/2012  1:06 PM    LAST EDITED: 2/14/2012  1:07 PM
Why Stop There?

JesseDark wrote:If Chandler is our Reed then that makes Novak our Jerry Lucas. I wonder if he can memorize a phone book?

Lin is our Walt Frazier - taking what the defense gives him
Landry is our Dick Barnett - intelligent, studious, versatile..."fall back baby"
Carmelo is our Bill Bradley - gifted and able to nail an open jumper at will, can create off the dribble
Amar'e is our DeBusschere - okay, so Stat can't defend or rebound like Dave - so sue me, Amar'e is a "heart and soul" kinda brotha
Tyson is Our Captain

Shump is our Cazzie - mercurial and able to heat up on a moments notice, "play that funky defense Shump"
Novak is our Jerry Lucas - sheesh, imagine Lucas with a three point line. The shot Steve dropped from 27 feet in Mpls was a work of art
Harrellson is our Phil Jackson - more bounce per ounce
Bibby is our Mike Warren - all we need is 12 good minutes
Jerome Jordan is our Harthorne Wingo - game ova' people

(Baron Davis is our X factor)

It is a great day to be a Knicks fan

once a knick always a knick
Nice article by Hahn: "No One Is Bigger Than the TEAM"

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