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glad ken berger, i think the best national writer, is writing about lin so much
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crzymdups
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2/14/2012  10:48 PM
http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/11838893/34844726

Long before Linsanity took off, Jeremy Lin was alone with his trainer in a 24-Hour Fitness in Pleasanton, Calif. He was working on a lot of things -- balance, upper-body strength to absorb contact and still finish the play, and most impressively, his jump shot.

"I'd like to see him use that jumper a little more," his personal trainer, E.J. Costello, was saying on the phone earlier Tuesday. "He can drive to the hoop and kick, but he’s got a good jumper and I’d like to see him use it."

Costello, who spent a couple of hours a day with Lin, four days a week from May through September in the Bay Area during the lockout, got his wish Tuesday night.

Despite eight turnovers from Lin, despite trailing by as many as 17 points, the Knicks and their fearless point-guard savior would not go away. Lin took the advice of his strength coach on the final possession in Toronto, confidently stepping into a game-winning 3-point shot with 0.5 seconds left to give the Knicks their sixth straight victory, 90-87 over the Raptors.

"It was a good shot for me," Lin said.

The way things are going for him now -- 5-0 as a starter, and 6-0 if you count his 27-point debut off the bench 10 days ago against the Nets -- any shot is a good shot. Nearly every play results in the right decision.

Not always the best result, but almost always. And nobody is quibbling with the historic results.

"I'm just glad it went like this so we can calm the Linsanity down a little bit," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters in Toronto, his postgame comments beamed back to New York on the Madison Square Garden Networks.

"He held it til five-tenths of a second left," D'Antoni said. "He was confident that shot was going in, no rebound or nothing. That thing was getting buried."

Yes it was, just like the hundreds of jumpers a day Lin was taking in the gym with Costello during the lockout.

"He’s money when it comes to shooting," Costello said. "And he just has to carry that onto the court."

After leading the Knicks to victories in his first four starts, being named Eastern Conference player of the week and becoming the first player in NBA history to total at least 20 points and seven assists in his first four starts, Lin did it again Tuesday night. He had 27 points (9-for-20 shooting), 11 assists and yes, eight turnovers. He was torched defensively by Jose Calderon and Leandro Barbosa at times in the game, and later said, "That's on me."

He passed one test, getting superstar Amar'e Stoudemire back Tuesday night and still winning despite an off-night from Stoudemire -- understandable, considering his absence due to the loss of his brother. Carmelo Anthony, the other star whose game may or may not fit with the way the Knicks are playing under Lin's leadership, will be back later in the week.

Of teammate Iman Shumpert, who slowed Calderon down in the fourth and made Lin's game-winner possible when he stole the ball from Calderon and drove for a run-out dunk that cut the Raptors' lead to 87-84 with 1:28 left, Lin said, "He just bailed me out tonight."

The way Lin has bailed the Knicks out of what had been a dismal season that saw them lose 11 of 13 on their way to an 8-15 record before Linsanity began. The Knicks (14-15) can climb back to .500 Wednesday night in New York against the Kings as they start a five-game homestand that promises to be the most electrifying in at least a decade.

"I don't know when there's an ending," D'Antoni said. "Maybe there won't [be]."

As the basketball world tries to digest and comprehend Lin's improbably sudden rise to stardom, you could see Tuesday night two of the key aspects of his game that he worked so hard on during the summer and early fall. After Shumpert's steal and dunk, Lin drove the lane, absorbed contact and converted the basket and three-point play to tie the score at 87-87 with 1:05 left. As Costello has watched from afar as Lin has made plays like this during the six-game winning streak, he couldn't help but think back to those long days at the gym when they worked so hard to make him strong enough to absorb contact and finish plays.

"He uses his body really well," Costello said. "His upper body has gotten so much better and stronger, and his ability to control his body really speaks to what we did in the offseason. We killed his upper body. You can see a massive bruise on his right arm, and I talked to him and he said, 'My body is beat up right now.' But as he gets in shape, he’s only going to get better."

Better?

OK. Who's going to dispute that now?

In the postgame news conference, Lin was asked, "Can you believe this is happening to you?"

"No," he said. "But I believe in an all-powerful and all-knowing God who does miracles."

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nixluva
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2/14/2012  11:41 PM
Great background article. This is the stuff no one knew when it comes to Lin. The reason he's doing all of this is new to us, but Lin had not only the latent talent, but his determination to make it and work on his game is paying off. He's better than he was and that's what players need to do in order to make it in the NBA. I feel the same way about Shump. We saw him working all summer and he's really developing nicely. Both young guards still have things to work on, but you can see the huge potential.
rvwink
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2/15/2012  2:25 PM
So Lin wasn't ready to play be successful in the NBA, until he finished adding two critical improvements to his game during the off season.

1) He increased his core strength which allowed him to finish at a higher rate on his drives to the basket.
2) He also improved the consistency of his outside shooting and from what I could see, he succeeded in changing his shooting fundamentals as well.

Those two critical changes gave him the confidence to make the most of his opportunity to play basketball for the Knicks. The fact that Lin didn't get down on himself and was persistent in his efforts to improve his game in the off season, is probably what it took to finally put him over the top and get to play in NBA.

fishmike
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2/15/2012  3:40 PM
hard work man... its the hardest thing to scout but man is it so important. Kind of reminds me of what Eli said when someone asked him how he stays so cool under pressure. His answer was "preparation. When you prepare for everything all thats left is to relax and trust your training."

I dont know how good Lin will be. Good PG? Borderline all star? All star? Perrenial all star? MVP caliber?

The bottom lin is we got a high caliber starter at a key position for nothing. Nada. This is the kind of luck you need to win titles. Grunwald did a great job building this frontcourt and bench also, but some of that building was at the expense of losing our PGs and floor generals. Now we have that covered lets see where this ride takes us.

I stick by my early season predictions and still think the Knicks finish as a bigtime team. If it took losing 11 of 13 to figure things out and get lucky finding Lin who cares? In the end the results and talent speak for themselves.

Get in the truck boys... this is going to be a fun ride :)

"winning is more fun... then fun is fun" -Thibs
rvwink
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2/15/2012  4:39 PM
I know how good Lin will be.

The fact that he is capable of going from playing combo guard for Harvard, and then sitting on the bench primarily for the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, perhaps he qualified now to be a back up point guard like Toney Douglas. The fact that Lin can play at anywhere near his current level tells me that he is extraordinarily talented. When you get to six straight great games in a row, it goes beyond lucky or having a hot streak. He is absolutely loaded with talent.

Logically, he will get better as he has more experience playing at this level and since the league gets smarter at how to play him, I think he can put up all star point guard numbers for the Knicks. The way Calderon played him at the end perfectly illustrates the dilemma that his opponent's face. He couldn't get in his face, for fear of being passed. He couldn't stay back because Lin can shoot. If you have both options to score, and pass as well as he does to boot, plus get steals and rebounds as well, you have one hell of point guard imo.

glad ken berger, i think the best national writer, is writing about lin so much

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