Yesterday I watched more NBA basketball than Ive watched in most of the last few seasons. I had to get a glimpse of the phenom. Linsanity is plaguing everyone I know and I had to see it. I had watched Friday nights game, but was drinking and talking and didn't get the full effect. After Friday, I was unimpressed. So yesterday, against a quality team, I was excited.
I knew two things going in. One, it was in MSG and the game of the week, so the refs would keep it close. Two, the Knicks were home and being it was a Sunday game, the celebs would be out. Neither disappointed. Now here's my thing about the NBA. We all know it's fixed. The ref that got nabbed for gambling basically said who was dirty and that left about three ball boys and one exec out. Anyone who gambles, knows you never bet basketball, because the fix is always in. Home teams win at an alarming rate and you can track the over under by who is referee. So the Knicks won. Got one call in the fourth and were the recipients of four wonderful no calls in the last four minutes that probably had swung the score by about six point. Of course that doesn't include the baseball pass to J.R. Smith who stutter stepped, then dragged his foot and then shot the ball. A travel in every game, in every country, in every arena, not called Madison Square.
Now, did Jeremy Lin have a good game? Absolutely. He was over 50% from the field and he knocked down a key 3-pointer. But here's what bothers me. On at least six occasions, he drove to his right (he has no left hand) and ran into a pile of defenders. During the first 40 minutes of the game, this was a turnover or missed shot. In the last few minutes it was a foul. He had a plus 14 score in the +/- line and that baffles me. He had seven turnovers in the second half, but if you watched closely, almost every time he turned the ball over, the Mavs almost immediately got called for something that gave the Knicks the ball back. Now listen, I'm not saying the kid can't play the game. But here's my reasoning. You give the most average NBA point guard 20 shots, six of them 3-pointers,, then six free throws and he's going to score 18 points. There's a reason why every year, a superstar gets hurt and someone emerges. It's called opportunity. Back in my heyday, if you put me on a basketball court and gave me 20 shots, I was scoring 20 points. No doubt about it. I was going to make 40% of my shots and half of them were going to be 3's. Was I great? No, but it's called having no conscience.
Jeremy Lin is a nice player. You can see that he has some game, but he's an NBA player. They all do. Knicks fans will remember J.R. Smith coming out and knocking down his first three 3's and finishing with 15 huge points. What they will forget is that he shot 37% from the field and 33% from the arc. Awful. But it doesn't matter. Knicks fans will forget that Lin turned the ball over almost 1 out of every eight times down the court. They will praise his five steals, but neglect the fact that three of them were fouls. This is the NBA. People will call me a hater. This is why I don't watch the NBA. It's a joke. David Stern needed a player in the 80's to change the game from the boring X's and O's game it was to a highlight reel. He invented Michael Jordan. Then Shaq came along and the game changed. That became boring and he invented Kobe. The lockout killed the NBA and it needed new blood. Yao retired and China is one of the biggest NBA moneymakers there is. Stern needed something to keep their interest. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce Jeremy Lin.
I knew two things going in. One, it was in MSG and the game of the week, so the refs would keep it close. Two, the Knicks were home and being it was a Sunday game, the celebs would be out. Neither disappointed. Now here's my thing about the NBA. We all know it's fixed. The ref that got nabbed for gambling basically said who was dirty and that left about three ball boys and one exec out. Anyone who gambles, knows you never bet basketball, because the fix is always in. Home teams win at an alarming rate and you can track the over under by who is referee. So the Knicks won. Got one call in the fourth and were the recipients of four wonderful no calls in the last four minutes that probably had swung the score by about six point. Of course that doesn't include the baseball pass to J.R. Smith who stutter stepped, then dragged his foot and then shot the ball. A travel in every game, in every country, in every arena, not called Madison Square.
Now, did Jeremy Lin have a good game? Absolutely. He was over 50% from the field and he knocked down a key 3-pointer. But here's what bothers me. On at least six occasions, he drove to his right (he has no left hand) and ran into a pile of defenders. During the first 40 minutes of the game, this was a turnover or missed shot. In the last few minutes it was a foul. He had a plus 14 score in the +/- line and that baffles me. He had seven turnovers in the second half, but if you watched closely, almost every time he turned the ball over, the Mavs almost immediately got called for something that gave the Knicks the ball back. Now listen, I'm not saying the kid can't play the game. But here's my reasoning. You give the most average NBA point guard 20 shots, six of them 3-pointers,, then six free throws and he's going to score 18 points. There's a reason why every year, a superstar gets hurt and someone emerges. It's called opportunity. Back in my heyday, if you put me on a basketball court and gave me 20 shots, I was scoring 20 points. No doubt about it. I was going to make 40% of my shots and half of them were going to be 3's. Was I great? No, but it's called having no conscience.
Jeremy Lin is a nice player. You can see that he has some game, but he's an NBA player. They all do. Knicks fans will remember J.R. Smith coming out and knocking down his first three 3's and finishing with 15 huge points. What they will forget is that he shot 37% from the field and 33% from the arc. Awful. But it doesn't matter. Knicks fans will forget that Lin turned the ball over almost 1 out of every eight times down the court. They will praise his five steals, but neglect the fact that three of them were fouls. This is the NBA. People will call me a hater. This is why I don't watch the NBA. It's a joke. David Stern needed a player in the 80's to change the game from the boring X's and O's game it was to a highlight reel. He invented Michael Jordan. Then Shaq came along and the game changed. That became boring and he invented Kobe. The lockout killed the NBA and it needed new blood. Yao retired and China is one of the biggest NBA moneymakers there is. Stern needed something to keep their interest. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce Jeremy Lin.
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