New York Knicks: Make Or Break Two Weeks

The New York Knicks, for all their ups and downs, currently sit 3 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division and the highly coveted number four seed that comes with it. They are also 2.5 games out of a seven seed and 5 games out of a six seed. Unfortunately, they also only hold a 1.5 game lead on the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. With 17 games left on their schedule, the time to make a move, up or down the standings, is now.

The next two weeks will make or break the New York Knicks season, starting tonight at home against Milwaukee who is the team which sits only 1.5 games behind them for the final playoff spot. Of the Knicks next seven games, five are against teams who will make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference and the last two are against teams right on the outside looking in (the Bucks tonight and Cleveland this Friday).

Complicating matters is the health of Amare Stoudemire’s back. He is questionable for tonight’s game and there are rumors the injury could be more serious than the team is letting on. The Knicks are already without Jared Jeffries for the next two weeks so their depth behind Stoudemire is thin. Look for Josh Harrellson to receive extended work and hopefully pick up some the slack at least in terms of rebounding.

It will be on Carmelo Anthony to pull himself out of his shooting funk and carry a heavier load of the scoring if Stoudemire misses any time. This isn’t last season against Boston in the playoffs when Anthony will have to seemingly take every shot, as he does have capable scorers around him now but he still must lead the way on the offensive side of the court.

Tonight is a critical first step towards burying Milwaukee’s playoff hopes and getting after Philadelphia for the Atlantic Division crown. A loss tonight likely means scrapping with the Bucks for the eight seed the rest of the way and the Knicks don’t have the tiebreaker. This is the kind of game, particularly at home that a player like Carmelo Anthony cannot let the Knicks lose.

Considering their next seven games, tonight is about as close to a must win as it gets…with our without Amare Stoudemire.

New York Knicks: D’Antoni Quits, Focus Shifts To ‘Melo

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article by Justin was written prior to Mike D’Antoni’s surprising resignation this afternoon. This is a player’s league so nobody should be surprised that the Knicks stuck with Carmelo Anthomy over D’Antoni as the two of them clashed. Beyond that, we know how James Dolan feels about Anthony. He isn’t going anywhere.

You can make a strong argument from both sides on this one. D’Antoni has been here for three seasons and hasn’t accomplished anything. Anthony hasn’t even been here a full 82 games. Then again, D’Antoni continually had his roster shuffled around and whenever he seemed to find a unit that was working, a drastic change was brought upon it. In the end, Anthony lost a scapegoat and now needs to carry this team amid talks that the rest of the locker room is fed up with his style of play. Winning cures everything and the Knicks need to start doing that…now.

Mike Woodson will be the coach for now but expect the Knicks to make a push in the off-season for a big name like Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan or John Calipari. – JC

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I used to make a crack about the Knicks wearing the same colors as the Mets. The Mets, in case you aren’t an aficionado of America’s Game (which is really politics, but I’ll let Charlie Pierce toe the line on that one) are the most poorly run organization in baseball. Don’t bother checking the ESPN NY site or their own official website (where that creep Mr. Met is hiding somewhere, crying to himself), it’s only horror tales and sick demented smiles from the ownership group, who are still insisting they’re gonna “give them boys from Philly a good run for their money this season. How you ask? With sheer DETERMINATION.”

It was always good for a smile, and a brief moment of David Lynch-like terror for those who have spent any time watching Knicks classics from the 70’s or the 90’s. To be in ANY way associated with the Mets is essentially the death knell. We’ll look what wears orange ladies and gentlemen.

Carmelo Anthony, in the BRIGHT orange, who is looking like a guy attempting to back down a power forward and leaning like a dope addict, expecting to get the ball and somehow contort himself into a layup And 1.

I personally like that kind of crazy, that “forget reality, this is FUN” kind of insanity that lives on it’s own, somewhere far away from where it can affect other people. So what does this have to do with Carmelo Anthony? Well, he really does think he’s better than he is, that the best answer to scoring is for him to fake a post up, spin, and try and drop one from 8 feet, which is good and all, except they need to go in.

The Knicks have devolved into the sort of thing that belongs in some 12 year old’s 2K12 season and does not in any way resemble a NBA roster. 6 shooters, 2 defenders who can’t play because the shooters are out there for scoring, a power forward who should really be playing center, a center who is overpaid and on the wrong side of 30 despite his obvious 110% work effort, 27 guards and the 2/3/4 man that is Landry Fields.

But hell, I’m a Thunder fan, so when I told some friends last night that the Knicks are the most hilariously entertaining team that doesn’t involve JaVale Magee or Kemba Walker, and boldly predicting them to go up 5, then be down 5, then lose by 10 (which was close), I didn’t say it with any emotion. I said it in a monotone of someone reading a sports almanac.

This is where it is with the Knicks. It’s so fractured and hopeless that people are starting to despise their Lin jerseys. Right Joe? They don’t even want to talk about him or comment as he charges the lane, flailing like a blindfolded, “sans equilibrium” “paper tiger” version of Derrick Rose, (who promptly proceeded to stomp all over everyone’s dreams that Lin could even be on the same court and not look like a complete joke).

Is it going to get better? Sure, just get rid of Amare and Melo, blow everyone’s minds simultaneously, and let Steve Novak, Jared Jeffries, Iman Shumpert, Landry Fields and Tyson Chandler take the reigns as everyone attempts to figure out how to have James Dolan arrested for emotional genocide.

There’s no hell deep enough for a man like Dolan, who let Donnie Walsh go and spends a large amount writing songs like “Wish I Had A Life”, (not even gonna touch that one). He deserves an epic amount of public humiliation for what he has done concerning ticket prices, hopes at relevance, and keeping Knicks fans from watching their team for a good portion of the season, that is until they brought the “fantasy roster” back and couldn’t get a decent string of momentum for longer than 4 minutes.

Everything the Heat did, as bogus and Nixonian as it was, was done knowing full well that these 3 guys will work harder than everyone else in the league at making a system that can utilize their athleticism, length, and basketball IQ. The Knicks are built on old expectations (Carmelo being a 24 year old scoring machine), shaky knees/eye sockets (Amare), ugly point guards (Douglas/Bibby) and overlapping parts (Novak/Smith).

Will I watch? Of course. Everyone in New York is obligated to go down with the ship.

TOJ New York Knicks Rant

As I wait for news of free agent meetings and hopefully signings to trickle in about the New York Jets. I need to get a quick rant off about the New York Knicks, who are truly nauseating to watch these days.

How soft can you be? You can’t put into the words the disgust around New York City right now when it comes to this team. Amare…you are making 100 million dollars, stop being outworked by Taj Gibson on every single play. Jump. Get rebounds. Play defense. Have pride in yourself as an athlete and as a man as you watch opposing basketball players continually slam the basketball down your throat and jump over you repeatedly for rebounds.

Carmelo…nobody wants to hear your whining about Mike D’Antoni, not until you dive on the floor for loose balls and stop letting the person you are covering continually out hustle you. You aren’t doing enough on offense to merit the lackadaisical effort on the other side of the court…really, nothing should merit lackadaisical effort on defense but it would be easier to stomach if you shot a higher percentage and took over on offense down the stretch. Don’t come to New York and sulk. Be a leader and take this city over.

Mike D’Antoni…you are good as gone but the least you could do is pick a rotation, stay with it and call your superstars out when they aren’t performing. Why not? You think you are coming back next year as your team scraps with the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers for the 8th seed?

Jeremy Lin may not be playing as well as he was last month but he is a rookie (based on playing time) point guard dropped into this toxic situation. He has been good enough for the Knicks to win and at least he is hustling around. At least Iman Shumpert and Landry Fields for all their shortcomings, play defense and run every second they are on the court. Tyson Chandler is currently the only player on this roster worth his big contract, as he battles through injury and still manages to rebound and defend.

The blame goes to the big three, the two “superstars” and the coach. The city is embarrassed of you and you should be embarrassed of yourself.

New York Knicks: Now That Linsanity Is Over…

After hopes were running high for the New York Knicks heading into the All-Star break, they have since been shot down after starting the second half of the shortened season 1-5. Moreover, Jeremy Lin’s gaudy numbers have since been brought down to a more realistic, yet respectable 16.8 ppg and 8.1 apg.

The biggest issue concerning the Knicks however is not their point guard. It’s the fact that they have dropped five straight at a time where wins are oh so precious, yesterday being one of them, against the division leader 76ers.

The Knicks are now 6.5 games back from first place, and if the season were to end today, the Knicks would be the 8th and final seed in the playoffs. This, a far cry from what most wishful New York fans saw the Knicks entering the playoffs as perhaps the 5th or even 4th seed.

The boo birds and the “fire D’antoni” chants are back at the Garden after being relatively quiet for the majority of January and February. Just less than a month ago, the Knicks were riding a seven game win-streak, now tonight they face the 34-9 Chicago Bulls, hoping to keep a losing streak from getting to six straight.

Perhaps the biggest issue concerning the Knicks right now however is that the cohesion on offense that was there for the past month has since been lost. Carmelo Anthony is now back to his one-on-one ways, and the Knicks offense is being reintroduced to the “stand and watch” method.

The problem with this Knicks team is that when the offense is there, the defense is not, and when the defense is there, the offense is not. This is not a good formula for success in the NBA, or in any sport for that matter. The inconsistency from the Knicks two stars, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, is rearing its ugly head once again. Yes, Amare has had several games since the All-Star break in which he was the leading scorer, but he has also had games where he has been virtually invisible, much like yesterday’s game against the Sixers in which he tallied just nine points.

Yes, Carmelo has had his sufficient 12-24 shooting nights, but he has also had games recently in which he has shot a dismal 2-12. For the Knicks to be a successful basketball team, it’s important their stars play with a little more consistency. The Knicks need to find a way to string some wins together and to play with more consistency, and it starts in Chicago tonight, against a team who owns the best record in the NBA.

Gutless New York Knicks Keep Losing

A week ago I wrote an article about the New York Knicks failing a big test in Boston when they lost an overtime heartbreaker. The reality is that since Paul Pierce hit that ridiculous three pointer, the Knicks have played their worst basketball of the entire season.

You can tolerate losing when a team is out there scrapping and playing their hearts out. If you don’t have enough talent or catch enough breaks, losses happen and you can accept it. This isn’t the case with the Knicks team, who is overloaded with talent but lacks heart, leadership, and physicality which makes them nearly insufferable to watch at times.

There is no shame in losing in Dallas and San Antonio. Those are tough places to play against two very good teams. It is how they lost those games, by carelessly throwing the ball away and allowing a barrage of uncontested dunks, lay-ups and open three point attempts.

There is shame in losing in Milwaukee, especially when you allow 119 points to a subpar team. How are you letting the Bucks so clearly want a game more than you? Where is the pride?

Today was a must win game at home against the division leading Sixers. The Knicks responded with turnovers, weak defense, and a muddled offensive attack. It became clear by midway through the third quarter that they were going to be outclassed. Outclassed, despite having a roster with their type of talent.

Where does the blame go? Most people want to throw it at Carmelo Anthony but I think Bill Simmons was dead on his analysis of the anger being directed at Anthony in this article. He needs to get better on defense but he is the least of the Knicks problems right now. This is a team that needs to get better across the board on both ends of the floor. Mike D’Antoni needs to find the answers on offense because that is what he is supposed to be able to do. Defense comes from energy, hustle and the willingness to be great on that end of the floor. D’Antoni can’t force that on his players. They need to look in the mirror and step up.

There is a hesitancy to criticize Amare Stoudemire because he came here first last year and chose the Knicks in free agency. I don’t even care about him losing a step on offense. What I do care about is the putrid defensive that trickles down to the rest of this team. He is nearly 7 feet tall and has some measure of athleticism left. There is no reason for him to be THAT bad on defense.

Jeremy Lin has come back down to Earth. Nobody expects him to score at the rate he was last month. He must learn to protect the basketball however, just like Baron Davis must learn to protect the ball.

You can’t have a prominent big man on your team not defend and your point guards not protect the ball. It trickles down the bad habits to the rest of the team.

We are now at the point where it looks like the Knicks will be scrapping for the number eight seed in the East. I still believe anything can happen in these lockout shortened playoffs (see the Knicks last run to the NBA Finals), especially when you have Anthony in short series. For now, can we at least see a little heart?

New York Knicks Fail Sunday Test

The New York Knicks lost a heartbreaker today in Boston, 115-111 in overtime. Despite being a deeper, more athletic team that should be running the aging Celtics off the court, the Knicks could not get the job done. Until they start winning games against playoff caliber teams on the road, they are going to flounder between the 7 and 8 seed and set themselves up for a likely first round exit.

When it came down to it, Paul Pierce was just a little more clutch than Carmelo Anthony. Rajon Rondo was much better than Jeremy Lin, who now has two ugly performances in the last three games against big time Eastern Conference opponents and Amare Stoudemire just wasn’t good enough…again.

The talent is there. The depth is there. The mental toughness and ability to consistently win big games is not yet.

Jeremy Lin must protect the basketball. Between him and Baron Davis, who does seem to finally be getting his stroke back, the Knicks can’t sustain so many turnovers from the point guard position. It is hard to get on Carmelo Anthony too much for today because of how many big shots he hit down the stretch but they still need more from him on defense and in the leadership department. Amare must be more physical on defense around the rim and has to start finishing at the basket especially if Tyson Chandler’s wrist becomes a bigger issue.

There were positives today, notably Iman Shumpert who was terrific at both ends of the floor, especially on defense. If he has a few more performances like he did today, it won’t be long before he is in the staring lineup. The rookie isn’t shy in a big spot and is a great offensive weapon when he is attacking the basket.

The Knicks remain what their records says they are, a .500 team who now has two tough road games coming up in Texas against the Mavericks and Spurs. We know how brutal the upcoming schedule is but the clock is ticking on the Knicks making their move to catch Philadelphia.

They couldn’t get the big road win they needed today, hopefully they will be up to the challenge on Tuesday.

Black Spring – NFL Combine & All Star Clownery

Tequila is not for the faint of heart. Neither is getting whipped with a belt about 20 times as a crowd of drunken lunatics scream for more. Both things happened in conjunction Friday night at the always classy Coyote Ugly, so my attempt to cover the start of the 2012 NFL Combine was simply reduced to me trying to put enough meat in my body that blinking felt like an Olympic exercise while I heard Mike Mayock and Bucky Brooks ramble on about Indy without Peyton, the beauty of the 3 cone drill, and the various difficulties of switching guards to tackles and back again.

Still, I carried on. The best thing about the combine is the back and forth that ex-players and analysts have about the combine being worthless, pointless, having nothing to do with football, yet glancing over the fact that the newest iteration of the hideous workout uniform combined with super HD cameras create an almost uncomfortable level of voyeurism as GM’s and coaches stare in the stands like they’re at some bizarro slaughterhouse or bull auction, scanning each player for body fat, wobbly knees, nose hair, tattoos, and for the Raiders – telekinetic ability. And when they’re done looking from afar, they bring them into a room with various astrological charts, gypsy psychics, polygraphs, Rorschach blots and Friendly’s style color ins.

That’s the process. So who WON the combine? RG3! The great hope for whatever god awful franchise he goes to. While Griffin can run, throw, run, run, and throw a deep ball pretty good, he played at BAYLOR. Baylor. You know what I know about Baylor? That Phil Taylor is from Baylor. And they play against some of the worst defenses in college football. Not the biggest challenge for a quarterback who is going against corner backs, linebackers, and defensive lineman that aren’t even being invited to the combine.

Before going further, I’ll admit I’ve developed an SEC bias when it comes to skill players. AJ Green, Julio Jones, Trent Richardson, Patrick Peterson, Morris Claiborne, Mark Ingram etc. etc. Why the bias? Because it’s been proven time and time again that the new conference of power is the SEC, and it’s not even close. The PAC 12 is great except for the fact that they have Washington, Utah, Arizona, Arizona State, and Oregon State. The Big 12 is full of “traditional” powers that have weakened substantially and the Big 10 is old power that may or may not see some sort of resurgence in the next 10 years. Go watch Michigan State vs. Alabama in their bowl game two years ago.

But does the combine even matter any more? The combine, like the NBA and NFL all star games, is slowly being taken over by player agents, as many agents for prospective first round picks advise their players not to even bother with running or throwing. There is no upside they say, except to satisfy a bunch of analysts that have absolutely no effect on that players draft status. Too much money to risk, too little incentive to perform.

So concerning the combine, what’s the counterargument against the pro day passing against the combine passing for quarterbacks specifically? Think about this. Is a quarterback prospect going to have his college players to throw to when he gets to training camp? Is said player going to tell his offensive coordinator “I’ve never really thrown back shoulder throws, so let’s just keep things simple and maybe I can work on that stuff in the next off season”? Having something that tailored to a players skill set is almost comical when you talk about a guy who is going to be a first round pick, so he sure as hell better be able to make every throw, even if it’s with a set of scrubs in a flag football game.

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So the freakshow is over, and it’s time for the truly insane to come out with 4398 mock drafts, but before that, a brief note on the NBA All Star Game. I don’t care if it is a clown-show at heart, things got SERIOUS in the 4th quarter. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook made me weep tears of joy as they drained 3’s from the corner and dunked like they were in the Colosseum scene from Escape From LA. And to cap off my childlike joy Lebron James FAILED. Again. But I’ll say this, it’s the All Star Game, not the Finals. Oh, about that.

I’m still trying to come to terms with the perceived mental weakness of James coupled with the most athletic physique to ever play basketball. Maybe he will win 2 or 3 championships, but the Kobe and Jordan era is over for good, and no one will ever challenge them again, especially when the best players are on a team consisting of 3 of the top 10 players in the league that was artificially created to win a championship in the cheapest and most sacrilegious method in the history of sports. CHEATING THE SALARY CAP SYSTEM.

As I’ve said all along, Miami has no soul. So if they want to ever get to that mountain of the immortals, they better win 7, and they better start this year.

New York Knicks Second Half Preview – Championship Contenders?

Nobody loves football more than me but in terms of the New York City, straight up, there is nothing that gets people more excited than when the Knicks are playing well. This is a basketball town that is starving for a team to take seriously and this season they have it…in a big way.

17-18 isn’t good enough at the All-Star break. Yet let’s remember a few key realities, this team has not had a single second to practice together as the unit they will be in the second half of the season. These first 35 games have been a mish-mash of: playing without Carmelo Anthony or Amare Stoudemire, being led by three different primary point guards and having new additions like JR Smith and Baron Davis learn on the fly.

The fact that the Knicks play one game between now and March 4th is a godsend. They could have a mini-camp and get some type of cohesion going. They may be 17-18 but they are 3.5 games out of first place in their division and 3.5 games out of the 6 seed in the East. Without question, the primary goal is to avoid a 7 or 8 seed and match-up with Chicago or Miami in the first round. There is no reason the Knicks, as currently constructed can’t accomplish that, they have the ability to assert themselves as the third best team in the Eastern Conference and work towards being on Miami and Chicago’s level.

We saw last night, the Knicks are still a clear cut behind Miami. That is okay and understandable. Hopefully, they aren’t worrying about getting on that level until the 2nd round of the playoffs or the Eastern Conference Finals. Right now it is about proving they are better than the 76ers, Pacers, Hawks, and Magic and I believe they are, especially once they get some practice time under their belt.

March is going to provide quite the test for this team. Their schedule is nothing short of brutal. 17 games from March 4th to March 31st, with at least 10 of them being against sure fire playoff teams. They need to come out with a 10-7 or 11-6 record and make their move up the standings.

There are no excuses for this team. Amare Stoudemire needs to pick his play up and be the All-Star power forward he has been his whole career. Carmelo Anthony needs to be the top five player in the league he is capable of being. They have more than enough of a supporting cast now, led by one of the best centers in the NBA in Tyson Chandler, a rising star at point guard in Jeremy Lin and a deep, high-powered bench led by JR Smith, Steve Novak, Iman Shumpert and Baron Davis.

Is this a team a championship contender? You are damn right they are. They are going to get into the tournament and once they do, anything can happen especially with the players on their roster. There is no reason this has to be a Cinderella run from the 7 or 8 seed, this team should be able to claw their way to a 3 or 4 seed and gear up to take down one of the big boys of the East in round two. Chicago can be beat in a 7 game series. They don’t have a second scorer. Miami can be beat in a 7 game series. LeBron James will disappear the bigger the moment gets and they don’t have a half-court offense…even though they play some kind of defense as we learned all too well last night.

Either way, get excited New York City the next few months should be fun.

New York Knicks: Sign JR Smith, Depth No Longer An Issue

The New York Knicks signed JR Smith today, potentially adding the final piece to the puzzle of a team who all of a sudden looks like a very real contender in the Eastern Conference.

Smith provides a needed knock down shooter at the guard position and offensive firepower off the bench. There aren’t anymore valid questions about the Knicks depth right now. Even if Baron Davis doesn’t come back healthy, and by all indications he is coming back for the second half of the year, Iman Shumpert and Smith provide an explosive, athletic duo off the bench at guard. Up front, the Knicks have defensive depth with Jared Jeffries and offensive depth with Steve Novak and Josh Harrellson returning from injury in the coming weeks.

Let’s not act like the Knicks haven’t dug themselves out of a big hole with their recent 7 game winning streak. A win tonight puts them ahead of Boston in the standings and within 2.5 games of Indiana for the six seed in the East. They are also only 5 games behind a Philadelphia team in their division that is bound to cool off eventually.

That being said, we are going to learn everything we need to know about this Knicks roster in their first nine games of March. When they play nine straight against viable playoff contenders, including games in Boston, Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago, and Indiana. Right now, I think there is no reason the Knicks can’t assert themselves as the third best team in the East. They have a chance to prove it during that stretch of games.

I don’t buy into the Carmelo Anthony can’t fit hype. People talk about Anthony like he has been a loser his whole life and like he didn’t win a National Championship and a Gold Medal. Anthony was the best player on that Gold Medal run and managed to share the ball fine with his teammates. A quality point guard a dream come true for him. It will only provide easier looks for him and take pressure off him on the offensive end. You really think the Knicks are downgrading by moving Bill Walker out of the starting line-up for Anthony?

As for Smith, he prevents us from ever having to see Mike Bibby or Toney Douglas on the floor again and he is a more natural scorer than Landry Fields or Iman Shumpert. I am a little concerned about how backcourt minutes will be distributed when Davis comes back, but ultimately in this system and in this shortened season, you can’t have enough weapons.

New York Knicks: Don’t Fear The Return Of ‘Melo and Stat

The Knicks and the entire city of New York are in the middle of a Linderalla story. The hope is that this story ends happily, with the Knicks playing meaningful basketball into the month of May. With the way things have been going as of late with the coming of Jeremy Lin, it seems as though that might be a manageable task. However, many skeptics have asked the question of, “What will happen when both Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire return?”

I realize that prior to the Linsanity, the Knicks offense primarily consisted of standing and watching when the ball was in Carmelo or Amare’s hands, but that was before they had a true point guard. In these past five games, if there is one single thing that has stuck out for me about Jeremy Lin, it’s that he makes the people around him better. This is why I think nothing will change when the Knicks two superstars return. Well now, two of their three stars.

Since Lin has become the starting point guard, Tyson Chandler, Landry Fields, Jared Jeffries, Steve Novak, Iman Shumpert, and Bill Walker, have all seen their averages go up. Sure, without Amare and Melo on the floor, more guys have had the opportunity to score, but a lot of it has to do with Jeremy Lin’s ability to create. Guys like Landry Fields and Iman Shumpert seem to have suddenly gotten their confidence back, and if the past five games have shown us Knicks fans something, it’s that they have a pretty solid bench to work with.

I just don’t buy into all of that talk about Melo and Amare not fitting in when they return. It’s the exact opposite for me. To me, I look at it as the Knicks have finally found the true point guard they have been looking for. Now, they don’t have to worry about Carmelo always having to create for himself, and having the four other guys on the floor stand and watch.

People seem to also forget that magical season Carmelo Anthony had with Syracuse his freshman year. Anthony seemed to have gotten along just fine with his point guard Gerry McNamara, as they both fed off of each other while on their way to winning a National Championship.

It’s easy to assume that when Melo and Amare come back that everything will go back to the way it used to be, with the lack of ball movement, the standing and watching, and the one on one mentality. I love that the skeptics are actually saying that it’s been the absence of the two superstars that have gotten them to this five game win streak. I look at it as this team has shown they are extremely resilient and they have the ability to win games without their big time players, and that they finally now have a legitimate point guard who can distribute the ball and run the offense the way D’Antoni had envisioned.

Knicks fans are extremely excited right now, and who can blame them? They finally have a team who plays hard and is fun to watch. More important they now have something that every good team absolutely HAS to have, a true point guard. The beauty of this Linderella story isn’t just Lin himself, it’s more than that. It’s about a team starting to learn how to play together, play as one. The story gets two new characters in the coming nights, which is something to look forward to, not dread.