I finally got the opportunity to watch Jeremy Lin “live” over the past few days now that the mud slinging campaign between Time Warner and MSG is over. First, I would like to thank Jeremy for expediting the process and second, I would like to thank James Dolan for once again attempting to kill the happiness I can ever have for the local team.

In terms of Lin’s overall play, I was amazed like everyone else but I thought I could add some couchside analysis to the conversation.

1. Jeremy Lin plays great transition basketball and is as dangerous as almost any professional point guard in the league. He isn’t as quick as a Westbrook but his size and passing ability means an assured bucket, assist or foul if he is leading the charge past half court. That is my favorite element of his game.

2. He is still clearly learning team defenses and really seemed to jam up when Dallas ran the double-team against him. Carlisle is a crafty coach and knew that an extreme defensive tactic like a double-team would shake Lin up. For the most part, it worked and when Lin got bottled up he looked lost. Forntunately, he is surrounded by deadly three-point shooters so he was able to find the man who was open (welcome back from China JR Smith). This is what lead to a zone defense on Dallas’s part. 

3. Jeremy appears to be afraid to go left. This isn’t news for anyone and I had read about it on all the main sports pages but it was glaringly obvious that he would only attack the basket from the middle and to the right. I have confidence that he will improve this skill but I think this will be a liability for the Knicks going forward.

4. He is making a high percentage of layups that just don’t have any right falling into the basket. Also, he is getting the accompanying call to go along with it. He is dangerous in the paint but I do expect less of those shots to fall and when he isn’t in a roaring MSG to get less calls. Overall, when he can he should continue to attack the basket because he is getting the same respect from refs that is usually saved for the Kobes and Griffins of the world. 

5. I think D’Antoni cares more about his job and winning than the long term development of Lin and the team. He needs to craft a rotation that gives the kid some rest. I thought he was going to pass out in the 4th quarter and running him into the ground now will likely have adverse effects in the post-season. To be fair, when he was off the floor the Knicks crumbled and I found myself cringing whenever Shumpert tried to control a half-court offense. My only hope is that Anthony’s return gives them a shot creator that will take some of the offensive pressure off Lin and allow D’Antoni to give him some rest. 

6. Race matters in the NBA. I think it is important to acknowledge this fact as it matters in all parts of our lives. I think people are coming out of the woodwork asking questions like, “If he was African American would the story be such a big deal?” To that I would argue is first yes, and second even if the fact that he is Asian American and that makes it a bigger story is that a bad thing? People like underdogs and they also like new and unusual stories. The fact that he is so dynamic and that he is a fresh face that we haven’t seen in the league since the likes of Yao Ming (who is a completely different story) should matter. I would venture to guess that if another Asian American kid came out next year and lit the league up to this degree it would be less of a story because we have the “been there, done that factor.” Asian Americans have a pride for Lin that I don’t understand but I don’t believe that is an inherent racism against African Americans because his story is larger than life. I don’t think a Tebow parallel applies here and I don’t think Victor Cruz is a good comparison either. Basketball is the sport of individual stars. They aren’t covered in pads and the media focus on team chemistry and personality is in every article, scouting report, and Twitter jab. This is how the game works. We spend hours upon hours dissecting individual players and who they are. That is why his race can’t be ignored and why I think it should be embraced knowing that he deserves it on merit alone. 

7. I have lived in New York City for the past 8 years and I have never had people just strike up a casual conversation about professional basketball (unless they are die hard fans). Recently, I have been able to talk pro ball at parties, bars and work. I would like to thank Lin for making it acceptable to have pride watching Knicks games again.