Knicks-Must Watch Television-Thanks To Lin

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I am reminded of my high school years, 1966-1970, when the New York Knicks were the team to watch with the likes of Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Bill Bradley and Willis Reed, one of the great NBA teams of all time.  Again, the Knicks are the team to watch thanks to the play of sensation, Jeremy Lin.  Yesterday, Lin did not disappoint leading the Knicks to a come from behind victory over the World Champs, Dallas Mavericks, leading the way with 28 points and a career high 14 assists. 

Lin(sanity) has taken on a life of its own of late as the Knicks have gone from one of the NBA's poor performing teams to a team that reached .500 yesterday with their victory over the Mavs.  Jeremy Lin has taken the spotlight from Tim Tebow as the one player who all of America is following.  Endorsement deals are coming his way, jersey sales are way up and if his superior performance continues, the Knicks just may compete for the championship.

Waived by both the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, Lin was only days away from being released by the Knicks after playing only 55 minutes in the Knicks first 23 games.  The Harvard graduate had his breakout game in a win over the Nets scoring 25 points, capturing 5 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists.  The rest is Lin(sanity) as they say.  If it turns out that Lin and injured Carmelo Anthony are able to work together on the court, the Knicks will definitely be a team to watch for come playoff time. 

The bigger story with Lin is the hunger across America for the great sports story.  The NFL season captured everyone's attention with the emergence of Tim Tebow and his on the field heroics week in and week out.  The American sports fan loves the underdog and is engaged day in and day out on sports radio, television, online and in the newspapers.  Tebow and the Broncos won a playoff game and kept the dream alive.  Once the NFL season ended, no one expected another story of such magnitude. 

The NBA coming off the labor problems, the shortened and almost aborted season, needed an exciting and vibrant story and they have it in Jeremy Lin.  So does America.  These fascinating sports stories capture our imagination at a time when we need them to.  Unemployment, difficult times and the upcoming election all can be shoved aside while we watch the magic of an improbable and wonderful story unfold before us at Madison Square Garden and arenas across the nation in the likes of Jeremy Lin. 

Like everyone else, I am delighted with Lin's story and the emergence of the Knicks as a solid NBA team.  Let's hope that the story continues and that Lin's performance is everything we could dream for.    

Finally, An NBA Season

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NBA Commissioner David Stern always knows what sells and NBA on Christmas Day has become one more staple of the Christmas season.  In danger for all of the summer and well into the Fall, the NBA opens up tomorrow, Christmas Day.  All along and throughout the labor negotiations, Stern's end game was for play to open up no matter what on Christmas Day.  Lose Christmas day and you might as well lose the season. 

Tomorrow's games are good as they get with the New York Knicks opening up against Boston, Chicago taking on the Lakers, Orlando playing Oklahoma City and finally, the Miami Heat trying to avenge their championship lost of last year to the Dallas Mavericks.  The Knicks, Celtics game opens up the television viewing with The Heat and Mavericks finishing up the day. 

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Like many folks, it's been years, or maybe since Michael Jordan's days, the NBA has held little interest for me.  That all changed last year as The Heat came together as a team and held my interest into the playoffs.  Although it was disappointing to watch Lebron James' performance in the championship series, it was a great playoff run and clearly set the stage for many exciting NBA seasons to come. 

One has to believe that all the money is on James and Dwayne Wade to capture all the marbles this year for Miami.  Apparently, James has developed a mid-range jumper to go along with every other part of his game.  The short season should also play to their advantage as long as everyone on The Heat stay healthy.  Clearly, the aging Celtics and Lakers will have something to say about that as will the defending champions, the Mavericks.

It just seems impossible to bet against The Heat in 2012.  So much talent and a whole year's experience to go with it, they will be remarkably difficult to beat.  It seems unlikely that Dallas will be able to repeat.  My guess is that Lebron has spent the entire off-season working exceptionally hard to improve his game focused on one thing, a championship season.  While other players were looking to play overseas and involve themselves in the labor negotiations, James was working on his game. 

I believe we will see a whole new level of play in 2012 from Lebron James.  This will be an MVP year with him winning the championship, the MVP and he might even throw in the All-Star MVP for good measure.  My best guess is that The Heat may only lose a handful of games in 2012 given the shorter season.  Even though it will be a short season, the NBA has some good story lines this season with Chris Paul going to the Clippers.  The Lakers may struggle having some competition from the sorry sister of the Los Angeles Clippers. 

Teams will be playing on back to back nights and even in some instances, three in a row.  Younger teams will have the advantage while the Lakers and Celtics with their seasoned rosters will be at a disadvantage.  Hang on to your hat, the NBA is back and it should be a fun ride.