The first part of All-Star Weekend was all Lin.
Every player was asked about him. Andre Iguodala pretended not to know who the overnight sensation was. Ryan Anderson mentioned him as the biggest story in the NBA along with the “Where is Dwight?” saga. One of the questions Steve Nash got after the game on Sunday was his impressions on the second-year guard. Yes, the international media, especially from China wanted to talk Lin all the time.
Never mind that Lin played only eight minutes in the Rising Stars Challenge. He was the center of attention on All-Star Friday. Instead of having a media availability before the Rising Stars practice with his peers, the NBA scheduled him to talk at the arena before the game… even before the team’s coaches addressed the media.
Lin has done a great job handling the media firestorm that has unwittingly surrounding him. But even the man in the middle of the fire gets a little tired of Linsanity.
“Yeah, I’m definitely surprised that people are still talking about Linsanity or whatever,” Lin said last Friday during that solo press conference he received. “I think hopefully as the season progresses, it will go from that to New York Knicks, and hopefully the Knicks can win basketball games, we can make a good push after the All‑Star Break and people will start talking about the Knicks and not necessarily me.”
Ever the selfless Lin, still trying to deflect the glory. His electrifying play has brought the Knicks back from the dead and made them incredibly relevant. You would say that at some point the Lin hype has to die and that things will get back into its normal rhythm and let the focus go to the team and its Playoff hopes.
But this is New York. Hype never dies in New York. And nothing short of a championship is seemingly enough for the Knicks. Lin has the charisma and flair to lead the Knicks and electrify the Madison Square Garden crowd. His success story has swept the NBA and the entire narrative of the season.
It has gotten to overkill and sparked discussions about larger issues than sports.
And all Lin wants to do is play basketball. And win games.
So far the Knicks are 14-8 with Lin in the lineup. That is far from turning the franchise completely around. The Knicks are still fighting to stay in the playoff race. Lin has taken a bunch of the general attention away from the team. Eventually everyone will turn their focus on a Knicks team that is playoff caliber, but not much more than that.
