Ten years already. It’s been ten years since the storm passed. It has been ten years since indecency gave way to memories. What do we keep from the Linsanity madness? What do we keep from this brief period spent staring at the revelation of a non-grade from Harvard? To celebrate the shortest and most intense of NBA climaxes, let’s dive headfirst into the Pensieve, into the world of Jeremy Lin. Fifth episode, the Raptors tasted.
Previous post: “Linsanity – 10 years later: when the media madness came”
Said Linsanity summit, the 38-point game over the Kobe Lakers is not the one people remember. The performance was historic, of course, but another image monopolizes memories more. On February 14, 2012, under the full light of a boiling Air Canada Center, Jeremy Lin laid the last stone of a building that now rests in the books of history. A knockout pressure on his shoulders, all the cameras in the world trained on his person, the American-Taiwanese did not tremble.
How many letters are there in ” Maple syrup “ ? Twelve, three less than in « Jeremy lin ». And how did the Knicks point guard call the game against the Raptors? With a 3-pointer. Many will say that this logic is flawed, others will know that numbers only listen to fate. On February 14, 2012, the numbers only listened to fate. What an endless night it was. Recontextualize. In the thick of it, Jeremy Lin moves his Knicks to Toronto where they hope to clinch a sixth consecutive victory. The issue is ultimately quite different. Of course, Mike D’Antoni’s squad is aiming for the Playoffs and success is the condition sine qua non. But is it really for this collective dynamic that every game of New Yorkers, for more than a week now, the whole orange planet meets? Like millions of NBA fans, we got to know Jeremy Lin. Everyone is aware that what they are doing has no precedent. After a victorious trip to Minnesota, the American-Taiwanese is at the top of his game. And what follows a peak? Downhill. However, in Taiwanese culture, there is a higher point than the peak. Its name is Valhalla. One evening in February 2012, when the pressure should have led to a release, Jeremy Lin undid logic. On a shot that no qualifier deserves to qualify, the Knicks point guard climbed to Valhalla.
9 years ago today, Jeremy Lin hit an epic game-winner on the Raptors ????
What a moment. pic.twitter.com/6dnK7en6Ss
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 14, 2021
Yes the sold out was a misdemeanor, Jeremy Lin would end his life behind bars. For this trip to northern land, under the projectors of the Air Canada Center, the Asian community of Toronto literally rushed for tickets. Great good for him. On the floor of Jose Calderon – that is to say the level of the Raptors edition 2011-12 – Jeremy Lin has once again released a full game. The course of the meeting was not exciting, but the former Harvard thought owner of the 4th quarter, a value yet immaterial. A bit like the guy who tried to nab the royalties on the minute of silence, a genius as it should be more. But Jeremy Lin succeeded. Of the 27 points dropped by the Knicks point guard that night, the providential man reserved 12 for the money timeincluding this final shot drawn in the axis on the truffle of Jose Calderon. The score shows 87 everywhere, the clock only counts about twenty seconds. Possession was however badly embarked, with a good disconcerting of Iman Shumpert failed against the plexi, but the offensive rebound of Tyson Chandler came to bring a great calm to the New York offensive. The swell returns to Jeremy Lin’s hands. What is he going to do, run to the lay-up? Trying to serve your interior on pick-and-roll? Create a shift as he has been doing so well for 10 days? He has more than 10 seconds to make a choice but waits for the almost buzzer to land his first dribbles, then draw. It’s inside.
What a wonderful conclusion. What a peak. Lived by a spectator, the moment is difficult to describe: the excitement overflows, utopia has crossed the barrier of reality. Everyone had imagined and wanted this scenario. But at this precise moment, following 5 already crazy games, from a guy who was still unknown 10 days ago, the face of an underrepresented community in the NBA, euphoria dominates all other feelings. In the room, there are many more raised arms than defeated faces, symbol of a phenomenon that escapes from the walls of the Garden. Without Carmelo Anthony, Jeremy Lin has shown that it is perfectly possible to respond to pressure by means other than just a “clean” performance. A paradox, this striking match Linsanity’s latest feat. The pressure will eventually catch up with him. There were other nights, of course – like those 28 points and 14 assists dropped against the Mavericks 4 days later – but the child from Palo Alto will never find the regularity displayed at the beginning of February 2012. Nothing resisted him, not even Raptors yet aware of his excellent form. Much more than a defensive strategy was needed. tell each other ” ready “ confronting him was not enough.
And to think that seven years later, he will win his first title with the Raptors. Although he didn’t play much under the Canadian tunic, Jeremy Lin suffered no hard feelings from the public at Scotiabank Arena, who only knew how to respect what the American had achieved. -Taiwanese in his Knicks period. Also, Valhalla is indeed the paradise of the Vikings, we simply use it for editorial purposes and for lack of imagination.
Jeremy Lin’s already fitting in with the Raps. ????
(????: @Raptors)
pic.twitter.com/kytNkYizdP— theScore (@theScore) February 14, 2019
“Everything in its time, everything comes to a point, which steak to wait for” said Confucius as he was still working at Buffalo Grill. A new writing of « Linsanity – 10 years later » arrives shortly, to continue celebrating one of the most beautiful spotlights the NBA has ever seen.
Source texte : basketball reference / New York Post / YouTube / ESPN / Bleacher Report
