Sports / In Play

Knicks Fans Suffer the End of Linsanity

By: James Smith

Well, it had to end sometime. New York Knicks phenom Jeremy Lin, who came off the bench in February and promptly recorded a historic six game stretch of scoring, in the process taking over the internet in a manner not seen since the most bizarre days of the Charlie Sheen saga via a never-ending stream of memes, puns, and genuine sports-loving delight collectively known as ‘Linsanity,’ has been lost for the remainder of the season with a torn meniscus in his left knee. His loss comes at a particularly bad time for the Knicks, who are pushing for the playoffs and have already lost star scorer Amare Stoudemire to a bulging disc. And, even after his historic performance when he joined the lineup, the Knicks have played better with Lin on the floor: with him as the starting point guard, New York has averaged five more points per game.

What’s left are the memories of Lin’s remarkable stretch in February, when he became the first player in NBA history to record at least 20 points and seven assists in his first four starts and set a record for the most points scored in a player’s first five starts, with 136, since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. Perhaps his finest moment, however, came in his fourth start, against the Los Angeles Lakers. Lin had already set off a media firestorm with his out-of-nowhere performances in first three games, but Los Angeles superstar and future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant was having none of it, declaring before the game that he didn’t even know who Lin was. Lin’s response? To light up the Lakers for 38 points and seven assists.

All good things must come to an end, of course, and for the moment Linsanity has moved to the sidelines.

But there’s always next year!

[Pic via Flickr – DvYang]