Somewhere David Stern is smiling. The NBA had lost a lot of it’s zest with the recent lockout and cut in games. Interest by fans in the NBA was dragging. Many of my NBA friends could care less who was playing on television. Then out of a know where a star emerges. This article looks at Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks.
Imagine, a new basketball star and he is Taiwanese. He is also a Harvard grad. He is a non drafted player. To make it more exciting, he plays in New York. Last night he hit the game winning shot to defeat Toronto. Last week he dropped over 30 points and upstaged Kobe Bryant. He is averaging over 20 points a game in his last six games. And I thought the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL was hot. Linmania is running wild in the Big Apple.
How wild is Linsanity? The MSG network ratings are up 106 percent in the past six games. The Nielson ratings say that over 427 thousand households are tuning in to view the games. This means that over 731 thousand viewers over the age of two are watching. The Observer has also reported that stock for the MSG network is up 11 percent, as well. This amounts to gains of over 19 million dollars in stock gains.
Jeremy Lin was named player of the week this past Monday (Feb 13). The question now is will he be an NBA All Star? Last year he was with the Warriors and the Rockets. He saw little or no time at all on the court. He then signed with the Knicks just this past December. In fact he became a Knick on December 27.
Right now, Lin is more of an human interest story than anything else. Sitting in Applebee’s this past Friday, the discussion at the bar was, who is this guy and where did he come from? How could scouts miss out on this guy?
So what happens when Carmelo and Amare return to the lineup? Will Lin continue his hot hand or will he be frozen out? Inquiring Knick fans want to know. Regardless of what happens, Lin has a brought some relief to the New York area. In a way, he is a lot like Tim Tebow. He has brought some fresh air and excitement to the NBA.
I live in the Midwest and I am already checking the listings for Knick games on the NBA channel and TNT. Yes, David Stern must be smiling someplace.