My, how quickly things have turned upside down for New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin.
The seven-game winning streak that sparked “Linsanity” around the world is rapidly falling into the memory hole. Instead, the headlines about the Knicks are dominated by the fact that former head coach Mike D’Antoni, the man who plucked Lin from obscurity a few weeks ago in desperation to save the team’s season, has resigned because he could not get along with superstar Carmelo Anthony.
And if current reports coming out of Manhattan are correct, it might not be long before Lin could find himself back at the end of the bench at Madison Square Garden — and maybe even headed back out of town.
The latest word out of New York is that the team’s new head coach, Mike Woodson, is installing an isolation offense designed to play to the strengths of high-priced stars Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. Further reports suggest that with this shift already underway, Lin may eventually find himself displaced from the starting lineup in favor of backup Baron Davis.
In talking to The New York Post about the changes, Lin admitted that Woodson’s offense was going to be “challenging,” whereas the up-tempo game favored by D’Antoni had been “perfect” for him. With Woodson likely to get his way at least for the rest of this season, one has to wonder whether Lin might find a better situation somewhere else in the league after his contract runs out at the end of the season.
Here’s hoping the lease he signed on that Manhattan condo has an out clause.
Eric McErlain blogs at Off Wing Opinion, a Forbes “Best of the Web” winner. In 2006 he wrote a “bloggers bill of rights” to help integrate bloggers into the Washington Capitals’ press box. Eric has also written for Deadspin, NBC Sports and the Sporting News, and covers sports television for The TV News. Follow Eric on Twitter.