Linsanity Storm Struck the Knicks Again; Hornets Played TeamBall in Win

Jeremy Lin provided Linsanity storm once again to led the Hornets to beat the Knicks 97-84 on 4 years after Knicks picked up Jeremy Lin in 2012.

• JLin finished with 26pts/5asts/5rebs/1blk/5tos/3pfs and a game high +23 (7-17 FGM, 2-5 3FGM)
• His 10-10 FT shooting is also his season high as the Knicks couldn’t stop his driving and kept fouling him.
• Hairston also had an excellent game with a season high 20pts/10rebs
• Kemba struggled early before also finishing with 26pts
• This was the third time Lin has scored at least 20 against the Knicks since signing with the Rockets as a free agent

For some reason in the past 2 games, the Hornets started to play team-ball in order to win. And after coming back from 19pts to get an unlikely win with teamball, the Hornets started to believe passing the ball around can bring them a lot of wins. I didn’t get a chance to watch the game but from the highlights it looked like most Hornets players were ready to kick out the ball to open shooters. If not mistaken, this was the 1st time Kemba drove inside but chose to kick out the ball for an open JLin who drained the 3.

This is good, really good! If this continues, it means that JLin’s persistence to keep passing the ball around although he can make some shots himself will be paying off. He congratulated Hawes, Kemba and Roberts with genuine joy even when he didn’t close out the Magic win. And his teammates knew it was the real stuff and not fabricated to show off the “good guy” persona. I gave the benefit of the doubt that Kemba was not a selfish diva, freezing out Lin like Harden and Kobe did, because he seemed comfortable joking around in Lin videos. Many times, consistent little things can reveal a lot. Perhaps he simply had tunnel vision since he’s not a good passer and he thought he had to carry the team with his exceptional scoring skill in order to win.

I’m not making my mind yet but I’m willing to be open-minded. If Kemba continues to believe in team-ball and pass the ball around, the others will follow and the Wins will keep coming. because other Eastern teams started to flounder lately. If the Hornets can finally play team-ball, it is a testament of JLin’s stubbornness to play the right way with team-ball to get his teammates to believe although his personal stats took many hits. JLin and Hornets need to Win since they can help each other. A deep playoff run would only help to increase JLin’s market value.

So let’s go, JLin! Let’s go, Hornets!

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