Lin-sanity returns for engagement on Broadway

Last season, Jeremy Lin went from fourth-string point guard to NBA superstar in a matter of days.

Lin was claimed on waivers by the Knicks and was sleeping on teammate Landry Fields’ couch before a slump and injuries forced former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni to finally give the point guard a chance.

Lin-sanity became one of the biggest stories in the NBA as the Taiwanese-American caught the attention of the world after leading a struggling Knicks side to win after win.

Lin had started just 28 games for the Knicks before he suffered a season-ending ankle injury.

In a suprising offseason move, Lin was signed to a four-year, $28-million offer sheet by the Houston Rockets. It was perhaps more suprising when the Knicks chose not to match the offer.

On the heels of a 103-96 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Lin and the Rockets are in New York to take on the Knicks on Monday night.

Here are a few thoughts to consider ahead of tonight’s game:

A Lin-sane homecoming

Last February, Lin-sanity peaked in Toronto when Jeremy Lin lead the Knicks to victory with a buzzer-beater win over the Raptors.

Fast forward 10 months later and everything has changed for Lin. He is no longer in New York after taking his talents to Houston and he has struggled since returning to action from a knee injury.

“I’ll be my harshest critic, so I’ll go ahead and say it: I’m doing terrible.” – Jeremy Lin

— Eric Koreen (@ekoreen) December 16, 2012

A year ago, Lin came out of nowhere to make 25 starts for the Knicks, averaging 18.2 points, 7.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds.

It will be his first game in New York since leaving to join the Rockets and he seems less than excited about the homecoming game.

Jeremy Lin said he’s ready to get his MSG return “over with.” “There’ll never be another first return.”

— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) December 16, 2012

Many wondered if he was a one-hit wonder or if he was the real deal. It has looked like the latter this season as he has posted totals of 10.8 points, 6.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds a game this season.

Part of the issue may be that he has not fully recovered from the knee injury, while he may also be a bad fit with the Rockets’ other recent big-name acquisition, James Harden, as both need the ball in their hands to be at their best.

Of course, when Lin was in Toronto last February, two clear weaknesses in his game became obvious. He was not a strong defender and he favoured going to his right. Maybe the rest of the league has had an opportunity to figure out how to exploit these weaknesses?

To boo or not to boo?

It will be interesting to see how the Knicks faithful react in Lin’s first return to Madison Square Garden.

It is an arena known for having some of the most knowledgeable basketball fans in the world but New York is a town well known for holding a grudge.

Will Lin be greeted with hurrahs or boos tonight?

Lin’s replacement in New York, Ray Felton, is hoping they celebrate his return warmly.

“They should. By all means, I hope they do,” Felton told ESPN.com. “They should give him a standing ovation when he comes back here, without a doubt.”

Anthony out

Many believe that Carmelo Anthony did not like having to share the spotlight in New York with Lin and pushed the front office to let him leave as a free agent last summer.

The Knicks’ top scorer is not expected to be in the lineup in Monday night as he injured his ankle in last Thursday’s win over the Lakers and did not play in Saturday’s win over the Cavaliers.

The Knicks will still be a tough out for the Rockets on Monday night.

“He’ll be back out here shortly,” Knicks forward Rasheed Wallace told the New York Post. “It shows what kind of team we have (winning without him). We did it before when he went down, with the lacerated finger. It brings us together more to know somewhere in the back of our mind we can’t let him down and we can’t have a lot of people think we’re all Carmelo, all Carmelo.”