This Jeremy Lin just won't end. The Bay Area phenom - and I guess we can call him that now - hit a last-second three-pointer earlier tonight to lead the New York Knicks past the Toronto Raptors. I wrote about Lin for tomorrow's Bee, but quoting his former coach at Golden State (Keith Smart) and with the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Developmental League (Eric Musselman). Lin, 23, was sent down to the D-League three times last year - and Musselman, who now coaches the LA-Defenders, loves the guy. After Lin's the latest heroics, Musselman texted me, "He is amazing."
A few other thoughts:
* If I were Smart (get it?), I would put Tyreke Evans on Lin tomorrow night and challenge him to smother the Knicks sensation.
* As yet another example of Lin's impact as an Asian American in the NBA, a sports columnist friend of mine at Newsday, whose son is an adoptee from Korea, let him stay up to watch the Knicks-Raptors game. We talked immediately afterward, and she said her son was too excited to sleep.
* Lin scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 11 assists, including a nifty wraparound pass to Amare Stoudemire.
* Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni looks and sounds as excited as everyone else about Lin. No kidding. The kid saved his job ...
* So where were the Kings during the Jeremy Lin sweepstakes? Yeah, they were like most teams in the NBA. They blew it, too. The Harvard grad worked out for eight teams prior to the NBA Draft in 2010 and played for the Dallas Mavericks at the Summer League in Las Vegas. Afterward, the 6-foot-3 point guard was offered a two-year deal by Golden State (one year guaranteed), so he signed with the Warriors. The Kings spent the summer in pursuit of Pooh Jeter, who was let go after last season.
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