Just as Lin Yi's diehard fans finished freaking out over the All-Star vote numbers and started strategizing how to vote more, the Knicks were back in action on December 30—facing their favorite punching bag this season: the New Jersey Nets.
This kind of ga? The Knicks weren't even mad about the back-to-back schedule. No flights needed, just hop over and head ho right after. Easy. Clean. Cozy.
After all, it's practically a ho ga.
Once again, Brook Lopez had a rough night under Lin Yi's shadow. Big man only managed 2 points and 1 rebound—and after just 8 minutes, he got benched for the rest of the ga. Brutal.
The Nets were starting to notice too. There was buzz internally—maybe Lopez wasn't the guy to build around. He was just too slow, too hesitant, and honestly? Lin Yi had exposed all of that.
But on the flip side, Yi Jianlian was making people double-take.
Sure, his scoring was down—just 10.8 points per ga in December—but his efficiency had jumped way up. Two-point shooting at nearly 50%, finishing at the rim at a career-best 65%, and even hitting 35% from three, knocking down over one per ga.
Yeah, he wasn't lighting up the scoreboard, but he was clean, reliable, and efficient. He was the most consistent player on the Nets all month.
To be real, this wasn't a he got better situation—it was more like he finally stopped forcing it. Back in D.C. with the Wizards, dude was taking wild shots just to get numbers. His usage rate was crazy, but the results? h.
And now, with Jianlian staying out of the way on the boards, Yi was snagging rebounds left and right. The Nets weren't winning much anyway, so hey, might as well pad the stats while you can.
Yi cut back on those long twos, added the three-ball, and suddenly Ryan Anderson was sweating on the bench.
As long as Yi stays healthy? Anderson's not getting that starting job back.
anwhile, Lin Yi only played 28 minutes in this one: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, then straight to cruise mode.
After the ga, he and Yi Jianlian grabbed dinner.
Yi was genuinely grateful. Lin had been working with him since the offseason, helping fix his jumper, clean up his habits, and now the results were showing. If things kept trending up, Yi was gonna land himself a solid contract soon.
Lin encouraged him to open up more with his teammates. And surprisingly? It worked. Okay, not a full personality flip or anything, but after Yi handed out a round of gifts, Nets players started looking for him on offense.
Even Devin Harris started using Yi in pick-and-rolls now and then. Progress!
"Yo, aren't you thinking about getting a girlfriend or sothing?" Yi threw the question back at Lin over dinner.
"Huh?" Lin choked on his food. "Man, what's with everyone hitting with the dating crits lately?"
Yi even ntioned Elizabeth Olsen—you know, the one who's been showing up at MSG a lot lately. But Lin just laughed it off.
"In progress," he said. "Taking ti."
Last year, it was nonstop NCAA promotion with Curry. This year? His NBA rookie season had him living at the training facility.
Was it boring?
Not even close.
But after eating enough of Curry's relationship love food and now with Yi tossing in the love questions, Lin Yi couldn't help thinking...
Maybe it's ti to think about dating. Just a little.
I an, what's the point of making money if you don't enjoy life?
He already had the food, the fun, the ho, and the car.
His last life? It had none of that.
This ti around, he was going all in.
And honestly, with all the knowledge from his rebirth, even if basketball didn't pan out, Lin Yi knew he'd never have to worry about money.
As for having kids soday?
Well... we'll get there when we get there.
Of course Lin Yi was gonna make his future kid work hard. I an, just look at Dell Curry. The way Old Dell raised Steph? Textbook.
Back at Davidson, Steph was living off scholarship money. Dell barely gave him pocket money—told him to learn how to manage on his own.
Lin Yi seriously respected that. If he ever had a kid, he figured he might hit up Dell for so parenting tips.
As for Lin himself, most of his cash was tied up in investnts. Aside from throwing so into Bitcoin, he wasn't sure where else to put money. Lately, Zhong had been lining up a few nice endorsent deals for himself. And if funds got tight, well—he could always do what he did before: use that Nike deal as leverage.
Not like he's worried about going broke anyway.
Lin Yi didn't claim to be so kind of business genius, but let's be real—at worst, he's getting a max contract in the future. As long as he doesn't throw cash around like an idiot and sticks to smart investnts, he'll have more than enough to live large.
...
By the end of December, the NBA calendar flipped into the new year, and with it ca the monthly awards.
Lin Yi? Snagged Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month again. No surprise there.
Eastern Player of the Month went back to LeBron. Over in the West, Tyreke Evans got Rookie of the Month, while Kobe Bryant took Player of the Month honors.
Lin's numbers dipped a little in December—he had a few gas where he was chucking bricks—but he still shot 50% overall, with 42% from deep. His most consistent stat? Free throws: 94.5% from the line. Automatic.
His December averages:
20.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 2.4 blocks, 1.2 steals.
Pretty insane for a rookie.
Even crazier? Lin cracked the top five in the NBA's official MVP rankings. Cue mass chaos among the lon-eating public.
Right now, he's the hot topic in the league. The NBA's favorite new obsession. Every day, there's a new headline about him.
The top five MVP rankings looked like this:
LeBron Jas
Kobe Bryant
Dwyane Wade
Carlo Anthony
Lin Yi
Following close behind: Durant, Dwight, Dirk, Nash, and Deron Williams.
Just making that list was huge—it ant the league was recognizing his impact. After all, Lin had dragged the Knicks into playoff relevance.
Still, winning the regular season MVP as a rookie? That was probably a stretch. The Cavs were on a tear this season, and LeBron was dominating every headline. The league wasn't ready to crown a rookie just yet—not even one as flashy as Lin.
dia hype is a slow burn. One step at a ti.
These awards? They'll co with debate, sure—but it's not like the chaotic fan wars of later years. The league's still sowhat sane.
anwhile, ESPN's power rankings had bumped the Knicks up to #6. Analysts were starting to wonder: How far could this team go?
...
At the sa ti, New York's new favorite superstar, and the league's no. 1 rookie, was chilling at ho when he got an invite to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
They wanted him to be their first guest of 2010.
After checking in with Zhong and working the appearance into his training schedule, Lin Yi packed up and headed off to the taping.
Ti to bring that Lin Yi charm to national TV.
...
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