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...
November 9, 2010.
Cleveland Ohio.
Quicken Loans Arena.
The Knicks were on the brink of tying their best start since the 1993–94 season: a perfect 7–0. With six straight wins under their belt, they had suddenly beco the center of every basketball conversation.
The dia couldn't wrap their heads around it—especially after the Knicks' front office essentially ghosted the offseason. According to a recent ESPN poll asking "Who do you think is the most overrated player in the league?", LeBron Jas ranked first, with Lin Yi being in the second.
Classic ESPN. They love stirring the pot with surveys like that. Unsurprisingly, most of the votes ca from Cleveland.
LeBron's departure over the sumr had left the city feeling bitter.
Even with all their anger at LeBron, the man carried this team on his back, because this season—
Cleveland was 3–3 while New York looked untouchable at 6–0.
This was with the Cavs having a higher wage bill than the Knicks.
So tonight, when both teams stepped onto the floor, sothing unexpected happened.
The Cleveland crowd stood.
They clapped.
They cheered for Lin Yi.
"MVP! — MVP! — MVP!"
It was surreal. Even the Cavaliers players looked like soone had slapped them across the face.
Oddly enough, the diehard Cavs fans who didn't cheer weren't angry. There were no boos, no heckles. Just... apathy. And apathy, more than anything, spells death for a franchise.
They didn't bla the players on the court. They blad one person—LeBron.
The breakup between LeBron and Cleveland felt like one of those soap opera dramas. You know the kind: the local girl, the star boy, dreams of forever... then is shattered by ambition.
Whether LeBron was planning another "I'm coming ho" sequel or not, Lin Yi couldn't care less. Standing under the bright lights of the packed arena, he shook his head.
"This team's done," he muttered.
O'Neal, sitting beside him, gave a knowing nod. "They've already checked out, man."
Shaq had been here last season. He'd seen the rot firsthand. And tonight only confird it.
Inside the TNT broadcast booth, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley weren't giving Cleveland much hope either. Their discussion had already shifted to whether the Knicks were a legit Finals contender.
"Last two tis they had a five-ga win streak, they made the Finals," Barkley noted.
"Don't jinx it," Kenny said, chuckling, "it's a long season."
The jumbotron flashed the starting lineups:
Knicks:
Chandler
Lin Yi
Gallinari
Belinelli
Livingston.
Cavaliers:
Anderson Varejao
J. J. Hickson
Antawn Jamison
Mo Williams
Ramon Sessions.
Lin Yi's assists had dipped so far this season, so D'Antoni started a more offense-heavy lineup tonight to open things up for him.
On the Cavaliers bench, their new head coach, Byron Scott, was gearing up like this was a playoff ga.
Yes, that Byron Scott—he of the infamous feuds with both Jason Kidd and Chris Paul.
From Lin Yi's perspective, Scott was the perfect fit for this Cavaliers rebuild: a coach with a track record of being at odds with stars, leading a team that no longer had any.
But credit where it's due—Scott's résumé was weirdly chard. He'd coached Kidd, Paul, and would eventually guide Kyrie Irving, too.
Unfortunately, none of those relationships ever ended well.
Scott had a bad habit of airing out dirty laundry. With the Nets, he blad Kidd's freelancing for their playoff losses. In New Orleans, it was Paul's lack of isolation plays. Later, with the Cavs, he said the team's struggles were because Kyrie had no leadership.
Whether or not that was true, there's one rule every coach should know: you don't throw your stars under the bus.
Guys like Popovich or Phil Jackson? They'd never publicly dump on their players.
After being fired by the Cavs, Scott eventually landed with the Lakers. He spent half his ti there fantasizing about building a team post-Kobe. As soon as Kobe's farewell tour wrapped, the Lakers gave Scott the boot.
Once that job was done, he was expendable.
Back to tonight.
Despite how bad the Cavs looked, Scott was fired up.
"Look at the Knicks—six wins already! But their payroll's right under ours. That ans we can turn it around, too! We can still make sothing happen!"
That speech would've been fine—if it hadn't reminded every player on the team that they were overpaid and underperforming.
The mood soured instantly.
Still, the players took the court. A little numb, but going through the motions.
"Man, this Cavs team's a ss," Shaq sighed from the bench.
...
On the court, the two teams t at center for the tip-off. In the deafening cheers of "MVP! MVP!" from the ho crowd, the Knicks gained possession. Lin Yi didn't waste ti—he faked outside, then slashed into the paint like a blade through paper.
You've got to hand it to Coach Scott—he's… sothing else.
What makes him special?
Well, let's just say, he had the brilliant idea to double-team Lin Yi right from the jump.
Scott believed that the reason teams like the Heat and Bulls lost to Lin wasn't about talent—it was about bad defensive sches. According to him, Spoelstra and Thibodeau simply didn't "get it." His solution? Send two guys to Lin every ti.
"Can't let the leading scorer cook," Scott supposedly said in the locker room.
Lin Yi couldn't help but feel like the Cavs were handing him a buffet.
The fans were cheering for him. Lin began to wonder—was Cleveland trying to help his assist numbers and rebounds?
With a grin, he extended his arms and kicked the ball out to the periter. Galinari, waiting off-ball, caught it cleanly and drilled the Knicks' first three of the night.
On the way back down the court, Lin patted the Italian on the shoulder.
"Keep moving. I'll keep feeding you."
This season, the battle for the Knicks' second and third guard spots has been heating up. Bellinelli, starting tonight, knew the pressure was on.
He nodded quickly, full of energy. "Just tell where, I'll be there."
From the sideline, Coach Scott looked calm. But the Cavaliers were anything but settled.
They answered with a smooth bucket of their own. Antawn Jamison slipped out of coverage and drained a jumper, cutting the score to 3–2.
Jamison, who had passed the 20,000 career points milestone, was never flashy. But the man could score.
On the Knicks' next possession, Lin backed down Hickson. The poor guy never stood a chance. Hickson, once touted as a rising big man when LeBron was in town, was strong—but raw. And his basketball IQ? Not quite on par.
Predictably, the Cavs sent the double-team again. Varejão rushed in to help.
Too late.
Lin lobbed it up. Tyson Chandler soared, caught the pass mid-air, and hamred it down with both hands.
Kenny Smith could barely contain himself. "Oh my gosh, the air raid is back!"
Barkley followed up imdiately. "Lin's feel for the ga is insane. Being his teammate's got to be a blessing."
At that mont, you'd be forgiven for thinking this ga was at Madison Square Garden. The cheers that erupted from the Cleveland crowd after Chandler's dunk were louder than the ones for Jamison earlier.
Lin Yi jogged back on defense, shooting a glance at Coach Scott.
Nice guy. Real nice guy.
If Scott kept this up, Lin wasn't just going to flirt with a triple-double—he was going to lock it in before the third quarter even started.
...
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