Movies

‘Linsanity’ flick shoots an air ball

During the winter of 2012, the word on Knicks megastar point guard Jeremy Lin was that he “came out of nowhere.” But of course, that’s not true; this documentary aims to show the origins of “Linsanity” — with a liberal helping of God talk. It’s by director Evan Leong (“1040: Christianity in the New Asia”), whose religious leaning, combined with Lin’s, heavily flavors this vanilla film.

Still, even atheist basketball fans may enjoy footage from the record-breaking Asian-American player’s early days. As a kid, he balked at piano lessons until his Taiwanese parents let him pursue his passion; he became a star at his Palo Alto, Calif., high school and at Harvard, but had a rocky time of it in the NBA until the stunning breakout season heard ’round the world.

Leong’s film isn’t particularly stylish, but it makes the most of the climactic Knicks footage, as well as showcasing a sweetly goofy side of the 25-year-old, now playing for the Houston Rockets. Lin’s deep Christian faith even provides for a couple of humorous moments, like when he quashes his plan to make a cocky remark to the press about schooling Kobe Bryant: “I asked myself, would Jesus say that?”