DALLAS — Mike D’Antoni is standing behind his guy, Jeremy Lin.
Despite a recent drop-off in Lin’s play, partly due to opponents game-planning to stop him, the Knicks coach believes the young point guard has the intangibles to come out on top.
One day after Rajon Rondo roasted Lin in Boston and the Boston Herald’s back page blared “Lin Who,’’ D’Antoni said he has no immediate plans to give backup point guard Baron Davis a chance to replace Lin.
Lin finished with six turnovers and 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Celtics.
“He’s going to be good, he is good,’’ D’Antoni said. “I’m not going to mess with his mind right now. Sometimes he’ll have great games, sometimes not so good. But one thing I do know, he’s a tough-minded kid and will find a way to win. He brought us back [in the fourth quarter]. He had six straight points and resurrected us and if it wasn’t for [Paul] Pierce’s shot, we would’ve won and we’d be sitting here saying he’s great.’’
Pierce forced overtime with a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left, after which Lin fell apart in the extra session, shooting 1-for-7.
D’Antoni hasn’t ruled out Davis as eventual starter in April, but he still wants Lin to be the man and didn’t want to give Davis a taste of OT. D’Antoni raved about Lin’s play down the stretch in regulation, when he hit a beautiful running lefty hook and bagged a monster 3-pointer.
Once Lin began getting starter’s minutes, the Knicks ran off a 7-0 streak, but that was mostly without Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks are now 10-4 since Lin commandeered the point-guard position. D’Antoni said defenses designed to derail Lin on the pick-and-roll will be advantageous over the long haul.
“He’s a marked man right now, no doubt about it,’’ D’Antoni said. “He should be. That’s good. He’ll learn quicker this way. He’s getting experiences on how the playoffs are going to be, how it’s going to be the rest of his career.’’
D’Antoni also said the dip (he’s shooting 37 of 88 in his last six games) is due to new pieces being added across the last two weeks. The coach made the comparison to Steve Nash, saying the Suns star wasn’t an instant sensation coming out of Santa Clara.
“It’s a lot easier to shoot the ball when you’re the main option,’’ D’Antoni said. “When you have other elements to incorporate and aren’t getting the same looks, it’s hard. That’s why the point-guard position is hard. You have to make other people better and not lose your game.’’
Lin admitted the additions of Anthony, J.R. Smith and Davis have changed the team’s chemistry.
“I’m learning my role and everyone’s got to learn their roles: fewer minutes, fewer shots,’’ Lin said. “That’s good, a more well-rounded point guard. I don’t want to be shooting numbers like before. It’s an adjustment process.’’
**D’Antoni gave a snappy response when asked if defensive assistant Mike Woodson believes in his philosophy of not fouling when up three in the final 10 seconds. The coach was criticized in some circles for allowing Paul to tie the game.
“I don’t think that really matters, to be honest with you,’’ D’Antoni said. “Because guess who gets fired? But [Woodson] is in agreement. But I don’t know because I don’t think I’ve asked him.’’
**Disgruntled Queens native Lamar Odom returned to the Mavericks after a 10-day personal hiatus and team feels he’s ready to turn around his disappointing first season in Dallas. … Lin said he cavorted with the Harvard president and his former coaches after the loss to the Celtics.