On the eve of his return to Madison Square Garden, Jeremy Lin didn’t mince words. The ex-Knick point guard said he has been “terrible’’ this season, not living up to his potential and can’t wait to get the Garden game over with.
Lin’s rip job on himself occurred after yesterday’s Rockets loss in Toronto in which Lin scored just seven points with two assists while Raptors point guard Jose Calderon went off for 18 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
Asked to assess his season, Lin said: “Terrible. I think I’m not doing close to what I’m capable of doing and it’s a matter of figuring out how to get myself to play more like myself within the system with the change of scenery. I’ll be my harshest critic but I’ll go ahead and say it: I’m doing terrible.’’
The undrafted Harvard point guard is averaging just 10.8 points, 6.0 assists and shooting 39.5 percent. Lin had lots of fans yesterday in Toronto — which has an enormous Asian population and where he hit his most memorable shot as a Knick last season, a 3-point buzzer-beater to win a game against the Raptors.
Lin is anxious to get this Garden game in the rearview mirror, though his Rockets had great success in the first meeting in Houston — a 131-103 blowout. Chandler Parsons (career-high 31 points) and James Harden (33) erupted in that contest and Lin was steady as a rock (13 points, seven rebounds, three assists).
“Definitely, I’m definitely ready to get it over with just because I think in some sense there will be some closure,’’ Lin said. “This will probably be the first return back to MSG and there will never be another first return. So we’re going to go out there and play and have some fun and enjoy it and move on.’’
For days, Lin said he’s not quite sure how he will be received by the Garden faithful that once religiously wore his No. 17 jersey
“That’s one of those things where I’m not going to try to guess what’s going to happen because I have no idea,’’ Lin said. “Once the game starts I know I’m going to be focused on basketball. If I were to be realistic there will probably be some nostalgia and reminiscing and thankful for those times because those were some great times, but at the same time it’s the next chapter.’’
In a Sports Illustrated end-of-year Facebook Poll, Lin won “most inspiring’’ athlete of 2012. But there was nothing inspiring yesterday. When asked why he didn’t have the same magic from last February’s game in Canada, Lin said: “If I could turn it on like a switch that easy, I’d obviously turn it on, but that’s not how it works.’’
Lin was voted third among Western guards in the first release of All-Star voting results. His numbers don’t back it up, which is why he believes teams come extra hard at him.
“That’s what I’m used to,’’ Lin said. “Everyone wants to take its best shot.’’
Lin is still a sensation in Taiwan and China with all the Rockets games broadcast in those countries. And tonight’s should be the most watched. “Whatever the crowd is like I’m sure it will be a lot of energy,’’ Lin said. “I can’t worry about that. I got to play.’’