BOSTON — Jeremy Lin has played a lot of games in greater Boston during four seasons at Harvard, but Beantown has yet to experience Linsanity. That will change this afternoon, when the when the resurgent Knicks visit the Celtics at TD Garden.
In the Knicks’ last trip to Boston four weeks ago, Lin was a relatively anonymous third-string point guard, just another Harvard graduate trying to make it to the big time. With coach Mike D’Antoni on the hot seat, Lin came off the bench in the first half for a six-minute stint during the Celtics’ 91-89 victory and made no impact or field goals. He was 0-for-3, departing with Boston fans still not realizing he used to star just up the road.
Asked what he remembered about Lin’s performance on Feb. 3, Amar’e Stoudemire deadpanned, “Not much.’’
It wasn’t until the next evening against the Nets that Lin changed the Knicks and sports landscape.
“Lin has obviously taken over the world,’’ Kevin Garnett said yesterday. “He plays with a lot of passion. He’s given not just the city but the team life.’’
Lin remembers the Boston outing as possibly his last chance to prove himself before the Knicks decided whether to waive his non-guaranteed contract before the deadline.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t be my last chance,’’ Lin said. “I definitely remember that one. Hopefully I’ll be able to play a lot better this time around. It was the first time I played in the first half the whole season. There were probably some jitters. I missed some layups. I tried to make sure to be aggressive the next night.’’
D’Antoni was in as down a mood before that Celtics game as anyone had seen him as Knicks coach. A gossip-item report floated around that if the Knicks lost to Boston, he would be fired.
The Knicks lost and fell to 8-15, but D’Antoni wasn’t fired. Lin played 35 minutes the next night in a starring role, and the Knicks have captured off 10 of 13 games since, turning into a legitimate threat to win their first Atlantic Division crown since 1993-94 and dethroning the four-time reigning division-champion Celtics.
“I read where he said he was tentative,’’ D’Antoni said of Lin’s performance against the Celtics. “We did like some the things he did in Boston, but some we didn’t. But it was enough to get him a second chance. Most of it is psychological. He took the challenge. Obviously he’s got the skills, but psychologically, for whatever reason, he got to a great place.’’
The aging Celtics have ruled the Knicks, winning five of their past six regular-season meetings and swept them in four games in the first round of last season’s playoffs. That series seems like ages ago. The Knicks had no point guard, no center, no depth — all three taken care of.
“I really feel we’re a better team now,’’ Stoudemire said. “We’re deeper. We signed J.R. Smith. Baron [Davis] is back and Jeremy’s playing well. We have a different look now than we had when we previously played [Feb. 3]. All in all, they’re still a great team, still the team to beat. We have to bring our ‘A’ game.’’
Now Novak is a staple. And Lin is playing All-Star caliber ball.
“It’s just confidence, really going after it,’’ Stoudemire said. “The confidence from that [Nets] game just grew on him knowing we were searching for a point guard at that time. It’s an new year. New team. I feel comfortable with our chances.’’
Everything is also going perfect for Harvard, on the verge of its first NCAA Tournament berth since the 1940’s. Lin received a standing ovation when he walked into the Harvard-Columbia Friday night.
Today in Boston, he is just the enemy. When Lin attended Harvard, he only went to Celtics games when they hosted his hometown Warriors. Then he stopped going.
“Once KG and Ray Allen got there, I stopped going because ticket prices went up way higher,’’ Lin said. “Before you could go in for $8, $12 bucks. We could afford that.’’