What Jake Stern Wants, Jake Stern Gets

Jeremy Lin's meteoric rise this week from third-string point guard to NBA phenomenon reminds me of a Matt Christopher novel -- a great talent who must've been hiding something for too long, like "The Fox Who Stole Home" or "The Babysitting Quarterback" or something. Considering Lin's Harvard pedigree, maybe his book could be called "The Student Council President Point Guard" or "The Math Tutor Three-Point Shooter"?

The ironic twist is that Lin's game fits the Knicks' offense much better than that of the injured star he's replaced, Carmelo Anthony. Lin is energetic, has good court vision, threads passes well and knows how to execute the pick and roll, which is exactly what the Knicks' other star, Amar'e Stoudemire, needs. Anthony slows the game, requires the ball in his hands on too many possessions and takes too many shots to get his points. Once Anthony returns from injury in a week, he likely won't adjust his game to match Lin's -- it will be the other way around. Lin won't mind this, I expect, because until a week ago, no one knew him, but his blazing productivity will extinguish. I'd briefly like to compliment myself for criticizing the Anthony trade since it was made a year ago.

The other noteworthy part of Lin's emergence is how well it fits the 21st century. There's a heartwarming Horatio Alger element to it, with a hard-working, overlooked Asian American Harvard graduate (though only in the NBA can a Harvard grad be overlooked) making good when he's just given the chance. But more so, he's soared to national-sensation status in only a week, something that could only happen today. Even my friend Jake wrote from Delhi about him, to jokingly ask when I'd write a blog post about Lin. (Though Jake is a big basketball fan and NBA games end as he's eating breakfast, so he can follow the action.) There's something about his ascendance that's more about pop culture than sports, like a reality TV star or viral video on You Tube. (In fact, his highlights have already registered about 700,000 views!) He's only starred in four games, three of which were against poor teams and all of which were against opposing point guards with only a passing interest in defense, yet everyone is already fawning. Maybe we should slow down here before crowning him? Haven't we learned from our countless hype cycles? At least Lin's game and story are classically appealing and without the cultural conservatism that makes his NFL equivalent, Tim Tebow, so divisive.

Well, decide for yourself: Above are highlights of Lin's game against the Washington Wizards earlier this week.