Casey Mack -- The Man Who Completely Predicted Linsanity

The greatest part of Jeremy Lin's story was that it was completely unexpected. Lin came seemingly out of nowhere to quickly become one of the biggest sports stars in the world . No one saw it coming. Coaches, analysts, owners, reporters, writers, no one. Except for Casey Mack. 


From August of 2010 to March of 2011 Casey Mack was a writer for the website dimemag.com. The 8th of the 35 articles that Casey wrote for dimemag.com was a historic one. It was proof that linsanity was in fact predicted. In Casey's article, "The Warriors Have The Next Steve Nash On Their Roster", he talked about how Lin could turn out to be a very special player. He wrote this article before Lin had played an NBA game (written in September 2010), and much of what Mack predicted has been remarkably accurate. Here are the main predictions from the article, and how they've really turned out.

Prediction: "Each [Nash and Lin] is a blur in the open court, with great vision and dependable pull-up jumpers.".... "By always keeping his options open with the ball in play, Nash creates extra time and space for himself and for his teammates to get open and get buckets. I think that knack for keeping his dribble is what will translate into Nash-type success for Lin more than anything."

The Truth: That prediction could not have been more correct. All the comparisons that were made between Nash and Lin's game were because they both have amazing quickness, vision, a dependable pull-up jumpers and the ability keeping his dribble alive. Those things are what have made Lin such a great player. Lin's ability to keep his dribble alive gives his teammates time to get wide open and get easy buckets has also been a huge part of his game, just as Casey suggested it would be.

Prediction: "If Lin can keep his handle up to par and keep that chip on his shoulder until the right opportunity comes along, the double-doubles are sure to come for this Asian-American sensation."

The Truth: The right opportunity wasn't the Warriors, wasn't the Rockets, it was the Knicks. Once again the prediction was correct.

Prediction: "Just like Nash, Lin didn't hone his skills at a college basketball powerhouse. Just like Nash, he is a minority in the game who has had to prove himself at every step in the process and plays with a perpetual underdog chip on his shoulder."


The Truth: Everything mentioned, his Harvard education and Asian background have been the reason he's been overlooked, and has been the reason he's been able to fight through adversity and find success.

Casey Macks must have seemed insane at the time it was written, but now it seems genious. Here's a link to the full article: http://dimemag.com/2010/09/the-warriors-have-the-next-steve-nash-on-their-roster/

Why Stoudemire Stands In the Way of a Knicks Postseason Run

The Knicks are hoping to surprise some people and make a deep run in the post season. There is just one thing standing in their way. His name is Amare Stoudemire. Amare was most at fault for the Knicks struggles earlier on this season, and the same problems will likely occur in the postseason. Since Mike Woodson's arrival Stoudmire has barely played because of his injury, and when he does return the Knicks are destined for trouble. Here's why. 

The low point of the season for the Knicks came after losing to the Bulls on March 12th. They were 18-24 which was an embarrassing record for a team of such talent. Two days after that loss D'antoni resigned, and since then the Knicks season has been revived. They're winning a lot more under Mike Woodson and are playing with more passion and effort than they were with D'antoni. Even with the success of the Knicks under Woodson, as I look back at the first 42 games of the Knicks season I realized the Knicks struggles were even more Stoudemire's than D'antoni's.

Up to that point the Knicks had been a tale two teams. One team that is 10-23, and one that is 8-1.

The 10-23 team is an unexcited and unenerergized group that is stagnant on offense and plays minimal defense. This is a team with chemistry problems and with guys that just don't play well together. This is a mix of egos, between Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and even at times Jeremy Lin.

The second team, the team that went 9-1, is a completely different story. This is a team that is very willing to share the ball, and that plays great team defense. This team features a lot of Jared Jeffries, Billy Walker, Steve Novak and Iman Shumpert, and even with the lack of star power these guys work great together. These guys are easily excited and show emotion after virtually every play.

There was tons of blame going around about why the Knicks weren't able to play to their potential (which they're now doing). Some of the blame was on Carmelo Anthony for not passing enough and some was on D'antoni for poor coaching. Both of these men were at fault for the Knicks struggles, more D'antoni than Carmelo, which has been proved by the success the Knicks have had since D'antoni's resignation. The real blame though should have been on Amare Stoudemire.

This aging superstar has never been a fit in New York. He was the main reason for the stagnant offense which has cursed the Knicks all season. He's also liability on defense. Opponents intentionally target him as a guy to score on, which has been done successfully many times this year. The lack of defense and the stagnant offense he brings to the Knicks are the two things that have killed the Knicks all season. Since Stoudemire's recent injury the Knicks have looked like a new team, just like they seemingly do every time Stoudemire isn't playing. That's why the Knicks made a huge mistake not trading Amare at the trade deadline, and they should trade him in the off season.

You may be asking; But who will become the team's power forward? Jared Jeffries. Jeffries is a very unselfish passer who plays unbelievable defense and always hustles. He's almost the very opposite of Stoudemire. You may also be asking; But you have no proof the team struggles because of Stoudemire!!? Wrong. The Knicks are 5-18 when Stoudemire shoots more than 12 times in a game, and 4-15 when Stoudemire plays more than 35 minutes. On the contrary when Jared Jeffries plays more than 20 minutes in a game the Knicks are 12-6. If the Knicks want to make a run in the postseason, they need to play Jared Jeffries and Steve Novak a lot more than Amare Stoudmire. 

Jeremy Lin Was Going to be Traded to the Raptors

Reports from the Toronto Sun say that The New York Knicks were about to trade Jeremy Lin. The Raptors would recieve Lin, and Anthony Carter, 36 year old point guard averaging 2 points per game would be sent to the Knicks. Lin only would have been eligible to be traded on March 1st, due to when he was picked up on waivers, so the trade likely would have been done then. The Knicks likely decided that before they trade him he should get some real playing time so they could see just how good he is. His first big game was against Nets, which ended up being his breakout game. Exactly a week after the Raptors and Knicks were discussing a Lin trade, Lin hit the game winning shot to get the Knicks a win over the Raptors. That has been the best moment of Lin's season, and in my opinion the best moment in the NBA thus far. Just to make a little worse for the Raptors, the player they almost traded away for Lin, Anthony Carter, has been put on waivers since this trade almost happened.

If Lin was traded to the Raptors he definately would have gotten playing time, and most likely would have found stardom north of the border. Looking back this could have been one of the most one sided trades in NBA history. "We knew one thing about him after bringing (Lin) in," said Bryan Colangelo (Raptors GM). "We knew he was one tough kid. He took one of the hardest hits I've ever seen on a court and one of the toughest falls. He got hit from behind, crashed to the floor, eventually got up. We didn't think he'd get up, to be honest. And he shook it off and continued the workout."
"We were extremely impressed by that."

Shumperts Dunk That Would Have Won the Dunk Contest

Iman Shumpert won't participate in the dunk competition due to a left knee injury, and it is truly a shame. During Jeremy Lin's press conference during All-Star Weekend he spoke about the dunk Shumpert was planning on doing during the Dunk Contest.Shumpert was going to do a windmill dunk over Lin lying down on teamate Landry Field's couch. Lin was going to throw the alley-oop from the couch to Shumpert, and after the dunk Shumpert was going to sit on the couch and Fields was going to hand him a Sprite (the sponsor of the contest). The three Knicks players were going to sit drinking some Sprite while the crowd went crazy. This dunk would be taking part of what making made Lin so famous, and using it in a memorable dunk. The couch obviously symbolizes how nights before Linsanity began Jeremy Lin's had been sleeping on either his brothers couch or Landry Field's couch. If Shumpert hadn't gotten injured, this could have been one of the most memorable, and funny dunks ever. Lin has become a worldwide sensation, and using his great story for a memorable dunk would have been amazing. Because we won't be able to see Jeremy Lin and Shumpert putting a great dunk together, here's  a video of Lin doing the Dougie. 

The All Jeremy Lin Team

Right now if you ask a non basketball fan which NBA players they know of they'll likely say Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and..... Jeremy Lin. He's gone from a virtually unknown third string point guard to being the most talked about story in the sports world. He has shined on a team that prior to Linsanity had struggled to get wins even with with three players making more than 12 million dollars this year. Lin only got his shot because two of the players making the big bucks, Amare Staudemire and Carmelo Anthony, got injured. The Knicks won the first 7 games that Lin got good playing time in, and even with Amare and Carmelo coming from injuries Lin and the Knicks have continued their success. His trash to treasure story is an incredible one, as he was sleeping on his brothers couch not sure about whether he'd be able to stay with the Knicks just days before his success began. 

Lin's popularity in the media world has overshadowed some players that have done nearly the same thing as him. They've gone from the end of a teams bench to having a major role on the team by taking advantage of the opportunity given to them. If there was going to be a team full of players that have done the same thing as Lin throughout this year, this would be it.

The All Jeremy Lin Team

Starting PG: Isaiah Thomas (Sacramento Kings):

This 5 9' 22 year old point guard was the very last pick of the 2011 NBA draft. He cracked the Sacramento Kings roster after really impressing at the pre-season camp and has now become the starting shooting guard for the Kings. He has completely outplayed his fellow rookie, Jimmer Fredette, who unlike Thomas had incredible hype after being picked with the tenth pick of the draft. No one expected Isaiah Thomas to have a key role or even a role at all for the Kings, but he has shown that he deserves it due to the spark he brings to the games he's in. Unlike Jimmer Isaiah had zero hype when entering the NBA, but he's showing he can be a solid starter in the NBA.

Starting SG: Danny Green (San Antonio Spurs):

Danny Green had a rough start to his NBA career. After playing just 20 games with the Cavs in the last year of the LeBron era he was waived (basically meaning was cut). The next year he was picked up by San Antonio, and after just twelve games there he was waived. After getting cut by two teams it seemed like his NBA career might be nearing an end, until the Spurs decided give him another try. They picked him up at the start of this 2011-2012 season and he has not disappointed. Manu Ginoblis injury gave Green an opportunity and he's taken advantage, resulting in now being the starting shooting guard for the Spurs. He has earned his coaches trust, especially on the defensive end on the floor. Recently he shut down Chris Paul during overtime in one of the biggest games of the season for the Spurs. Green has come from the end of the bench to become arguably San Antonio's best shut down defender.

Starting SF: Ersan Ilyasova (Milwaukee Bucks):

Since 2006 Ersan Ilyasova has been on the Milwaukee Bucks. He's started some games, mainly because of the lack of power forwards on this team, but made virtually no impact the Bucks team. Milwaukee was looking to trade him during the off season but couldn't make a deal so ended up keeping him. It seems that all he needed were some trade rumors to get him going because this year he's been a rebounding beast. He had 29 points and 25 rebounds against the Nets, and even managed 16 rebounds against Dwights Magic.

Starting PF: Tiago Splitter (San Antonio Spurs)

For a team with an old core of players to do well a lot of things have to go right. That's been the case with the San Antonio Spurs this year. The top three players on San Antonio are all in the end of their career, and arguably their best player (Ginobli) has been inured for most of the year. One of the things that went right for the Spurs has been Tiago Splitter. The critics of the Spurs had said that the Spurs won't be successful without a center that can guard other teams centers. The Spurs have Blair and Bonner who are both unable to successfully guard a good center, and Tim Duncan is just too old for that. Splitter has stepped up this season and taken the role as the teams best center defender while scoring some points as well. This has all happened just a season after being a bench player that got minimal minutes last season.

Starting C: Nikola Pekovic (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Nikola Pekovic is a lot like Jeremy Lin. They both had gotten barely any playing time until an injury to a teammate  when they took advantage and showed just how good they can be. Since Darko Milicic's injury Pekovic has been a beast. He has been a double double machine and has been exactly what Darko Milicic was supposed to be (when he was picked over Bosh Carmelo and Wade!!!). Pekovic has become the starting center for the Timberwolves, but his story has received barely any media attention because of Linsanity.

Sixth Man

Greivis Vasquez (New Orleans Hornets):

Last year Greivis Vasquez was a very small part of the great run that Memphis put together in the playoffs. He averaged just 3.6 points per game with the grizzlies, and at the time seemed like a below average backup point guard. Oh how things can change. Vasquez has meshed very well with the Hornets since his arrival. He's shooting an amazing .462 on three pointers, and has a .457 field goal percentage. When Jarrett Jack got injured Vasquez got more minutes and started dishing and scoring at will. He has made the decision of who to start at point guard very hard for the Hornets coach Monty Williams to decide now that Jarrett Jack has come back from injury.

Other Team bench players:

Backup SG: Eliot Williams (Portland Trailblazers):

Backup SF: Chandler Parsons (Houston Rockets):

Backup PF: Brendan Wright (Dallas Mavericks):

Backup C:Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets):