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Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks come face-to-face Friday night for the first time since the Knicks turned their backs on 'Linsanity,' letting him go to the Houston Rockets via free agency. The teams meet at the Toyota Center in Houston at 8 p.m. ET. MSG has the telecast.
Lin's departure from New York set off a firestorm of protest from a fan base that adored Lin. However, the Knicks have easily gotten the better end of the deal thus far. Raymond Felton has been far superior to Lin and the Knicks are off to a fast 8-2 start while the Rockets are just 5-7.
Here is Lin talking about his early-season struggles:
"I know I’ve been exposed a lot early in the season and I have a lot to work on," Lin, 24, said. "I’m young. I probably started 30-something games (37) in my entire career. That’s what I have to keep in mind, even though I want everything to happen the way I want it to now."
Here is more of what is being written about Lin vs. the Knicks as Friday's tip off approaches.
Knicks links: Jeremy Lin, Rockets already showing signs of regret? | NJ.com
Whereas the New York area was once prepared to storm Madison Square Garden after the Knicks declined to match the Rockets' three-year, $25 million offer for Lin, fans are now pleased to be watching a trio of veteran point guards -- Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni -- who collectively boast a +6.9 Player Efficiency Rating differential against opposing point guards, according to 82games.com.
In layman's terms, the Knicks point guards are producing at a much higher level than the competition.
But Felton, the starter at point guard, didn't need any efficiency-based statistic to tell him what he already knows: He's better than Jeremy Lin.
"We're two different players,'' Felton said, as quoted by Marc Berman of the New York Post. "I've been in this league eight years. He's been in this league half of a year coming into a year now. I definitely don't see how anybody can compare me and him together. I've been in the league way longer, got a much more body of work. He had a great run last year -- one of the best I've ever seen. I'm glad he got his money. I would never hate him about that. But to compare me and him, we're two different players."
Knicks' Felton says no doubt he’s better than Rockets' Lin - NYPOST.com
Struggling Lin says it was ‘God’s plan’ to head for Houston - NYPOST.com
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Opening Tip: Give Dolan credit? - Knicks Blog - ESPN New York