After Lin Yi gave up the dunk to protect Harrington's landing, the whole Knicks squad pretty much made up their minds:
This guy? He's a brother..
Even the most stubborn vets, after seeing his performance and selflessness, started seeing him in a serious light for the upcoming season.
And that included Nate Robinson, even though the guy was still limping through rehab. Nate had a huge ego, but he wasn't dumb. Lin had been the No. 1 pick for a reason, and the way he dominated the scrimmage? Yeah, it shut people up real quick.
It wasn't like Ricky Davis was around to mess things up—there aren't many dudes in the NBA with lower EQ than that guy.
And Lin? He wasn't acting like a diva in the locker room, either. He didn't go around acting like he owned the place. Jokes, pranks—he could take it. He just wanted to ball. He wasn't trying to be some locker room cancer.
Ewing Jr and Earl Barron? They both started treating Lin like a bro, even though they were older than him. Age didn't matter—talent did. If you could hoop, you earned respect.
Nobody had a problem with it. So, Coach D'Antoni finally started putting his system in motion.
Chris Duhon was still the starting point guard—for now. Tony Douglas had his flaws, and Nate? GM Donnie Walsh was probably gonna flip him midseason to dump a bad contract.
Still, Duhon wasn't a true PG. Most of the time, it was just Lin bringing the ball up, setting a pick-and-roll, or reading the defense himself to attack or pass from the high post.
D'Antoni's plan was simple: run, run, and run some more.
Lin Yi and David Lee could both push the pace, so transition offense would be the Knicks' bread and butter.
...
Days went by. Buzz kept building.
Chinese fans, especially, were hyped. With Yao Ming announcing he'd miss the whole season, a lot of Yao's diehard fans felt lost.
The Chinese national team had just lost in the Asian Championship final, and the whole "Giggle-gate" mess tanked Sun Yue's popularity. Dude had to act nonchalant and giggle after losing 52-70.
Fans were pissed the summer national team hadn't called Lin Yi up.
Yi Jianlian's awkward performance didn't help either. People were running out of patience with him.
CCTV was planning to broadcast 40 Knicks games in the new season. The Nets? Just 25. That's how big Lin Yi had already become in China.
Knicks fans couldn't stop clowning the Nets.
He knew the guy didn't handle pressure well. This season, the Nets were putting everything on him and Brook Lopez.
This could be YI's last real shot.
...
Yao hadn't forgotten about Lin Yi, either.
Even while rehabbing, he called to check in and told Lin, "Hey, if you get the chance, look out for Jianlian."
They were both in New York, after all. Easy to meet up.
"Jian doesn't talk much," Yao said. "Not many friends on that team. I can tell—he's playing like he's carrying a burden. If he doesn't figure it out soon, he might not last in the league."
Lin Yi had already changed a few things in history. And now Yao? He was serious about getting healthy. Said he was working on slimming down to 125–130kg. Watching Lin play had inspired him—he wanted one last shot at a Chinese Showdown with Lin before retiring.
...
On September 24, a full week before preseason started, Lin Yi took Yi Jianlian out to eat at an Italian spot called Silvestri's in New York.
Jianlian didn't talk much these days. After Vince Carter left for Orlando, there wasn't anyone on the Nets who looked out for him anymore.
Lin, on the other hand, was laughing and joking with teammates every day. He had people passing him the ball, looking for him on every play.
Jianlian? He barely said a word on the court. How could you expect teammates to pass you the ball when they barely knew you?
He was too humble. In American locker rooms, being too humble can come off as clueless. Yao was humble, but was elite, so he'd earned his space. But Jianlian?
He was trying to be a ghost.
The lamb came out—smelled amazing, cooked just right.
Yi Jianlian barely touched his food. "Lin Yi… maybe I'm just not cut out for the NBA."
His agent had been pushing him to take more shots next season, get some numbers up, maybe snag a decent contract.
But Lin Yi could see it: the guy was lost in his head.
He'd been training nonstop, but training in the wrong way. Buffed up? Sure. But the results? Not there.
Lin sighed. He used to be one of those fans who believed Ali would be the next big thing.
"Brother Lian," Lin said gently, "I think you need to work more on ball-handling. You're still fast. Cut down on those forced post-ups. Last year, your layup percentage was worse than some guards."
Yi stiffened.
"You've got to finish better. If it's your rebound, take it. Don't second-guess and pass it out. Also, focus on defense. If you can defend, you'll always find a spot in the league. And man, you can shoot. So stop hanging in the midrange and just shoot threes. Your high post is almost a three-pointer anyway."
Yi Jianlian looked confused. "So… you're telling me to cut back on isos, defend hard, and shoot more threes?"
A 3&D guy?
Lin nodded.
He knew the truth—Yi Jianlian wasn't made to be a team's core. Physically, he was rare for an Asian player. But in the NBA, where every other guy was a freak athlete, that edge just wasn't enough.
Jianlian couldn't be Yao. He didn't have the footwork or the touch inside. His layup percentages told the story, hovering around 40% year after year.
Even in his best season with the Wizards—playing blue-collar minutes, catching lobs from Wall—he only shot 41.8% overall.
Too many fadeaways. Too much hesitation.
If he could just play simpler—eat lobs, play defense, shoot open threes—he'd have a place.
The problem was, his agent still had him chasing star status, hoping for Yao-level numbers.
That was a dead end.
It's why Lin was serious about building his agency one day. Some agents just wanted their cut—they didn't care about careers.
Yao had asked Lin to look after Jianlian. But man… Lin was still 19.
Isn't it kinda messed up that I'm the one advising a guy older than me? Lin thought.
"I'll hit you up," Yi Jianlian said. "We're close anyway. You're killing it out here. Might even have a higher ceiling than Yao."
He wasn't trying to act big in front of Lin. He respected him. Lin was at a young age, but he carried himself with an air of maturity.
"No problem," Lin grinned.
The Knicks were gonna face the Nets four times this season.
No shortage of chances to meet.
And yeah—Chinese Showdown was already heating up in the press.
...
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