Jeremy Lin: Complete Video Breakdown of Highlights Against Toronto Raptors

I’m confident that a large percentage of America didn’t spend its Valentine’s Day evening watching the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors, but I’m also confident they know how it ended.

Simply put: It was Linsane.

Jeremy Lin led the Knicks from a double-digit second-half deficit by scoring the team’s last six points, including a game-winning three with 0.5 seconds left.

Along with his late-game heroics, Lin contributed 27 points and a career-high 11 assists.

After you finish reading this sentence, take a look at this video of his complete game highlights as we attempt to break down each and every one of these plays.

The first thing to mention is at the 0:07 mark, where you’ll notice how one fan has done some sartorial work by altering his Carmelo Anthony shirt in order to support Lin.

Now, directing our attention to the in-game highlights:

0:19—Lin passes the ball off to Landry Fields, who hands it right back—essentially setting a pick for him.  Once Lin gets the ball on the wing, Tyson Chandler sets pseudo-screen on Jose Calderon.  Toronto center Aaron Gray helps too long on Lin, who delivers a perfect pass to Chandler for an easy layup.

0:30—Once Lin draws another double-team from Gray at the three-point line, he leads Chandler on a dive to the basket with a perfect pass.  Like a quarterback, Lin delivers the ball to an area where only his teammate can make a play. 

0:46—Gray and Calderon apply a soft double, which forces Lin into the corner.  The problem with this pressure is that they don’t force Lin to look down.  By keeping his head up for the duration of his dribble, Lin is able to find Bill Walker on the opposite side of the floor —great vision and poise for the second-year guard on this particular play.

0:55—As the ball starts from beyond the arc, Jared Jefferies comes from the post to flash a screen.  Instead of using it, Lin uses a crossover and hesitation move to blow by Calderon for an easy layup on the opposite side of the basket.

1:07—Lin demonstrates great patience by rejecting Jefferies' initial screen.  Instead, he swings the ball into the corner.  As Steve Novak returns the pass, Jefferies comes out again.  From there, Lin occupies two defenders with his hesitation move, yet he is still able to beat Calderon off the dribble for a layup that looks identical to the previous highlight. 

As he goes up towards the basket, you can notice how Lin subtly cradles the ball in order to gather himself and protect the rock.

1:39—As the ball is brought up in isolation on the right side of the court, everyone is three-point line extended.  Chandler comes from the top to fake a dive-screen.   As Lin attacks the middle, four Raptors fall below the free-throw line—which opens up an open three for Landry Fields.

2:03—Playing within the confines of the offense, the Knicks display great spacing and balance.  Lin finds himself open as the ball is rotated back to his corner.  Easy jumper.

2:15—It’s important to note that with 2:19 left in the second quarter, the Knicks are down 47-30.  On this possession, the shot clock is below five as a taller Linas Kleiza guards Lin.  Instead of taking him off the dribble like he has against Calderon, Lin backs up beyond the arc to create space and separation.  Once he is comfortable with the distance, he confidently steps into the jumper.

2:50—Out of a timeout, Lin runs directly towards Amar'e Stoudemire.  Obviously I don’t know what was said, but Lin’s actions speak loudly right here. 

In their first game start together, the young point guard understands the importance of developing chemistry and trust.

3:04—Lin is wide open as he receives a pass from Fields.  He smartly utilizes a pump fake, and as the announcer says, “his Harvard education just to slide over and knock down the shot.”

3:19—Lin delivers a pass to Amar'e off a screen while occupying the center’s defender.  This forces the weak side to crash down but still gives Amar'e a favorable matchup to exploit.

3:28—Lin brings the ball from the left side all the way down to the middle of the paint.  He occupies four Raptor defenders and spoon-feeds Amar'e with a layup.

3:52—While Toronto plays defense with four defenders, Lin draws the double off a screen and finds Walker for an open three —easy points for a team that’s down by 12.

4:01—The Harvard grad shows tremendous awareness and intelligence on this play.  With the clock down to seven, Kleiza switches out on Lin.

Instead of taking a perimeter jumper, he attacks the basket.  After bypassing Kleiza, Lin uses a subtle shoulder fake to get the trailing defender to leave his feet—leaving him with an open four-foot shot.

4:58—With 10 minutes left, the Knicks are down by eight. 

Instead of waiting for the Chandler screen, Lin blows by Calderon for the easy bucket.

5:11—On a simple pick-and-roll, Lin occupies Stoudemire’s defender as he makes his move to the middle of the key.  Instead of forcing a layup attempt, Lin dishes a beautiful wrap-around pass to the cutting center.

5:26—With 1:13 remaining in the game, Lin advances the ball all the way to the three-point line.

After receiving a pass back from Iman Shumpert, Lin passes up a three-point attempt and uses a pump fake to get past Kleiza again.  Toronto leaves the middle wide open by not sending any help defenders (perhaps due to Lin’s 11 assists).

On his drive to the basket, No. 17 keeps his head up.  Upon receiving contact, Lin keeps the ball above his head, which allows him to maneuver around Amir Johnson’s left arm.

Almost as equally impressive, the former D-Leaguer calmly knocks down the free throw in order to tie the game at 87.

6:11—The biggest play of Lin’s career comes from his own fruition—as Mike D’Antoni declined to call timeout.

With the crowd collectively cheering and the energy rising, Lin appeared calm as he held the ball just past half court. 

Being isolated against Calderon at the top of the key, he simply found the space he needed to get off a good shot.  Maybe if it weren’t for all those times Calderon had been beaten off the dribble, he would’ve played Lin a bit more closely.

Regardless of what could’ve been, Lin still had a hand in the Knicks’ large deficit.

His spotty defense against Raptors guard, Leandro Barbosa and eight turnovers definitely made things harder than they should have been.

While his performance on the most romantic night of the year was far from perfect, it is these imperfections that make us fall in love, right?