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Chapter 225: 56 Wins Later, The Playoffs Await
🕑 Added 2025-07-09 15:20:08 +0000 UTCIn Yi’s streak of ten straight triple-doubles took his popularity to a whole new level after the All-Star break.
He had the legends talking about him again for the second time the the quadruple double.
The Dream Hakeem Olajuwon praised Lin in an interview:
“He’s a phenomenal player — inside, outside, he does it all. I just think he could add a little more weight and be even more dominant.”
Lin took Hakeem’s advice to heart; it was on his bucket list anyway. He was planning to add 3–5 kilos over the summer, just enough to hold his ground in the paint without sacrificing speed.
The Gorilla Patrick Ewing, meanwhile, had seen enough. Watching Lin made him even more frustrated with his trainee, Dwight Howard. Ewing reportedly told people he was taking the next season off from coaching.
“It’s not that I don’t want to teach,” he joked to friends. “It’s that Dwight doesn’t want to learn. I’m trying to keep my heart from giving out.”
Lin’s brilliant no-look pistol pass from the Warriors game also stirred up memories across the league.
Larry Bird weighed in:
“The league’s changing. You see Lin out there — a center playing like a forward. Makes you wonder what’s next.”
Bird, despite his reputation as a shooter, had famously said he never really liked the three-point shot. But even he had to adapt to the times — and he warned everyone that with analytics taking over, it wouldn’t be long before teams were firing up 30+ threes a game.
Magic Johnson called Lin’s rookie regular season as good as mine. He added with a laugh:
“Look, big guys don’t usually have that kind of coordination. Lin can play 1 through 5 if he wants. But about that ‘pistol pass’? Cool, yeah… but maybe don’t overdo it. Sometimes your teammates won’t even see it coming.”
Plenty of other greats sent congratulations, including Lin’s idol, Kobe Bryant, who called Lin’s game cool as ice. Kobe admired Lin’s work ethic, too, knowing Lin was in the gym at 4 am, sharpening his range like he used to. Phil Jackson, on the other hand, wasn’t thrilled about his star chucking deep threes at practice.
“If he starts pulling up from there in games,” Phil grumbled, “Staples Center’s rims are gonna file a grievance.”
Of course, with fame came criticism.
Scottie Pippen couldn’t resist:
“Lin’s not beating Jordan. The defense back then was a whole other level of dirty. They would have broken Lin like a toothpick. Before you crown him, he’s gotta surpass LeBron first.”
Many of Lin’s fans hated Pippen’s comments, but Lin himself didn’t mind. He thought it was a fair critique if he was normal. Lin also figured if MJ had trained with today’s load management and analytics, who knows what numbers he’d have put up.
Then there was JJ Redick, who said in an interview:
“People are overhyping Lin. Dwight’s still the better player. Lin just benefits from his teammates.”
Lin, however, wasn’t fooled. He suspected JJ wasn’t standing up for Dwight so much as looking out for himself.
A Knicks staffer even floated the idea of trading for Redick to him, but Lin shot it down immediately.
Lin’s fans roasted Redick online, too.
Thread: Saw this gem on Twitter about Dwight and his high hoop IQ 😂
u/RamiroDegollado:
“If Reddick thinks he is that good, why don’t he help Dwight get a triple-double?”
u/jesperAspackad:
“You expect him to run the offense? With that IQ? Please.”
Even Patrick Ewing cracked a dry smile when someone brought up Dwight’s ability to organize the offense:
“Man, I’m trying to live a few more years. Don’t put that on me.”
…
Eventually, the streak came to an end.
On April 3, in the second night of a back-to-back against the Blazers — who were missing Roy and Oden — Lin finally ran out of gas. He played just 28 minutes, finishing with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in a 112–117 loss.
Afterward, he and D’Antoni agreed to ease his minutes for a bit, letting the bench take on more responsibility down the stretch.
Two nights later, the Knicks bounced back, beating the Clippers at Staples. Even after the streak, Lin’s buzz was still strong, and Clippers owner Donald Sterling reportedly regretted trading him. LA fans were already getting restless with the Clippers and starting to turn against them. Lin wasn’t sure even Blake Griffin’s return would be enough to make the Clippers real competition for the Lakers.
On April 7, the Knicks returned home for their final regular-season meeting with the Celtics. Boston’s Big Three sat out, so the Celtics were a shell of themselves. Nate Robinson, back in New York for the night, got booed for his past comments about the city.
The Knicks wrapped up another easy home win, this time over the Celtics. After the game, Doc Rivers had nothing but praise for New York.
“They’re dangerous,” Rivers admitted. “I’m not worried about seeing them in the playoffs, but you can tell when a team’s confidence is sky-high. On any given night, they can hang with anyone.”
On April 8, the Knicks traveled to Indiana to face the Pacers on the second night of a back-to-back. Lin Yi recorded yet another triple-double — 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists in just 33 minutes.
The Pacers, already eliminated from playoff contention, were focused on rebuilding. After the game, Lin quietly asked Javier Stanford to feel out the Pacers about possibly trading away next year’s first-round pick. The answer came back quickly: no.
The Pacers knew where they were headed. In the weak Eastern Conference, they figured a few smart moves would have them back in the playoffs soon enough, and history would prove them right. Not every team had to spiral into chaos like the Wolves or the Kings.
On April 10, the Knicks went to Orlando to face the Magic. In a cheeky moment during the game, Lin even took a free throw with his eyes closed — but only made one of two. “Would’ve broken Dwight’s spirit completely if I’d made ‘em both,” Lin later joked.
Lin wasn’t shy about trying to get in the Magic’s heads. With Orlando as a potential playoff opponent, every little edge counted.
Despite Howard’s disastrous night at the line (3-for-18), the Magic scraped out a win thanks to their perimeter shooting and suffocating defense.
Still, Dwight couldn’t quite enjoy it. Win or lose, the Knicks always seemed to get under his skin.
What stunned people, though, was when Lin pulled off Patrick Ewing’s signature turnaround jumper mid-game, perfectly executed.
Ewing, watching from the sidelines, just shook his head. After months of failing to teach the move to Dwight, he muttered to himself: “And this kid picks it up like it’s nothing…”
D’Antoni was already scheming for the playoffs. If they ran into Orlando, he planned to send Earl Barron, Milicic, and even Pat Ewing Jr. at Dwight all night, hacking him and daring him to make free throws.
On April 12, the Knicks hosted the Miami Heat — another likely first-round opponent. After a slow start, the Knicks cruised to a 101–84 win.
Lin wasn’t impressed with the Heat’s chances. “Unless Pat Riley dusts off his suit and coaches himself,” Lin thought to himself, “I don’t see these guys going very far.”
The Knicks then rolled through a back-to-back win over the Wizards on April 13, and on the 15th, they capped the regular season by losing to the Raptors.
That last game had playoff implications — the Raptors secured the 8th seed thanks to the win. After the buzzer, Chris Bosh broke down in tears, hugging his teammates.
Lin couldn’t help but smile. In his mind, this little ripple had already changed NBA history. In his memories of another timeline, it had been Derrick Rose and the Bulls claiming that final spot. Now, Rose’s reputation was already taking a hit — his story would read very differently this time.
Quietly, Lin realized something: among the league’s new generation of stars, he was already pulling ahead.
...
And so the 2009–10 NBA regular season came to a close.
The Knicks finished an astounding 56–26, climbing from dead last in the East the year before to 3rd place this season.
Final Eastern Conference standings:
Cleveland Cavaliers
Boston Celtics
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Atlanta Hawks
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Toronto Raptors
Chicago Bulls
Charlotte Bobcats
Indiana Pacers
Detroit Pistons
Philadelphia 76ers
New Jersey Nets
Washington Wizards
Final Western Conference standings:
Los Angeles Lakers
Dallas Mavericks
Phoenix Suns
Denver Nuggets
Utah Jazz
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Oklahoma City Thunder
Houston Rockets
Memphis Grizzlies
New Orleans Hornets
Los Angeles Clippers
Golden State Warriors
Sacramento Kings
Minnesota Timberwolves
First-round playoff matchups:
East:
Cavaliers vs. Raptors
Celtics vs. Bucks
Knicks vs. Heat
Magic vs. Hawks
West:
Lakers vs. Thunder
Mavericks vs. Spurs
Suns vs. Blazers
Nuggets vs. Jazz
In April, the NBA announced its monthly awards:
Best Rookie (East): Lin Yi
Best Rookie (West): Stephen Curry, after dropping 42 in his final regular-season game
Best Player (East): LeBron James
Best Player (West): Kevin Durant
The stage was set.
On April 17, the NBA Playoffs would tip off.
And on April 18, under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, the Knicks would host the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their first-round series.
The city was buzzing. Lin Yi was ready.
