“You go into every game thinking you’re going to win, and it changes everybody’s mood,’’ D’Antoni said.
Lin was chosen as Eastern Conference player of the week after averaging 27.3 points and 8.3 assists in his first four starts. The Knicks have won five in a row heading into Toronto on Tuesday, turning things around after an 8-15 start.
“I’ve seen some of the highlights. It’s always fun any time there’s a new athlete, especially in New York,’’ Yankees star Derek Jeter said. “I’m no basketball expert, but I know he has added a lot of excitement. I think sports in general are a lot more fun when you have that.’’
The Knicks used words like “fun’’ and “exciting’’ to describe the last week as they met with an enormous media contingent for a mid-February practice. Lin sat out practice to rest, but Stoudemire was back on the floor after leaving the team last Monday after his older brother, Hazell, was killed in a car crash.
“The only positive for us during that whole week was we were watching the basketball games and we were watching Linsanity and my family was getting a kick out of it,’’ Stoudemire said. “That’s the only smiles really they had all week.’’
Plenty of others were watching. The Knicks said Saturday’s victory at Minnesota was their highest-rated game on MSG Network since Anthony’s Knicks debut last Feb. 23 against Milwaukee, and that ratings are up 70 percent over their season average since Lin became a starter.
“It’s more exciting than anything, just to see the buzz that he’s created here in New York, here in the NBA as a whole,’’ Anthony said. “I just want to get back there and be a part of it.’’
But amid all the good feelings around the Knicks, there was the question that won’t go away until the whole team is together in a game.
