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Chapter 147: Grinding For The Badge
🕑 Added 2025-05-26 15:20:30 +0000 UTCThe Knicks fans had been on cloud nine due to their second five-game win streak, but honestly, it felt like they got a little ahead of themselves. On December 2th, they were on the second night of a back-to-back, playing away against the Magic… and let’s just say things didn’t go their way.
The team was clearly running on fumes. Back-to-back games plus traveling against Magic? Rough combo. And when your role players aren’t showing up, that’s a recipe for a loss. The Knicks just couldn’t hang with the Magic that night.
Funny thing? Dwight Howard barely played—he was in foul trouble most of the game and only logged 16 minutes. And yet, the Magic still cruised to an easy win.
Howard was fuming. He finished with just 7 points and 9 rebounds and never really got a chance to go at Lin Yi the way he wanted.
Meanwhile, Lin Yi, even though the Knicks were way behind, just started chucking threes in garbage time—pull-up after pull-up in transition.
He didn’t expect it to go viral.
Fans were loving it:
“Look at Lin Yi, still fighting even when the game’s already lost!”
“Did you see that deep three? Crazy work!”
Even though they lost, it somehow turned into a feel-good story. The Knicks may have lost, but not their fighting spirit .The media ate it up.
Lin Yi finally understood why Kobe always looked like he had to do everything himself—this kind of narrative pressure from the media is relentless.
That deep three Lin hit? It actually met the league’s criteria for an ultra-long three-pointer. He needed five more of those to level Limitless Range up.
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A few days earlier, on December 4th, the Knicks had taken on the Hawks at the Phillips Arena—and it was brutal. By the end of the third quarter, they were down by 28.
It wasn’t even because Lin Yi played terribly. The schedule was tough, and to be fair, Lin's shooting wasn’t great… but what the hell were his teammates doing missing everything too? One guy bricking is one thing, but a whole team following suit?
What happened to building a proper support system around your star?
Naturally, Lin Yi’s haters smelled blood.
After all the hype from their five-game streak, the Knicks had now dropped two in a row. And of course, the so-called experts started saying Lin Yi had hit the rookie wall.
But only Lin Yi knew the truth: this was just how he played. When he was in rhythm, he could go nuclear. But when he wasn’t feeling it… well, he just wasn’t. You can’t force it.
Also, let’s be real: this losing streak wasn’t all on him. Since Van Gundy Jr. broke down Lin Yi’s game on that segment, both the Magic and Hawks had copied the same strategy—focus on Lin Yi, ignore everyone else. Shut off his connection to the rest of the team, and the Knicks fall apart.
Commentator Su Junyang nailed it when he said this wasn’t a rookie wall at all—it was just the reality of building your whole offense around one guy. When he’s off, you’re done. The rest of the roster just wasn’t built to carry the load.
Role players are role players for a reason. You can’t expect them to be consistent like stars.
Of course, the drama-hungry media couldn’t resist. After the Hawks game, a bunch of them rushed over to get Lin Yi’s take.
“Rookie wall?” Lin grinned. “That’s not a thing.”
The reason Lin was so confident? His minutes had been managed perfectly. His body felt great. He wasn’t burning himself out trying to prove something.
Most rookies hit the wall because they go too hard too fast. An 82-game season is a marathon. If you don’t pace yourself, you burn out by the All-Star break.
Honestly, the Knicks just hit a rough patch. They’re not the Warriors—they don’t have some elaborate passing system. It’s a one-man show out there half the time.
Lin wasn’t losing sleep over the critics or the hot takes. He knew exactly when the Knicks’ skid would end.
Their next opponent?
The New Jersey Nets.
Unlike the Magic or Hawks—who were legit top-tier teams in the East—the Nets were… well, the Nets. No shade, but it was a whole different vibe.
Sure enough, the second round of the Chinese Showdown proved Su Junyang right: Lin Yi didn’t hit any wall. The Knicks just had a couple bad games. Simple as that.
And ever since Lin torched them last time, Su Junyang had firmly become a believer.
Turns out, Zhang’s analysis was solid, but Su Junyang’s breakdown hit the mark this time.
A bunch of Lin Yi fans even started saying: “ Su’s the real MVP of commentary.”
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The Knicks took care of business at home, cruising past the Nets with a clean 96-117 win.
Knicks: 15-6 and third in the conference.
In this round of the Chinese Showdown, both Lin Yi and Yi Jianlian were the top performers for their respective teams.
Lin put up a solid stat line—29 points, 11 boards, and 5 assists. Oh, and guess how many minutes he played? 30 minutes. He was in cruise mode during the game.
On the other side, Yi Jianlian finally seemed to be finding his groove. Since taking Lin Yi’s advice, he’s cut back on those questionable shots and focused on taking smarter looks. His shooting percentage is at a career-high 45%, and his three-point percentage is actually up to 37%. Not bad at all.
Tonight, Yi dropped 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, going 5-of-7 from the field. No free throws, but clean and efficient basketball.
His scoring average might’ve dipped, but that’s not the whole story—he’s rebounding better, shooting more efficiently, and most importantly, staying healthier. With less offensive pressure on him, he’s been able to avoid a lot of the wear and tear that used to slow him down.
Lin Yi’s confident that with the right off-season focus—especially if Jianlian doubles down on his defense—he could earn himself a nice deal.
He’s got the size, the jumper, and now the efficiency. Just needs to sell himself as a 3-and-D big.
Sure, in a league overflowing with freak athletes, Jianlian might not turn heads—but as a dependable role player? He’s got real value. And if he’s willing to evolve, Lin Yi’s more than happy to keep helping him grow.
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After the game, Lin Yi strolled into the postgame press conference in high spirits. A few reporters who’d predicted the Knicks were heading for a full-on collapse were looking pretty sheepish.
“All I said was that I didn't hit a rookie wall,” Lin Yi shrugged, half-smirking. “Nobody believed me.”
The reporters exchanged glances, clearly trying not to laugh. Please.
“Being wrong isn't the scary part,” Lin continued with a wink. “The scary part is choosing to keep getting dunked on by me.”
That rookie wall narrative? Dead in the water—at least for now. Even some of the haters were starting to walk it back.
Of course, there were still a few stubborn media folks holding the line. “It’s just a matter of time,” they whispered to each other. “He will hit the wall eventually.”
Lin couldn’t care less.
He had bigger things on his mind.
“Just need one more deep three…” he murmured to himself, eyes glinting.
If all went according to plan, he’d be unlocking that silver Limitless Range badge in the next game.
