After the game, Carmelo Anthony gave credit to his teammates during the postgame interview, praised the effort of the young Cavaliers, and spoke about the lessons the team could take from the loss.
Then, the moment the media session ended, he informed the coaching staff that he and JR Smith would be returning to Cleveland later than scheduled.
Five minutes later, sunglasses on, Melo had already disappeared into New York's nightlife.
As for what happened afterward?
Let's just say neither Melo nor JR wasted the evening.
Some habits never change.
While Melo was enjoying the city, Lin Yi found himself surrounded by reporters.
Naturally, the first topic was his daughter.
The second was a question that seemed to follow him everywhere.
Did he owe his success to having great teammates?
Lin Yi didn't even blink.
"I've always said the Knicks play team basketball," he answered with a completely serious expression.
Several reporters exchanged looks.
That answer sounded reasonable.
The problem was that it was coming from a man who had just posted 36 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists in his return from his childbirth and had only one preseason training session.
One reporter immediately followed up.
"So does that mean you think you're below players like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant individually?"
Lin Yi looked at him.
"Before I answer that, let me ask you something."
The reporter nodded.
"When did basketball become a one-on-one sport?"
The room fell silent.
Lin Yi continued.
"If we're talking about championships, shouldn't we also mention Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, and everyone else who helped build those teams?"
The reporter opened his mouth, then closed it again.
That was a difficult argument to continue.
Another reporter stepped in.
"Lin, what people mean is that some fans believe your achievements are amplified by the strength of the Knicks roster."
Lin Yi thought for a second.
Then smiled.
"Actually, I think I've been underestimated."
Finally, an answer that immediately caught everyone's attention.
"How so?" the reporter asked enthusiastically.
Lin Yi spread his hands.
"Because I spend most of the fourth quarter sitting on the bench."
The room erupted in laughter.
Lin Yi continued before anyone could interrupt.
"Think about it. If Michael or Kobe only played three quarters every night because their team was already up twenty points, their numbers would look a little different, too."
Then he paused dramatically.
"Besides, I haven't done much."
The reporters immediately sensed danger.
"I've only won a scoring title last year with only thirty-eight points per game."
"I won a blocks title."
"I averaged a triple-double only for a season."
He shrugged.
"Nothing special. Lots of people can do that."
The media room froze.
Then came a chorus of groans.
Lots of people?
Who exactly were these "lots of people"?
If you combined every achievement Lin Yi had casually listed, the number of players in NBA history who had accomplished all of them was exactly one.
Lin Yi.
. . .
Mike D'Antoni was much more straightforward during his own press conference.
"Obviously, losing Chris and Tyson hurts us," D'Antoni said. "They're important players, and we'll miss them until they're healthy."
He paused.
"But having Lin back changes a lot."
The reporters nodded.
That was probably the understatement of the night.
D'Antoni continued.
"When Lin was a rookie, we reached the Eastern Conference Semifinals together."
"Since then, we've won two championships."
"Our goal this season hasn't changed."
"We're here to defend the title."
The confidence in his voice was impossible to miss. Years ago, comments like that would have been dismissed as optimism. Now they sounded like expectations.
Winning changed everything.
The same coach who had once been criticized as a regular-season specialist was now being mentioned alongside the league's elite.
Many fans even argued that D'Antoni belonged in the same conversation as Gregg Popovich.
When Lin Yi saw those discussions online, he couldn't help smiling.
If people only knew how different D'Antoni's reputation had been in another timeline.
Then again, sports had always been simple.
Winning solved almost everything.
If a player won championships, his flaws became quirks.
If a coach won titles, his weaknesses became innovations.
History remembered winners differently.
That was why Lin Yi cared so much about rings.
Championships.
Dynasties.
Legacy.
Those were the goals worth chasing.
As for statistics?
Lin Yi laughed to himself while scrolling through the box score.
Of course, he cared about stats too.
A player had to be honest with himself.
If there were easy points, rebounds, or assists available, why leave them on the table?
And if anyone had a problem with that?
They were welcome to try stopping him first.
...
After the Cavaliers game, Lin Yi's return instantly pushed the news of Olivia's birth off the front pages.
The Showtime's return had a devastating effect on the NBA news cycle.
One moment, the league was full of storylines.
Next, every headline somehow circled back to Lin Yi.
James Harden couldn't help complaining.
"Basketball is ridiculous," Harden said while trying to build chemistry with Dwight Howard. "A bunch of stars are out here killing themselves every night, and somehow the biggest story is still Lin."
It was a fair complaint.
After all, Harden himself had been making headlines recently.
Not for basketball reasons, unfortunately. His relationship with Khloé Kardashian was progressing at an alarming speed.
Looking at the situation, Lin Yi couldn't help shaking his head.
Had Harden learned nothing from Kris Humphries and Lamar Odom?
Apparently not.
Lin Yi remembered that the next couple of years would be rough for Harden. His defense would become the internet's favorite punching bag, and endless highlight compilations would convince people he couldn't defend anybody.
Lin Yi thought that criticism was a little excessive. Harden was already a monster. The guy could spend nights partying, survive the constant media attention, and still casually put up twenty-plus points every game.
That wasn't normal, but it was freakish athletic talent.
NBA players really were built differently. An ordinary person trying to live that lifestyle for three straight days would probably need medical assistance.
Harden somehow turned it into a routine.
Of course, even Harden wasn't operating on Lamar Odom's level. Odom was a different species entirely.
Lin Yi had long ago concluded that Odom should not be used as a reference point for any discussion involving normal partying.
Still, he had tried warning Harden.
Whether Harden listened or not was another matter. At the end of the day, the Beard had a weakness for a certain body type. Nothing could be done about that.
...
On November 8th, the Knicks traveled to Charlotte to face the Bobcats.
Before the game, Michael Jordan had been in a fantastic mood.
Over the previous few weeks, every article questioning whether Lin Yi had surpassed him had brightened his day considerably. Unfortunately, after this game, Jordan found himself questioning life for an entirely different reason.
The culprit, surprisingly, wasn't Lin Yi.
It was Anthony Bennett.
Charlotte's rookie forward.
Through the first three games of the season, Jordan had actually been patient.
Extremely patient.
Almost suspiciously patient.
He kept telling everyone that rookies needed time.
They needed confidence.
They needed support.
He even resisted activating his legendary trash-talking mode.
Then he watched Bennett play.
Game One.
Twenty minutes.
0-for-8 shooting.
Zero points.
One rebound.
Game Two.
Twenty-seven minutes.
3-for-9 shooting.
Six points.
Four rebounds.
Progress at least technically.
Game Three.
Twenty-three minutes.
1-for-11 shooting.
Two points.
One rebound.
One assist.
Jordan's eye twitched.
Then came the Knicks game, and things somehow got worse.
Every time Bennett attacked the basket, Lin Yi was waiting.
Every time Bennett tried to finish, Lin Yi met him at the rim.
One block.
Two blocks.
Three blocks.
Four blocks.
Five blocks.
.
.
.
By the end of the night, Bennett had personally contributed a significant portion of Lin Yi's defensive highlights. The funniest part was that Bennett wasn't even the number one pick in this timeline. Otherwise, the media would have turned him into a national comedy act.
Poor Kwame Brown.
In another timeline, Bennett's struggles had been his greatest opportunity for redemption.
Now, even that possibility was gone. Meanwhile, Jordan sat courtside looking like a man questioning every scouting report he'd ever read. The truth was that Bennett wasn't completely hopeless.
When the Knicks evaluated him before the draft, Lin Yi had noticed a fundamental issue.
Bennett viewed himself as a franchise savior.
He wasn't.
At least not yet.
His skill set was much better suited to becoming a defensive-minded role player who could contribute energy, physicality, and occasional scoring.
There was a path to a long NBA career. The problem was whether Bennett could accept that reality.
His confidence was fragile.
His development was fragile.
And once the criticism started piling up, things only became more difficult. Unlike Dion Waiters, who at least possessed obvious offensive talent, Bennett was still searching for a clear NBA identity.
If he continued chasing superstar dreams, his future looked bleak.
If he embraced a different role, there was still hope. Unfortunately, reality rarely waited for players to figure things out.
By the final buzzer, the scoreboard read:
Knicks 129.
Bobcats 97.
A thirty-two-point demolition.
Lin Yi once again made the game look unfair.
He finished with 28 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals, and 7 blocks.
A near quadruple-double.
A 5x5 performance.
And another reminder of why every championship conversation still starts with New York.
As for the Lin haters?
They had only enjoyed a few peaceful days after his absence, but were now in pain.
The kind of pain that comes from confidently making predictions, only to watch Lin Yi casually destroy them before the first week of November was even over.
It only took two games for the Grim Reaper to assert his dominance, bringing the league back to the LinNormal.
. . .
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