NEW YORK — John Starks isn’t Asian and he never went to Harvard.
But he does see similarities between himself and Jeremy Lin.
Both started out with the Golden State Warriors. Both spent time in the NBA’s minor leagues. Both went on to become stars with the Knicks.
And, Starks believes, Lin can take the Knicks on a deep playoff run just like the 1994 team that featured Patrick Ewing and Starks and reached the NBA Finals.
“Oh yeah, I think they got a great chance to make a run,” Starks told SNY.tv during an exclusive interview Wednesday at the East Village Earth School where he was making an appearance. “I think if everybody stays healthy, then their chance is as good as anybody in the East.”
Even Chicago and Miam?
“Even Chicago and Miami,” Starks replied.
Starks is especially impressed with how Lin, just five starts into his NBA career, has taken a leadership role by talking to his teammates and gaining their trust.
“Right off the bat, he comes in and he takes control,” said Starks, who spent time in the Continental Basketball Association, just as Lin honed his skills in the NBA D-League. “Guys like Amar’e [Stoudemire], those guys are buying in and they’re listening to him. And that’s what you want to see from your point guard is you want to see a guy who can go out there and be a leader and take control.”
The Knicks (14-15) are now 6-0 since Linsanity began Feb. 4 with a win over the Nets and currently hold the No. 8 position in the Eastern Conference. Entering Wednesday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings at Madison Square Garden, New York has won five straight since Lin entered the starting lineup.
His latest heroics came Tuesday night when he hit a game-winning 3-pointer with .5 seconds left as the Knicks came from 17 down to beat the Toronto Raptors, 90-87, in Toronto
Starks traveled to China recently and said he imagined then that Asia’s next big star would be a guard, not another big man like Yao Ming.
“I made the statement that the next player that comes out of China will be a guy that’s about 6-5, 6-6, a guard who can do it all,” Starks said.
“Even though he is American-born…he’s Taiwanese. But it’s just amazing.”
Even as the world has gotten caught up in Linsanity — some 60 reporters and 15 TV cameras attended Tuesday’s shootaround in Toronto — Starks is impressed at how Lin has handled the whole thing.
“Out of everybody, it’s crazy around him, but you look at him and he’s calm, cool and collected,” Starks said. “I think that stems from him being out in Golden State for a year where they have a big Asian market. When he came in, there was a lot of hype about him coming to Golden State…And so he kind of dealt with that out there and now coming here to New York, he pretty much understands how to deal with it. But he’s going to be here for a bit. He can play.”
Starks added: “He reminds me of Steve Nash so much.”
Of course, the million-dollar question is how Carmelo Anthony will learn to play with Lin.
“What that’s going to come down to is coach [Mike] D’Antoni and how he’s going to run things when Carmelo is out on the floor,” Starks said. “For me personally, I would run more sets for Carmelo. That’s what he’s used to. You see when he gets the ball he stops, that’s because he’s used to being in sets.
“Whereas Amar’e, he’s coming out of that system. He likes to be on the move.
“And so [D’Antoni] is going to have to balance that. Maybe he runs a lot more sets when Carmelo and Amar’e’s in there. When Carmelo’s out, they go into their motion. That’s really going to come down to how D’Antoni figures that one out.”
For now, Starks is rooting for Lin because of their similar paths to the Knicks.
“To be able to just come out of nowhere, kind of like what I did,” he said. “All of a sudden I got a chance to play and I just made the most of the opportunity and he’s doing the same but he’s really lighting it up right now.”
