After properly spoiling his parents for some time, Lin placed them on his private jet to China, although he was reluctant to let them go. He had to relent since his parents were feeling restless and homesick.
Following that, the Knicks flipped into rapid fire mode; the Bucks, Wizards, Suns, Hornets, Bulls, Raptors, Nuggets, Nets, and Timberwolves all lined up and took losses.
Knicks fans were loud about it.
Knicks fans: We heard all summer that we were not the favorites. A bunch of blind folks calling themselves analysts.
Experts: Who said that? Lin Yi is the best active player in the league. We have always believed that.
When reporters asked Gregg Popovich about the new Knicks, the Spurs head coach did not hold back. He said this team felt even more dangerous than the Bulls from the old days.
"They play with real edge," Popovich said. "Lin looks like he leveled up again. If he keeps going like this, we might as well hand him the O'Brien Trophy now."
Lin Yi rolled his eyes when he saw the quote. He knew Popovich too well. Half praise, half trap.
The message was obvious. The Knicks are too strong. If the rest of the league does not gang up on them, nobody else is winning anything.
Translation. Stop studying the Spurs. Look at New York instead.
Lin Yi did not feel paranoid about it. Plenty of teams had fallen for Popovich's act before. He had too.
Last season, walking with Popovich along the San Antonio riverfront, the old man looked miserable. He talked like the Spurs were about to fall apart. Then came the Western Conference Finals, and the Spurs rolled out brutal defensive schemes against Kyrie Irving.
That was not the work of a team that stopped studying opponents.
Before that series, Popovich even joked, "If we don't get swept by the Mavericks, that's already a win."
The Mavericks later learned that lesson the hard way.
Back to the present. The Knicks' surge pushed their own record start to 22 straight wins, breaking the mark they set last season.
It also became the best start across the four major North American sports leagues.
The numbers were ridiculous.
123.8 points per game scored
99.5 points allowed
A net margin of 24.3 points
Even without Popovich saying anything, it was clear. The Knicks were turning into the league's public enemy.
After Heat games, reporters kept dragging LeBron James back to one topic.
"With the Knicks playing like this, are you scared?"
LeBron brushed it off in public. In private, the question stuck.
He had faced Lin Yi many times. Lin's shooting release was hard to contest, but LeBron still believed he could handle him one-on-one.
After breaking it down again and again, he reached a thought that bothered him. He wasn't scared of anybody, so why were they losing?
Am I the problem?
No. That's nonsense.
I organize the offense. I make everyone better.
Still, the doubt crept in. And with it came frustration.
Maybe it was time to play with more force. More pressure. Less patience.
If he failed to win a title this season, the hit to his reputation would be brutal.
The first round of All-Star voting for the 2012–13 season made that clear. For the first time since 2004–05, LeBron was not in the top three in Eastern Conference voting.
It was not final, but he knew what it meant. His standing had slipped over the past two years.
Worse, he was only twenty thousand votes ahead of Carmelo Anthony. If he missed the starting lineup entirely, the headlines would be vicious.
Meanwhile, both Anthony's were putting up strong numbers in Cleveland. The stats were hollow, but Cavs fans did not care.
As long as Carmelo held his level and the younger one kept improving, they believed the playoffs would come back.
When the Heat visited Cleveland, some fans even shouted it out.
"Thanks, LeBron. You leaving gave us hope."
LeBron smiled on the surface. Inside, it stung.
That was why this season mattered.
The Heat had to beat the Knicks.
And they had to win the championship.
. . .
On December 13th, while James was still stressing over the Knicks' growing list of problems, their perfect start finally came to an end.
At the Moda Center, the Knicks fell to the Portland Trail Blazers, 112 to 105, taking their first loss of the new season.
In just five days, the team had played three games, bouncing between the East and West Coasts. By the time tipoff came around, the fatigue had caught up with everyone.
Even a deeper rotation could not fully offset the wear from constant travel.
Shots that usually dropped stayed out. The fast break never found its rhythm. Given the circumstances, the loss was not hard to understand.
No team, no matter how strong, goes through an NBA season without stumbling.
History proves that point. The 72-win Bulls once lost to a Raptors team that had just entered the league and finished with only 21 wins. The 73-win Warriors also dropped a game to a struggling Lakers squad deep in internal chaos.
A packed schedule, high-intensity games, and nonstop flights guarantee one thing. Performance will swing.
That night, the Knicks' opening winning streak stopped at 22 games.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Trail Blazers players stood around for a moment, almost unsure how to react. It took them a while to fully process it.
They had actually done it.
They had handed the Knicks their first loss of the 2012- 2013 season.
After the game, rookie Damian Lillard, who led Portland with 28 points, could barely hide his excitement.
"This feels unreal," Lillard said, smiling. "We beat the Knicks."
He also shared a brief moment he had with Lin Yi after the game.
Lillard said. "He told me the future belongs to me. Hearing that meant a lot. He's someone I really respect."
The reporters listened, exchanging quiet looks. No one had the heart to add a small but important detail.
Lin Yi was only 23 years old.
At this rate, he might still be playing long after Lillard's own career was over.