Monday Mole Skinks

Good day, hams! The Knicks got back to practicin' today, and I have a few links and things to share by way of those who attended practice. Take the jump for 'em

- Skinks are among my favorite lizards, though mole skinks seem especially slimy.

- First: Jeremy Lin is Eastern Conference Player of the Week! Congratulations, Jeremy!

- There's been a lot of "Can Carmelo Anthony MESH!?" discussion going on around the internet, with opinions ranging from "OF COURSE HE CAN HE'S A SUPERSTAR!" to "HE'S GOING TO RUIN THE KNICKS AND POSSIBLY THE WORLD!". I find myself in the "hey, maybe if we sit still for, like, a few days, we can just wait and find out" camp, though I understand the inclination to speculate. When that speculation grows into hysterical impatience and the formation of opinions on things that haven't happened yet, that's when I check out. Just wait!

- Either way, Carmelo Anthony got asked a ton of questions about Lin and the prospect of the two playing together, and here are some of the things he said:

Via Adam Zagoria:

"Give him the ball, get out the way. Space out [on the floor]." Melo on Lin #Knicks

Via Ian Begley:

Carmelo on concerns about him meshing in w/Lin. "All this stuff about me fitting in, it’s funny. I gotta tell you that. It’s funny to me."

Via Howard Beck:

Carmelo says he finds talk about him fitting with Lin 'funny' Says, 'Jeremy will have the ball in his hands.' #LinSanity #Knicks

Via Begley again:

Melo on Lin: 'I know there’s questions about 'Can I fit in?' and stuff like that, but this is like a dream come true to me.' #LinSanity

- And here are Mike D'Antoni's words on the subject:

"I only see it helping. I don’t see it as a problem," D'Antoni said late last week. "There will be some adjustments on both people’s parts. I see it as a big, big plus. I see it when Amare (Stoudemire) comes back, there’s another pick-and-roll guy, maybe the best in the game. I see that as a big plus. (Both Lin, Stoudemire and Anthony) have never played together so we can’t make that conclusion until we see it then we’ll adjust to it. I can’t wait to get those guys back."

- Melo, incidentally, hopes to be back by the end of this week. Amar'e Stoudemire practiced today and is ready to go for Tuesday, while Lin and Jared Jeffries did not practice today (they could both use the rest), but are also ready for tomorrow in Toronto.

Some other non-practice items:

- An interesting look at Lin from a strictly religious bent.

- Some other excellent waiver claims from NBA history.

- Kevin Pelton, whose basketball intelligence is unparalleled, takes a very detailed look at what Jeremy's shown us so far. I like this a lot.

- One more for the "Reasons I Wish I Was a Beloved Rising Basketball Star" column: Lin got offered a free apartment in the city. He probably won't even take it. Probably doesn't even know that people are offering him free apartments. Man.

- You've probably seen this by now, but Jeremy's little brother plays at Hamilton!

- In case you're still not clear about Lin's contract situation...here.

- Will's "Fifteen Reasons to Remain Unapologetically Over the Moon About Jeremy Lin" are quite nice.

That is all! Congratulations again to Jeremy, and here's to many more.