NBA Rumors: Baron Davis' Iffy Status Means More Time To Shine for Jeremy Lin

The New York Knicks have been waiting and waiting for veteran point guard Baron Davis to make his season debut, but it keeps getting pushed back.

Davis has been fighting to return from a herniated disc in his back, but the latest setback, according to the Associated Press, is an infection in his right elbow.

As for when Davis will be able to play, Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports had the latest scoop on Monday night:

So, it might be next week and it might not be next week. The story of Davis' impending return continues to sound like a broken record.

Luckily for the Knicks, their point guard situation is not as hopeless as it was even as recently as a couple of days ago. A miracle has arrived in the person of Jeremy Lin.

Lin was a speck on the NBA radar this time last week, but he's absolutely exploded in the Knicks' last two games. He scored 25 points and had seven assists against the New Jersey Nets on Saturday. Mike D'Antoni rewarded Lin by starting him against the Utah Jazz on Monday night and Lin scored 28 points and had eight assists.

Suddenly, Lin is the toast of New York. Not bad for a Harvard grad who was undrafted and who was cut loose by the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets.

You have to think Lin's sudden rise is not going to last, but the Knicks will gladly take what they can get while they can get it. It's not like they have any better options at point guard, anyway.

At least not until Davis is ready to return. At that point, the Lin experiment will likely be put on hold so the Knicks can find out if Davis has anything left in the tank.

If he does, great. That means the Knicks are going to have two solid point guards to turn to, whereas before they had, well, none.

If Davis doesn't pan out, it will be apparent that Lin is truly the Knicks' best option at the point. There's no way he's going to give them 25 and 7-8 night in and night out, but right now it's looking like Lin is way better than people have given him credit for.

For now, the situation appears to be a win-win. The only way it's going to turn into a lose-lose is if Davis can't cut it when he comes back while Lin reverts back to being a scrub fit for the bench at the same time.

That eventuality should not be ruled out.