Jeremy Lin: 7 Bold Predictions for Lin's 2012 Campaign

Jeremy Lin fever is sweeping through New York, and Linsanity is in full force in and around Madison Square Garden.

For a team that has been desperate for a point guard all season long, Lin is providing a reason for Knicks fans to be hopeful that the season can be turned around after a turbulent beginning.

There is no question that New York needs better play from the point position, but the infatuation with Lin and dubbing him as some sort of "savior" is not the right move.

Now that Lin has gotten his chance to show he can play, let's put a few things into perspective about what to expect from him going forward.

He Won't Keep Up This Pace All Season

Taking nothing away from what Jeremy Lin has done with his opportunity, he's not going to score more than 20 points per game with any sort of regularity all season.

The most important thing to remember with Lin is that there isn't a lot of tape on him currently, and that's allowing him to get more offensive opportunities than would otherwise be present.

Lin has taken a whopping 29 shots over his last two games (since being handed the controls), and that will never keep up when both Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony are in the lineup.

Can he continue to pile up the assists?

If he has the ball in his hands with the same frequency as he does now, absolutely. But, when the two "big boys" are back in the lineup, Lin is going to have to play off the ball more often.

There Is a Reason He Was Waived Twice This Season

Having a contract that wasn't guaranteed obviously played a part in the decisions by both Golden State and Houston to let him go, but this kid was waived twice before the season even began.

It makes sense that the Rockets didn't have much of a need for Jeremy Lin with Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic and Jonny Flynn in the fold.

However, Lin's hometown Warriors couldn't even find a spot to keep him, despite the uncertainty surrounding Stephen Curry's ankle, and the team signed veteran Nate Robinson off the street to fill the need at the position.

Lin was sent to the D-League by the Knicks earlier this season and was buried at the end of the bench for a great deal of time before his number was called.

Defenses Will Adjust to His Style of Play

Jeremy Lin is a better defender than some might give him credit for and can certainly penetrate into the lane, but the hyperbole around his game has put the blinders on for some people.

When he plays extended minutes, as he has been of late, the opposing defense will get a better idea of how to plan an attack that will limit what he's able to do, and Lin will be forced to acclimate his game as a result.

He's fared very well when playing to his strengths for the Knicks, but when he's forced to do things that he may not be so comfortable with, it will be interesting to see just how much success he finds.

Scoring Will Slow Down in a Big Way

As noted before, there is just no way Jeremy Lin is going to be a perennial 20-point scorer in this league.

Lin's previous career high for points in a game was 13 points back in November of 2010 in garbage time against the Lakers. When everyone is healthy for the Knicks, there are just not enough touches to go around to propel Lin to a high-scoring average.

The other thing about Lin's scoring is that he's doing it by necessity right now, and when Anthony and Stoudemire return, the emphasis is going to have to be on distribution in order for the Knicks to click on all cylinders.

Baron Davis' Eventual Debut

Even though it might seem like it for some fans at this point, the Knicks didn't bring in Baron Davis just to sit on the bench in street clothes all season.

Of course, health is always an issue when dealing with B-Diddy, but the veteran showed that he's still an effective point guard when he's on the court with 12.8 points, 7.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game for the Clippers last season.

Davis isn't going to take a back seat to Jeremy Lin when he's ready to go, and Knicks fans who have been clamoring for him all season would be foolish to shelve him in favor of Lin when both are healthy.

Lin has played well enough that he's not going to go back to irrelevance when everybody in uniform is capable of playing, but with Davis, Iman Shumpert and Landry Fields all vying for minutes in the backcourt, something has to give.

Sample Size Can Be Misleading for Production Throughout Season

At the end of January, Jeremy Lin had just been recalled from the D-League and was facing an uncertain future with the deadline for contracts to be guaranteed just around the corner.

Now, he's the biggest story in New York because of what he's done over the last two games.

What Lin has been able to do is nothing short of impressive, but it would be both foolish and misleading to extrapolate that production over the course of an entire season.

He's providing something that the Knicks need right now, which is absolutely great, but that doesn't mean it's going to be the same story a few days, weeks or months from now when it comes to what he's doing on the court.

Strength of Opposition Will Show Talent

Jeremy Lin has abused the Nets and Jazz for his recent barrage. The games were at Madison Square Garden, and both New Jersey and Utah struggles to win away from home.

With Carmelo Anthony out for the next one to two weeks due to a groin strain and Amar'e Stoudemire mourning the tragic loss of his brother Hazell, the Knicks will need the Linsanity to continue.

Here are the next six games for the Knicks through February 17: Washington, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota, Toronto, Sacramento and New Orleans.

The Lakers can still cause problems, and Minnesota is an interesting team with Ricky Rubio in the fold, but that's not exactly a murderer's row of opponents over the next week-and-a-half.

It'll be much more fascinating to see how he fares in the four games that follow the six games outlined above, as Lin and the Knicks will go against Dallas, New Jersey, Atlanta and Miami.