Carmelo Anthony: Injury to Star Will Hasten Jeremy Lin's Return to Obscurity

Linsanity is sweeping the nation!

But it won't last.

Sure, Jeremy Lin has emerged from the depths of obscurity and has taken New York City by storm, scoring 53 points and dishing 15 assists in the last two games at the point guard position for the New York Knicks.

Sure, to this point he's been a great fit for Mike D'Antoni's offense, as Tim Smith of the New York Daily News found out from the coach and Tyson Chandler:

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“He has an attacking mentality,” D’Antoni said. “He can get in the paint and he is a point guard. You can’t explain the game all of the time and he doesn’t need you explaining it. He knows the game.”

“What Jeremy is doing is incredible because he’s moving everybody to their natural positions,” Tyson Chandler said. “The ball is moving well and the game has a flow.”

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And sure, with Carmelo Anthony sidelined anywhere from one to two weeks with a groin injury, Lin should really shine for the Knicks, right?

Wrong. The depths of obscurity beckon.

Here's the thing—teams didn't have tape on Lin before. They do now. They'll study his tendencies, they won't be surprised by his abilities and they'll game-plan for him. And without Anthony in the lineup this week, teams will be able to pay additional attention to Lin.

Taking a scorer away like Anthony won't help Lin; it will only take away a huge option as Lin runs the point. Lin's game is going to be drastically less effective if teams not only have a better idea of his tendencies but expect he'll try to shoulder the scoring burden in Anthony's wake.

With Amar'e Stoudemire and Anthony in the lineup, Lin can pick his spots and score within the natural flow of the offense. Without Anthony, he'll receive a lot more attention than he has thus far.

The result? Teams will learn a lot more quickly how to defend Lin and will expose his weaknesses.

The Linsanity honeymoon is over. Your opportunities to post #Linning on Twitter after a Knicks victory will dwindle quickly.

Hey, it was fun while it lasted.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets never accidentally fall over the goal line.