New York Knicks: Jeremy Lin Has Saved Mike D'Antoni's Job This Season

Jeremy Lin was once again the major factor in another New York Knicks' win, their third straight, over the Washington Wizards 107-93. The Knicks appear to be turning things around with Lin at point guard, and in turn, the whispers about Mike D'Antoni's job security being in jeopardy are quickly silencing by the day.

Before Lin's entrance into the Knicks lineup this season, New York was playing poorly, posting an 8-15 record which was extremely disappointing for a team sporting Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire in their starting five.

They had even lost 11 of 13 games during their worst stretch of the season.

It was pretty clear that the system D'Antoni was running needed a point guard which the Knicks didn't have. With Mike Woodson and his head coaching experience sitting on the bench, it looked like D'Antoni would likely be replaced by one of his assistant coaches.

Enter Lin.

The Knicks are now surging with Lin at the point, and the most important piece in D'Antoni's system is firmly in place. Even without Anthony and Stoudemire in the lineup the past two games, the Knicks have won handily, playing some of their best team basketball of the season.

In New York, a three-game winning streak guarantees nothing, but seeing as how this team is rapidly improving with the presence of a ball-handling point guard like Lin, this team will only get better and stronger when Anthony and Stoudemire return by next week.

If the Knicks can put it all together with their best players in the lineup, they will be a formidable force in the NBA.

With the type of star power that New York possesses, it's hard to imagine that it's actually Lin who is saving D'Antoni's job this season. However, Lin's star power is increasing faster than anyone could have ever dreamed of and before long, he will become the most popular player on the team. That's a direct result of D'Antoni giving Lin a shot for whatever reason.

With the possibility of a coach like Phil Jackson waiting in the wings, it'll be tough for D'Antoni to keep his job past this season because he will need a spectacular season in order to do so. But until then, his job is safe and Lin is the reason why.