Linsanity: Jeremy Lin Proving That He Can Succeed in the NBA

The New York Knicks have seen their season take a turn in the right direction after losing Carmelo Anthony to a groin injury and Amar’e Stoudemire to personal issues. Head coach Mike D’Antoni was facing questions about whether he will have a job or not.

The starting point guard spot has been a question mark, as rookie Iman Shumpert (not efficient enough just yet), veteran Mike Bibby (bench role) and Toney Douglas (talented but erratic) have not been able to maximize on the opportunity.

Veteran Baron Davis was the next logical choice to turn to, although not yet ready to contribute as he is recovering from a back injury. So, enter Jeremy Lin.

Lin played four years of college basketball at Harvard (despite establishing himself as one of the top players coming out of high school in California), and after going undrafted in 2010, spent the 2010-11 NBA season as a member of the Golden State Warriors (his hometown team). Although a popular player due to his California roots, Lin appeared in 29 games while averaging 2.9 points in his rookie year.

However, Lin was waived by the Warriors, and spent some time with the Houston Rockets, but was released prior to the start of this season. Lin was picked up off waivers by the Knicks and, until the past four games (New Jersey, Utah, at Washington and the Los Angeles Lakers), has been showing everybody in the league what they have missed out on by making the most of his opportunity.

Lin has been a much-needed spark to the team and has shown he can allow Jared Jeffries, Landry Fields and Tyson Chandler, among others, to play at a high level. He is proving himself to the national media as reporters and beat writers figure out the mystery that was Jeremy Lin.

If he can keep up his level of play, how better will things be once Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire are back? The media will soon move to this topic and will now give Lin his due.

One can only imagine that with the way things are going, it will only get better and maybe D’Antoni can relax about his job status.