Jeremy Lin: Breaking Down How Lin's Pick-and-Roll Skills Are Reviving NY Knicks

Before Jeremy Lin was the starting point guard for the New York Knicks, there was a lot of questioning regarding Mike D'Antoni's system and whether or not it could be successful.

In June 2011, even Donnie Walsh was reportedly left wondering whether the coach could find success using the pick-and-roll style of play he made famous with Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire in Phoenix.

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Sources close to Walsh claim that the team president has privately questioned whether D'Antoni's system is the right fit for the Knicks.

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Things are a little different now.

After an incredibly poor 8-15 start to the season which included failed experiments of both Iman Shumpert and Toney Douglas attempting to play point guard, Lin has emerged from the end of the bench and looked like exactly what the New York offense has needed to turn around its lackluster performance.

There has been a lot of analysis done and opinions expressed as to exactly what has made Lin so successful over his first five games in a featured role, but there are two key things that stick out in his game.

Lin has a phenomenal ability to keep his dribble alive, and he isn't afraid to aggressively penetrate into the lane when he's running the offense.

Those are two very critical traits in why Lin has found so much success with the pick-and-roll offense.

Let's take a look at the role Steve Nash played in D'Antoni's system while the two were together in the desert.

Lin, like Nash, has Amar'e Stoudemire, one of the best pick-and-roll big men in the entire game.

On the play below, we can see Stoudemire setting a screen for Nash just inside the three-point line.

The defender gets shut out of the play, and before Stoudemire rolls aggressively to the basket, Nash hits him with a well-executed bounce pass that allows him to explode toward the rim.

In this clip, we see the Nash and Stoudemire using the same approach which resulted in another dunk from Stoudemire.

Despite the defender not cutting underneath Stoudemire's screen, Nash is able to hit the big man on the move with a bounce pass which leads him perfectly to the basket.

No, Jeremy Lin is not Steve Nash, but he does possess some impressive court vision and that is not something that is going to change as time moves forward.

Although Stoudemire has yet to play with Jeremy Lin in a game (that changes on Tuesday), the power forward is already expressing the idea that he sees similarities between Lin and Nash in running the pick and roll.

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“I see similarities in their games,” Stoudemire said after yesterday’s practice. “Lin, he’s finding guys out there, he’s playing totally unselfish, he’s taking what the defense gives him and he’s studying."

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Keep this in mind: the Knicks haven't had a point guard all season. As noted above, neither Douglas nor Shumpert are point guards, and the idea of having Carmelo Anthony being a point forward just wasn't working.

The iso-Melo offensive strategy has drawn a great deal of criticism directed toward Anthony, but that style of play was a direct result of New York not having an offensive facilitator.

Now that Lin has given the team someone capable of directing traffic on the offensive end, Anthony, Stoudemire and the rest of the Knicks will have semblance in the overall attack.

We have already seen Lin's ability to flourish with Tyson Chandler on the pick and roll, and that has resulted in some impressive numbers for Chandler over the last five games.

Over that span of time, Chandler is averaging 14.6 points and 9.0 rebounds.

In the highlights above from Lin's performance against the Lakers, we see a couple of things happen with Lin and Chandler.

When the defender goes underneath the screen set by Chandler, Lin is having no hesitation in pulling up for the mid-range jumper.

What we also see from Lin is a keen ability to keep his dribble alive no matter where he is on the floor.

When the passing lane isn't available to him as he cuts through the lane, Lin can either put up a floater toward the rim or kick it out to a shooter waiting for an opportunity on the perimeter.

At a legitimate 6'3" and 200 lbs, Lin is not afraid to get into the paint and attack the rim, and he has enough size and strength over opposing point guards to do it consistently.

Lin has had some help along the way from a variety of unlikely sources like Jared Jeffries and Steve Novak, but the success his teammates have found of late is based off of what Lin has done.

Opposing defenses have to have a plan in place that prevents Lin from getting to the basket, but in collapsing defenders toward the rim, it leaves others uncovered and Lin has been able to find them regularly.

On Tuesday, we'll finally get to have an opportunity to see what Lin is capable of doing with Stoudemire back in the lineup. Although Carmelo Anthony is still out with a groin strain, Lin has a brand new weapon to utilize in Stoudemire.

Chandler attacks the basket while Stoudemire isn't afraid to shoot the open jumper, and that added element that STAT brings to the table shouldn't be understated as it allows for the pick and roll to flourish in a brand new way for the Knicks.

When Anthony finally returns, it should be embraced by Knicks fans. Anthony has been desperate for a ball-handling point guard capable of running the offense, and that is exactly what the Knicks have found in Lin.

Lin is highly unlikely to continually score more than 20 points per game on a regular basis with both Anthony and Stoudemire in the lineup, but what he can do is continue to rack up the assists while maintaining a strong handle on the pace of the game.

The Harvard product consistently has his head up when he dribbles and is always looking to make a pass that will result in an easy basket.

There is a reason Knicks fans, players and coaches are embracing "Linsanity."

The team finally has a player capable of making D'Antoni's system work.