Kings vs. Knicks: Everything We Learned from New York's Big Win

There is more to the New York Knicks' blowout win over the Sacramento Kings than the lopsided 100-85 final score. The new-look Knicks and Jeremy Lin notched their seventh victory in impressive fashion, but it did not come without some areas of concern.

First, the positives.

13 Assists for Lin

Lin showed he could distribute, and the Knicks still won. This is something he'll obviously need to do more with Amar'e Stoudemire back and Carmelo Anthony returning shortly. Lin took only six shots, which is by far his lowest amount of field-goal attempts in his extraordinary run.

That versatility will be key in his ability to bring the Knicks talent together.

Balanced Scoring

The Knicks had seven players in double figures. No player took more than 11 shots, and the Knicks offense ran as well as it has all year. A lot of this has to do with Lin, as his unselfishness has be infectious so far.

Defense

Yes, defense. The Knicks held the Kings to 37.9 percent shooting from the field. For as much attention as the Knicks offense has received with Lin at the point, the team won't reach its ultimate goal without good defense.

The 85 points allowed tied for the fewest they have allowed in the seven-game streak, and it was the second-lowest shooting percentage allowed.

Now for the negatives....

Lin is Still Turning the Ball Over A Ton

Lin had another six turnovers against the Kings, and he's averaging over five per night in the win streak. This can't be ignored, and it won't fly against the better teams in the league—especially the teams that are solid defensively.

Turnovers will kill you. Even Lin isn't the exception to that rule.

Three-Point Shooting

The shooting from distance was a puny 29 percent. The Knicks got away with it because they played decent defense, and the Kings couldn't shoot a Skittle in the ocean. New York moved the ball, and they were 15-of-17 from the free-throw line. 

On a night with a team shooting better from the field, the Knicks could have found themselves in trouble.

Quick Point Guards are Giving Lin Problems

A good portion of Lin's six turnovers came with Kings rookie Isaiah Thomas guarding him. Thomas isn't big, but at 5'8", he's very quick. That quickness seemed to give Lin problems on both ends.

Thomas had 14 points in 24 minutes and he was able to force Lin into some turnovers using his footspeed and quick hands to poke at the dribble.

He wasn't the first speed guard to give Lin some issues during this run.

John Wall, one of the NBA's quickest, lit Lin up for 29 points and six assists. Of the seven teams Lin has faced, only Washington and Sacramento have had guards on their roster capable of exploiting Lin's less than stellar foot speed.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Lin matches up against players like Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul. These are all quick point guards who play for good teams.

That will be Lin's biggest test yet.