Jeremy Lin: Why Linsanity Will Disappoint Knick Fans

Despite the recent hype, Jeremy Lin's 15 minutes are ticking away.

Almost a year ago today, the New York Knicks announced that Carmelo Anthony was coming to the Big Apple.

New Yorkers removed bags from their heads, dusted off their Knicks apparel and emerged from the woodwork with a reinvigorated interest in New York basketball.

Jeremy Lin incited a similar renaissance over the last two weeks, when the Cinderella story averaged 25 points in his last nine games, including dropping 28 today against the defending NBA champs.

There is no doubt that Lin is a playmaker. He sets up opportunities and can drive to the basket. He's an efficient player and certainly has the potential to go down in history as an elite point guard.

But not this year. Not in New York.

Expect the Linsanity dust to settle over Manhattan as life returns to normal in New York City.

Once Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith and Baron Davis are up to full speed, they will begin to breathe that New York air, and it will have suffocating consequences for Jeremy Lin.

Returning from his stint in the Chinese Basketball Association, J.R. Smith made his New York debut against the Mavericks today, raking in 15 points off of 16 shots from the field, including three three-point buckets.

While Jeremy Lin still came up big, one game is not enough to indicate where his season is headed.

Smith is a notorious ball hog, a "chucker" as they say, meaning that if the ball is in his hands, he will shoot it—regardless of shot difficulty, who's open or the overall game situation.

Once Smith spends more time in a Knicks jersey, his play style will dictate the role of other players.

Carmelo Anthony, who could return to the court as early as tomorrow, shares this trait with his former Nugget teammate.

Melo is averaging 16.2 points off of 18.8 shots from the field per game this season.

With Carmelo Anthony playing alongside fellow ball-stopper J.R. Smith and fellow superstar Amar'e Stoudemire, the court will be a little overcrowded.

This will take a toll on the beloved Jeremy Lin, who has carried a tremendous load since his emergence on the Knicks.

In his seven career starts with New York, Lin has averaged 38.1 minutes per game, and according to Sports Illustrated, Lin uses 33.2 percent of New York's possessions.

Only Kobe Bryant and Russell Westbrook surpass Lin's usage percentage.

Although Lin enjoys moving the ball around, his ailing teammates do not.

Melo's reunion with Smith and Stoudemire will equal less touches for Jeremy Lin.

Further, the return of point guard Baron Davis, who has not played this season due to a herniated disc, could cause Lin to lose his role as a starter in New York.

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni will have a tough choice to make.

Despite that New York rallied behind Lin to pull off an 8-1 record in its last nine games, only two of these games were played against teams currently poised to make the playoffs.

While Lin's performance has been exceptional, and his fairytale legendary, it takes more than two weeks of play facing just two tough opponents to truly test a player.

Compare Lin with veteran Baron Davis. The Baron's resume includes the experience of over 800 NBA games in which he has averaged 16.5 points. Davis also has 46 postseason games under his belt.

D'Antoni could justify starting Baron Davis over Jeremy Lin strictly based on the law of large numbers and the time test.

Further, as the league becomes familiar with Lin's play style, opposing defenses will be prepared for him and slow his roll. As a result, Lin's productivity could deteriorate rapidly.

Finally, Mike D'Antoni has cause for concern over Lin as a turnover liability.

As a starter, Lin is averaging 6.4 turnovers per game, and against the New Orleans Hornets, he tied a league-wide season record, coughing up the ball nine times.

D'Antoni could easily decide to start the Baron over Lin, doling a final blow to the New York Linsanity.

While Jeremy Lin has spent the last two weeks raising New York's expectations higher than the Empire State Building, Knicks fans could be sorely disappointed by their hero as veteran players begin to encroach on his airspace.

Jeremy Lin will achieve excellence in the NBA somewhere, someday. But with the Knicks likely to ask Lin to push over and New York attitudes prone to changing in a New York Minute, it may be a bit too soon for Lin to trademark the term "Linsanity."