Jeremy Lin: Defense Proving to be Young Star's Biggest Weakness

For only the second time in the Jeremy Lin era, the New York Knicks suffered a loss with their new point guard sensation on the floor.

If you would ask any Knicks players, I'm sure they are more than happy with the 8-2 stretch they've experienced under Lin.

But if the Knicks are to continue to have success under Lin's guidance, one thing needs to be corrected in a hurry, and it has nothing to do with turning the ball over.

Right now Lin's biggest weakness is at the defensive end of the floor.

It's understandable that's where you would see him struggle. He's had so much thrown at him in the past 10 games that he's likely to have some defensive breakdowns.

The biggest reason is likely he's exhausted.

Lin's played more minutes in the last 10 games then he's played since college. The Knicks need him on the floor though. As amazing as he's been when he's on the floor, it's almost just as amazing how bad the team is when he gets a rest.

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni had to play Lin 46 minutes on Sunday to get a win against Dallas. It simply didn't look like Lin had the legs last night against New Jersey, and Nets point guard Deron Williams often took advantage, blowing by Lin en route to a 38-point night.

It's understandable for Lin to maybe want to conserve some energy on the defensive end of the floor, but the Knicks can't have that.

When the floor is spread out, Lin has had success taking a few chances and has made some plays at the defensive end as a result.

But when teams slow the game down in the half-court set and target Lin, it has often been a problem for Lin.

Active point guards such as Williams can take big advantage of Lin getting caught up in screens. When he gets out of the traffic, the result is a wide-open jumper, or he's a step slow reacting and is allowing easy penetration.

All of that is likely a result of fatigue.

D'Antoni has to find a way to get the kid some rest and still have the guys on the floor remain effective.

Baron Davis could be the answer for that, but in his debut, which saw nine minutes of playing time, it looked like he needed a crane to pull him up and down the floor. It could be some time before Davis gets into solid game shape.

Another option for D'Antoni is to get Lin defending off the ball.

That puts more pressure on Landry Fields to defend the ball, and when rookie Iman Shumpert is healthy, he can take some pressure off Lin as well.

One way or another, the Knicks are going to have to find a way to keep Lin fresh and energized. He can't afford to take breaks on the defensive end of the floor.

Teams are going to start attacking him more and more. It's going to be up to Lin to perform at a high level at both ends of the floor in the future.