New York Knicks: 5 Questions Everyone Is Asking

After a rough start to what could have been a catastrophic year, Jeremy Lin has pulled the Knicks right out of the gutter. Yes, Lin is an international phenomenon, but since he started playing everyone else has been stepping up as well. Landry Fields has been grabbing boards and making plays, Iman Shumpert's defense has been uncanny, Steve Novak's three-point shooting has been igniting and A'mare and Melo are starting to find ways to make this all work. All these reasons are why the Knicks are more than just a fluke.

It was clear the Knicks were craving a point guard more than a pregnant women craves pickles and ice cream. Everyone was hoping for Baron Davis to be a savior, but luckily the Knicks found one quicker—his name is Jeremy Lin.

But with success comes scrutiny, and their are plenty of flaws to point out thus far. With Knicks fans finally having hope for the first time since Patrick Ewing, there are plenty questions for concern that fans would love to see answer. 

I cannot answer them because unfortunately I am not a wizard, or a Jedi. But I can talk about them, and asses what the Knicks need to do to be elite.

Will Carmelo Stick to What He Said?

According to ESPN.com Carmelo Anthony said, "When I get back, Jeremy will have the ball in his hands, and I’m playing off of that”.

It seems as though everyone thinks that Carmelo has been under a rock the past two weeks and has not seen anything that Lin has done. The fact of the matter is Carmelo has been right there all along; he sees what Lin is doing, and he knows how special the situation is. He has been craving a point guard, and to him Jeremy Lin is a "dream come true."

In a perfect world, Lin will keep doing what he's doing, and Carmelo will just be another option for Lin to dish it to. But we all know Carmelo's nature. He likes to create his own shot. Yes, he's pretty darn good at it, but that's a totally different style than what the Knicks are playing at right now.

For the Knicks to be successful, Camrelo needs to stick to what he said. He needs to let Lin control the game, and he needs to know when he is hurting the team rather than help it. If he can "play off" of Lin, the Knicks are golden. If he plays like the Melo we all know, then there may be quite a few losses coming New York's way. 

Against the Hawks, they flowed beautifully. Carmelo didn't take a crazy number of shots, and he did nail over half the ones he took. There was a pretty pass, and it was what Knicks fans want to hear for years to come, "Lin to Melo."

Can the Knicks Keep There Head Above Water When Lin Is on the Bench?

With a 24.2 player efficiency rating to back up all the talk, Lin is clearly providing a lift for the Knicks when he is in the game. However, fatigue is definitely catching up to him, and the young gun can not possibly play every minute of every game

When Lin leaves the court, it seems like all hell breaks loose for the Knicks. They stop playing defense, no one makes a shot and their overall play just looks sloppy. I call it the Lin effect. For the Knicks to be successful this season, they are going to need to learn how to play without him. If Lin has no energy, they aren't going to do well, whether he is on the court or not. 

Against the Hawks, Baron Davis was able to run the second team smoothly. If he can keep that up, Lin will be able to rest more. But you have to remember, Baron Davis is old. And it can't just be one guy responsible for how the Knicks do when Lin is on the bench. They all need to keep the energy. If they can give Lin more rest each game now, then come playoff time, the Knicks are going to be a runaway train.

Why Do They Dominate Good Teams, and Struggle with Bad Ones?

In the Jeremy Lin era, the Knicks dominated the Lakers, had a smooth fourth quarter against the Mavericks and utterly destroyed an injury plagued Hawks' team. However, they needed a buzzer beater to sink the Raptors, an improbable comeback to steal one from the Timberwolves, shot a worse three-point percentage than a fifth-grade girl's basketball team against the Hornets and suffered a crushing defeat to the New Jersey Nets.

It is completely understandable that Jeremy Lin has not gone undefeated. But what is not understandable is the teams they beat, who they struggle with and who they dominate. 

This is the sole question being asked that there is a legitimate answer to. They picked two teams to lose to so that Lin would not have to undergo investigation for having super powers.

On a serious note, they lost to the Nets because Deron Williams was absolutely wet from three-point rage, and they were without there best perimeter defender in Iman Shumpert. They lost to the Hornets because they are simply not perfect.

In a world full of haters and debaters, no matter who the Knicks beat, they are always going to have these losses that people will point out. On a serious note, If the Knicks figure out how to conserve their energy and maintain hype when they play sub par teams, they should be unstoppable, and eventually, maybe, just maybe, the haters will acknowledge the Knicks as a force in the East. 

Yes, Jeremy Lin Is Good, but How Good?

Let me take you through the thought process of a typical Knick fan during the whole Lin bananza.

Pre-Linsanity games: "Who is this little Asian dude they keep putting in the fourth quarter? I like him, he's all over the place!"

Game 1 vs. Nets: "Who was the leading scorer with 25? Jeremy Lin? Wow, what a fluke. If only he could do this every night, then we will have a shot at the playoffs."

Game 2 vs. Jazz: "Wow, okay, nice games from this guy, hopefully Baron Davis will bring some fire like this when he returns."

Game 3 vs. Wizards: "He did it three times in a row? Okay, let's just see how well he does against a good team."

Game 4 vs Lakers: "HE DROPPED 38 POINTS????? YEAH KOBE, I BET YOU KNOW WHO HE IS NOW!!"

Game 5 vs. T'wolves: "That's it, I'm buying a Linsanity shirt"

Game 6 vs. Raptors: "Oh. My. God"

And so on, and so forth.

We all know that he can play now, there is no denying it. Sure, he has some weaknesses, but so does everybody. Kobe is selfish, LeBron doesn't have a fourth quarter, blah blah blah.

Lin has given the Knicks hope.

But the question still does remain, what is this guy's ceiling?

If he plays too much, he will get burnt out, if defenses throw something different at him, he turns the ball over. Come playoffs, will he be able to lead the Knicks to the finals? I'm not going to predict that because it is literally impossible. 

When Can We Start to Consider the Knicks a Top Team in the East?

Since the historical break-out game against the Nets, the Knicks are 9-2. 9 and 2!!!! Since then, only two other teams in the East have been that good.

Guess who they are. 

Are you ready?

The Heat and the Bulls. The top two teams in the East. Clearly, with Lin the Knicks are not just better, they are in a whole other category. There is plenty of uncertainty and doubt about how they will mesh together, but you have to be Linsane not to believe they are good and can be a threat.

"But they're still the seventh seed in the playoff hunt." That may be true, but do you know where they were two weeks ago? They just climbed over the Celtics in the standings, and they are not too far behind the Hawks, who they just beat.

So when will it be okay to call them a top three five team in the East? When they beat the Heat? The Bulls? The Hornets? Only time will tell, but let's hope there are no Linjuries, and the Knicks can stay this hot.