Jeremy Lin and New York Knicks Crush Hawks, Now Prepare for Heat in South Beach

Jeremy Lin will face his biggest challenge of his young career when the New York Knicks square off with the Miami Heat on the road Thursday night. 

Lin has taken not only the sports world by storm, but has become an international superstar in the process. If he leads the Knicks to a win on Thursday night, Linsanity will become even more intense over the All-Star break.

The Knicks have the opportunity to go in to the All-Star break with a record over .500. Considering they were 7-13 on January 28, it would be a huge success for the Knicks. 

The Knicks and Lin looked great in their final tuneup before heading to Miami.

The Knicks won 99-82 against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night and at one point led the game by 30 points.

Lin scored 17 points and had nine assists against the Atlanta Hawks. He also added two more steals, giving him 15 steals in the last four games. 

The Knicks, who evened their record at 17-17, will have to control LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in Miami. 

The Heat enter the game with a 26-7 record. They have won 10 of their last 11 and 15 of their last 17 games. 

James and Wade have been on fire for Miami. James has averaged 24.8 points per game in his last 10 games and Wade has 24.1 per game in his last 10.

New York will have to contain those two explosive players on Thursday night.

Along with limiting their production, the Knicks will look to continue with the success they had on Wednesday night against the Hawks. The Knicks had five players score in double digits against the Hawks.

This kind of balanced attack will propel the Knicks to victory in South Beach.

Amar'e Stoudemire, Landry Fields and Tyson Chandler are continuing to remain productive as the Knicks have begun to mesh.

New York's bench has stepped up significantly, especially Steve Novak. Novak is averaging 12.3 points per game in his last 10 games, including a 17-point performance on Wednesday night. Novak has been the go-to-guy when the Knicks fall behind and need a crucial three-pointer.

The Knicks also have Baron Davis getting his feet under him as he returns to action and J.R. Smith who has contributed nicely since returning from China.

If Carmelo Anthony continues to handle the role that he has been given, then the Knicks will be a dangerous team in the second half of the season. Anthony has allowed Lin to run the offense and that is going to prove to be invaluable to the Knicks offense.

The Knicks success would not be possible without the emergence of Lin.

On Thursday night, he has the opportunity to show the world that the Knicks are legitimate contenders in the NBA.