Knicks Rumors: New York Has Put Too Much Stock in Jeremy Lin

I have enjoyed Jeremy Lin's 12 game run just like most fans, but the Knicks are premature in treating him like a cornerstone. The Knicks, like most teams, have thrown their hat into the Dwight Howard sweepstakes. Peter Vecsey of the New York Post reported this of the Knicks pursuit of Howard:

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“I’m positive the Knicks have called just in case Dwight changes up,” an Eastern Conference GM said. “I’m sure they’ve offered a combination of everybody, excluding Jeremy Lin, of course. Otis deserves a lot of credit for not putting it out on the street which teams have offered what.”

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Hold on, after 12 games and 11 starts, Lin is an untouchable?

That is insane.

I agree the Knicks should be moving forward as though they have found a nice point guard, but to allow him to prevent you from acquiring one of the games' top five players is not smart.

Lin has been effective for this stretch, but Howard has been dominant for at least five of his seven and a half seasons. He finished second in the MVP voting last year, and he's a six-time All-Star that has missed only seven games his entire career.

So in this day and age of poor pivot play, not only is Dwight far and away the best, but he's durable as well. While Andrew Bogut, Brook Lopez and Andrew Bynum have miss tons of time due to injury, D-12 plays on.

On top of that, he's already led a team to the NBA Finals. What has Lin led the Knicks to?

Nothing yet, and that is precisely why he can't be called an untouchable.

Another aspect of this situation are the reports from Vecsey's article that indicate Amar'e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler and even Carmelo Anthony have been offered for Howard.

So are we saying now that 12 games has made the Knicks believe that Lin is less expendable than Chandler, Stoudemire and Anthony?

That is simply a ridiculous notion. I know the Knicks have to treat Lin like a stellar rookie or a lottery pick that has shined early on. I get that, but we're talking not just about superstars in Stoudemire and Anthony; we're talking about players Knicks' management built the team around just last year.

Has 12 games of Linsanity changed all that? I tried to go the entire article without a Lin-ism, but I failed.

Even if you put Lin's performance into perspective and view him as a rookie, which he isn't, there are still some signs of caution. 

His numbers over the past three games since his 28 point, 14 assist game against the Mavericks have tailed off.

In a home loss to the New Jersey Nets, Lin had 21 points, nine assists and three turnovers before fouling out. His counterpart, Deron Williams, had 38 points, six assists and three turnovers, and he also fouled out.

In the following game, a win over the Atlanta Hawks, Lin had 17 points, nine assists and four turnovers. Jeff Teague almost matched him with 17 points and three assists.

Finally, in the last game before the All-Star break, the Miami Heat dismantled Lin. The Heat handled the Knicks 102-88, Lin was held to 1-11 shooting, eight points, three assists and eight turnovers.

Is the league catching up with him?

I won't say that, as I believe he does have game, but I will say things are beginning to level out. His turnovers are a real issue, and in a playoff series, they will be huge.

Do all young point guards turn the ball over a little too much?

Yes, but what Lin is doing is more than a little. 

Lin is being treated as a player that has potential to be one of the NBA's best point guards. Some of the Lin-sane will argue that he already is.

Consider this; over the 12 games we've seen Lin regularly, he's averaging 5.66 turnovers per game. In a 82 game season, that would be 464 turnovers. That would break the NBA record by 142 turnovers.

To compare that number to the rookie seasons of Derrick Rose, Deron Williams and Chris Paul, all the premier point guards in the NBA, Lin isn't even close.

Through their first seasons, Rose had 202, Paul 183 and Williams 145. There is an obvious difference in system, but it doesn't account for that disparity.

Lin is a solid young player, but the Knicks must avoid becoming a victim of their own Lin-sanity. Lin hasn't proven he is an untouchable yet.