Jeremy Lin: 7 Ways He Can Engineer a New York Knicks Playoff Push

One month ago, the New York Knicks had little to no shot at making a run at the playoffs.

Then Jeremy Lin came along.

We all know about his story and rise to success, but what's important is that under his guidance, the Knicks begin the second half of the season only a game under the .500 mark at 17-18.

If the playoffs began today, they would be the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.

While that's a nice improvement, it's not good enough for the talent that the Knicks have.

Lin is going to play a big role if the Knicks are to climb up the ladder in the east.

If that's going to be the case in New York, here's a look at a few ways Lin can engineer a push for the playoffs.

Cut Down on the Turnovers

Lin has turned the ball over a whopping 67 times in his 11 NBA starts.

It hasn't entirely hurt the Knicks in terms of wins and losses—they went 8-3 in Lin's starts—but eventually things won't wind up working out as well if the problem continues.

While Lin has done a lot of things well, for the Knicks to be a serious tough contender in the playoffs, the decision making must be better.

Get Melo Going

Lin has been great for the Knicks, but New York is only going to be a serious playoff contender if Carmelo Anthony performs to his capabilities.

He was brought here to be the guy to take the Knicks to the next level. He's got 31 games left to figure it out.

Anthony has played in four of the games that Lin has received major minutes, not counting the Utah game in which Anthony got hurt. In those four games he's averaging only 14.0 points per game, much lower than his career 24.7 average.

He doesn't have to average that per night, but considering this isn't his type of system, Lin needs to keep Anthony very active and make sure he's getting his shots where he likes the ball.

Ditto for Amar'e

It's a tough job for Lin, but if the Knicks ever get both Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire clicking at the same time, they could be very dangerous.

When Lin took over the starting job, it was thought that Stoudemire playing with a pick-and-roll guard such as Lin would help him take off.

The opposite has been true, as a majority of the pick-and-roll sets have been run with Tyson Chandler instead of Stoudemire.

Chandler has reaped the benefits, but Stoudemire hasn't taken off just yet—he's averaged only slightly over 15 PPG in eight games with Lin.

Getting Stoudemire comfortable again instead of turning him into mostly a jump shooter will help everyone else on the floor out as well.

Continue to Play at Both Ends of the Floor

Just looking at steals doesn't give you a real read on if a guy is a good defensive player.

Golden State's Monta Ellis averaged 2.1 steals per game last season and he's far from being a good defensive guard.

Lin has averaged closer to three steals per game in his 11 starts, but he's been very aggressive on the defensive end and he can't lose that the rest of the season.

With the addition of Chandler, the Knicks has improved a ton on the defensive end.

This is Mike D'Antoni's best defensive team in New York, and Lin has been a big part of it.

With Baron Davis likely to take some of his minutes, Lin's legs should be fresh so he can't take possessions off at the defensive end of the floor.

Don't Forget About Everyone Else

While it's vital to get Anthony and Stoudemire rolling, Lin has to keep everyone else contributing as well.

It could be tempting to lean on the two superstars, but deferring to the likes of Steve Novak, Landry Fields, Chandler, J.R. Smith and the rest of the Knicks for contributions on the offensive end will be important at times.

Take Better Shots

Lin's shooting a respectable 47 percent from the floor, and it has to stay around that mark consistently.

Five of his last eight games though, Lin has been below that number, including the 1-for-11 performance against the Heat.

It's nothing to worry about right now, because as everyone else gets going he's going to be in better positions to score.

He's going to have to knock down shots at a consistent rate though, because he's going to be given some open jumpers in the future.

Lin's not a bad jump-shooter, but it's not his biggest strength. He's just going to have to make the opposition pay for giving him open looks.

Play Your Game

All the attention in the world has been on Lin and the pressure will only build as we get later in the season.

While there are some things he needs to improve on, the most important part is that Lin doesn't change a thing.

Play the same aggressive style and keep the rest of the team involved, and it won't be long before the Knicks climb up the Eastern Conference standings.