Jeremy Lin: Why Struggling Star Will Rebound and Lead Knicks to Playoffs

Sunday afternoon in Boston was another struggle for Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks, who lost 115-111 in overtime to the Celtics.

Lin got into foul trouble early in the first quarter and struggled to score 14 points in 32 minutes. He had five assists, four rebounds and six turnovers while shooting six for 16 from the floor. He also struggled on the defensive end of the floor, where quality guards continue to give him problems.

However at the end of the day, the Knicks would have beaten the Celtics on Sunday if they had taken care of the basketball.

Lin played a major part of that, but he wasn't the only culprit. Backup point guard Baron Davis turned it over six times in only 21 minutes as the Knicks point guard duo combined for 12 of the team's whopping 22 turnovers.

However despite giving one away on Sunday, Lin will rebound and be fine.

If he's shown anything through his 14 games in the lineup, it's that he's got a short memory and he's rebounded nicely after a subpar game. There's also the fact that all of his mistakes are correctable. He's a smart player and it comes with experience.

It's easy to forget that Lin has started only 13 games in his NBA career.

He will get better at taking care of the basketball, but it's the second half of the season so the Knicks can't use Lin's lack of experience as an excuse.

They have to value the basketball better as a team. Cutting their turnover numbers in half will go a long way to winning more games.

The talent is there for the Knicks. Mike D'Antoni can go 10 deep, and all 10 guys are finding a way to produce. Lin's found a way to get everyone involved and keep them involved, and it's rubbed off on everyone to the point the Knicks are almost being too unselfish.

But the fact that the offense has seemed to gel quickly once Carmelo Anthony returned is a good sign.

The Knicks are a playoff team. What type of playoff team they will be depends on Lin rebounding and leading this team.

As long as he doesn't give away the ball at an alarming rate and the Knicks don't give away games, both Lin and the Knicks will be fine.