Jeremy Lin: Is New York Knicks' Point Guard Not as Good as We Thought?

Even the biggest Jeremy Lin supporters had to realize that eventually the New York Knicks' point guard couldn't possibly keep up the historic pace he's at. It was one unmatched by any player in NBA history. But now that he's slowing down, does that mean Linsanity is not as good as we thought?

There's no question that there are some glaring weaknesses to Lin's game that have been exposed.

Lin can't handle pressure from opposing defenders who apply quick and full-pressure defense. Mario Chalmers started the trend while it appears Rajon Rondo perfected, making Lin look out of control to start the game.

Baron Davis was inserted early after Lin picked up two quick fouls.

In both cases, Lin did eventually settle in and slowed the turnovers, but he didn't have a good game in either instance.

Which leads to the next problem: turnovers.

Lin turns the ball over way too much, and at this point, the faster brand of offense he looked comfortable in looks too fast. Lin needs to make more sound judgments and not throw the ball across the middle of the paint with reckless abandon.

Not to mention how often he loses his dribble and/or gets the ball poked away.

The Knicks need to find a way to relieve some of the expected pressure in the beginning of games. It wouldn't be a bad idea for D'Antoni to do the inevitable and insert Iman Shumpert into the starting five.

Shumpert was already New York's point guard at one point this season and can help ease the pressure on Lin by putting another ball-handler on the court. And although he is a solid ball-handler, Shump has proven his best position is the two guard so the Knicks wouldn't exactly have to point guards on the floor.

And the Knicks would be adding one of the best young defenders in the NBA to their lineup.

But it's not only Lin's pace that needs to hit the brakes. It's the expectations as well.

The expectations that the Harvard grad can single-handedly solve all the problems of a troubled team and lead them to the promised land without any hardships or struggles. I'm pretty sure plenty of other young players have gotten more time to improve their game than this.

After all, Lin is only 13 games into his starting career.

It would seem to me that the theme here is: slow down.

It won't happen overnight as history has proven but if Lin was any other young player, he'd be off to one hell of a start to his career. That's a far cry from the walking question mark that the Knicks point guard has become.

No, I'm not in Jeremy Lin's head, but I'm pretty sure I can tell you what I think he should be thinking right now: I have to be ready for the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night and put all the expectations and negative stuff behind me.

You know. Take things nice and slow.