Jeremy Lin: Lack of Linsanity Has Allowed New York Knicks to Thrive

Jeremy Lin's New York Knicks have rattled off five straight victories to reclaim a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. While most people assumed that the firing of Mike D’Antoni caused the spark, the real reason for the team's success is a lack of Linsanity.

When Lin first emerged, there wasn't a sports network that could resist the urge to talk about the NBA's newest star. He was given a spot in the All-Star weekend festivities and gave New York a reason to care about basketball again.

Once Carmelo Anthony returned, however, the Knicks fell into a slump. And like all fads eventually do, Linsanity went from a boil to a simmer. Everybody moved on to new stories like Peyton Manning's free agency drama or the NCAA tournament.

The problem was never talent, but rather players unfamiliar with reach other getting used to playing as a cohesive unit. People want instant results even though it takes time to build chemistry.

So, while New York fans were filling out their brackets or desperately searching for any link between Manning and the Jets, the Knicks were working toward becoming a team instead of five guys going in different directions.

Even during the losing streak that resulted in D’Antoni's departure, there were signs of improvement from the Knicks. They were just masked because of a tough schedule.

After a narrow loss to the Chicago Bulls, the league's best team, Mike Woodson took over as head coach and it was like the stars finally aligned. The schedule got easier, and everybody started to fill their respective roles, leading to the team's current winning streak.

Lin, who was regularly jacking up more than 20 shots per game, has become more of a distributor. Anthony has resumed his role as New York's top offensive option. Amar'e Stoudemire raised his level of play in the post, and everything else fell into place.

The turnaround likely wouldn't have been possible if Linsanity remained at its original peak, when every Knicks game was being treated like a must-see event. Since the spotlight was so bright, it was tough to get back to basics to fix the problems.

The Knicks have enough talent to make some noise down the stretch and into the playoffs. They should only continue to improve now that everybody is on the same page, so if the Linsanity fire were rekindled, they are far more prepared to handle it.

If you ask Lin, though, he's probably more than willing to cede the attention to Tim Tebow, New York's newest megastar.