4 Reasons the New York Knicks Do Not Need Jeremy Lin

We all recall one of the most intriguing and fascinating stories in sports last year that became to be known as Linsanity. Jeremy Lin took the sports world by storm with his rise, seemingly out of nowhere, to become one of the most exciting players to watch around the NBA. However, as quickly as this story began it had an equally abrupt ending. After only 25 electrifying games in the New York Knicks starting rotation, Lin suffered a knee injury requiring surgery that kept him out the remainder of the season.

The extremely small window that we were able to see Lin perform in has now thrown his potentially former team into a very interesting dilemma. What is the hero behind the most amazing sports story of 2012 worth? Will he continue to produce the way he did over his 25 game stretch for the Knicks or will he sputter out and simply become an average point guard in the NBA, one who the Knicks can live without. James Dolan seems to think the latter, and so do I.

4. High Assist to Turnover Ratio

One of the most important stats to look at in order to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of a point guard is the assist to turnover ratio. This also happens to be the statistic that everyone seems to be overlooking from the Linsanity phenomenon.

Out of the 44 point guards that qualified by number of minutes and games played, Jeremy Lin’s 1.7 assist to turnover ranked a disappointing 40^th overall and his turnovers per game was tied for the fourth highest.

A point guard who is prone to turning the ball over is exactly what the New York Knicks do not need in order to progress their team to the next level. As a team last year, they ranked 29^th in turnovers per game, a stat that must be improved upon next year’s season.

3. Liability on Defense

Maybe the most overlooked part of Jeremy Lin’s game is his deficiency on the defensive side of the ball. Lin has often been compared to Steve Nash because of his ability to pass, as well as his famous lack of ability to defend. However, Lin is not the point guard or the shooter that Nash is and does not do enough on the offensive side to make up for the liability that he creates on the defensive.

Two examples of his defensive struggles came against two of the league’s best point guards in Rajon Rondo and Deron Williams (both of which play in the same division as the New York Knicks). Williams torched Lin for 38 points on the Garden floor and Rondo was no match for Lin on his way to possibly one of the most amazing stat lines from a point guard we have ever seen; 18 points, 20 assists and 17 rebounds.

The Knicks are already a team that struggles defensively because of the notorious laziness of Carmelo Anthony and the lack of a defensive mentality. Adding Lin to that mix for an entire season would surely place the Knicks among the list of the worst defensive teams in the NBA. 

2. Teams Will "Figure Out" Jeremy Lin

There is no taking away what Jeremy Lin did during his 25 game stretch as a starter for the New York Knicks. Jeremy Lin alone resurrected a Knick season after they were on the brink of packing it in. However, I believe that it is fair to say that a portion of his success can be partially accounted for by the opposing team’s lack of ability to game plan for his unique skill set. During his first 10 games, Lin was able to tear up the competition as teams were slow to figure out how to counteract Lin’s impact on the game.

But in Lin’s 11^th game, which came against the Miami Heat, a team finally figured him out. Mario Chalmers pressured Lin from the opening tip and relentlessly forced the young point guard to his much weaker left hand. The frazzled Lin ended the night going 1-9 from the field with eight turnovers and a mere three assists.

While Lin will certainly not be held to a night like that every time a team pressures and forces him to his left hand, it is a script that will be read to stop him—game in and game out. I simply do not see Lin being as effective as people believe he can be in a seven-game series when a team has multiple practices to prepare for his individual skill set.

1. Jeremy Lin's Best Games Were Without the Knicks' Best Player

If you look at the stats from the 25 games Lin started for the Knicks, it is very clear that his best games came when Carmelo Anthony was not in the lineup.

With the Knicks' star and franchise player sidelined, Lin averaged 25 points and 9.6 assists per game while shooting 54 percent from the field and leading the team to a 7-1 record. When playing alongside Carmelo, though, those numbers fell to 15 points and six assists per game with a 41 percent field-goal percentage and an 8-9 record.

While the points per game are sure to decrease now playing alongside one of the league's greatest volume shooters, it is ridiculous to think his assists and field-goal percentage also showed a significant decrease. It is also important to mention that since Linsanity began, when either Lin or Anthony were not playing in the same game their record was 19-6 compared to 8-9 in games they started together.

If the Knicks are giving a point guard the kind of money that is necessary to match the Houston Rockets’ offer, it has to be to a player who will mesh with the star players to which the franchise has committed so heavily.