The "Linsanity" continued at Madison Square Garden last night, as Jeremy Lin roared and soared, helping the Knicks to a 99-88 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Though Lin finish the game with eight turnovers, he displayed strong fundamental play once again, finishing with 28 points and 8 assists. Anyone considered with the amount of turnovers, however, should clearly understand that Lin played 45 minutes after not sitting down nearly the entire second half vs. the Nets on Saturday night.
The fact of the matter is that Lin represents the most efficient and fluent point guard the Knicks have had since last season. A true floor general, Lin looks for his teammates and knows exactly how and where to find them in the right spots. Not only has his play elevated Tyson Chandler's own production (the big man finished with 10 points despite only playing 23 minutes due to foul trouble), but Lin also helped another somewhat overlooked Knick, Steve Novak get involved last night as he finished with a season-high 19 points of his own off the bench.
Lin simply makes his teammates better, but just when things look to be going the Knicks' way, it looks as though things will get hard again before they become easy.
In addition to seeing Amar'e Stoudemire take a leave of absence due to the tragic death of his older brother, the Knicks were also left to fight off the Jazz without Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks star strained his groin nearly six minutes into the game and did not return.
And it appears as though the "Jeremy Lin Show" will have to continue without 'Melo for quite a while, as he appears to be sidelined for a couple of weeks.
Ironically enough, it is obvious that Lin's game could be that much better with Stoudemire and Anthony both at the top of their games, or at the very least, on the court. Fatigue setting in, in addition to the added defensive ball pressure he's receiving may continue to throw off Lin just a bit, but unfortunately he's all the Knicks have right now. They will have to continue to ride the immense amount of momentum surrounding him to get through the week with another couple of victories.
He certainly has the hot hand, but its going to get very tough in the next week. There are some big games on our schedule. The next 2 weeks WILL decide our season.
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