Jeremy Lin: Why the Knicks Point Guard is For Real

Linsanity has taken over the NBA.

For the third straight night, Jeremy Lin dominated a game and led the Knicks to victory.

Lin had his best game Wednesday night in Washington. Not only did he score 23 points and dish out a career high 10 assists, he also played his most efficient game of the season. Lin shot 64 percent from the field and committed just two turnovers.

However, the question still remains whether or not Lin can keep up this level of play for the rest of the season.

Is Lin just riding a hot streak or is he actually a good NBA player, in a sustainable sort of way?

After all, we've seen players come out of nowhere before, only to fade away just as quickly. The Knicks know this better than anybody.

In 2005, the Sonics' Jerome James averaged over 17 points and nine rebounds per game in a playoff series after having a subpar career prior to that postseason. New York proceeded to give James a five year contract that turned out to be one of the worst moves in the history of the franchise.

But Lin is not Jerome Jordan.

Lin is clearly talented. He's been able to get into the paint at will and has great court vision. He's played like a true point guard, distributing the ball and hitting the open man.

Before Lin's two starts, Knicks forward Steve Novak had just 41 total points in 12 games. Thanks to Lin's ability to make his teammates better, Novak has 38 points in the past two games.

Lin's success hasn't been built on hot shooting. Any player can have a few games where they just can't miss. This is not just an isolated hot streak.

It's hard to expect Lin to play at an all-star level the rest of the way, but it's not unreasonable for him to be one of the better point guards in the league.

He's in the perfect situation to succeed.

Mike D'Antoni's system is built to make point guards play their best. Last year with the Knicks, Raymond Felton had his best season as a pro. Even Chris Duhon excelled in New York, and he is a career backup.

The biggest reason that Lin will continue to succeed is that the Knicks' two stars haven't played the past two games.

Carmelo Anthony is hurt with a groin injury and Amare Stoudemire hasn't played since Saturday after the death of his brother.

Getting those two guys on the floor will only make Lin better.

A point guard can't reach his full potential without good players around him, and Amare Stoudemire is a point guard's dream. He's one of the best finishers in basketball and runs the pick-and-roll as well as any big man in the NBA.

Once Anthony returns, Lin will be able to pass to one of the best scorers in the league. Lin won't score as much when Anthony is on the floor, but his assist total should get a boost.

In his first two games, no one expected much from Lin. He came out of nowhere to surprise players and fans alike.

On Wednesday night, Lin proved something.

For the first time, people expected Lin to have a great game. He responded with the best performance of his life.

If Lin duplicates his recent stats over the final 40 games of the season, he will be an MVP candidate.

That may be too much to expect, but these past three games are no fluke.

Jeremy Lin is most certainly for real.