Jeremy Lin's 25 and 7 Carries Knicks Over Nets

A lot of people, including myself, have been saying that the Knicks need a good point guard in order to win games. They're right. And last night, Jeremy Lin was that point guard.

Lin had the best game of his career on Saturday and finished with 25 points and 7 assists off the bench, both career-highs for the second-year player. Tyson Chandler also had a good game, putting up 17 points and 9 rebounds.

However, Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony didn't play too well. Melo only scored 11 points on 3-15 from the field. Stoudemire had 17 points and 9 rebounds, but he should be playing better than that. He's scored 20 or more points in only 3 of the team's last 14 games. Another thing I noticed is that Melo and Amar'e never seem to both put up good stats in a given game. There's only been 6 games this season out of 24 when they both have scored 20 or more points.

Iman Shumpert and Landry Fields also had underwhelming performances, both scoring less than 10 points and shooting less than 50 percent from the field.

What does this game mean? It showed that Jeremy Lin can play and should be given more minutes. Last night was the first game of his career that he was played more than 24 minutes and he certainly showed that he can deliver. Another key about Lin's play was that he got Tyson Chandler involved in the offense and threw a few alley-oops to him.

I think the Knicks should start Lin at point guard at least until Baron Davis is healthy. Toney Douglas is having a rough season, Mike Bibby is old, and Shumpert isn't a point guard. It's a no-brainer. And even when Davis comes back, Lin should keep getting consistent minutes. Remember when Lin was sent to the D-League? He scored a triple-double (28 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds) in his only game with the Bayhawks!

To see the highlights of Jeremy Lin's big night, follow this link:
http://www.nba.com/video/games/knicks/2012/02/04/0021100345_njn_nyk_recap.nba

(Photo Courtesy: Yahoo! Sports - NBA: Jeremy Lin http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4795/photos;_ylt=AnuBdin7t7GDpVIzaMpW8X.kvLYF#photoViewer=urn%3Anewsml%3Asports.yahoo%2Cap%3A20050301%3Anba%2Cphoto%2Cap-201202041958718951720%3A1)

Have any thoughts on Lin helping the Knicks beat the Nets? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.