What the Knicks Need To Do To Win The Championship This Season

Jeremy Lin has saved the Knicks from a disappointing season and has led the Knicks to 5 straight victories. A big factor of this is that he did it without Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. This means that when they come back, the Knicks could be crazy good. Good enough to win a championship this season. Here's what they need to do:

When Baron Davis is healthy, keep starting Jeremy Lin. Davis is still out, but when he comes back, Mike D'Antoni should play him off the bench as Lin's back-up. Lin has proved that he can make a significant difference in games when given the minutes and is hot right now. Davis is a former All-Star, but is 32 years old and injury-prone.

Melo needs to utilize himself properly. Melo has had a lot of big games this season, but his excessive isolation plays haven't helped the Knicks win games. The Knicks have won when Lin is controlling the ball and they have lost when Melo controls the ball. Anthony needs to play a slightly smaller role and take fewer shots if the he wants the Knicks to keep winning when he comes back.

Center the offense around Lin, Stoudemire, Anthony, and Chandler. Here's how an average Knicks offensive possession should go: Lin brings the ball up and Chandler sets a pick. Then Lin can either drive to the hoop, shoot a jumper, throw an alley-oop to Chandler, or pass it to Stoudemire or Anthony. Amar'e and Melo could drive or shoot when the ball is passed to them. Sometimes, Amar'e could set the pick and have an oop thrown to him by Lin. Melo can still do isolation plays sometimes and bring the ball up and shoot a 3 once in a while. The Knicks should have no problem getting a high-percentage shot off every time down the floor.

Don't play Iman Shumpert at point guard. Iman Shumpert is a great young player with a lot of potential, but he is not a good point guard. He is best utilized at shooting guard with small forward being his secondary position.

Keep passing to Steve Novak. Novak doesn't do much besides shoot 3's, but he's damn good at it! When open, Novak will make a three-pointer every time. Defenses still leave him open from downtown sometimes, so whichever Knick has the ball should always look to see if Novak is open for three.

Trade Bill Walker. Walker is not having a great season. Despite defending Kevin Garnett well in the final seconds of the first game of the season and that game when he made 7 three-pointers, he's been ineffective and hasn't helped the team. Walker plays shooting guard and small forward, but the Knicks are already pretty good at those positions with Melo, Iman Shumpert, and Landry Fields. Walker is only 24 years old and is capable of helping teams (he averaged 12 points a game in half a season with the Knicks in 2010), so there are teams that would trade for him, even if it's only for a future second round draft pick.

Give Renaldo Balkman more minutes. Most fans write off Balkman as someone who can't play and doesn't deserve a roster spot. But there's a reason he's been in the NBA since 2006. He helps teams win and is willing to do the dirty work. Plus, he's never given enough minutes or the ball enough on offense to show his value. With Lin's passing skills and the upcoming debut of Baron Davis, Balkman will be able to find ways to score if given the playing time. Remember when he scored 20 points on 7-10 shooting in the Knicks' first preseason game in only 20 minutes of play? He hasn't received that many minutes since. He deserves more playing time.

Do something with Jerome Jordan. Rookie Jerome Jordan has seen limited minutes and has been sent to the D-League this season. Mike D'Antoni should consider giving him more minutes to see what he can do. It worked for Lin. If not, they could trade him or send him to the D-League again.

Sign a free agent. There are still quite a few free agents that could help the Knicks win games. JR Smith has been putting up crazy numbers in China and might be an improvement at the shooting guard position over Landry Fields and Iman Shumpert. Allen Iverson would be an improvement from Mike Bibby or Toney Douglas. Signing Derrick Caracter or Earl Barron to a 10-day contract would provide depth at power forward/center position until Josh Harrellson is back.

If the Knicks play their cards right, they could be holding up the Larry O'Brien trophy in June.

Have any thoughts on the Knicks this season? Can New York win a championship this year? Is Jeremy Lin the real deal? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.