After the rising ticket prices, the seven-game win streak, the resurrection of the New York Knicks and all the Linsanity that came along with it, it was hard to foresee a possible point guard controversy in New York.
But here we are.
Since the win streak, the Knicks have gone 3-4 with tough losses to the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics where they had a big stage to show they were for real. In both of those games, Jeremy Lin struggled to get anything going and was a turnover machine. I don’t think anything could have saved the Knicks against the Heat, but against the Celtics, Lin might have cost them the game.
Before the season started, the Knicks had decided they were going to go with Baron Davis at point guard once he got back from injury, and, until then, they were just going to try and stay above water with whomever they could throw out there.
Then Lin busted onto the scene in a comeback win against the New Jersey Nets and everyone forgot about Davis. The Knicks’ point guard prayers had been answered!
Lin has always been prone to turnovers, but the Knicks were willing to overlook that fact because he could score and they were winning.
Now they have seen the ugly side of things, when Lin is not scoring and cannot make up for it with solid point guard play. Since Davis came back, he has not really been scoring as much, but has taken better care of the ball during his minutes at PG.
So now the Knicks have a decision to make.
Behind door number 1: The Knicks keep Lin as their starting point guard and take all the good and the bad that comes with it. They continue being the center of attention in the league but may sacrifice a few wins for it when Lin has a bad game.
Behind door number 2: They let the veteran Davis start at point guard where it will be easier to predict what they are going to get every night. Lin could be a nice spark off the bench.
Behind door number 3: Lin moves to the shooting guard, bumping Landry Fields to the bench and Davis starts at point guard. You still keep the “Linsanity,” but you don’t have him handling the ball as much, so he will be less likely to turn it over.
While I like door number 3 in principle, when it is put into play it might not be as pretty.
The Knicks have already shown they have trouble adjusting. Since Carmelo Anthony came back from injury, the offense hasn’t seemed nearly as smooth, and before they even work that out, they’re going to throw another wrench in the plan? Also, with the addition of J.R. Smith, the Knicks are already pretty deep at shooting guard, do they really want to mix up that rotation?
The Knicks are stuck in the unique situation of having so many different types of talent, that nothing really seems to gel. If they can ever find their magic balance, they could be potentially unstoppable, but things just don’t seem to work out like that.
I think the Knicks should keep things the way they are now. While Baron Davis has been a little bit more sure handed with the ball, he has shown he can be a liability in other ways. New York has gone through so many changes, they need to just pick something and go with it. Give the team some time to grow together and hope that someday soon things just click.
