Even if Lin fails to continue to put up those amazing numbers, the return of Carmelo Anthony should help Lin and the Knicks keep their winning ways.
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D'Antoni resigned earlier this month when he realized that his offense couldn't mesh with the style of another Knicks star, Carmelo Anthony, and Lin's numbers have gone down under interim coach Mike Woodson.
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Former coach Mike D'Antoni asked Anthony to alter his game last season when the Knicks were surging behind Jeremy Lin, and Anthony either couldn't or wouldn't.
If Lin can weave Anthony into the offense, he will have freed the bottleneck that made New York a dull mess.
Their passes often seemed forced, like the final, fitting symbol of the night's frustrations, one the Knicks offered with 4:30 to go in the game: Lin threw a pass to Anthony, who was just inches away, out of bounds, leading to glum faces and hands on knees.
Anthony, starting to show signs of a sync with Lin, led New York with 22 points.
Just 15% of Lin's assists have been for shots from Anthony's preferred distance while 45% are near the rim (mostly to Chandler) and 33% go towards 3-pointers, where the slow-footed Novak has feasted on open shots, scoring at least 15 points in three of four Lin starts.
Of course, it's worth saving Anthony since he's the teams only star left, with Jeremy Lin wiped out for what could be the rest of the season with a knee injury and Amar'e Stoudemire out with a back injury.
Though based on a small sample size, there are some things that suggest the Anthony, who missed two weeks with a groin strain, has bought into the Lin-led offense.
Lin scored 21 points but hit four of his first 12 shots, while Anthony scored 11 points and hit four of his 11 shots.
In one play early in the first quarter of that game, Anthony took the ball off the rebound and didn't even look to pass to Lin.
For the first time since point guard Jeremy Lin became a star, the Knicks are nearly at full strength as Carmelo Anthony has returned to health, for better or worse.
The injury came in the midst of a slump for Anthony, who made just three of his 15 shot attempts the night before against New Jersey in Lin's coming-out party.
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni was asked over the weekend if, after Jeremy Lin's sudden rise to superstardom, sidelined stars Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony will be allowed back into the lineup.
That means Lin's fast-paced playmaking will almost certainly be contained in favor of the isolation style Anthony prefers.
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