Jeremy Lin Return: Magic of Linsanity Can't Save Reeling Knicks

Jeremy Lin is close to returning for the New York Knicks. Join me in asking the biggest and boldest question out there, so what?

Linsanity will return, only it will be much more measured than its initial burst onto the national scene. Can a mania be boring?

That's a very real question that must be addressed as Lin returns to a squad that has already melted down and destructed upon entering the playoffs. 

You see, I love Lin. 

I love the way he plays the game and the story that surrounds his mystique, but even magic can't save these New York Knicks. 

Hell, I wouldn't give Magic Johnson in his prime a fighting chance to lift this squad to a win over the big bad Heat. 

Hoopsworld reports it is entirely possible for Lin to return to the court against the Heat. Head coach Mike Woodson sounded measured in his optimism, via the report. 

We haven’t run up and down in terms of being able to scrimmage or anything like that. And that’s where the test is going to come. When he’s got to cut and guard people and push and do things of that nature, that’s the big test. And we don’t have time to practice like that. We really don’t. So basically all he’s done is drills and he’s shot the ball a lot here as of late, but only time will tell.

The media is already wondering if Lin will return, and whether he will be a help if he does. You can almost see the hype rise like smoke off the computer screen. 

There are two facts that make this a non-story. 

First, Lin doesn't sound like he is in the best of shape to take on a Heat team that is on fire right now, not participating in contact drills and being untested in cutting drills. 

Second, the Heat pretty much ate up Lin and spit him out in their February meeting. I am sure that Lin learned well from the unrelenting double teams, but I don't see him coming off a meniscus injury and showing off the effects of that tutelage. 

Lin will give depth, and a great deal of morale for a team that needs it. 

But the loss of Amar'e Stoudemire, the frustration of two losses and a team on the brink is too much for one player to manage. 

Jeremy Lin will return, and we can all celebrate another game from a great story, but it ends there. There is no way Superman is coming to save the day. 

Follow @gabezal

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1168300-jeremy-lin-return-magic-of-linsanity-cant-save-reeling-knicks

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