Lin versus the Kings, one of the worst teams at defending the pick-and-roll. Good sign for more Linsanity. (Getty Images)

Posted by Royce Young

The Linsanity bandwagon rolls back to Madison Square Garden tonight with the Knicks hosting the Kings. Here are five things to keep an eye on for tonight's game.

1. The dream has to end, right? It looked like maybe the Jeremy Lin fun was about to dry up against the Raptors, but he caught fire in the fourth bringing New York back from 18 down. Here's the thing: Lin looked exhausted late in that game. Both mentally and physically. You know he's running on fumes right now, especially with this being a back-to-back. He's scored 20+ in every start thus far -- he can't keep it up, can he?

2. Turnovers. The one thing about Linsanity that we all are conveniently ignoring are the turnovers. He had eight against Toronto and has piled up 20 the last three games. He might be electrifying everyone, but he's also giving the ball away quite a bit.

3. Fun Elias stat: Lin is the only player to go undefeated and score 20 or more points in each of his first five starts since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976-77. Here are the players with the most points scored in their first six starts in the NBA since 1970: Bob Lanier (162), Charlie Scott (162), Shaquille O'Neal (158), John Drew (156) and Jay Vincent (152). Tonight will be Lin's sixth start and he has scored 136 through those five. So there's a good chance he might be sitting atop that list by the end of the night.

4. Pick-and-roll-and-destroy. You know what Lin does really well? Runs the pick-and-roll. You know what the Kings do horribly? Defend the pick-and-roll. Via Synergy Sports, the Kings rank in the bottom five of points per play in defending the pick-and-roll. Lin excells in the D'Antoni system of spacing the floor and making a decision out of the pick-and-roll. He attacks well, hits the roll man or penetrates and kicks out.

5. Amar'e. The first run with Amar'e Stoudemire didn't go all that well as the Knick big man finished 8-22 from the floor. But that came after a really strong finish where Lin and Stoudemire appeared to kind of start to figure each other out. Remember, those two have barely played together so far. The Knicks want to isolate Lin and Stoudemire in a two-man game style offense, so as they adapt and learn each other, they're only going to get better. By the end of the Toronto game, they seemed to be figuring it out. I bet that continues tonight.

Posted by Royce Young

The final piece to the Linsanity puzzle has been laid. It now has it's own picture post meme thing.

It's called "Linning" and here's how you do it: Make a circle with both your hands and put them to your eyes like you're looking out binoculars. Like this:



Where does it come from? The origin is Landry Fields, a Stanford grad, and Lin, a Harvard grad, and their pregame handshake ritual.



So now you know how to "Lin" and can't annoy your friends by making them do it in public places and such. It was only a matter of time before this happened.

If Jeremy Lin was going to be the Tebow of the NBA, he was going to have to have his own thing. Main difference with Lin and Tebow though? There's really no debate about Lin. Because he's actually good.

By Matt Moore 

Part of the Jeremy Lin lore has been that he had been sleeping on friends couches. He'd been crashing on his brother's couch in New York as well as teammate Landry Fields' couch. An NBA player. Crashing on couches. Lin didn't want to invest in a hotel room or apartment considering the Knicks were considering cutting him just two weeks ago. 

Now? He's feeling a little better about his chances to stick around. So he's getting himself a place , thanks to a former Knick. From the New York Daily News: 

The Knicks phenom, who in the span of six games has gone from benchwarmer to the cover of Sports Illustrated, has sublet a two-bedroom apartment from former Knick David Lee in a swanky Trump Tower, sources told the Daily News.

No, not that Trump Tower.

The Trump Tower in downtown White Plains, a 35-story building right off Main St. that’s home to several other Knicks players and some New York Rangers as well. It’s the same two-bedroom apartment that another Knicks star, Amar’e Stoudemire, rented before he moved into his palatial pad in Manhattan, sources said.

via Knicks phenom Jeremy Lin is homeless no more — he’s moving on up to a swanky bachelor pad in White Plains  - NY Daily News.

It wasn't his only option, though, a Knicks fan offered Lin a free apartment during his stay. 

CBSSports.com's Ken Berger reported yesterday on the Knicks' options in their pursuit of keeping Lin this summer, should his incredible ride of quality play continue.  

And hey! Now he can buy his own couch!

Are the Magic the top suitor for Smith right now? (Getty Images)

Posted by Royce Young

J.R. Smith will be returning to the United States sometime this week and he's already eyeing a few teams. Smith changed his Twitter bio to say, "NYK? LAL? LAC? CHI? ORL? IND?" recently so that should give you an indication the directions he's looking.

But according to HoopsWorld, The Magic might have the inside track to get the erratic scorer. The report says Smith is looking for more than a veteran minimum deal and that the Pacers are not interested back in Smith. And if Smith wants more money, that would eliminate the Clippers and Lakers as well as they can't offer more than the vet minimum.

That puts the Knicks with the ability to offer the $2.5 mini-mid-level deal and the Bulls who can offer a $1.9 bi-annual exception. The Magic though can offer the most -- about $4.9 million -- but don't necessarily have a spot for Smith, especially if he wants to start. Orlando already has Jason Richardson and J.J. Redick while Smith could likely start for the Clippers, Bulls (depending Richard Hamilton's health) or Knicks.

Earlier in the week via ESPN LA, Chris Paul said he likes the Clippers' chances of nabbing Smith.

"I think our chances are very high," Paul said Monday night after the Clippers' 96-92 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

[...]

"Who knows J.R. better than me?" Paul said of Smith, his teammate for two seasons with the Hornets.

Referring to Kenyon Martin and Billups, both of whom played with Smith in Denver, Paul attributes his optimism to "my relationship with J.R., Kenyon's relationship with him and Chauncey's relationship with him."

"Also he knows he'll have the opportunity to play here," Paul said. "He can only make us better."

Acquiring Smith really could almost be like a good deadline trade, but without having to give up anything. He's going to make an impact on the court, but it's just a matter of where he chooses. He's got teams ready for him, but it's up to Smith to go for money, a contender or a prominant role. There really isn't an ideal fit in that regard right now, at least in terms of teams Smith is interested in.

But a decision should be coming soon. So hang tight.

Knicks guard Jeremy Lin is killing on the court and in Las Vegas. (Getty Images)

Posted by Ben Golliver 

"Linsanity" has officially reached Las Vegas.

Sportsbook Bovada.LV reports that gamblers simply cannot get enough of Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, who has led New York to six consecutive victories and delivered the game-winning points against both the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday and the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday.

Lin, a Taiwanese-American who went undrafted out of Harvard, has emerged as the NBA's feel-good surprise story of the year, driving insane amounts of global interest. The gambling numbers make it clear that Las Vegas is fully caught up in the narrative. (All figures discussed below are strictly for entertainment purposes only.) 

"The action has really picked up on NBA futures with Jeremy Lin making the Knicks the hottest team on the NBA," Bovada manager Kevin Bradley said. "Right now the Knicks are by far the biggest loser for the book."

According to Bovada, the pre-Lin Knicks were 40-1 odds to win the NBA title. Now, the Knicks are 18-1 odds.

Similarly, the pre-Lin Knicks, with a record of 8-15, were 22-1 odds to win the Eastern Conference. Now, with a record of 14-15, good for the No. 8 seed, the Knicks are 10-1 odds to win the East.

As recently as last week, New York did not look like a lock to make the playoffs, at all. Injuries to All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony, inconsistent play from All-Star forward Amar'e Stoudemire and major struggles in the backcourt left New York as arguably the NBA's biggest underachievers.

Now? Vegas says the odds that New York will make the playoffs are 1/5. The odds that they will wind up in the lottery are 3/1.

If that's not enough, the Knicks' over/under for season wins is now 36.5. To reach 37 wins, New York (currently with a winning percentage of .483) will need to finish 23-14 (a winning percentage of .622). Prior to Lin's explosion, the Knicks were winning at just a .348 clip.

The action is just as heavy on individual Lin bets as it is on the Knicks as a team.

Bovada has actually set Lin at 40/1 odds to win the NBA's MVP award, even though he has only started five games and appeared in 15 games total. The odds that Lin hits a game-winning buzzer-beater before the end of the regular season: 3/1.

What Lin has already done is undeniably incredible but some of these odds reflect superhuman expectations. Not to be the stereotypical skeptic/doubter/hater/contrarian but this sure feels like a bubble.

Posted by Royce Young

So it wasn't a soaring dunk over someone. But Jeremy Lin's pull-up game-winning 3 set the NBA Twitter world on fire all the same. His story is something every player in the league respects because it's one of hard work and believing that you can make it. It's kind of crazy to see how many opposing players seem to be rooting for the guy.

Here are some of the best reactions from Lin's 3 to beat Toronto:

By Matt Moore

There have been two different Jeremy Lin songs we've posted. But those were just OK. Because someone went ahead and re-did Cypress Hill's 1993 hit "Insane in the Membrane." You can guess how the chorus goes. Via the Washington Post: 

 

In the words of Dirk Nowitzki, "It's over, we're going home. Oh. Oh."

LeBron James produced a lot of points in not a lot of minutes vs. the Pacers. (Getty Images)

By Matt Moore 

Each night, Eye on Basketball brings you what you need to know about the games of the NBA. From great performances to terrible clock management the report card evaluates and eviscerates the good, the bad, and the ugly from the night that was.

	Miami Heat	You were expecting Linsanity, weren't you? A buzzer-beater over the Raptors with 8 turnovers won't get you an A around these parts. But absolutely demolishing the Pacers, being up 20 in the second quarter on? Yeah, that'll do. The Heat were in full-on Flying Death Machine mode Tuesday night. They just ran the Pacers out of the building and out into the night, never to be heard from again. LeBron James 23-9-7 in 33 minutes in the win.
	Jeremy Lin	I want to give Lin an A as much as you probably want me to. But eight turnovers are eight turnovers, and 9-20 shooting is 9-20 shooting. It's not bad. It's just not great, and that, with the turnovers and the struggle with splitting the double renders us unable to give him a top grade. Something tells me he'll take it. But seriously. What a shot.
	Memphis Grizzlies	The Rockets were exhausted on a road game at the end of a long stretch of games, Kevin Martin was scoreless for the first time in a long, long time, and yet this was a five-point game under five minutes. The Grizzlies did enough to win, and they get the credit that goes with it. But they don't get much more than a passing grade
	Phoenix Suns	The Suns were chewed up by the Nuggets inside, torched from the perimeter and ran ragged. They're wholly unprepared at the worst times this season and it doesn't seem like there's much of a chance they recover this season. Steve Nash deserves better.
	Portland Trail Blazers	A home loss to the Wizards. I need no further justification for this grade, regardless of the health of LaMarcus Aldridge who left the game with an ankle injury.

E FOR EFFORT
	LeBron James (23 points on 15 shots, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals in 33 minutes. Destroyed Indiana and got to rest.)
	Jeremy Lin (27 points on 20 shots, 11 assists, 8 turnovers, one huge shot)
	Jose Calderon (25 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, brilliant for 45 minutes)
	DeMarcus Cousins (28 points on 20 shots and 17 rebounds in a loss to the Bulls)