Jeremy Lin: The Asian Tim Tebow?

The latest buzz around the NBA is that of New York Knicks rookie point guard Jeremy Lin. He has been, in some circles, a God-send to a team that looked for a floor general and were aiming for the basement of the league's Eastern Conference.

The Harvard alum's exuberant play and humility has helped the Knicks win five consecutive games including an impressive showing at Madison Square Garden on Friday versus the Kobe System. He scored a team season high 38 points and had seven assists in the 92-85 win.

He has scored as of Saturday 119 points in just four games which is the most points scored by any player since the NBA/ABA merger season of 1976-77. He is also the first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent in the NBA.

Lin's journey to the NBA has been a rocky one. He was cut twice by the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets and spent time in the D-League before being picked up by the Knicks. In fact, the Knicks strongly considered cutting the rookie before his debut versus the New Jersey Nets last Saturday.

His impact on the Knicks has made both financial and cultural strides in the NBA and around the world. His jersey is number one among NBA paraphernalia and has become a bit hit abroad.

Lin's success can be somewhat similar to that of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. They were both inserted into starter's roles when their teams were struggling and both turned their teams around. However, the NBA season isn't over yet.

His humble spirit is what I love about sports. It should not be about the individual success but the team working as a unit to achieve a goal. Sports is unscripted and unedited. Anything can happen at a moment's notice.

 But the one question I have is, how long will Lin-sanity last?

Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudamire are due back to the team within a week's time and many including myself will wonder if the chemistry Lin has produced will carry the Knicks into a deep playoff run or will it crash and burn in an early playoff exit or no postseason altogether?

The Knicks are currently 13-15 and are in 8th place in the Eastern Conference standings, leading Milwaukee by 1/2 game.