The New York Knicks are a reeling team in the NBA right now, having lost five consecutive games. Over those five losses, neither point guard on the team, Jeremy Lin or Baron Davis, have played particularly well.
Jeremy Lin
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Jeremy Lin Last Five Games
Over his last five games, Jeremy Lin is averaging 16.4 points and 7.2 assists per game, while making 39.5% of his shots and averaging 35.8 minutes.
Baron Davis Last Five Games
Over his last five games, Baron Davis is averaging 6.2 points and 6.0 assists per game, while making 32.4% of his shots and averaging 20.4 minutes per game. Baron Davis has only played in nine games so far this season for the Knicks, as he started playing after being out with a back injury to start the season.
Clearly, Jeremy Lin has played better over the last five games, but neither player has been particularly good over the last five games. In the San Antonio loss three games back, Baron Davis missed all seven shots he took in the game. That just kills a team when a point guard misses every shot he takes in a game.
Jeremy Lin This Season
Jeremy Lin is averaging 15.0 points and 6.3 assists per game, while making 45.3% of his shots and averaging 26.4 minutes per game in 2012.
Baron Davis This Season
Baron Davis is averaging 4.3 points and 5.3 assists per game, while making 30.2% of his shots and averaging 17.1 minutes per game in 2012.
Jeremy Lin has been far more productive this season for the Knicks. Baron Davis is playing his way back from injury, so his stats might improve going forward. His stats better improve, because right now they do not justify the playing time Mike D'Antoni has been giving him.
Jeremy Lin's Career Stats
For his NBA career, Jeremy Lin is averaging 8.6 points and 3.8 assists per game, while making 44.1% of his shots and averaging 17.8 minutes per game.
Baron Davis Career Stats
For his 13 year NBA career, Baron Davis is averaging 16.3 points and 7.3 assists per game, while making 40.9% of his shots and averaging 34.5 minutes per game.
Baron Davis has more impressive career stats, but his stats have been in decline for the last few years. Jeremy Lin's stats have been on the way up. The key stat if you ask me is their career shooting percentages.
Baron Davis has never been a good shooter in his career. A point guard who shoots just 40% from the field is a liability in my book.
I've been watching the New York Knicks this season because Carmelo Anthony is my favorite NBA player. Watching the emergence of Jeremy Lin back in February was a lot of fun.
Jeremy Lin Should Be the Knicks Primary Point Guard for Rest of 2012
Since March though, Jeremy Lin has not played as well. In the end though, I would play Jeremy Lin as the starting point guard and give him a lot more minutes than Baron Davis for the rest of the season.
Baron Davis has never been a good shooter in his NBA career, and I have always believed it's really hard to win the NBA with a point guard who cannot shoot. So far this season, Jeremy Lin is shooting the ball a lot better than Baron Davis is, and that's why I think the Knicks should stick with Jeremy Lin as their primary point guard.
We already know Baron Davis can't shoot the ball, based upon his career stats.
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