Where we answer questions every week from you, the reader

“Do you think there’s gonna be drama when Carmelo comes back to New York with Jeremy Lin doing so well?”
—Alexi Himarios

Man oh man does everyone want a piece of Jeremy Lin’s shit right now. After his first good game, he was a fun story. After his second game, he was a fan favorite. After his third start or so, however, he became a bona fide phenomenon and now that it’s been Lin-ing time in New York for the last week and a half or so, people in the Big Apple are already starting to ask “Carmelo who?”

Hard to think that Carmelo Anthony could ever be an afterthought in a basketball season, especially when he’s playing in New York, of all places, but that’s exactly what he’s become after his sluggish start to the season. Now that the people of New York seem to have found the superstar they’ve been aching for, the big question now is, what happens when the other superstar they wanted in the first place comes back in to the picture?

For starters, it’s easy to see why there could be concern. Melo and the Linderella Man are both players who like to play with the ball in their hands, and even though the Super Lintendo plays more of the point guard role than Melo does, they both dictate the pace of the game whenever they play off the dribble. Now is it possible for two game-dominating ballers to co-exist on the same team? Absolutely, especially given the way Lin likes to distribute the ball and set up his teammates; but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Melo initially struggle to play the new brand of basketball the Knicks have adopted ever since Lin became the starter. But hey, if Melo says they can play together I don’t see why it shouldn’t work out.

What will be most interesting, however, will be to see who emerges as New York’s true number one, which is something we probably won’t know until the season ends and Lin and Anthony have played enough games together to know where they stand. I think the biggest potential problem that could emerge would be if Lin instantly becomes “the guy,” forcing Carmelo to accept a role he’s never had to accept before: being number two. If that happens, things could potentially get uncomfortable for the Knicks. Luckily for New York fans, Lin has had plenty of experience playing behind others and seems humble enough to willingly accept whatever role his team needs him in. At the end of the day, though, Linvincible was the perfect right-time right-place hero for the Knickerbockers and, if nothing else, his emergence is a wonderful thing for the NBA and fans in NY. Now here’s hoping that two superstars can play on the same team in peace and keep winning games, cause this has been one fun ride to watch.

Have a sports-related question you want answered in UWeekly? Tweet it to me @BrianEBogart or email brian@bogart.us and you just may be lucky enough to make it into next week’s issue.

Brian Bogart