Another Jeremy Lin miracle: Giving life to Steve Novak's career Jeremy Lin has revived a franchise and electrified a city while sparking a global catchphrase. Perhaps his greatest feat: resuscitating the career of Steve Novak. Since Lin moved into the starting lineup on Feb. 6, his fellow former New York Knicks reserve has averaged 12.7 points, including a barrage of three-pointers to lift his team to victories over Dallas and Cleveland. Clippers fans may remember Novak as the lanky small forward who showed impeccable form on three-pointers in warmups and was featured in a Staples Center pregame video blowing out hands that were made to look as if they had caught fire. Then the games would start and Novak would rarely play, averaging 4.8 points during his two seasons with the franchise. It was more of the same last year with Dallas and San Antonio. New York claimed Novak off waivers on Dec. 19 and largely sat him until Lin became a fixture in the rotation. Then the three-point specialist was unleashed, helping the Knicks move back into playoff contention. When he left the game after making five three-pointers during a comeback victory over Cleveland on Wednesday, the Madison Square Garden crowd erupted with chants of "We want Novak!" Said Novak: "I'd be lying if I didn't say that was cool." A developing situation Lamar Odom to the rescue? The Dallas Mavericks had sunk to such depths Saturday that they rushed back the forward from a weeklong personal leave, scrapping plans to ease his transition back to the NBA with a game in the Development League. The Mavericks were on a season-worst four-game losing streak and needed a boost from the deeply disappointing Odom, who had struggled to perform since being acquired from the Lakers in December. Even as Dallas prepared to welcome back Odom, there were signs the team's patience was starting to fray. Mark asks a fundamental question of anybody in our franchise: Are they in or are they not in? Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle said Friday during a Dallas radio show, referring to owner Mark Cuban. Our fans want to know that Lamar's in. ... Our fans, our players want to see the guy playing like his pants are on fire, and we haven't seen that so far and that's got to change. Grounding Air Jordan Michael Jordan's last 10 years in a nutshell: from "Yessss!" to yes men? That was essentially the assessment of Charles Barkley, the TNT analyst who said on a Chicago radio station that his longtime friend had failed as owner of the last-place Charlotte Bobcats largely because he had surrounded himself with too many agreeable types. "One thing about being famous is the people around you, you pay all their bills so they very rarely disagree with you because they want you to pick up the check," Barkley said. They want to fly around on your private jet so they never disagree with you. I don't think Michael has hired enough people around him who will disagree. Maybe Jordan should put a few fans in the front office, considering the boos that have filled Time Warner Cable Arena all season.