One of the game's top coaches today and one of the game's all-time best point guards certainly believe Jeremy Lin is no fluke.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and Jason Kidd were highly complimentary of the one-time Mavs summer-league hand after he had 28 points and 14 assists to lead the New York Knicks past Dallas.

"He played terrific," Carlisle said. "He was good in the pick-and-roll and more than anything he lined us up one-on-one. He threw in two or three shots at the end of the shot clock, and one or two of them were 3. You have to give him credit, he’s playing great."

And Carlisle and Kidd believe he can continue to play great because of coach Mike D'Antoni and the offensive system he employs. As Carlisle noted, Steve Nash was a two-time All-Star when he left Dallas to play under D'Antoni with the Phoenix Suns. It didn't take long for Nash to become a two-time MVP.

"He's in a situation where the system is right for him and he's got the right coach," Carlisle said. "Mike D'Antoni's as good a coach of point guards as we've seen in this league in a decade. Lin is in a good position, he's with the right coach and they've got the right personnel around him."

Kidd said he is impressed by Lin, who has closely followed Kidd's career and told him so as the players took the court. Both hail from the San Francisco area.

"He's playing extremely well and he's taking D'Antoni's offensive system and he looks a little bit like Steve Nash out there. Nash has had a lot of success running that system and I got to go through that system in the Olympics and it's a point guard's dream."