A lot can change over the course of a season, and nobody knows that better than Jeremy Lin and the Houston Rockets.

Two seasons back, the Rockets finished up a shortened season with a 34-32 record that, while above .500, had them finishing well out of playoff contention. One season later, the Rockets overhauled their entire roster by adding in James Harden, Omer Asik and Lin. A season after that, seven-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard landed in Houston and completely altered the complexion of the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, Lin has seen some changes himself. One year after "Linsanity" took the world by storm, the former Harvard grad Lin had a statistically wild ride in the 2012-13 season, posting what were solid numbers at 13.4 points, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals-that is, solid for anyone that wasn't coming off the incredible hype behind him in his one season with the Knicks. He was subject to scrutiny and criticism for underperforming to the expectations that preceded him and failing to adjust to the new offensive order of things in Houston with eventual All-Star Harden in the mix.

Now, four games into the 2013-14 regular season, the Rockets are looking like a force to be reckoned with in the West with a 3-1 win-loss record, though they still have some defensive hiccups to work through, as Monday's 137-118 blowout loss to Chris Paul's L.A. Clippers demonstrated.

Meanwhile, Lin, who lost his starting role to Patrick Beverley in the first game of the season, has had to pick up the slack starting again at point guard for the Rockets. And he has responded with strong, steady numbers. Shooting at 54.1 percent, Lin has averaged 16.0 points, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals through the first four games of the season. Despite the fact that he'll likely be splitting time with Beverley upon his return, Lin is looking more confident, the work he was doing in the offseason-working on his left-handed control and fine-tuning his shooting-evident in the opening week of the season when this new-look Rockets team has needed a steady hand holding down the point guard spot.

Bottom line: Lin's doing good. Really good. Good enough that Beverley's going to have his work cut out for him in the starting point guard competition between them once his injured ribs heal.

However, as good as Lin has been doing or as Beverley could eventually become, the Clippers' Paul remains the class of the West, maybe even the league, among point guards, and he proved it with a scintillating 23-point, 17-assist performance in Monday's game against the Rockets. On a night where all eyes were on Howard in his return to Los Angeles following his split from the Lakers this past summer, it was Paul, the 2013 All-Star Game MVP, that stole the show and put the Rockets on notice that the Pacific Division champion Clippers were serious in their NBA title dreams this season, as well.

If Lin keeps up his solid start to his season, he could be a lock to regain his starting role full-time, but will that be enough to earn him his first-ever All-Star Game berth?

Here's the bottom line: overall in scoring, playmaking, big game experience and various other intangibles, very few, if anyone, can hold a candle to CP3. He's that good. He can score at will, but gets others involved and makes them even better than they are, like all great players do. Singlehandedly, he made a lowly New Orleans Hornets team a formidable playoff opponent before he was traded to the Clippers in 2011, and he helped take the lowly Clippers from the outhouse to the penthouse in the West.

And yet, Lin came within 45,346 fan votes-a very thin margin-of beating out Paul for the starting role in last year's All-Star Game. Does that mean Lin is better than Paul? No. But it does mean that he has the potential to be more popular. The All-Star Game, after all, is a popularity contest among both fans and coaches alike. The players that are favorites among either side get the nod for the gala game, it's that simple.

But with the right numbers and a few other things going his way-including a budding and rabid fan base-the possibility of Lin starting the 2014 NBA All-Star Game over Paul is a very real possibility.

And here's how Lin can do it:

1. Keep Shooting Well

Lin's been a decent shot so far prior to this season, but he's also been prone to being streaky with that shot; at his worst last season, he shot a dismal 37.3 percent from the floor in November, including an anemic 26.3 percent clip from three-point territory. But Lin's been practicing since his season ended in May, and the proof is in the pudding in the first four games of the season-54.1 percent field goal shooting, including going 41.7 percent from three-point range. He's found the mark. But finding it and maintaining it are two different things, especially with Harden and Howard sure to be getting the lion's share of the shots; if Lin can figure out how to do that and make every shot count, he'll be in good shape.

2. Limit the Turnovers

One of Lin's biggest knocks has been his handling of the ball. However, it hasn't been completely unjustified. Last season, Lin coughed up the ball a career-high 236 times, adding up to 2.9 turnovers a game. It's not an ideal figure for a point guard to have. In his first four games of the season, Lin's made 12 turnovers for an average of 3.0 TOs. The right-handed Lin's been working on switching to his left more so he can fight off being picked by defenders making him switch sides, but he'll have to keep at it and reduce the mental mistakes if he wants to squash that stain on his reputation.

3. Turn Up the Intensity on Defense

'D' has been the other consistent knock on Lin since he was thrust into the spotlight, the Palo Alto, Calif., native being known as either an, at best, average defender or, at worse, soft on defense. And considering that the Rockets gave up 104.5 points last season, seventh worst in the NBA, soft defense is not something Houston can afford, nor can Lin, as Beverley is considered defensively superior in this point guard battle on the Rockets. Paul on Monday was also able to trick Lin on a few ball fakes that helped the explosive Clippers star blow right past his counterpart. Ultimately, Lin will have to learn some patience when it comes to defense and not be too overzealous. In a sense, but dialing it down on eagerness, Lin will be able to turn up the pressure on opponents by denying them the "mistake" baskets.

4. Don't Be Afraid To Demand a Shot

Yes, Harden and Howard will get most of the shots this season. And they absolutely should; it would be foolish to do otherwise. And yet, on a team now loaded with scoring options in Harden, Howard and a sharpshooting Chandler Parsons, there isn't any reason for Lin to get gun-shy about demanding his shots. Harden is good, but teams will be onto him. Howard is a game-changer, as well, but on nights when Harden is cold on offense, defenses will know which man to keep in check. And Parsons is good, but he's not exactly a scorer that strikes fear in the hearts of defenses. Lin can be that guy. He's shown it, not just in New York, but in brilliant flashes and hot streaks last season on the Rockets. If he keeps working to improve and hones his skills, there's no reason for Lin to get a little on the selfish side and want a few more shots himself. After all, most of the league has seen what Lin is capable of when he gets hot. And that kind of scoring every now and then can only help the Rockets.

5. Keep a Cool Head

Lin admitted this past summer that he felt "emptiness, confusion and misery" in his first season with the Rockets, and in retrospect, how could he not? He came in with the hype machine on full blast after his meteoric rise to stardom in New York, having to live up to impossibly high expectations from before the first tip-off of the Rockets' 2012-13 season. Add that to learning to play a new role off-the-ball while adapting to a new teammate and star in Harden, and it created a situation that would have tested the limits of many stars. Now, he's had an entire season and offseason to not only adapt to his role on the Rockets-helpful considering the arrival of another superstar in Howard-but to work on key areas of his game such as his shooting and left-handed control. And in spite of Beverley being apparently more favored to start, Lin has put on his hard hat and provided consistency, something he sorely lacked last year, in his first week of NBA action this season. He's starting to look comfortable, starting to look like he's having fun again. And that may be the most important key for Lin to succeed, and possibly excel, this year as his fan base will inevitably ensure that he poses another threat to Paul's chances of starting the All-Star Game. If he lets loose and just enjoys the game, Rockets fans may see the best of Jeremy Lin.