Jeremy Lin came off the bench for the last preseason game. Kobe, Boozer, and Hill sat out. Before three minutes were up, starting PG Ronnie Price banged knees with the King's Darren Collison twice, inserting Jeremy Lin into the game early. Jeremy Lin went on to play 1 second shy of 32 minutes with 19 points and 7 assist. There's something to be said about Steve Nash's career. He consistently got almost 10+ assist a game in his prime with scrub players. But those scrub players made shots in the regular but faded in the playoffs. Seems Jeremy Lin does not have that same effect on the scrubs when he was in New York and now on the Los Angeles Lakers. Scrubs miss easy shots. By NBA standards, wide open shots. They made them for Steve Nash, but refuse for Jeremy Lin. That 7 assist total could have easily been 11 or 12. Here's to hoping that passing it to Boozer and Kelly will result in more long two pointers.
The preseason finally comes to an end and the 82 game regular season journey begins on Tuesday against the hated Houston Rockets. When Jeremy Lin was traded to the Lakers, many in JLin Nation wanted MDA to come back and coach the Lakers, which was a pipe dream. After interviewing Byron Scott multiple times, they settled on him right after all key free agency moves were made. Handing Byron Scott a roster of mostly new faces to the Lakers roster. Combined with a healthy Kobe and Steve Nash, the trade for Jeremy Lin could have made the contenders for a low playoff seed in the West. If they played in the East, they would easily make the playoff, so ask the 9-11 seeds from last season.
However, for some strange reason, Jeremy Lin sprains his ankles and loses his starting spot after Steven Nash is not able to play anymore this season. By default, he will start on Tuesday because Price just got hurt. But I am perplexed by any thought that Jeremy Lin shouldn't start. The very same arguments the coaching staff and even some fans unfamiliar with Jeremy Lin's history are almost never applied to other PGs like Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Lillard, or Westbrook. Things like lock down defense and igniting the second unit. You could make the argument that OKC would be better served with Westbrook leading the second unit and maximizing his skills there by deferring to the MVP level play of KD. But NO, they don't argue a move to the bench but with co-existence. Why can't Jeremy Lin co-exist with Kobe? Are you not aware that Jeremy Lin stats and impact on the game is better than the other PGs currently on the roster?
But Jeremy Lin will get the start for the season opener by virtue of injuries. How a "smart" coach in Byron Scott could let this happen and to show to the media that you don't have confidence in Jeremy Lin via actions, is troubling. Basketball fans of Jeremy Lin don't want to see the same illogical behavior he received in Houston to be repeated by the coaching staff of the Lakers.
No comments:
Post a Comment