However, the class act that he is, Jeremy Lin says he has no hard feelings for his former team. In fact, when Kobe Bryant was receiving the standing ovation, Lin even went to tell the Black Mamba that he is happy for him and that he hopes that he finds peace because he deserves all the accolades and respect he has been getting.
But it seems that Kobe Bryant has a personal ax to grind against Jeremy Lin, without him really saying it. Just before the close of the half, Lin was running down court after Kobe missed a horrible attempt at the basket.
Lin up-faked and drove by a scrambling Kobe toward the paint and the Black Mamba nearly tried to tear Lin’s head off with a hard foul, details Deadspin.
But instead of being apologetic about it, Kobe acted as if there was no foul at all. But those who have seen it noted that it was close to a flagrant foul. For his part, Jeremy Lin just brushed it off as if saying to everybody else that it was all part of a game. Obviously, he has no ill feelings against the Lakers or any of its players, but he sure does love beating them on the court.
That is why people, including me, love JLin. He may not be as good as Kobe in basketball, but he is a much better person.
In our country, the old adage used to be “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.” Pro Sports and money make for some ugly character issues. JLin exhibits Christian character…he even helped Kobe off the floor after Kobe missed a tough shot from the left side….yes, this was after the flagrant foul Kobe was not called out on.
“Didn’t fit in” in L.A.? Maybe it was because Byron Scott and the Lakers were aggressively trying to lose games, in order to retain their top-5 draft pick. Once Kobe went down with an injury, the Lakers embarked on an obvious strategy to lose as often as possible, generally starting a lineup comprised of at least three or four D-Leaguers (Tarik Black, Robert Sacre, Ryan Kelly) while keeping the actual starters on the bench until late in the first quarter when their opponent almost always had a double-digit lead. There was nothing Lin could do in that environment except keep his head down, his mouth shut and cash his paycheck.
looking back at the lakers vs lin – scott never liked lin at all – benched him and chose price and clarkson – over him – when he did play he did his 100% – but it is funny because at the end of the day – jeremy lin is still playing no matter what scott and mchale thought of him and they are the ones who lost their jobs. Karma at its finest. I think the lakers purposely tanked the season – because it would explain all the strange tactics they were using