Jeremy Lin normally plays best when he is at the point. His breakout period in the NBA came during the 2011-12 season when New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony and several other team stalwarts got injured and he had to start at the point.
That was when he made that impressive run which was later dubbed as Linsanity. Unfortunately, the Knicks thought of it only as a fleeting thing for the American-born player of Taiwanese descent. So he was shipped to the Houston Rockets at the end of the season where he signed a three-year contract.
Unfortunately again, Jeremy Lin was lost in the Houston Rockets offense even as a point guard since much of the offensive thrusts of the team emanate from James Harden who likes to orchestrate the play despite being an off guard.
On the third year of his contract with Houston, Jeremy Lin was again shipped to the Los Angeles Lakers where he was not just lost in the offense, his kind of play is not to the liking of not only Kobe Bryant but also erstwhile Lakers coach Byron Scott.
He again moved to the Charlotte Hornets last season and played no-pressure basketball, playing second fiddle to point guard Kemba Walker. The result is obvious, he delivered well which is the reason why he got a three-year $36 million offer from the Brooklyn Nets, which is way better than the $2.2 million per year he got from the Hornets last year and the $5.6 million offer that the team made to keep him.
Plays better in the East
Based on the five teams that he has played in the NBA over the past six seasons counting the Golden State Warriors which got him first but never gave him the opportunity to play on the floor, Jeremy Lin actually plays better when he is on an Eastern Conference team.
That bodes well for the Brooklyn Nets in the upcoming 2016-17 NBA season.
The 27-year-old graduate has had the opportunity to play as a starting point guard with the Houston Rockets before but only in name and not in role.
The Nets are planning to give him the title and the role for it. Likewise, the Brooklyn Nets management appears to be confident in giving the role of a team leader to Jeremy Lin, which is something he has never been entrusted in the past, reports the Nets Daily.
Jeremy Lin, like the Nets management, is also saying that he is ready to take on the mantle. In a recent public appearance at Prospect Park, he said that he can’t wait to be given such a role. It was an improvement from his previous statement saying that the leadership of the team would fall on him and Brook Lopez.
He was quoted as saying then that he and Brook are going to try to lead the way for the Nets, do things in the right way and get some wins in the process.
A poor defender?
While Jeremy Lin is a relatively good offensive player, his defense is suspect and is actually regarded in the league as a poor defender.
In fact, it was said to be the reason why the New York Knicks let go of him at the close of the 2011-12 NBA season despite giving birth to Linsanity on that season. Lin is ranked 20th among point guards in ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus-Minus list last season but he is better in the rankings than Knicks’ Jose Calderon and Jerian Grant or his predecessor at the Nets, Jarrett Jack.
However, under Hornets head coach Steve Clifford, his defense has remarkably improved and turned him into a versatile defender.
Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said in a recent interview that he loves the Steve Clifford quote about Jeremy Lin. He believes that Jeremy can be a damn good defender with his athleticism and competitiveness.
He said that there are a lot of things that Jeremy Lin can bring to the table and some of the most important things that he needs to work on is to make the team work especially on the offensive end and make sure that everybody touches the ball en route to balanced scoring and a balanced team.