This may be the perfect opportunity that Jeremy Lin has been waiting for.
With the team superstar unable to play to recover from a torn rotator cuff surgery, it looks like the Harvard graduate would be given more minutes to finally prove his worth to the team that had high hopes for him.
While there are no official announcements from the Lakers management to the contrary, it seems that the team has pulled off Jeremy Lin from the trading block and has given him the green light to play extended minutes in the absence of Kobe Bryant.
Early this week, the Black Mamba has undergone surgery on his torn rotator cuff and doctor’s prognosis indicate that he is out for the rest of the season and may be able to return in time for the start of the next NBA season come November 2015, reports the Inquisitr.
The origin of Linsanity
Back in the 2011-12 NBA season, Jeremy Lin gave birth to Linsanity when he came off the bench in the absence of New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony who was out then due to an injury.
It was a sterling display of splendid performance for Jeremy for 17 consecutive games that he literally turned Knicks fans into believers and thus earning the moniker Linsanity.
But that was already history. Because soon after, Jeremy was not able to revive it again even after signing a three-year contract with the Houston Rockets in the offseason following his Linsanity days with the Knicks.
He was hardly a shadow of his Linsanity when he played for the Rockets for two years but the Lakers decided to put a wager on him and acquired his third year contract before the start of the current NBA season.
The moment everyone’s waiting for
With the Lakers already writing off the season as its worst ever in the franchise history, there is nothing more to lose, well except games.
There is no longer a pressure on the team to make it to the playoffs so everyone is free to play their own game at their capabilities. It could be the moment everyone’s waiting for in the Lakers team, including Jeremy Lin.
On January 29, the Lakers did make an impressive double overtime victory versus the Chicago Bulls via a 123-118 final score. Jeremy Lin made 11 points in the contest in 27 minutes of play. The Lakers were led by Jordan Hill’s 26 points and Wayne Ellington’s 23 points. Jordan Clarkson also contributed 18 points.
It’s an open season in the Lakers team for the remainder of the season. With Kobe Bryant out of the picture, every up and coming star in the team is looking to fill the scoring void left by the Black Mamba.
Jeremy Lin could certainly take advantage of this to finally play the kind of game he is capable of playing, or be lost in the dominance of his teamates’ improving games.