Jeremy Lin started for the Hornets for the second time this season, hanging 35 points on the Raptors and boldly making a case to replace P.J. Hairston in the starting lineup permanently. Fans of the Hornets, who are five games over .500 and fifth in the Eastern Conference, are dreaming of the “Linsanity” craze of 2012.
Hornets fans may want to temper their expectations.
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While Lin’s performance Thursday night was electrifying, and he’s been very productive on the whole this year, he has not approached the level he played at during his peak with the Knicks. He’s averaging 11.5 points and 2.9 assists and sporting a 16.1 PER.
Good stuff, but not approaching the 14.6 points and 6.2 assists he put up for the 2011-12 Knicks, when he posted a 20.2 PER. At his apex, Lin went on an 11-game tear in which he averaged 23.9 points and 9.2 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field (36.1 percent from beyond the arc).
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Lin actually hasn’t even been the Hornets best bench player. That honor goes to Jeremy Lamb, who has averaged 11.9 points this year on 48 percent shooting from the field with an 18.4 PER. While both Lin and Lamb would likely perform better than Hairston in the starting lineup, Hornets coach Steve Clifford is loathe to break up that tandem coming off the bench. They play 14.7 minutes a game together, and are Charlotte’s second-best two-man lineup in terms of plus-minus (3.6).
Charlotte has the NBA’s eighth-best offense right now, and that’s happening with Lin and Lamb dominating second units. He hasn’t matched his Linsanity greatness, but he also hasn’t needed to. The Hornets are doing just fine.
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