Jeremy Lin missed Wednesday night’s game vs. the Clippers with a sprained ankle, and his value to the Hornets was abundantly clear. The Hornets fell 122-117, and Lin’s status as a high-level “glue guy” was borne out.

Once upon a time Lin was viewed as a potential superstar. Now, he’s as important as ever, even though his points have dropped, and his assists have been cut in half since his peak in 2012.

Lin averages 11.8 points and 3.2 assists in Charlotte, and plays 25.5 minutes a night, which are hardly approaching All-Star numbers. His 15.9 PER is the fifth-highest on the team, however, and he is the primary playmaker for the second unit. When paired with Jeremy Lamb, their plus-minus of 3.6 makes them Charlotte’s second-best two-man unit.

Even though Lamb averages more points, and has a slightly higher PER, Lin beats Lamb in the Offensive Win Shares category, because he is the creator. Lin’s assist percentage, which measures how many field goals a player assists while he is on the floor, sits at 20.4 percent while Lamb’s is just 11.4 percent.

Jeremy Lin's Popularity Is Costing Kemba Walker

Without Lin to pair with Lamb, the job fell to Brian Roberts vs. the Clippers. Roberts scored four points in 18 minutes, and made two of his five shots. Charlotte’s bench combined for five assists in the loss, and was outscored by Los Angeles’ reserves by 10 points.

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