Jeremy Lin’s supporters won’t be surprised by this, but the former sensation is doing big things when he gets a lot of minutes. The Hornets, battling injury, have played Lin 40 minutes or more in back-to-back games and aren’t regretting it.
Anybody know Jeremy Lin's numbers as a starter this year? He's gotta be averaging 20 points.
— Robin Lundberg (@robinlundberg) January 26, 2016
Anybody know Jeremy Lin's numbers as a starter this year? He's gotta be averaging 20 points.
— Robin Lundberg (@robinlundberg) January 26, 2016
He played 40 minutes in a 13-point victory against the Knicks, in which he scored 26 points and added five rebounds and five assists in a 13-point victory. He came back two nights later and scored 20 points in a whopping 50 minutes, helping the Hornets hold off the Kings, who got 56 points from DeMarcus Cousins.
Jeremy Lin Sends Kristaps Porzingis A Message
It’s not groundbreaking to see the correlation between minutes and scoring, but Lin’s scoring numbers are jarring. He’s played 40 or more minutes four times, and averaging 26.7 points in those games. The Hornets are 5-1 when Lin scores at least 19 points, and are plus-42 in point differential in those six games.
Lin is starting out of necessity lately, but he’s made a strong case to be a bigger contributor throughout the year. He’s the Hornets’ third-leading scorer (12.7 points), and even though a tick under 13 points a night isn’t dropping jaws, he’s only playing 27 minutes a game. Lin averages 16.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists on a per 36 basis, and offers much more playmaking ability than fellow reserve guard Jeremy Lamb. Lin’s 19.8 assist percentage is evidence of that, and it ranks third on the team behind Nic Batum and Kemba Walker.
Trading Lin Kills Hornets Playoffs Hope
Lin is hurt some by his 3-point percentage, which is sitting at a barely passable 32.1 percent, and his sometimes porous defense (1.1 defensive win shares, despite what looks like improvement to the naked eye). Lin remains a mostly offensive contributor, but when he gets significant time, he’s helping the Hornets a lot.
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