Jeremy Lin Did Not Play Enough To Secure A Victory
What was maybe the most frustrating aspect of the loss wasn’t the manner of how they melted down, or the lack of defense, or even the breakdowns on the offensive glass; it was that Lin played only 22 minutes. Not only does Lin appear to be 100 percent healthy, but he was cooking with gasoline last night! With 16 points off the bench, four assists, and a clutch three that brought them to within one point; Lin was back to his old self when it came to scoring and facilitating.
If there is anything that has been taken away from the Atkinson era of basketball in Brooklyn, its that he sticks to his beliefs. When he first got to Brooklyn, he ran motion offense to the point where it looked like that was going to be the only aspect of the offense. He said he would rest Lopez on back to backs, he sat him within four games of the start of the season. He said Lin would be reevaluated in two weeks and not hurried back, Lin came back in five-ish weeks. If Atkinson said Lin was going to be on minutes restrictions the first few games back, we shouldn’t be surprised to see him follow through with it.
Whether or not you agree with it, there is one thing you have to remember: Kenny Atkinson knows more about basketball than you or I could ever hope to. He knows what he is doing, and to borrow the slogan that now goes hand in hand with the 76ers, I am going to trust his process. For the first time in a long time there seems to be a plan that goes deeper than “we want to win games” in Brooklyn.
Atkinson stuck to his guns here, put faith in the game plan he developed, and came up just short. Sure, if Lin played five to ten more minutes the Nets could have won, but dwelling on excuses like this aren’t going to get the team anywhere. This is a loss that can be learned from and more importantly easily avoidable with a healthier Lin and some better defense.