The Los Angeles Lakers suffered another loss this season on Wednesday, this time to the Milwaukee Bucks 113-105 in overtime. However, it was also a chance for point guard Jeremy Lin to shine.
TravelersToday reported that Lakers coach Byron Scott decided to unleash the Harvard graduate on the basketball court, allowing him the opportunity to earn crunch-time minutes. Despite the loss, the point guard put up a valiant effort against the Bucks.
"Although it was another ugly shooting night for Lin (2-for-12 from the field), he nevertheless came through with several clutch plays - including a big three-pointer late - down the stretch to at least give the Lakers a fighting chance in winning the game at the end," TravelersToday wrote.
TravelersToday added that the former Harvard standout logged 30 minutes and tallied 11 points and 6 assists. However, Lin has averaged less than 25 minutes in the last five games.
According to Jacob Rude of Fansided, Lin was chosen by Scott to get crunch-time minutes over rookie Jordan Clarkson. Rude described how Lin kept the Lakers competitive up to the end of the game against Milwaukee.
"Lin had a handful of nice plays in the fourth quarter, including a couple of assists to Carlos Boozer to help keep the Lakers ahead," Rude wrote. "Lin was effective and looked in control for most of the game, an area of the game he has struggled with this season."
However, Rude thought that Lin's performance may not guarantee him more minutes on the court going forward. He cited the inconsistency of Scott's rotations as a factor limiting Lin's potential.
"In fact, the Lakers and Scott have favored the rookie Clarkson late in games in an effort to get the rookie past the necessary learning curve all rookies have," Rude wrote.
While Scott has harshly and publicly criticized Lin's performance on the court many times, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register reported on Twitter that the coach had good things to say about the point guard this time around.
"Scott [is] very complimentary of Lin," Oram wrote. "Liked the way he got Lakers into offense, and 'did some good things' on [defense]. Went with Lin over Clarkson late [in fourth quarter]."
Despite what he can contribute on the court with the amount of minutes given to him, Lin is once again facing trade rumors in the NBA. According to Corey Hansford of Lakers Nation, the point guard "has struggled with his consistency and has since been replaced in the starting lineup."
"Now that the trade deadline is approaching, Lin's name has been mentioned as a possible target for teams in search of point guard help," Hansford wrote.
Hansford added that the trade market for Lin "has been weak." However, he viewed Lin as a "more than adequate backup point guard who can take over the game for stretches at a time."
"Teams like the Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons have recently lost their starting point guards because of injury and someone like Lin could surely help them as they fight to make a playoff run," Hansford wrote. "However, whether they are interested in Lin is unknown."
When it came to his future in the NBA, though, Lin indicated in a Gospel Herald video that all options are on the table once his contract with the Lakers expired.
"I'll just cross that bridge when the time comes," Lin said of his prospects. "I'm keeping my options open to see what is out there. I'm just going to evaluate everything when the time comes."
