Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin has come down with a sport injury, which means he will be out for the rest of the regular season.
According to Baxter Holmes of ESPN, the point guard will miss his team's final three regular-season games after coming down with a sore left knee. Lakers coach Byron Scott made the announcement on Sunday before playing against the Dallas Mavericks.
"He's obviously gotten better," Scott said of Lin. "I think when he first got here, his mind of what a point guard is was totally different than mine. As we've gone along, he's started to understand what I wanted from him on a day-to-day basis."
Holmes reported that Lin averaged 11.2 points on 42 percent shooting from the field, his lowest totals since his rookie season. He was moved to the bench after starting the first 19 games with the Lakers.
"The one thing about him: The kid takes criticism," Scott said. "You can jump on him about things, and he takes it with a grain of salt and he tries to get better. That's the one thing I do love about him."
Scott added that Lin "doesn't pout" or "cry" when he coaches the point guard on his game play.
"He just goes out there and tries to implement the things that you give him and become a better basketball player," Scott said.
According to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, a recent MRI examination showed a "cartilage abnormality" in Lin's left knee; however, it wasn't considered serious. Scott had plans to send Lin onto the basketball court against the Mavericks when he heard the news on Sunday.
"I was optimistic this morning, seeing him shoot," Scott said on Sunday. "I got the news that he's not going to play tonight, and he's not going to play for the rest of the season."
Thanks to Lin's sport injury, the Lakers now only have two available guards in their final regular season games. According to Pincus, Scott has indicated that the Lakers will plan to keep Dwight Buycks, whose 10-day contract expired on Sunday.
"Obviously with the news with Jeremy, I think there's no doubt we'll probably keep [Buycks]," Scott said. "We'll at least have three guards to play these last [couple of] games."
Scott's decision, according to Pincus, will cost the Lakers an extra $14,408 for the final three days of the regular season. Buycks has already earned $48,028 over his contract with the team.
"He's got good poise. He handles the ball pretty well, can run the offense, can make outside shots," Scott said. "I just want to see a little bit more."
Pincus reported that the Lakers signed Buycks thanks to a hardship exception granted by the NBA. That's because in addition to Lin, the team has lost a high volume of players this season, including Kobe Bryant, Julius Randle, Wayne Ellington, Ronnie Price and Nick Young.
