Can Jeremy Lin Average 30 Minutes Per Game?
By Mike Garcia
The Lakers have a log jam at two positions, point guard and power forward. The point guard position is three-deep with Jeremy Lin, Steve Nash, and Jordan Clarkson. All of them warrant extended playing time.
Jordan Clarkson may be the incoming rookie, but he easily outplayed lottery prospect Julius Randle. When he was drafted in the second round, there was little Laker fanfare. Fans were happy about Randle being chosen, but knew little of Jordan Clarkson. Needless to say, once the Vegas Pro League got started, he made a name for himself. He started the Vegas Pro League with a 21-point debut against the Raptors.
He may not be a pure point guard, but his size, energy, and aggression will warrant some playing time on a consistent basis. He is a scoring point guard that adds a different dimension to the Laker team.
Steve Nash will be in the last year of his career. When he was healthy, he was an effective, efficient offensive player. On his birthday against the 76ers, he scored 19 points with 5 assists. In fact, at the end of the season, Steve Nash was averaging 15-20 minutes per contest. While he may not be the scorer that he was in the past, his assist rate was overwhelmingly high. In some cases, he averaged an assist every two minutes. Fifteen minutes per contest seems perfect for him, considering his health, age, and effectiveness at this stage of his career. If he can play most of the Laker games this season, he can leave his career with absolute pride.
This leaves Jeremy Lin. While Linsanity is the popular term that got his career going, he is an underrated defensive player. According to 82games.com, point guards shot 44.1% against him at the point guard slot. They also gave up 3.6 turnovers per game.
He put up big numbers under Mike D’Antoni’s system for the New York Knicks. Once the ball had to be distributed to other dominant scorers, his energy wavered. Still, he is a high energy player, worthy of playing a consistent 35 minutes of playing time per game. During Linsanity, he averaged between 35-40 minutes per game, with statistics that rival Steve Nash’s career averages. Simply put, the more playing time he gets, the more effective he is as a player.
Keep in mind, Kendall Marshall was waived in the middle of the Vegas Pro League. While Clarkson had a tremendous debut, Jeremy Lin was not signed. Kupchak took a huge risk letting Marshall go. Kupchak won with that decision over all.
So, can Jeremy Lin average 30 minutes per game? The answer lies in his effectiveness on the floor. As his playing time extends, his productivity only gets better. If he shows inconsistency and low energy from the get-go, Nash and Clarkson can easily combine for 20-25 minutes of total playing time.
Depth at the point guard position is a luxury the Lakers never really had. This year they have it. It would be great if Lin can maintain his confidence throughout the year and play with the high energy and emotion that is natural to his game. It may make the Laker season more unpredictable, but in the end, Lin can deliver the wins. He just needs to play.