Is Byron Scott Sending Jeremy Lin A Message?
After the Lakers lost to the San Antonio Spurs 99-85, one name that did not appear in the box score was Jeremy Lin. Lin played in all 43 games for the Lakers until Friday night. Lin had been averaging 10.5 points, 4.5 assists going into the game, and has been a consistent face in the lineup for the entire season.
If you missed it, coach Byron Scott recently raised eyebrows by questioning Lin’s toughness before the game against the Utah Jazz last week, which prompted Lin to respond in defense.
J. Lin on his toughness (on @TWCSportsnet):
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 17, 2015
"I don't think I play soft…I try to be a hassle on both ends of the floor."
Most of the Lakers failed to show much toughness against the Spurs as they allowed San Antonio to have their way from start to finish. Although Lin probably wouldn’t have been the catalyst to a Lakers’ win, his absence did not go unnoticed.
3 qtrs in the books & Jeremy Lin has yet to get on the floor. Jordan Clarkson has played 24 mins w/ Ronnie Price at 12 mins off the bench.
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) January 24, 2015
Jeremy Lin is the only Laker who has not played a single minute tonight.
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) January 24, 2015
That was Jeremy Lin's first DNP-CD since Feb. 2012...right before "Linsanity" began.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) January 24, 2015
Out of all the available players for the Lakers Friday night, Lin was the only one who did not see a second on the court despite being healthy. Unless you’re the Suns, most teams only play with two point guards, but what’s interesting is that Lin didn’t even check into the scorer’s table in a game that was pretty much over by the end of the first quarter.
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One bright spot, however, was the play by rookie Jordan Clarkson. Making his first start of his career, Clarkson was the first Laker player to reach double-digit points in the game and finished with 11 points and 4 assists on 5 of 9 shooting. The rookie point guard was able to display his speed and athleticism in the game against the defending champs—one of the best defensive teams in the league.
There’s a chance that this may be nothing more than an experiment by Scott to see if a spark is ignited in his team. For example, Ryan Kelly did not play Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans but did bounce back to see 22 minutes on Friday. After the game, Scott did commented on Lin:
Scott on benching J.Lin: "Thought I'd get Ronnie a little bit more of a look tonight, I know what Jeremy can do..next game it might be diff"
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 24, 2015
We’ll have to wait and see what kind of minutes Lin will get when his former team, the Houston Rockets, visit Staples Center on Sunday as the fact his coach is unwilling to commit to him raises a red flag.
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