Can Steve Nash’s Season-Ending Injury Lead to “Linsanity Part 2″?
By Dan Schultz
@DSchultz89
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
It was announced late on Thursday night that the Los Angeles Lakers have decided to shut down Steve Nash down for the 2014-15 season because of a reoccurring back issue that forced him to miss most of the last two seasons since joining the team in the summer of 2012. Many are expecting Nash to retire very soon given this recent devastating blow, which is a sad way to cap off an otherwise extraordinary career that includes back-to-back MVP awards during his time with the Phoenix Suns.
With Nash scheduled to miss the entire season, this places even more pressure on one of the newest Lakers, that being Jeremy Lin. As long as Nash was healthy, Lin was expected to come off the bench and provide scoring and energy for the team. With Nash sidelined for the year, Lin will most likely be the starting point guard for this season.
Lin never truly got going with the Houston Rockets, where he dealt with his own array of injuries that contributed to him eventually losing his starting position to Patrick Beverley. The Rockets’ offensive playbook mainly consisted of set plays designed for James Harden on the perimeter and Dwight Howard in the post. As “Linsanity” showed during his time with the New York Knicks, he played his best when he was allowed to operate on one-on-one isolation plays. Sadly, he was not given the same amount of opportunities in Houston when compared to New York, and his play suffered a result.
Lin will be playing right next to one of the best players to ever play the game in Kobe Bryant, and we all know how sky-high Bryant’s expectations are when it comes to how he wants his teammates to perform. The pressure was on Lin even when he was projected to come off the bench, but now it has been elevated being that he will be starting once again.
Personally, I think this is yet another great opportunity for Lin. It is a huge challenge, but Lin’s experience in New York prepared him for this kind of situation. His magical run with the Knicks was not a fluke, as he proved he was a starting caliber guard in this league and one who could improve his game over time. Losing his starting position with the Rockets last season has provided him with the necessary motivation he needs to have an effective bounce-back year and hold on to his starting position.
Nash’s injury definitely puts more pressure on Lin to produce, but given the situation the Lakers find themselves in at point guard, Lin will be thrown a lion’s share of the minutes at this spot; and I think he will do a fantastic job with this responsibility.
Los Angeles is a huge market, and Lakers fans always want to see their team do well. It will be fascinating to see how “Linsanity Part 2” will unfold during this upcoming basketball year.
Dan Schultz is an NBA sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.
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