Jeremy Lin '10 Nabs Starting Role

Some players win the job through competition, others through attrition.

Such was the case for Jeremy Lin ’10, who nabbed the starting point guard job for the Los Angeles Lakers Monday after three competitors went down with injury. Lin will start on opening night Tuesday against his old team, the Houston Rockets. The Rockets traded the former Harvard star in the offseason for cap relief in its failed run at Chris Bosh.

Lin will benefit from a series of injuries that have ravaged the Lakers’ core. Two-time MVP Steve Nash was declared out for the season last week, with guard Nick “Swaggy P” Young already out until December. Journeyman Ronnie Price, who started the team’s last preseason game ahead of Lin, suffered a bone bruise in the final game and is only probable for Tuesday’s action. Wayne Ellington, Xavier Henry, and Ryan Kelly are also out. Overall, Lakers beat reporter Mike Trudell reported that the team will only have 10 bodies to start the opener, two short of the maximum.

Last year, Lin was the first man off the bench for Kevin McHale’s Rockets team. He averaged 12.5 points a game in limited minutes, flashing an improved three-point stroke (35.8 percent) and better court vision overall. His statistics fell short of those he put up for the Linsanity-era New York Knicks, but represented his best efforts over the course of a full season.

In 2014-2015, Lin will be expected to defer more to Kobe Bryant, the alpha dog in the Lakers backcourt. Overall, the Lakers profile as a lower-tier lottery team after being decimated by injuries. Los Angeles has a couple nice pieces in the frontcourt with Ed Davis and Jordan Hill but boasts very little wing and guard depth behind Lin and Bryant.