Why was Jeremy Lin benched? And did management demand that Byron Scott play Lin after the benching? Lin got back on the floor Sunday for Scott’s Lakers after his controversial benching against the Spurs. In a 99-87 home loss to Lin’s former team, the Houston Rockets, Lin scored 14 points and had six assists in 28 minutes coming off the bench. Rookie Jordan Clarkson, who took Lin’s starting job, scored eight points on 2-10 shooting and committed 5 turnovers. (Lin also shot poorly, 2-9, but got to the foul line where he went 10-14. He committed 3 turnovers.)
The benching and purported all-around mishandling of Lin by head coach Byron Scott has fans complaining about the coach’s tactics. Surely a guard who can hit the paint and get to the line 14 times against the league’s 5th best defensive team deserves significant playing time on an injury-plagued Lakers team that’s a pitiful 12-33? Lin is making $14 million a year and finished 9th overall in All-Star voting by fans. There are lots of reasons for Lin to play–including trying to win games. But Byron Scott has been unable to use Lin effectively–which, it must be said, isn’t Scott’s only problem as a coach. (Again, the Lakers are 12-33.) But commenters point out that Scott should do better by Lin, who has teased with occasional brilliance throughout his singular career. One fan points out that Lin’s FG and 3-Point percentages are higher than Kobe Bryant’s. “In 21 of 25 games where Lin has played at least 25 minutes,” writes another commenter, “he had scored in double figures.”
