Jeremy Lin continues to tantalize believers–the legions who wear “Just Lin!” t-shirts and pine for a return to Linsanity. But pine has been the problem for Lin, pine as in the bench, where he’s too often found himself during Byron Scott’s disastrous reign in Lakerland. Since the All-Star break the soon-to-be free agent Lin has made himself impossible to ignore. (Again, unless you’re Scott.) In the last 4 games, three of which he’s started, Lin has averaged more than 21 points a game. The Lakers have gone .500 over that stretch–the wins coming against bad teams, but still notable for a Lakers team (19-52) as bad as this.
Against a strong Raptors (43-30) squad playing at home to clinch a second straight division title, the Lakers had little chance of victory. They lost 94-83, with Lin contributing 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. His scoring and assists played a part in 35% of the Lakers scoring. Lin also committed 4 turnovers against a playoff-ready Raptor defense.
