Is Jeremy Lin a backup or a starter? The question has plagued the unique basketball star since he lit up the hoops world four seasons ago in a Knicks uniform. Lin’s first post-Knicks year in Houston he started and played all 82 games, but it’s been a checkered situation since. His first and only season as an LA Laker was, at least to Lin’s biggest fans, a disaster of coach Byron Scott’s mercurial making. But in Charlotte it seems all options are open. Hornets head coach Steve Clifford isn’t pinned down to the idea of Lin playing backup to established starting point guard Kemba Walker. Not at all…
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In what’s got to be music to Lin’s ears, Clifford recently compared playing his two strong pick-and-roll guards at the same time to what the NBA champion Golden State Warriors did last season with MVP Steph Curry and scoring sensation Klay Thompson. That means Lin and Walker will share the floor at times this year. How often will be dictated by potential defensive liabilities caused by having the two offensive-minded guards on the court together, especially since they’ll be giving some size away most nights. But Clifford was specific in his Golden State comparison, saying Lin and Walker together “makes more room to play similar to how Golden State does. You’ve got Steph on one side, so defenses have to load up there, and then you’ve got Klay Thompson on the other with room to operate. That’s what Kemba can do for Jeremy and Jeremy can do for Kemba.”
