When Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Hornets acquired versatile guard Jeremy Lin this summer, head coach Steve Clifford suggested they’d gotten more than a point guard in Lin. Lin has played spurts in the shooting guard spot effectively everywhere he’s been, even if he logged more minutes at the point. And Clifford raised Charlotte fans’ hopes — and the stakes, frankly — when he posited pairing point guard Kemba Walker with Lin in the Hornets backcourt. Clifford actually compared a Charlotte lineup featuring the Lin-Walker combo to the backcourt that had dominated the NBA all season, the Golden State Warriors Steph Curry and Klay Thompson — aka the Splash Brothers.
Lin and Walker haven’t played together as much as Clifford’s early vision suggested. But Clifford, Lin and Walker will all get a close-up look at Curry and Thompson on Wednesday when the undefeated Warriors roll in to Charlotte. It’ll be interesting to see if Clifford tries his Lin and Walker together lineup against the Splash Brothers model for his vision. In the summer Clifford said Lin’s acquisition “makes more room to play similar to how Golden State does. That’s what Kemba can do for Jeremy and Jeremy can do for Kemba.”
