Jeremy Lin always speaks his mind, and his summer trips to Asia usually result in some tantalizing tidbits from the Brooklyn Nets point guard. Taking the biggest simplest question — How well do you think the Nets are going to do next year? — Lin responded “we’re making the playoffs. I don’t care what anybody else says.” He better not care — it’s not a commonly held opinion. But the Nets can certainly do it. The Nets went 10-12 in their last 22 games with Lin after he returned from injury. That’s near playoff-level performance in the Eastern Conference — the Bulls took the 8th spot at 41-41. And the Nets figure to be much improved.
[related: Jeremy Lin Thinks Nets Can Win 21 More Games If He’s Healthy]
Much of that improvement rests on the shoulders of D’Angelo Russell. The 6’5″ guard was the #2 pick in the 2015 NBA draft — just about the opposite of how Lin got into the NBA. Despite the fact that their paths to stardom have been radically different, Lin and Russell hope to gel. (Russell is also listed as a point guard, so that conflict will have to be worked out since it’s Lin’s position too.) But Lin took a question about “DLo” and said the two met in Vegas for Summer League and that Lin “can’t wait to play with him. We’re gonna do some serious damage this year.”
