Jeremy Lin is slowly getting into his rhythm eight games into his first season in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform, but is he doing enough to help his team to have at least a chance of winning games?
Lin is averaging 12.8 points to go along with 4.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game this season, but ESPN analyst Arash Markazi said that the 26-year-old point guard should become more aggressive moving forward.
Markazi pointed out that Lin is not being too active when he is playing alongside Bryant, which is making the Lakers too predictable this season - one of the reasons why they have lost in seven of their first eight games.
"He needs to be aggressive and play to his strengths no matter if Bryant is on the court or not," Markazi said of Lin. "What is happening now is Lin is a different player when Bryant's on the floor. He isn't as aggressive and isn't the player the Lakers need him to be when Bryant is controlling the ball."
Markazi added that the Lakers need more production from Lin in order to become a team that is not relying too much on Bryant, who is averaging 27.5 points this season, but only on 38.8 percent shooting from the field.
"That needs to change if the Lakers are going to be anything more than a vehicle for Bryant to win the scoring title this season," Markazi added.
ESPN Lakers beat writer Baxter Holmes echoed Markazi's opinion, saying that Lin should have a bigger load on offense because the Lakers have limited perimeter scoring options this season.
"The Lakers don't have too many scoring options on the perimeter," Holmes said. "When Bryant is out, it would be great to see Lin take it upon himself to shoulder more of the scoring load, to be more aggressive on that end. Taking that approach would no doubt boost his overall confidence."
However, Ramona Shelburne added that the Lakers should consider giving Lin more playing time when Bryant is not on the floor, instead of just pairing him up with the 19-year veteran for the majority of the game.
"The Lakers want him to orchestrate their offense, not look for Bryant and then run the offense," Shelburne said. "The more times he is on the court where Bryant isn't even a thought in his mind, the more muscle memory he can develop in that role."
