Jeremy Lin returned to the place where Linsanity all started, recording four points and seven assists in 24 minutes of action in Los Angeles Lakers' 92-80 loss to the New York Knicks Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Three years after taking the sporting world by storm in the Mecca of Basketball, the 26-year old Lin made his return in the Big Apple for the third time, trying to stay unbeaten against his former team at MSG. And although he has become less relevant the past few seasons, there was still a lot of buzz every time he plays the Knickerbockers.
On Sunday, Byron Scott made sure there would be no Linsanity frenzy fans to revisit as the Lakers head coach once again sit Lin for majority of the game and continued to pump in more playing time to his newfound pet project, Jordan Clarkson.
Clarkson, who is averaging at least 34 minutes in his last four starts, has kept on putting up solid numbers in extended minutes, as he registered a new career-high 19 points on 6-for-13 field goal shooting (3-for-5 from the three-point line).
Ever since Kobe Bryant was ruled out for the remainder season with a torn rotator cuff, Scott has now pushed for youth development by giving Clarkson, Ryan Kelly, Tarik Black and Wayne Ellington more playing time. However, Lin took the hardest blow in Scott's move, as his role continues to diminish.
In Sunday's game against the Knicks, Lin played well as the team's ball facilitator with five dimes. But then again, he spent most of the second half riding on the Scott's doghouse to the dismay of fans in the stadium.
Nice start for Jeremy Lin today in an arena he's quite comfortable in: 4 early assists, plus a tough bucket in the paint. LAL are within 7.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) February 1, 2015
After the game, The Lakers coach was asked about Lin's performance in his MSG return, and as expected, seven dimes weren't good enough for him. In fact, Scott thinks Lin hasn't been playing good basketball as of late, so much that it's probably unrealistic for him to play at the level he had three years ago.
Byron Scott on Jeremy Lin's "Linsanity" w/ Knicks: "A lot of people expect him to play at that level again. That might not be realistic." — Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 1, 2015
Lin is averaging 10 points and 4 dimes in 22 minutes per game this season with the Lakers. With his $8M contract expiring at the end of the season, Lin faces a summer full of uncertainty when he becomes an unrestricted free-agent.
