With playing time and production both available in abundance, the table is set for the former phenom to feast during his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In some ways, that opportunity exists for nearly every player on this roster. Consider that chance the perk of suiting up for a team fresh off one of the worst seasons in franchise history.
But Lin's shot at a breakout campaign—or a bounce-back one, depending on whether his magical Linsanity run was long enough to qualify as such—is stronger than the rest. That is a reflection of a number of different factors, not the least of which are the Lakers' depleted point guard ranks.
L.A. had hoped to have a two-headed beast at the position.
Veteran Steve Nash was earmarked for the starting gig by head coach Byron Scott in September, per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Lin, acquired in an offseason trade from the Houston Rockets, figured to be staring at major minutes as both the first guard off the bench and the backup to the oldest active player in the NBA.
The Lakers had other options beyond those two, but none of them looked very promising. Veteran Ronnie Price, a hard-nosed defender with a career 37.8 field-goal percentage, arrived last month on a non-guaranteed contract. They picked up Jordan Clarkson on draft night, but the 22-year-old is a combo guard with a still-developing jump shot.
From every angle, this was going to be a two-man rotation. But the nerve issue in Nash's back, which limited him to only 15 games last season, ended his 2014-15 campaign before it even started.
Just like that, Lin's rotation spot went from significant to substantial. And, somehow, it seems to be growing by the second, just like the team's injury report:
Needless to say (though Scott said it...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
