Jeremy Lin‘s season-ending knee injury was tough to watch. How tough will things be for the Brooklyn Nets without their veteran guard?
It’s sad to see another NBA star go down on opening night with a season-ending injury. On Tuesday it was Gordon Hayward, the Boston Celtics top free-agent addition this past offseason. On Wednesday, it was the Nets point guard Jeremy Lin.
Lin suffered a torn patella tendon late in Brooklyn’s loss to Indiana. Lin went for a drive and landed unbalanced on his right knee and immediately went down in pain. Lin mouthed “I’m done” three times as teammates ran over to help him up. He walked off the court under his own power, giving Nets fans hope that maybe he wasn’t done. But he was.
Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks released a strong supportive statement regarding Lin’s injury. Via ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Jeremy worked tremendously hard during the offseason and in training camp and was excited for the prospects of the team this season. We feel awful that the injury will cost him the season, however, our entire organization will be there to support Jeremy in every way possible throughout his recovery. Jeremy remains an important part of this team and will continue to contribute in a leadership role.
Lin will definitely be supportive vocally on the bench and bring as much leadership as he can offer to the young Nets team, but without him on the court, the outlook on Brooklyn’s season definitely changes.
D’Angelo Russell will most likely move to the starting point guard position while Allen Crabbe will be the starting shooting guard. With the position changes, Spencer Dinwiddie and Sean Kilpatrick will get more minutes off the bench and will switch on and off at the guard positions. Caris LeVert can possibly play shooting guard, but head coach Kenny Atkinson should use LeVert primarily as a small forward.
Crabbe now has a lot of pressure on him to step up after Lin’s injury. The Nets highest- paid player is now a starter and will need to put up good all-around numbers. Crabbe and Russell can become a dangerous shooting backcourt in the NBA if they build chemistry.
Brooklyn’s playoff chances will take a major hit regarding Lin’s season is now over. Without the 29-year-old, the Nets lack guard experience, which will hurt them deep in games.
Between that and the lack of a quality big man, the Nets chances of securing the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference just took a major hit.
