GameDay: Did The Warriors Drop The Ball On Jeremy Lin?
CBS 5 Sports Director Dennis O'Donnell hosts "Gameday" every Sunday night at 11:30pm on CBS 5 and offers his unique sports analysis here.
OAKLAND (CBS 5) – Spike Lee was sporting a Harvard jersey during Jeremy Lin's latest bite out the Big Apple. At least Spike can claim he put the wheels on the bandwagon. Every other celebrity is looking for a seat. And Warrior fans can only ponder, "Why didn't it happen in Oakland?"
The short answer is that the Warriors never saw this Jeremy Lin. Over the weekend Lin said during his time with the Warriors he didn't play his game. He said he was so concerned about fitting in and not making mistakes that he played not to make miscue.
Last night on Gameday, Warriors GM Larry Riley said he was cheered for signing Lin and booed for letting him go. But even Riley said the team never saw this version of Lin. And it's likely the Knicks wouldn't have seen it either had it been for the injuries to the entire backcourt.
So what changed? After his release by Houston, Lin said he promised to himself that the next shot he got at an NBA team, he'd play his brand of basketball. And now we're witnessing his high-risk, high-reward style of basketball. Of course, a 10-game sampling hardly constitutes a starting resume. But, at the very least, he's proven and earned a 20-minute per game role.
Perhaps a bigger clue to Lin's future will come in the next 10-20 games and how defenses adjust to his game, and how he counter adjusts. Double teams, disrupt his pick-n-roll, keep forcing turnovers, you get the point.
As for Warrior fans? Don't blame management for this one. Jeremy never brought his Linsanity game here.
See you on TV.
