Jeremy Lin is getting comfortable in his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, but NBA analysts are convinced that the star point guard should get more minutes and a bigger role in his team.
Lin, who was dealt to the Lakers from Houston Rockets in the offseason, averaged 13.0 points to go along with 4.8 assists and 2.9 rebounds in his first nine games in a purple-and-gold uniform, but fans and NBA experts want to see more from "Linsanity."
Lakers beat writer Baxter Holmes of ESPN pointed out in a recent discussion that Lin should take over when Kobe Bryant is on the bench, pointing out that the Lakers do not have enough offensive weapons this season to let Lin focus on just creating opportunities for his teammates.
"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," Holmes said. "Taking that approach would no doubt boost his overall confidence which appears to have been up and down early in the season as he adjusts to playing with Bryant."
Ramon Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles said, though, that Lin should get more playing time without Bryant playing alongside him in order to get used to being aggressive on the offensive end of the floor.
"The key for Lin is aggressiveness," Shelburne said. "The Lakers want him to orchestrate their offense, not look for Bryant and then run the offense. 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."
ESPN NBA analyst Arash Markazi agreed with Holmes and Shelburne, but he also pointed out that Lin should be more assertive even if he is playing alongside Bryant.
According to Markazi, Lin is deferring too much to Bryant, which is one of the main reasons why the 26-year-old point guard has only attempted 8.8 shots in their first nine games this season.
"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. That needs to change."
