Jeremy Lin of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles up the court during first half of the preseason game against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center on October 13, 2016 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/Michael Reaves)
Jeremy Lin is officially back and he is expected to play against the Denver Nuggets on Friday. He has been out since Dec. 26, 2016 due to strained right hamstring. He is a big boost to the Brooklyn Nets that have a record of 9-47.
After the All-Star break, the Nets are back in action on Friday when they visit the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. Brooklyn enters the game with a 14-game losing skid and the worst record in the league while the Nuggets currently hold the eighth spot in the West.
According to Bryan Fonseca of Nets Daily, Lin is finally active for the Nets after missing two months of action because of injury. He re-injured his right hamstring a day after Christmas against the Charlotte Hornets. He already missed a month of action earlier in the season due to the same injury.
Lin has missed a total of 44 games but he has been practicing a lot since two weeks ago. He is very fortunate that he did not suffer any setback in rehab unlike a month ago when he re-aggravated his injury in January.
Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters on Wednesday that he might start Lin because they really need him. However, Nets fans should not expect the 27-year-old point guard to play the full game. He will surely be playing limited minutes to avoid re-injuring his hamstring.
"We'll do a little more scrimmaging tomorrow and keep him engaged. My gut, to be honest, is I'd like to start him. I'm excited to see Jeremy back to get some momentum going into next season with our lineups," Atkinson said.
The Nets head coach is also happy that Lin and Brook Lopez are going to be working alongside each other. Lopez stayed in Brooklyn despite a lot of trade rumors at the deadline. He was linked with the Pelicans, Rockets and Pacers but no trade was made, per Newsday.
"It's part of the fresh start. Seeing him with Brook, if we can do that, that would be ideal. Above that is Jeremy's health and how that works in with his minutes. My guess is that we can work it where he can get in with our first unit with Brook," Atkinson said.
