Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin will have a chance to play with the starting five again after all, as head coach Byron Scott confirmed on SoCal that he plans to insert the Asian-American star into the starting lineup for the last 10 games of the season. And although Jordan Clarkson is having a solid run in his rookie year, the Lakers head coach wanted to know if he's still capable of contributing in a different role.
Buoyed by his strong output over the past few games, the 26-year-old Lin has drawn praises from a previously skeptic Scott, who called him soft and inconsistent in the early part of their campaign.
Now that he believes Lin is playing under his system well off the bench, Scott wanted to see how Lin would perform when he again becomes the primary ball handler for the purple and gold.
"I want to see how much of a difference it is now as opposed to the start of the season," Scott said after Sunday's morning shootaround at the Lakers' practice facility in El Segundo via Mark Medina of SoCal.
Scott's decision to field Lin as his starting point guard has received mixed reactions, with some ecstatic to see Lin playing extended minutes, while others including NBC Sports writer Sam Highkin are perplexed about the move, as he thinks it would undermine the development of Filipino-American rookie guard Jordan Clarkson, who has been putting up solid numbers since he started last February.
"The move doesn't make much sense. Clarkson has been terrific as a starter," Highkin said.
However, Scott stressed that starting Lin would allow him to see whether Clarkson can thrive in a different situation. He wanted to determine if Clarkson can sustain his good form and contribute quality minutes off the bench.
"I'd just like to see JC come off the bench," Scott told Medina. "And see what he provides."
For Lin, the chance to start again at least for the last 10 games of the year would enable him to improve his free-agency stock before he hits the market this summer. Lin is playing in the final year of his contract that pays him at $15 million this season.