After repeatedly questioning Jeremy Lin's mettle for playing 'soft', Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott seems ready to remove the infamous label after seeing the playmaker played with a bad back in Thursday's 80-73 loss to the Utah Jazz at Staples Center.
Lin, who sustained back spasms after an ugly collision during Wednesday's scrimmage at the Lakers training facility in El Segundo, California, logged 22 minutes and recorded two points on 1-for-8 shooting with four assists. Though it wasn't a good game for Lin statistically, Scott still lauded his point guard's effort for playing through pain.
"You have to give him credit," Scott said during the post-game interview via CBS Sports. "I didn't think he was going to play at all. He wanted to give it a go."
Scott's comment about Lin's toughness was an exact opposite of the Lakers head coach's view on the Asian-American star, whom he repeatedly criticized for his inconsistency and soft mindset in the first half of the season. However, the 26-year old Lin has been putting up far better showing since returning from All-Star break, averaging 11.4 points and 5.3 assists in the month of March.
Lin, who is averaging at least 10 points and 4 assists per game this season, is playing in the final year of his three-year contract he signed with the Houston Rockets in 2012. He's earning a career-high $15 million salary this season, but his future with the Lakers is shrouded with uncertainty given the fact that the franchise will use a bulk of its caps space for elite free-agents such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Rajon Rondo and probably Kevin Love.
Nevertheless, several basketball analysts believe Lin will remain an enticing free-agent target out there, especially if he continues to play well during the remainder of the campaign. Indeed, he has a chance to do just that as he's expected to return into the starting lineup in the final 10 games, according to Scott.
"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.