With their backs against the wall against the Los Angeles Clippers heading into the crucial stage of their Western Conference semis series, the Houston Rockets may have come to realize the harsh reality of losing a reliable asset off the bench in Jeremy Lin.
The Rockets, in attempt to create more cap space and sign a max-contract player, traded Lin and a first-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for virtually nothing last offseason.
Although the real purpose of the trade wasn't met (no thanks to Chris Bosh re-signing with the Miami Heat), the Rockets were able to fill up their roster with quality personnel through a series of transactions during the offseason and even the first three months of the 2014-15 season.
Josh Smith, who was waived by the Detroit Pistons in January, was acquired on a bargain of a deal, while defensive stopper Corey Brewer, KJ McDaniels and Pablo Priogini landed in Houston via trades. Jason Terry, the feisty veteran that helped the Dallas Mavericks win their first ever championship few years ago, has been a revelation all season long, giving the Rockets a much-needed firepower from their backcourt.
On the other hand, Lin never got into a good rhythm early in the season and that proved costly for him, as Lakers head coach Byron Scott decided to bury him in the bench after starting for 20 games.
Lin barely had significant playing time in the next three months before he turned things around after the All-Star break. Overall, Lin's season with the Lakers was a major letdown for NBA pundits, but his late season surge nevertheless might have saved his career.
While the Rockets ended up with the no.2 seed in the West and easily defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, they had no clue how tough the Clippers have become after edging the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in their hard-fought seven game series.
The Clippers, despite the absence of star point guard Chris Paul, decisively beat down the Rockets in almost every stats category, but the emergence of third-year point guard Austin Rivers this postseason might wind up as the x-factor in the series.
With all the firepower the Rockets possess, they clearly don't have the answer to Rivers. Lin, who averaged at least 12 points and 4 dimes over two seasons with the Rockets, could have been the Rockets' safe bet to negate Rivers' impact in the series, because of his ability to make his presence felt both as a scorer and facilitator.
With Patrick Beverley sidelined with an elbow injury, James Harden had to spend extra energy orchestrating plays aside from his main duty to keep the Rockets offense going. Terry and Priogini, standing on battered old legs, have barely held their ground against the more explosive Clippers guards.
While Lin isn't known for his defense, he has the skill-set to contain Rivers in some plays and alleviate Harden from his point guard duty. In the series against the Portland Trail Blazers last season, Lin stood up well against star guard Damian Lillard and delivered solid numbers by averaging 11.2 points, 4.3 dimes, and 3.7 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game.
Lin, with all the negativity hurled onto him by several pundits, could have made a major impact in the series and saved the day for the Rockets, if only he were given another chance to play a crucial role with a title contender. The Rockets, who is expected to pursue Lin again this offseason, know this fact very well and are paying a high price of pulling off an off-season blunder last off-season.