Jeremy Lin leads the list of NBA returnees from sick bay as they try to catch up for the 2016-17 NBA season. (Photo : Getty Images for The New Yorker/Anna Webber)
Three players have been cleared to return to NBA action in Jeremy Lin, J.R. Smith and Victor Oladipo. They are expected to play on borrowed time until their respective teams see they are good to play for the longer grind.
Of the three, Jeremy Lin has been out the longest. The 28-year-old Brooklyn Nets guard is coming off a hamstring injury which forced him to miss close to five weeks.
Lin did play against the Houston Rockets but his presence hardly made a difference. The Nets lost 122-118 with Lin showing signs of rust as expected, the NY Post reported. Lin may need more time to get back into playing shape though his leadership was evident in his return for the Nets.
The Brooklyn Nets have been spiraling since Lin got injured, forcing Keith Atkinson to use other players at point. Sean Kilpatrick and Isaiah Whitehead tried to fill in but to no avail.
Moving on to other teams, Victor Oladipo passed concussion tests following a scary fall over the weekend. He took a hard fall as he was contesting a corner trey by Boston Cetlics Jonas Jerebko in the first quarter. He was ruled out with a sprained right wrist though OKC still went on to win against Boston, ESPN reported.
Finally, J.R. Smith is also set to return from injury after hyper-extending his knee against the Toronto Raptors last Monday. After undergoing MRI, no structural damage was found on the knee of the veteran swingman.
While that should be good news for Cavs fans, coach Tyronn Lue maintained that DeAndre Liggins earned a spot in the rotation in Smith’s absence. Hence, 31-year-old will have to work his way in earning more minutes to get his usual playing time under Lue.
In other news, Josh McRoberts continues to grope for form and fit in with the Miami Heat. His current predicament places his future in doubt and the belief is that he will finish his deal in South Beach. McRoberts stands to earn about $6 million next year.
There is a chance he could be included in trades though his performance may make him more of an add-on to anyone Pat Riley intends to deal out.
Check out some of the highlights of Jeremy Lin’s return to the Brooklyn Nets against the Houston Rockets.
