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Brooklyn Nets: What Does Jeremy Lin's Injury Mean For the Nets?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:53 p.m. ET

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Oct 20, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin (7) drives to the basket against New York Knicks center Willy Hernangomez (14) during second half at Barclays Center. The New York Knicks defeated the Brooklyn Nets 116-111.
Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Jeremy Lin is out for at least two weeks with a left hamstring injury. What does his injury mean for the Brooklyn Nets?

The Brooklyn Nets managed to sneak a victory against the Detroit Pistons Wednesday night despite Jeremy Lin being absent in the second half. Still, the Nets’ win was overshadowed by Lin’s injury. Out of all players on the roster, Lin is probably the most important player the Nets could lose.

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The Nets announced yesterday just how serious Lin’s injury is. The 28-year-old point guard will be out for at least two weeks with a strained left hamstring. This comes as a surprise for many people, as a lot of fans were shocked to hear that the Harvard grad was even battered up to begin with. Lin exited Wednesday’s game with just a minute to go in the first half, but appeared to be moving fine and even contributed to more plays before he headed to the bench.

Brooklyn has only played five regular season games thus far, but it’s clear that Lin is one of the most important–if not THE most important–player on the team. He had the best preseason out of all Nets and is posting pretty impressive numbers through five games. 15 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game are not something you can simply replace.

Any moment spent without Lin is worrisome for the team. The Nets don’t have much depth at the point guard position and will be scrambling to find someone who can serve as a solid playmaker in Lin’s absence. Good luck with that, Brooklyn.

Oct 20, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin (7) handles the ball against New York Knicks guard Brandon Jennings (3) during second half at Barclays Center. The New York Knicks defeated the Brooklyn Nets 116-111.
Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Less Ball Movement

In Lin’s absence, Brooklyn’s ball movement suffered, as evident by the Nets’ failure to produce at times in the third quarter, which led to a standstill in their offense. This also allowed Detroit to go on a brief run in the third. It was a team effort that helped the Nets close out against the Pistons, but their replacements at the point were in no way as capable of running the point as Lin.

Even in just 16 minutes of play in the first half, Lin finished the game with four dimes. Talk about someone who can work his magic and make things happen on the court.

The real surprise for a playmaker against Detroit? Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. The 21-year-old did not score at all, but dished out six assists. Impressive for a sophomore who isn’t known for making plays.

Hollis-Jefferson won’t be who the Nets turn to at the one, though.

Rookie Isaiah Whitehead, who has struggled in the preseason and regular season, was in his best shape on Wednesday. In 20 minutes of action, he finished with four assists and five points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field. Still, he appeared shaky running the Nets’ offense, contributing to numerous bad passes, as he turned the ball over five times in the contest.

Sean Kilpatrick, Brooklyn’s sixth man, is a likelier option for Lin’s replacement. Although he is solely a shooting guard, he did see time at the one on Wednesday, and the Nets will defer to him again in the next two weeks.

Without Lin, Brooklyn’s offense will suffer, but we already knew that. The Nets can’t just depend on three-pointers to survive in games, even if it has looked like that for the past few games.

Simply put, Lin makes the team better. On the court, he is the Nets’ floor general, calling and setting up plays for his teammates. Off the court, he is this devoted and caring human being that Nets fans have come to love.

Nov 2, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin (7) reacts from the sideline during the final seconds of the game against the Detroit Pistons at Barclays Center. Brooklyn Nets won 109-101. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Final Thoughts

How the Nets will perform in the next two weeks without Lin is a mystery, as is every game. Five games is a small sample size, but we’ve seen the team perform on two ends of the spectrum. On any given night, the question will be: will we see the team that played well against the Indiana Pacers, or will we see the team that was embarrassingly blown out by the Chicago Bulls?

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Still, it’s clear that losing Lin is yet another setback for this poor Nets squad. Point guards have came and gone for Brooklyn, and Lin has been the most promising one since the Nets first got Deron Williams. Haven’t we suffered enough for the past decade? I guess not, since we still don’t have Randy Foye and Greivis Vasquez back, though Foye is probable for tonight’s game.

Get on the phone — we may just have to call Shane Larkin (please reply to our tweet, Shane) or Jarrett Jack (he’s available!) back.

Two weeks is a long time. How will we survive without Lin for that long? Speaking for myself, with some hot chocolate and piping hot pho. As for you, I don’t know, but good luck to all of us.

The Nets face Lin’s old team, the Charlotte Hornets, tonight at the Barclays Center. It’s a shame we won’t get to see the go up against his former teammate, Kemba Walker. By the time we see Lin return, we may already be ordering our turkeys for our big Thanksgiving feasts.

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