Price Injured, Lin to Start
In yet another Lakers turn of events, Ronnie Price was nicked up (bone bruise) in the LA Lakers final preseason game, and coach Byron Scott responded to the occasion by naming Jeremy Lin the starter for the Lakers as the open up the season vs. Lin's old team, the Houston Rockets. (sidebar: Maybe Byron Scott read this rant on why Lin should start, and made the switch. With impeccable timing, this blog will feature great news that beats even coaches making decisions! Lesson of the story: Always read this blog).
The Rockets will presumably roll out defensive specialist Patrick Beverley at PG vs. Lin, so there's no guarantees that Lin will have a good time offensively. However, sometimes the revenge factor, the drive to prove to all the haters and critics that he's a starting-caliber player, not a player who's insignificant enough for the team to use his number during free-agent courtship of another (a la Melo-drama).
Expect Lin to rather help the Lakers exploit the various weaknesses on the Rockets lineup, and you know that Kobe will be attacking the James Harden "defense". If Kobe creates enough problems for McHale to swap the fundamentally sound Beverley onto Kobe, that could let Jeremy kill the remnants of the Rockets "defense". This first game is a key test for the Lakers to prove that all hope is not lost in the franchise, as people are crying that the sky is falling in LA.
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Speaking of individual rivalries, Lin isn't the only player that will be facing an old team. Dwight Howard will be returning to the Staples Center, and you know that fans will start booing.
In other injury news, the Lakers will not have Wayne Ellington, who has a concussion. With Steve Nash out for the season, this means that Jordan Clarkson may also have a shot to get more playing time.
For more Jeremy Lin highlights to get pumped for the start of the regular season, click here!
