The Brooklyn Nets pulled off a gutsy 109-100 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night—half of which came without starting point guard Jeremy Lin.
Lin did not return to play the second half after suffering a left hamstring injury:
#Nets injury update: Jeremy Lin will not return to tonight's game due to a strained left hamstring.
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 3, 2016
Head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t have any immediate updates on Lin’s hamstring following the game, so it’s not immediately clear how serious, if even slightly, the injury actually is.
Hamstrings can be tricky, but the Nets have also assumed super cautious stances when it comes to their players. Basically everyone is on a minutes limit this season, though that has just as much to do with the Nets wanting to ensure they thoroughly experiment with their hodgepodge roster. Still, keeping with that theme, this could have just been a preventive measure, nothing more.
If it is something more, if Lin is forced to miss even a game or two, even as another precautionary measure, the Nets are in a bit of a bind.
Second-string point guard Greivis Vasquez is dealing with an ankle injury, and Randy Foye, a combo guard, has yet to make his season debut while dealing with his own hamstring injury. Not even rookie Caris LeVert, who profiles as a point forward, is healthy.
Any Lin absence will see the Nets entrust ball-handling duties to Sean Kilpatrick and rookie Isaiah Whitehead out of Seton Hall. Both responded in a big way on Wednesday after Lin’s exit. Kilpatrick scored at will, and Whitehead showcased sound floor awareness, diving through the heart of the Pistons defense before flinging kick out after kick out. Neither is the playmaker that Lin is, but they both looked comfortable running point.
Besides, in lieu of chasing a playoff berth and tanking for draft picks, this is what the Nets’ season is all about: experimenting. The injuries that have ripped through their backcourt rotation, beyond even Lin’s, should not be painted as a blessing in disguise, but they give Brooklyn a chance to test the full mettles of its roster.
