Former Golden State Warriors Jeremy Lin dropped 25 points and seven assists against the New Jersey Nets this past Saturday, then had himself an encore with a 28-point, eight-assist performance on Monday against the Jazz. Now the entire state of New York is abuzz with Lin fever, while out here in the Bay Area, the feeling is somewhat mutual with some fans.
As for the Warriors themselves? They aren't really worried about being without Lin.
Head coach Mark Jackson was asked about the Lin situation, and certainly didn't dwell on the fact that the W's are now without his services after waiving him before the season, nor did Jax have any part of trying out a Nate Robinson v. Lin comparison:
"It's a stretch, it's a stretch," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said of those comparing Lin to Robinson. "The fact is Jeremy Lin was let go so we could clear money to get DeAndre Jordan. So, it's not fair to say ‘Why did you go get Nate?' That had nothing to do with Jeremy Lin. Jeremy Lin is playing great."
"I wish him nothing but the very best. I hope he continues to play great basketball because in my short time with him, he was class and quality."
Lin was a pick-and-roll master at Harvard, and with Mike D'Antoni running nothing but with Lin on the floor, it seems to be working. He didn't really showcase much of that with Keith Smart at the helm in Golden State, but there's a lot to be said about how the W's really felt about him-- essentially giving him away for a player they didn't, nor had a realistic chance at signing.
Now the W's have Nate, and Jackson is fine with that:
"At the end of the day, Nate Robinson won games for us," Jackson said. "And it's not a fair comparison because it's not either/or. We went and got Nate when Steph (Curry) went down and we needed help at the point guard position."
Everyone in this league watches film, and I highly doubt that Lin can keep this level of play up; the other teams will figure him out. Until then he can enjoy his big boost in twitter followers, internet search traffic, and hopefully wins out in New York before he has a bad game and becomes a goat in the Big Apple once more (like all other Knickerbockers.)
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