Toronto Raptors: Whose stock is rising, Norman Powell states his case

Jeremy Lin

Woof. Things aren’t light and breezy for Linsanity just now and it really pains me to write it.

Jeremy Lin’s time in Toronto is by no means close to being over, not yet anyway, but this rough patch has definitely pushed him onto thinner ice.

Lin averaged 2.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. His adjustment, or lack thereof, in Toronto, has been worrying at times, and weeks like this are no different.

The real story for Jeremy Lin this week was his stark reduction in minutes, particularly against the Charlotte Hornets where he played only six minutes, finishing with zero points. It’s difficult to really get any momentum going in incidents like this, not many players can really make a relative impact in such a short space of time, and Lin wasn’t one of those players.

The game on Tuesday night against the Chicago Bulls represented an opportunity to make the desired impact. Toronto led by as much as twenty during the game, and with the starters sitting out for large portions of the game, Nick Nurse relied on his bench unit to get the job done.

Some of them did, but not all of them. Lin, unfortunately, was not a beneficiary of the minutes given. He finished with two points on a putrid 1-9 shooting from the field. It’s promising to see that Lin is being given the freedom to try force something for himself, but it’s worrying that it’s not working.

On a more positive note, Lin didn’t commit a turnover all week. It’s the moral victories, folks.