During the highs of the Linsanity era and the lows of playing for a 21-win Los Angeles Lakers team, Jeremy Lin has been searching for one thing throughout his six-year NBA career: consistency.
Lin has truly experienced it all in the NBA. He's played in the D-League, and he's been heralded as a star. He's been both waived and traded. Only now with the Charlotte Hornets does Lin feel like he has finally found a team where he not only has a defined role, but can also find stability.
“I feel like I have figured who I'm going to be as a player,” Lin told CBS Sports after Charlotte’s shootaround in San Antonio on Saturday morning. “[The game] has definitely slowed down for me and I feel like I know what my brand of basketball is. But the one thing that I feel veterans have had that I don’t, is some sort of consistency. That's what I would like to have at some point. Consistency in terms of location and team.”
Lin signed a two-year deal with the Hornets this past offseason, and although it's early he's already carved out a niche for himself on the team off the bench by averaging 11.7 points and 3.2 assists in 22 minutes. This is a welcome change for Lin, who had an undefined role with the Lakers. From starting to coming off the bench to even receiving a DNP one game last season, Lin could not find the consistency he craves with the Lakers. However, Lin acknowledges that he learned a lot from his year spent in Los Angeles.
“My biggest takeaway from the whole experience was probably my growth as a person,” Lin said. “Spiritually just trying to become a better person, in terms of just staying positive and perceiving, regardless of the circumstance. I think that was a big test of faith for me.”
This type of attitude will serve Lin well in Charlotte as the Hornets try and endure the absence of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who underwent surgery after dislocating his shoulder and will miss the majority of the season. Besides Lin, the Hornets made a series of offseason moves aimed at making a return trip to the postseason, and now without Kidd-Gilchrist, their best defender, Charlotte is facing an uphill battle.
The Hornets started off the season 0-3, which included two close losses to the Atlanta Hawks before winning two straight, blowing out the Chicago Bulls by 25 points and beating the Dallas Mavericks. Charlotte’s short win streak came to an end on Saturday night against the San Antonio Spurs, but there are plenty of promising signs, especially since Hornets head coach Steve Clifford has reworked the team’s offense, putting greater reliance on the 3-point shot.
Last season, the Hornets were ranked last in the league in 3-point percentage and 24th in 3-point rate but have made a drastic change this season. Charlotte is currently seventh overall in 3-pointers attempted and third overall in 3-pointers made. This is one reason why the Hornets targeted Lin in the offseason as he is a solid catch-and-shoot player and is able to create off screens, setting up teammates beyond the arc.
Lin is averaging 3.7 3-point attempts per game -- the highest of his career -- and is shooting 36 percent from long range. He is a career 34 percent 3-point shooter but knowing after he signed with the Hornets that Charlotte’s offense would heavily feature 3-pointers, Lin focused on improving his shooting form this past summer.
“I lowered my release and tried to make my motion a little bit smoother,” Lin told CBS Sports. “I’m always trying to refine my form if I can. I have a shooting coach and I worked with him through the summer to make everything a little more efficient.”
The Hornets have been an engaging team to watch with their new offense. Even though they have several new additions, the Hornets seem like a tight-knit group, already having familiarity with each other on the court. With guys like Lin, Spencer Hawes, Al Jefferson, Jeremy Lamb and rookie Frank Kaminsky, the Hornets have an interesting collection of characters that seem to mesh perfectly chemistry-wise with each other. An exhibition trip to China during the preseason helped to create this bond, which has now carried over to the regular season.
“We understand that it's a long year and you gotta have fun,” Lin said. “We want to develop something where we are really close with each other on the court and off the court. That's why we spend a lot of time together and why you see us having a lot of fun and joking around. We really want this to be a great experience.”
It has only been six games but this type of experience and the culture in Charlotte is what Lin has been searching for throughout his rollercoaster NBA journey. With a consistent role and a good team atmosphere, Lin seems at home in Charlotte.
“[Charlotte] wants me to go play my game,” Lin said. “That's liberating in a lot of ways.”
