As my son's coach always says it does not matter who starts the game. It matters who finishes game. Lin has been in shooting slump for 3 games. It's OK. NBA is a long 82 game season. Even Steph Curry could not show up in every game. Lin won the game by hitting all 4 free throws with a 1/6 night. Coach sent him in at crunch time, it says a lot.