Lakers’ Jeremy Lin hopes to play more with Ed Davis
“Lakers Jeremy Lin takes a shot over Kings Rudy Gay in the second half. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings 98-95 in Los Angeles, CA. December 9, 2014. (Photo by John McCoy Daily News)”
He lost his starting position, but Lakers guard Jeremy Lin pledges to make the best of his circumstances. Lin recently hasn’t finished games, but he remains determined improved play will change that outcome.
But even if those things do not go his way, Lin at least hopes that his bench role will entail playing more with Ed Davis after showing chemistry in the pick-and-roll game. The only challenge: Davis has since replaced Carlos Boozer’s spot at power forward in the starting lineup.
“I’d like to see more minutes with him,” Lin said of Davis. “Whatever time I could get with him, I would love because we were able to get it going.”
According to Basketball Reference, Lin and Davis have played together for a combined 171.7 minutes through 22 games. Though they have combined for a negative 38 rating, that does not account for the strong chemistry they developed on pick-and-roll sequences during exhibition play.
Though they only played six minutes together in the Lakers 98-95 victory on Tuesday over the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center, Lin’s alley-oop lob to Davis represented one of his four assists.
“He rolls hard, finds the open spot and goes to where he needs to be,” Lin said of Davis. “He’s unselfish and gets the guard open. Hes really smart, moves well off the ball and moves to the right place at the right time.”
But Lin only finished with three points on 1-of-5 shooting. The Lakers’ second unit mostly represented Carlos Boozer (15 points on 6-of-13 shooting) and Nick Young (12 points on 5-of-13 shooting).
“I’m human so there are times you go through doubt or uncertainty or a little bit of searching,” Lin said. “When the rhythm is going well, things will be easy. I won’t be thinking much when I figure it all out. At the end of the day, I’m confident I can be a great point guard.”
Lin believes that will happen with more time playing with Davis.
Yet, that could become challenging considering his 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting and six rebounds coincided with a strong defensive effort that Lakers coach Byron Scott hopes will bolster his starting lineup. Scott recently also has closed out games featuring Boozer and Kobe Bryant running the floor.
“Its still a goal of mine, but again that’s not up to me,” Lin said of finishing. “I need to control how I play and be good enough where he wants to put me back in. I have to stay confident in myself and ability to be a point guard.”
