Lin is feeling at home
OAKLAND, Calif. — Jeremy Lin looked a step slow and a cut below in his return to the court during Friday’s blowout loss at Denver. But for Lin, just being back out on the court is fun, and being back in his beloved Bay Area for Saturday’s tilt with Golden State was a homecoming — albeit a tough one.
After missing 26 straight games over eight weeks, Lin predictably was rusty in his return, especially on defense. The Nets couldn’t have picked a worse time to implode defensively, heading into Saturday’s game against the Warriors. Lin — a Californian who began his career with the Warriors — said he has got to improve his defense, but that facing his old team is always a treat, struggles or no.
“It’s always special,” said Lin, who was born in the Southern California city of Torrance and raised in the Bay Area city of Palo Alto. “It’s the one time every year that a lot of people get to come watch me play, and I always have by far the most family and friends and whatever postgame at Golden State, so it’s always special. Every time I get to go home and see a lot of people who helped raise me or teach me or whatever.”
Lin captained Palo Alto to a state title, and despite making his name on the other side of the country — first at Harvard, then during Linsanity with the Knicks — the Bay Area holds a special place in his heart.
The 44 games Lin missed went a long way to ruining Brooklyn’s season. He had seven points and five assists in a 15-minute cameo at Denver, his first game since Dec. 26. But the reset the Nets hoped for after the All-Star break didn’t happen, and it didn’t get easier facing a Golden State team whose 48-9 record was the exact opposite of their own heading into Saturday night.
“It’s definitely not easy,” Lin said. “It doesn’t make our job easier, but you’ve got to strap on your boots and go to war again. This is basketball. I love it. I love the NBA, playing in the NBA, and whoever we have up next, I’m going to just keep trying to play.
“There are certain things I can continue to grow at every single game. [Saturday] will be frustrating in terms of it’ll probably look similar in terms of role, but I’m excited to just be out there and play.”