The Brooklyn Nets announced that Jeremy Lin will be sidelined for at least two weeks due to a strained left hamstring.
Lin apparently suffered the injury in the first half of Brooklyn’s 109-101 victory over the Detroit Pistons Wednesday night at Barclays Center.
The Nets have been hit by the injury bug early in the season, specifically in their backcourt.
Veteran guard Randy Foye has reportedly been upgraded to probable for Brooklyn’s next game Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets, Foye has been dealing with a mild hamstring strain which has prevented him from playing this season. His return to the lineup couldn’t come at a more crucial time for Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson.
Greivis Vasquez, dealing with a sore ankle, is also still working his way back.
Lin’s absence will no doubt leave the door open for Isaiah Whitehead to continue seeing increased playing time. The rookie from Seton Hall, and Brooklyn native, shared point guard duties with Sean Kilpatrick for most of the second half against the Pistons. In 19 minutes and 41 seconds of playing time, Whitehead scored five points on 2 of 5 shooting from the field with four rebounds and four assists. He also turned the ball over five times, so there is still very much a work in progress with his overall game.
The Nets will obviously miss Lin, he has settled nicely into Atkinson’s motion offense and the results for Brooklyn with him on the court have been favorable.
Through five games this season, Lin is averaging 15.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. He’s a key component to the pace Atkinson likes this team to play with.
We’ll now see if the Nets can hold down the fort until Lin is ready to return, consider this just another stop on the developmental path for this young team.