The Eastern Conference crown is up for grabs. With the throne ripe for the taking, teams competed fiercely in an arms race at the trade deadline, which bolstered each contender’s roster.
The Milwaukee Bucks acquired Nikola Mirotic to space the floor for their long wing players. The Philadelphia 76ers added Tobias Harris to create one of the best starting fives in the league. The Boston Celtics stood pat at the deadline, hopeful to lure Anthony Davis in the offseason.
And with Kawhi Leonard’s future in question, the Toronto Raptors went all-in this season, dealing for All-Star Marc Gasol.
The big names were moving, and the power shifted from team to team, up in the air until a contender could separate itself from the rest.
Sometimes it’s not the stars, but the role players that can turn the tide.
For the Raptors, their move to acquire a backup point guard in the buyout market may have been just a blip on the radar to some.
But the addition of Jeremy Lin might prove to be a powerful move for a team looking to separate itself from the cluster of contenders.
Most casual fans will remember him for his incredible two-week stretch of “Linsanity” in 2012. Knocking down big shot after big shot, Lin looked unstoppable on the court in his second year in the NBA. His future was bright. As time went on, he regressed to the mean, and settled in as a solid, reliable backup point guard.
After bouncing around and finally arriving in Toronto as his eighth stop in the NBA, he still remains as one of the better pick-and-roll guards in the NBA. In addition, he can provide the playmaking and defense off the bench to make an impact in a playoff series. In his first five games with the Raptors, Lin is averaging 8.2 points, 3.2 assists, and 3 rebounds in his 20 minutes per game on the court.
While it'll take some time to completely get used to the Raptors’ system, Jeremy Lin has still been able to have a big impact on the team so far.
Offense
After a quiet first couple of games, Lin toyed with the San Antonio Spurs' defense for nine big fourth quarter points in the Raptors' tight win. With Fred VanVleet out for a few weeks, Lin came in to start the fourth and give Kyle Lowry much-needed rest.
In this play, Marc Gasol passed to Lin at the top of the arc, and Gasol readied himself for a screen to start the pick and roll.
Lin, however, sensed that Derrick White was a step out of position, preparing to “ice” the pick and roll and force Lin away from the screen.
Lin obliged, had the quickness to blow right past White, and came up with the clever and-one finish around center Jakob Poeltl.
While his speed and finishing abilities were on display, this play later in the fourth quarter demonstrated Lin’s ability to make the best play out of the pick and roll.
The Raptors again attacked Poeltl in the pick and roll. Serge Ibaka, this time, set the screen for Lin, and successfully sealed off Lin’s man, Marco Belinelli. Ibaka rolled to the rim, the Raptors’ Norman Powell even came up to set a back screen on Poeltl.
As a result, Poeltl sank in the paint, worried about getting back to his man, and the miscommunication between Poeltl and Derrick White left Jeremy Lin wide open for the jumper.
Just a minute later, with the Raptors still locked in a tight game, the Raptors went back to the same Lin-Ibaka pick and roll.
Belinelli was a step behind Lin off of the pick, and once again, Poeltl sank too low in the paint.
A quick step-back from Jeremy created all the space he needed, and Belinelli did a good job to even get a hand up to contest this mostly-open jumper.
Earning Nick Nurse’s trust and still in a close game with five minutes remaining, Lin ran the pick and roll again with Ibaka.
This time, LaMarcus Aldridge, who’s a solid defensive center, contained Lin’s drive. Lin circled around the basket, taking Aldridge with him, and as a result of the forced switch, Belinelli had to cover the much larger Ibaka. Serge didn’t need much to seal off Belinelli under the basket, and Lin found him for the and-one dunk.
But sometimes it’s the little things that can make a big impact.
With 2:54 remaining and the Raptors up by one, Kawhi Leonard wanted to go one-on-one.
As one of the best players in the league, Kawhi was double-teamed as soon as he received the pass in the post. Belinelli, Lin’s man, went over to double, and Lin instinctively ran to the hoop.
To prevent the easy pass and layup, Belinelli retreated back to Lin, allowing Kawhi to go to work against DeMar DeRozan. No longer doubled, Kawhi took his time and and nailed the clutch fadeaway jumper.
Lin’s smart move to dive to the basket took away the Spurs’ double-teaming of Kawhi, and let one of the better one-on-one players in the game go to work. Nothing Jeremy did there will show up on the box score, but his basketball smarts helped Kawhi get the shot he wanted.
Two games later, against the Blazers, Lin's crafty skills as a guard were again on display:
In this three-play highlight from the first half, Lin showed off his ability to, yet again, use the pick and roll to his advantage–this time to side-step Seth Curry and nail the foul line jumper.
In the next play, Lin used no screen to just attack Rodney Hood off the dribble, and was able to use his shoulder to go into the defender, protect the ball, and hit the shot. And again on the fast break, Lin went to a similar move to use his shoulder to protect the ball and get the bucket in transition.
These playmaking skills as a backup point guard are indispensable to a team looking to make a deep playoff run.
Defense
His underrated traits such as his high basketball IQ and his toughness on defense don't get discussed much, but they're invaluable to a team.
In his breakout season with the Knicks in 2011-12, Lin averaged 1.6 steals per game. In his subsequent year with the Houston Rockets, he again averaged 1.6 steals per game and came in 10th in the league in total steals that season.
In the Raptors’ blowout of the Celtics, Lin demonstrated his strong on-ball defense.
Kyrie Irving, arguably one of the best one-on-one players in the NBA, had Lin on him and decided to go to work.
Kyrie tried to use his strength to back Lin down before deciding to spin and drive. Lin, though, did an excellent job staying in front of the lightning-quick Irving, and forced Kyrie into a tough, contested jumper with a hand in his face.
And while this is the type of shot Kyrie is well capable of hitting, Lin played the best possible defense on him in this play.
He didn't come up with the steal, and once again, won't have any stat that praises his strong defense. But his ability to hang with Kyrie not only stopped the Celtics from scoring, but prevented Kyrie from getting a good look at the basket and getting into a rhythm early in the game.
He continues to do the little things on defense needed to win games, as demonstrated on this play:
With six minutes remaining, Lin did good job of preventing the handoff to Belinelli and stepping around Poeltl. Poeltl then passed to Derrick White, who attacked off of the catch and had a step on OG Anunoby. Lin, who was still hanging with Belinelli, noticed this and sprinted to the ball.
The surprise help from Lin forced White to forego the layup and kick it back out to Bryn Forbes, who bricked the three on a crucial possession for the Spurs. Lin won't get any recognition on the stat sheet here, but he was a big reason why the Spurs came away with no points on this possession.
Through his pick and roll playmaking and his defense, Lin should be a strong contributor to the Raptors in the stretch run. Especially as Lin gets more comfortable with Gasol and Ibaka, he could spell trouble for any opposing defense.
The fact that Lin will be coming off the bench, and even splitting time with fellow backup PG Fred VanVleet, shows the depth of the Raptors.
Their main acquisition of Marc Gasol will be their shiny new toy, but the addition of Jeremy Lin strengthens their bench unit, provides them another playmaker, and gives them more depth.
Jeremy Lin, as solid as he's been in his career, has never been past the first round of the playoffs.
He's likely to surpass that mark with the Raptors, but with the freedom he has on offense and his tenacity on defense, this small addition in the buyout market could be a key cog to get them further than they've ever been before.
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