Jeremy Lin Quietly Having Career Year For Lakers

Jeremy Lin is quietly having a career year for the Los Angeles Lakers

You probably haven’t heard much about it — because Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers’ futility is the big story — but Jeremy Lin is quietly having a career year and signs point towards Lin’s continued improvement.

Lin isn’t at the New York Knicks/Linsanity levels, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Lin is playing a much smarter game than he has in the past and he’s being a lot more choosy about the shots he’s taking. It’s no coincidence that he’s putting up career highs in field goal shooting (.490), 3-point shooting (.383) and effective field goal percentage (.552).

He’s improved his midrange game over last season by leaps and bounds, as he’s improved from 3-to-10 feet (plus-4.9 percent), from 10-to-16 feet (plus-8.7) and from 16 feet to the 3-point line (plus-5.7).

What’s most impressive (courtesy of NBA.com/stats) is that Lin is eating up his open looks. For shots over 10 feet when the defender is 4-to-6 feet away, he’s shooting 62.5 percent. When he’s truly wide open (defender more than 6 feet away), he’s shooting 50 percent. This tells me he’s doing a good job of playing off the ball as well as when he handles the ball and most importantly — he’s taking care of business when he gets the chance.

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/29/2014.

For the season, Lin is playing 30.5 minutes per game, with averages of 12.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.1 steals. He’s doing all of this while posting a four-year low of just 8.9 attempts per game (call it the Kobe effect, if you will).

Over Lin’s last four games, he’s playing at his season average with 30.5 minutes per game, but his production is up. Lin is averaging 16.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 56 percent from the field. Those might not be Hall-of-Fame numbers, but they’re excellent and would be welcomed by about 25 teams in the league.

The problem is, Lin isn’t going to get the recognition he deserves while he’s on a losing Lakers squad. Although Jeremy has put up excellent numbers, the Lakers are on a four-game slide and are trapped at the bottom of the Western Conference at just 3-13.

We’d be leaving out a key mention if we didn’t talk about Lin’s defense. Remembering that he plays on the worst defensive team in the league (30th in points allowed and defensive rating), we have to understand that Lin’s numbers aren’t going to be as good as a player on a solid defensive squad.

Still, Lin is doing a pretty good job at ensuring his opponent isn’t performing to their usual levels. On two-point attempts, Lin is holding his opponent to 2.1 percent less than they shoot for the season. Inside 10 feet, he’s harassing them into 5.9 percent less and finally, he’s keeping them 6.1 percent below their averages inside six feet.

In the interest of fairness, Lin is getting killed from the 3-point line (allowing 53.8 percent, 17.6 percent above opponent’s average). A big reason for that is the lack of team perimeter defense and the need for Lin and the Lakers to sag to protect the middle. That is an indictment on Lin’s defense, but it’s also indicative of a team that isn’t good enough defensively to allow Lin to cheat towards the 3-point line.

All in all, Lin is having a terrific year, but you may not have noticed. Ideally by the end of the season, the NBA will have taken notice and Lin will continue the streak he’s on. He’s got motivation — another contract — and although his team is horrible, Lin has been that diamond in the rough.

Next: Jeremy Lin's 10 Best Games Ever