Brooklyn Nets: 3 takeaways from 2017-18 season opener

3. Jeremy Lin injured

The Nets struggled last season partly because of the lack of court time of veteran guard Jeremy Lin battling nagging injuries. The 36 games played last season by Lin showed the positive possibilities of head coach Kenny Atkinson’s system that would make the team competitive.

Before the game, Atkinson raved to reporters about his excitement over finally having Lin healthy for a full season.

"“I’m excited to have a healthy Jeremy and see what that looks like over 82 games, but I’m also curious and excited to see what this team’s going to look like. That’s the biggest thing for the fans. The fans are like, ‘Who’s going to be good in this league? Who’s going to surprise?’ That’s really the fun part, and throw me in the mix because I’m curious, too.”"

In 28 minutes of action, Lin poured in 18 points and dished out four assists, proving to be a great backcourt mate to D’Angelo Russell. The Nets showed the ability to move the ball around with ease, as Lin took turns as either the primary ball-handler or occasional shooting guard to Russell.

The optimism and hope leading into the season was quickly slashed as the former Harvard graduate suffered yet another setback in his career. Lin fell awkwardly after driving down the lane for a layup attempt, immediately grabbed his knee and began throbbing in pain on the court.

Lin could be heard saying “I’m done. I’m done,” before tumbling back to the floor. He was helped to the locker room by teammates as even the Pacers crowd watched in shock.

According to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, Lin suffered a patellar tendon rupture and will miss rest of season. This is obviously a huge blow to Brooklyn and will prevent us from seeing what the Lin-D’Angelo Russell backcourt might have been capable of, which is particularly devastating after injuries limited Lin to 36 games last year.