Russell Westbrook is out with a torn meniscus in his right knee following a play that visibly upset and injured the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard. As unfortunate as it may be for the Western Conference defending champs, Jeremy Lin might have caught a break as he was finding a hard time scoring and defending the Thunder's All-Star.
In his first two ever career playoff starts, Lin has only totaled 11 points. He scored four in Game 1 and followed with a somewhat improved performance in Game 2 scoring seven points. Lin's forte isn't scoring, he was heavily sought after by the Houston Rockets because he was a passer. In the first two games of the series Lin has seven assists and six turnovers. Those numbers are not good at all.
However, the real issues for Lin stem on the defensive end. In Game 1, Westbrook scored 19 points. He then bettered this performance by scoring 29 points in Game 2. It would be unfair to say that Lin gave up all 48 of Westbrook's point as Lin missed a good chunk of Game 2 due to a bruise on his chest.
Now, Lin comes into Game 3 day-to-day. The good news for the Rockets is that Lin wasn't feeling spasms and pains on his chest like he was on Wednesday following the injury. Even better news for the Rockets, though one never wishes any form of career or season ending injuries on a fellow player, Westbrook is out indefinitely, meaning the Rockets could take advantage of this gap left in the Thunder's starting lineup.
Replacing Westbrook will be Reggie Jackson, who's played 42 minutes and scored 15 points so far in the playoffs. It will be his first career start in the postseason. Lin already has an advantage, though slim, but now he can play a point guard who is not Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook is lethal. He can drive to the hoop with a burst of speed and with the same quickness can drive, stop and pump a jumper for the score. Westbrook could work on his outside shot, but that's always been his weakness since starting his career in the NBA. Chances are that because this is Jackson's first start in the NBA, Kevin Durant might be asked to run the offense more often, leaving Lin a much easier assignment.
Nobody knows what Jackson is going to bring to the table, but he is fast and seems to be an efficient shooter from the perimeter. However, the good news is that he is no Russell Westbrook.
