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The Moment We’ve All Been Waiting For: Jeremy Lin to Return Tonight Against Rockets

By Sandy Mui

Dec 10, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin (7) warms up prior to the game against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 10, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin (7) warms up prior to the game against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s about time, right? Jeremy Lin announced Monday that he will be playing in tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets.

After missing 17 games with a strained hamstring, Jeremy Lin will finally return to the hardwood in a black-and-white uniform, not a nifty new blazer. It’s officially been 40 days since the 28-year-old point guard took the floor.

This news was revealed by Brian Lewis of the New York Post in a tweet, and comes in light of the fact that Lin’s status was inactive (rather than out) for Saturday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.

The longer we went without any word on Lin, the more this was starting to feel like a top secret spy mission, like Operation Remington on Scandal. The most promising news we heard took place last week, when Sean Marks said in an interview that Lin’s return would be “very soon” and when it was revealed that Lin had returned to practice.

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Any of the aforementioned news about Lin’s progress took place over a month since he last donned a Nets uniform. Man, and I thought the news of Caris LeVert returning “soon,” “very soon,” and so forth was irritating. It’s been so long since Lin has been on the court that it’s almost become a norm to not see him play.

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More than that, though, it became extremely frustrating for fans to endure the Nets’ performance without Lin. Since Lin went down, Brooklyn has gone stone cold, losing 11 of their last 13 games. The Nets now have a dismal 6-16 record and (still) sit at second-to-last in the Eastern Conference.

Lin’s absence has also resulted in the Nets have also sifted through countless point guards and rotations to make up for Lin’s absence. One week after Lin went down, the Nets waived Greivis Vasquez, who was suffering an injury of his own. Then, Brooklyn brought up Yogi Ferrell from the D-League. Ferrell rejoined the Long Island Nets after being waived last week, and the Nets signed another D-League point guard, Spencer Dinwiddie, the same day.

Since November 2, we’ve seen a combination of Randy Foye, Sean Kilpatrick, and Isaiah Whitehead start at the point. Depending on players to run the point who are much more efficient at the two has proven to be less than ideal for the Nets. With Brooklyn set to face two of the best teams in the NBA back-to-back next week, it’s an understatement to say that Lin’s return is relieving.

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Though Lin won’t be starting tonight, this is the most promising progress he’s made since he sustained the injury. Hopefully, he’ll be slotting his normal minutes soon, and we’ll just have to see what he’s made of tonight in Houston.