The Golden State Warriors played their exhibition opener Friday night, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 127-87. Sure, it's preseason... but baby, it was all about Jeremy Lin: Jeremy Lin stirs crowd in Golden State Warriors debut.
The guy only played for 11 minutes in the fourth quarter, totaling seven points, three rebounds and two assists... but when he took the court, the crowd at Oracle Arena pretty much went insane for the rookie from Harvard:
More here: First Impressions (Warriors 127, Clippers 87).
If there’s ever been a louder welcome-to-the-NBA ovation for an undrafted player in his debut, I’d be shocked. Lin got a standing ovation from a good share of the 10,000 die-hards at the Arena upon his introduction, then promptly earned the welcome with his play. He scored his first bucket on an aggressive, in-traffic lay-up. He snagged a steal, stole a rebound, and then brought down the house with the prettiest play of the night — a defender-splitting, fast-break bounce pass to a slashing Brandan Wright for a fully extended jam.
Lin was up against the Clippers’ C team, so take it’s hard to gauge how he’ll stack up against more talented competition. That said, two things stood out from his first night. First, he’s really aggressive going to the rim. He reminds me a bit of Sarunas Marciulionis. You know Lin’s going to the basket early on, but he just gets a certain inevitable momentum to him and plows his way through to make a play. Second, he has a nice passing touch. I didn’t see enough to judge his vision, but he delivered the ball inside to Wright twice on short passes that put him in a perfect position to get up a shot. They were the types of passes that Ellis sometimes throws too hard and Curry throws too wildly. Lin nailed them. We’ll see how he holds up through the next few weeks, but based on one night I can see him logging 10 minutes a night behind Curry.
Congratulations, Jeremy Lin. You are really playing in the NBA. As an undrafted rookie, he's got a long road ahead of him, and much to prove, but I think Warriors fans have made clear that Jeremy Lin is welcome with open arms. I am looking forward to seeing this guy play!