Houston Rockets guard Jeremy Lin admitted he struggled to live up to "Linsanity" expectations during last year's disappointing season, which left him with "emptiness, confusion and misery." As Houston prepares to make a deep playoff push this season, Lin is trying to bounce back and regain the confidence of his coaches, ESPN reports.
Lin exploded onto the scene during the 2011-12 season with the New York Knicks, where he sparked a slumping Knicks team to wins and helped turn the season around.
Houston signed Lin that summer to a three-year, $25 million contract under the belief that "Linsanity" wasn't a fluke and could usher the Rockets into prosperity once more. It never came to fruition - Lin struggled much of the season, averaging 13.4 points and 6.1 assists per game.
The dismal season took a toll on Lin, who said last season was anything but storybook.
"I became so obsessed with becoming a great basketball player ... trying to be Linsanity, being this phenomenon that took the NBA by storm," Lin said at a youth conference in Taiwan, according to ESPN. "The coaches were losing faith in me; basketball fans were making fun of me. ... I was supposed to be joyful and free, but what I experienced was the opposite. I had no joy, and I felt no freedom."
Lin hasn't proven that his run with the Knicks wasn't just a fluke. With the addition of Dwight Howard and the emergence of James Harden as an All-Star, the pressure is on Lin to live up to his contract's expectations. While Lin is pegged as the starting point guard, the offseason re-signing of Aaron Brooks will at least create competition for the starting job.
Houston is expected to make a deep playoff run. If Lin is unable to regain the confidence of his coaches by performing at the 1-guard, he could find his role diminished as the team moves on with or without him starting.
