Jeremy Lin, acquired by the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade during the offseason, is a realist. He's aware of both his strengths and weaknesses and that is why he spends his downtime trying to improve. Specifically, Lin has focused the majority of his energy working on his defense this offseason, reports the Los Angeles Daily News.
Lin is hoping to improve his footwork and explosiveness in order to become an "elite defender." Critics have long pointed to Lin's inconsistent effectiveness on that side of the court as a weakness in his game.
Lin does bring other skills to the table, however. Last season, Lin shot 57.8 percent off of drives to the basket. This was second in the league behind four-time MVP LeBron James (63.8 percent).
"Maybe I should just keep attacking the basket more," Lin joked. "In the NBA, you have to be great at something. For me it's attacking the basket. I'll just continue to work on that and shore up other areas of my game."
Lin's career has been all over the map, despite this being just his fifth year in the NBA. From his explosion into the mainstream NBA highlighted by "Linsanity" in New York to his demotion to a rotation player in Houston, Lin has gained valuable perspective. As a result, the first American-born NBA player of Taiwanese descent isn't worried about his competition with Steve Nash for the starting point guard position.
"I'd be just as excited as if I didn't (start)," Lin said. "I honestly believe it's more about what my role looks like in the grand scheme of things. I've started and not played in the fourth quarter. Then I haven't started and I played the last 16-18 minutes of the game. For me, starting is pretty irrelevant."
Lin views his unique career path as a benefit.
"It gives me versatility," Lin said. "I pretty much have seen it all, a lot of highs and lows in my career. I've been through it all. I feel like barring a devastating injury, I don't think there is anything I haven't seen or experienced."
