Even the most noble of players could be excused for explaining away a stat line of two points, one assist and one turnover on 1-for-6 shooting in 18 minutes of play.
But Jeremy Lin isn’t blaming his chest contusion for coming up empty in Game 3 of the Rockets’ playoff series against the Thunder, and he likely won’t blame it if coach Kevin McHale decides a partial Lin is better than no Lin at all in Game 4.
Houston fell to Oklahoma City 104-101 on Saturday, with Lin’s lackluster performance just one of the Rockets’ many problems in the loss that put Houston in a 3-0 series hole. McHale said he’s still thinking about whether to put Lin on the floor for Game 4, which is Wednesday.
“That’s a big decision for us,” McHale said, according to The Houston Chronicle. “He couldn’t do a lot of stuff [in Game 3]. We’re going to have to wait and see. It doesn’t do any good for him to play if he can’t help us. We’ll see.”
Lin appeared to aggravate his chest injury in the first half of Saturday’s game, when Kevin Durant reached for the ball and hit Lin’s arm. Lin left the game but returned in the second half.
Lin said the injury affected his game, but he wouldn’t assign blame.
“It’s limited me some, but everybody is hurt, everybody is dinged up,” he said. “I’ve just got to find a way to get through it, and if I step on the court, I need to be prepared to play and play well. If you’re injured, you can’t be on the floor. If you’re on the floor, you’re OK. That’s kind of the way it is.”
Lin first injured his chest in last Wednesday’s loss to the Thunder.
