Last night, the Toronto Raptors and Jeremy Lin made it official: Jeremy Lin is a Raptor! Oh, he also went out and played a couple hours after signing his contract, notching eight points, five rebounds and give assists in his Raptors debut. Not a bad start!
Now that Lin is on board, head coach Nick Nurse has 23 games left to integrate him and Marc Gasol (and possibly another buyout candidate; the Raptors technically still have two roster spots open) into the Raptors lineup before the playoffs. Here are a few of the ways Lin should help:
Short-term: Primary Backup Point Guard
This is, obviously, where we’ll see Lin for the next few weeks; with Fred VanVleet sidelined with a thumb injury that requires surgery, Lin will get plenty of opportunities to run the offense and be the primary ball handler with the second unit.