Jeremy Lin Updates & News: 'Linsanity' Loses Houston Rockets Starting Job Ahead of Opening Day Game
Although Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale refused to announce his team's starting lineup for Wednesday night's season-opening game, his players did.
Despite the popularity of Jeremy Lin around the NBA, the star point guard will not be a part of the team's starting lineup on opening night, according to forward Chandler Parsons.
"I have known for a while so it is not really a surprise for me," Lin said, according to the Houston Chronicle. "I think for me, I am just focused on basketball. You know I, I need to control what I do when I am out there like I said. I feel like I am beating a dead horse with some of the things I'm saying."
Unlike other major sports such as baseball and football, the starting lineup in pro basketball is not as big of a factor since players are known to rack up minutes without having to start. Lin is looking to take advantage of his opportunities as one of the first players off the bench.
"Last year, I started and there were games where I didn't play much," he said. "I might play the first six minutes of each half and that was it. You have to look at the game as a whole like how many minutes you play and what you do when you are on the floor. So for me, it is not that big of a deal for me being in second unit and being able to attack and have that freedom to be able to be freelancing a bit. I think that will be fun."