The Los Angeles Lakers snapped a six-game losing streak on Friday by beating the Jazz, 110-99, led by new acquisition Kendall Marshall's career game with 20 points, 15 assists and six rebounds that triggered coach Mike D'Antoni to compare the guard to Jeremy Lin of the Houston Rockets, whom he coached during his time with the New York Knicks.
While it is too early to brand Marshall as the new NBA sensation similar to the Linsanity fever that gripped New York two years ago when Lin -- a virtual unknown who had been cut by several teams led the Knicks to a sensational winning streak and in the process securing himself a long term contract, D'Antoni sees some similarities between the Lakers guard and the Houston Rockets star.
"Jeremy Lin did the exact same thing," D'Antoni said as quoted by ESPN.com in reference to Marshall's breakout game. "The first time he went out in Boston, it was awful. And I'm thinking, 'Oh, my gosh.' Then, obviously it happened to him."
Marshall's breakout game was impressive considering he became the first Laker to score 20 points and dish out 15 assists in a game since Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who did the feat 12 years ago. Coincidentally, Lin's first start with the Knicks also happened to be against the Utah Jazz. In that game, Lin scored 28 points and dished out eight assists.
The Lakers, too, are in a similar position as the Knicks back in February 2012. The team is in desperate need for a point guard, with starter Steve Nash and back-ups Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar in the injured list.
According to D'Antoni, Marshall has the same qualities as Lin. "He has great vision, he sees everything. He just played the way you're supposed to play at point guard. The biggest thing I'm looking for is can he give our team a rhythm, and he did that. He should be able to do that every night."
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