NBA: How Jeremy Lin Can Take Advantage of Houston Rockets' James Harden's Absence

Aristotle said once that nature abhors a vacuum.

If there is a void, it must be filled by something at some given time. In the case of the Houston Rockets, that void comes in the form of one James Harden, who has been out for the last two games since suffering an ankle sprain against the Golden State Warriors in March that eventually grew worse. And to make things worse for the Rockets, Chandler Parsons, their second leading scorer, also sat out Monday's game against Orlando with a case of food poisoning.

So, how to fill the void? Enter Jeremy Lin.

He was having his strongest month to date as a member of the Houston Rockets in March before he saw his playing time drastically reduced within the last week or so, starting but watching backup Patrick Beverly take a huge share of the minutes for the last few games, during which Lin's numbers also fell across the board.

Fewer minutes equals fewer points and shots. It's simple numbers.

But with the absence of Harden in the last two games, Lin's minutes have gone up, as has his share of shots. Lin looked strong against the Chris Paul-led Clippers on Saturday, scoring 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting in 31 minutes and hitting 6-of-8 free throws--meaning he was much more aggressive in attacking the basket than in previous games.

And on Monday, Lin had another strong performance against the Magic, hitting 8-of-15 from the field including 2-of-4 three-pointers and netting 19 points in 31 minutes through three quarters--Lin and all the Rockets starters sat down in the fourth on a decision by coach Kevin McHale--to lead the Rockets on what was a blowout before the Magic made a late run in the fourth quarter, forcing the Rockets' subs to scramble in order to pull away with a 111-103 win.

What does that prove? Well, it shows that despite the loss of minutes over the last few games, Lin's still got something in the tank. It take s a lot to be asked to carry the offense for multiple games when your star player is out, and so far, Lin has risen to the task, the Rockets 2-0 since Lin started playing regular minutes again.

However, as hard as it might be for Lin's fans to hear, it can't last. Harden will be back, and the Rockets offense will be centered around him again, leaving Lin's role in limbo. Either he will play regular minutes again due to proving himself on this run, or he will be relegated back into the scaled-back playing time role that he was playing for the last four games before Harden sat out.

That gives Lin a limited window on what he can do as far as taking advantage of this extra spike in playing time. And take advantage, he must. With the added time to play, Lin can still work on fine tuning his shot in live game situations as he gets ready for the playoffs. His pull-up jumper could still use a little work, and what better time to work on that during a live game situation than in the next batch of games with his increased playing time?

He can also get his practice in on slashing and penetrating more to the basket. True, Harden and Parsons will be Options 1 and 2 for the Rockets come playoff time, but with the defenses playing those two hard, Lin had the opportunity to swoop in and pick his moments, drive hard to the hole on an unsuspecting team and make them pay.

And another area he can also work on--his defense. While his defense isn't as bad as some critics claim, it's also not perfect. Playing time can fluctuate, shots can diminish, but defense will always be something that remains a constant. Lin will need to work on working off opposing screens and learning how to clamp down on players in a one-on-one scenario. Regardless of playing time, Lin will get plenty of opportunities to shine on defense, and given his improvement in the steals department this season, stealing 1.8 possessions this season, above his career average, this could be a chance for Lin to make some last minute adjustments before the playoffs, where every possession counts.

Harden could likely be getting scaled-back minutes this month in the remaining eight games as McHale will be trying to rest up his superstar for when he needs him most in the postseason. That means that Lin could get his time in games yet. But with the window of opportunity small, he will need to make every minute count.