Once again, despite the preseason promises and indications during the first half of the season, Jeremy Lin finds himself in familiar territory, only on the Charlotte Hornets and not the Los Angeles Lakers or Houston Rockets: If Kemba Walker, Nicolas Batum or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist don’t pick up any injuries, Lin isn’t going to see a lot of playing time from now until the end of the season.

The healthy version of the Charlotte Hornets, with Steve Clifford preferring Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum pairing in the backcourt while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist starts at small forward leaves very little room for Jeremy Lin, which is bad for both him and the team.

The Charlotte Hornets pick up a nice win in a close game with the Washington Wizards, beating them 108-104 with Jeremy Lin, who had another forgettable game hitting two huge shots in the final 35 seconds that clinched the win, while Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum get to run the team without interruption and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist gets cast aside for it.

There’s a learning curve for teams with players that haven’t together for a very long time. The Charlotte Hornets, with plenty of changes in the offseason, especially when it comes to adding Jeremy Lin and Nicolas Batum to Kemba Walker, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist misses half a season before making his debut, has to be confusing sometimes for everyone involved.

The Charlotte Hornets finish their Western conference tour in a state of flux. Nicolas Batum just coming back and doing more harm than good, Jeremy Lin injured and not given the credit he deserves, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returning without any transition phase, Steve Clifford confusing us with sudden creativity and chance taking in an almost lost game and one Kemba Walker, who plays the same way and seems to be unaffected with everything around him, while not affecting anything himself.

The Charlotte Hornets lost for the second time in a row, beaten 109-91 by the Portland Trail Blazers. Jeremy Lin didn’t play due to an ankle injury, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was back for the first time this season, Nicolas Batum failed in his attempt to impress against his former team and Kemba Walker was mostly shooting bricks, and mysteriously benched in the fourth quarter.