Nets' Lin (hamstring) will miss matchup with Hornets

NEW YORK -- The Charlotte Hornets were hopeful in their chances at re-signing Jeremy Lin.

Their desire to retain Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams also was significant, and it left leaving little salary-cap space for Lin, whom Charlotte could not go above the cap to retain.

Before signing as a free agent with the Brooklyn Nets, Lin said on social media last season was the most enjoyable year he spent in the NBA.

Even so, Lin could not get the three-year, $36 million deal from Charlotte that he received from Brooklyn. He will be a spectator Friday night when the teams meet at Barclays Center.

Lin is sidelined due to a strained left hamstring. The Nets announced Thursday that Lin will be re-evaluated in two weeks, meaning the ailment will cost him at least seven games.

The injury occurred at some point in the first half of the Nets' 109-101 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, two days after Brooklyn's 30-point loss to the Chicago Bulls.

With Lin out, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson could hand point guard responsibilities to Isaiah Whitehead and Sean Kilpatrick, who played the position during summer league games.

Kilpatrick recorded his first career double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday, and Whitehead scored five points in 20 minutes.

"We don't have the luxury of not playing hard every possession," Kilpatrick said. "That's something we're starting to instill. As soon as Jeremy went out, I was like, 'I'm going to have to play the point.' Coach did a great job of making sure I played the point because you never know when that time is going to come."

The point guard rotation also could involve Randy Foye, whose strained right hamstring has been upgraded to probable after he missed the previous five games.

"Obviously, it's tough to be there without J-Lin," said Nets center Brook Lopez, who scored 34 points Wednesday. "We're confident he'll be all right."

Regardless of who is at the point, the Nets (2-3) will be facing an opponent that will be looking for a better start.

The Hornets improved to 3-1 with a 109-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. They recorded the win after trailing by as many as 13 at during the first half.

Batum scored 17 of his 20 points in the third quarter. He was 6 of 8 from the field with three 3-pointers in the decisive quarter, and the Hornets were 16 of 22 from the field in waking up from a shaky first half.

"I had to get more aggressive," Batum said. "The first week and a half (of the season), I was too passive and just tried to move the ball and get everybody involved. So sometime I have to look for my shot, and I had to do it. I had to step up. I wasn't playing like myself. That's why I had to step up, and in the third quarter, I was able to hit some shots and get my rhythm back."

Hornets coach Steve Clifford said of Batum, "You could tell that he was going to come out and look for his shot more. You could tell from his body language that he was upset, in a good way, that he knew we had to play better. He was aggressive right from the start of the second half."

Clifford will hope he does not have to discuss slow starts after Friday. In the past three games, the Hornets averaged 22 points and 34.4 percent shooting (21 of 61) in the first quarter.

"We have to start better, though," Clifford said. "Since the first game in Milwaukee, we haven't started well, so we have to try to do better with that."

The Hornets swept the four meetings with the Nets last season. Charlotte completed the sweep with a 105-100 victory in Brooklyn on March 22 and won despite Kemba Walker shooting 4 of 14.