Jeremy Lin's Mature Mentality Will Lead to Success with Los Angeles Lakers

Jeremy Lin has been going about his business in a very mature fashion since joining the Los Angeles Lakers over the offseason. He's doing and saying all of the right things, and that's already translated into noticeable improvement on the court.

This trend sets the fifth-year veteran up for success.

Lin has been a solid shooter over his NBA career. However, he's struggled with turnovers and has plenty of room for improvement on the defensive end of the court.

He's taken the opportunity to address these areas under the tutelage of Kobe Bryant.

During an interview with Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding, Lin spoke about how he's going about soaking up knowledge from one of the Association's all-time greats:

"

[Bryant is] such a normal guy away from everything...he's human. ...

He cares about all the little things. It's like the stuff that he talks to me about, I didn't ever think about it. Little stuff. I'm, like, "Oh, OK. That's one way to look at it." He's challenging me to expand my perspective.

I think that's really important, and that's something that I love doing. It's a blessing that he's here in the same locker room.

"

On the court, Bryant has been a successful on-ball defender, and he's taken a mentor role with Lin in that regard.

Bryant told Ding that he has some high expectations for Lin's future on defense. "Jeremy's biggest challenge, which he loves, is that I'm really going to challenge him to be a great defensive player—because he can. He has the speed, he has the length, he has the size. He has never had to take on that challenge, but I think he can be a great defensive player," he said.

Lin has always had the tools to succeed on both ends of the court, but now his maturity and willingness to learn put him in position to truly take advantage of his natural ability.

Basketball Forever tweeted something that probably served as nice motivation as well:

"

Jeremy Lin sees the Los Angeles Lakers 16 Championship trophies for the first time! pic.twitter.com/ibhGWicTds

— Basketball Forever (@Bballforeverfb) October 5, 2014"

Through two games this preseason, the effects of Lin's determination to improve have been visible.

While he struggled from the floor against the Denver Nuggets, missing all six of his attempts, his ability to distribute was well on display, as he racked up 10 assists.

He turned things around against the Golden State Warriors, hitting all four of his shots, accumulating 14 points and adding four rebounds and four assists.

Possibly the most important statistic through those two contests is that he only committed a total of two turnovers through 49 minutes of on-court action.

Here's a look at Lin against the Warriors:

Howard Chen of CSNHouston summed up Lin's performance through two games:

Lin was deemed the backup to Steve Nash against the Warriors, and instead of becoming upset with his role, he used the scenario as another opportunity to gain knowledge from another well-rounded NBA veteran.

During an interview with Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, Lin explained that he's learning from Nash by watching the veteran and asking plenty of questions. Nash spoke of his willingness to mentor Lin as well:

"

I'm here to help him out however I can. If I can help give him advice or help with his game, then it will be a pleasure for me. I think he's got a lot of potential, and he's already kind of cemented himself in the league, so whatever he needs from me I'd love to help and I'd love to see him really succeed.

"

Most young players will never get the opportunity to learn from one NBA legend, let alone two. Lin is doing the right thing by engulfing as much information as he can handle from Bryant and Nash, and we should expect to see the results in his play this season.

This is great news for a Lakers team looking to rebound from a disastrous season.

Not only are Bryant and Nash healthy, but an improved Lin will warrant more time on the court in relief of the veterans in an effort to keep them healthy throughout the year.

We may have only seen the inception of Lin's true potential.