Nets guard Jeremy Lin returns from hamstring injury

HOUSTON -- Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin will play against one of his former teams, the Houston Rockets, on Monday night.

Lin has missed nearly six weeks with a strained left hamstring, with his last game occurring Nov. 2 against Detroit.

"I think I can appreciate it a little bit more having been out for so long," Lin said. "The game, the experience. I'm just going in there and going to have a lot of fun just competing again and being with my team on the floor."

The Nets lost 13 of the 17 games Lin missed. Lin said he's not sure if he'll start against the Rockets, but he knows his minutes will be restricted.

"I'm just going to go out and do my best and I don't expect everything to come back overnight," he said. "It's going to be a process. This whole thing has been a process. That's what we say here at this organization: This is a process.

"I'm just going to keep trying to build. Like today, I don't know what's going to happen, but tomorrow I'm going to try and get better and more and more of my rhythm back."

Lin is in the first year of a three-year, $36 million deal with the Nets but has played just five games, averaging 15 points and 6.2 assists.

If Lin doesn't start, expect Isaiah Whitehead to get the spot. The Nets are 3-8 when he starts.