Earlier this week, Lin had held out hope of returning in time for Game 4, scheduled for Sunday afternoon. But Lin’s surgically repaired left knee likely hasn’t healed quickly enough for him to return to the court in four days.
“I haven’t been able to load it or jump or explode or drive by somebody the way I want to, so it’s going to be longer than that,” the second-year guard said.
To some players in the Heat-Knicks series, this is more than a first-round playoff matchup. For a pair of them, it is an opportunity to relive childhood memories.
New York Knicks fans may be looking for any amount of help in the ongoing battle with the Miami Heat, but you can call off the search when it comes to Jeremy Lin.
Jeremy Lin is healing, which is good news. He seems to be making great strides to a full return shortly, which is even better news.
But we should call off hope that he will be the saving grace for a team that is struggling mightily with the Miami Heat at the moment.
ESPN New York’s Ian Begley reports the latest on Lin and his ailing knee. So far, there is little hope that the guard that sparked the interests of the nation will feature anytime soon.
Lin played one-on-one on Saturday, cutting and moving laterally for the first time since his surgery.
A day later, he said he’d re-evaluate his injury later in the week. If everything went smoothly, he hoped to return sometime during the Heat-Knicks series, possibly as early as Sunday’s Game 4.
That may sound like a great deal of hope, but the report also states Lin has not yet been cleared to scrimmage or take part in contact drills.
He may return by Game 4, but his game shape will hardly be a match for a team as unrelenting as LeBron and Co.
So far in this series, the Heat have seemed to be one step ahead of the Knicks at every turn—even the magic of Lin cannot negate that.
Many will point to the February 23rd game that will serve to be a great learning experience for Lin. Against the Heat in the loss, he was 1-for-11 for eight points and managed only three assists.
The Heat were able to key in on Lin all game with unrelenting double teams. I have confidence that Lin can rebound and learn from that, but not at half speed and with a knee that continues to heal.
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MELO BOUNCES BACK: It didn’t take long for Carmelo Anthony to shake off his awful performance in Game 1.
Anthony had 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting in the first quarter on Monday. There was plenty of talk about different schemes and adjustments to be made between Games 1 and 2, but the real difference is simple: Anthony made shots early on. He also got the ball facing the basket, rather than in the post, which made it hard for Miami to throw out a double-team.