Jeremy Lin Injury: How PG's Absence Will Affect New York Knicks' Title Run

There's little question Jeremy Lin's absence will affect the New York Knicks' title hopes, and no more so than in the first round.

I've argued that New York doesn't need Lin to make a deep postseason run, but that will hinge entirely on the all-important first round.

As it currently stands, the Knicks will have to play either the Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls in the first round, and Lin would make a significant impact in both series—albeit for very different reasons.

Against Miami, Lin would give the Knicks a weapon who could make Mario Chalmers think twice about helping double-team Carmelo Anthony or Amar'e Stoudemire. He'd also help New York keep pace with a Heat team that likes to get out and run.

It's not that Lin would play like a superstar in the series. After all, in his only meeting with Miami this season, he was 1-of-11 from the field and turned the ball over eight times. Baron Davis wasn't much better, though—he shot 0-of-7 in 14 minutes.

It's hard to imagine Lin wouldn't have adapted and improved over the course of a series against Miami. It's hardly fair to judge him on the basis of what amounts to an audition.

More importantly, his distribution would be a especially useful when Carmelo sits for a rest or struggles to dominate a game offensively.

Should New York encounter the Bulls in the first round, Lin's absence may be noticed mostly on the defensive end.

Iman Shumpert will frequently be called upon to guard Derrick Rose, and he should be able to hold his own as much as anyone can against the reigning MVP.

Still, staying in front of Rose has a lot to do with having fresh legs, and Lin would give New York another option to keep that defensive energy up. He'd also give them an option with better size and on-ball defensive ability than Baron Davis brings to the table.

As long as Carmelo Anthony is playing out of his mind, the Knicks will have a shot to surpass expectations. If Amar'e Stoudemire learns how to blend into Mike Woodson's new regime, they will have an even better chance.

The defensively-reborn Knicks give themselves a chance every night—with or without Lin. Those chances might just look a little better in a seemingly lopsided first round if he were on board, though.