Jeremy Lin: Why NY Knicks Should Not Bring Lin Back for Game 5 of NBA Playoffs

With starting PG Baron Davis going down with a gruesome injury in the latter moments of Game 4 against the Miami Heat, the injury-depleted New York Knicks will no doubt look under any and every rock to find an answer to their serious injury problems.  

No doubt they will take a gander at Jeremy Lin and would be unwise to at least consider the possibility of bringing him back.  That would be a mistake.

It's completely understandable that the Knicks would consider Lin for Game 5 against the Heat.  They are in danger of having to play Mike Bibby some serious minutes, and he could even start.  Despite the clutch and heroic shooting of Bibby late in Game 4, that is a proposition that any coach and team would find terrifying.  

But reinserting Lin into the starting lineup is a move that reeks of desperation, and the Knicks would be much wiser just waiting until next season (after, of course, signing the restricted free agent) before playing him again. 

Playing Lin now does not guarantee anything.  He hasn't played since March 24th, and we are supposed to believe that he isn't going to miss a beat?  Or be a little rusty?  Please.

If the Knicks had a chance of coming back in this series, then maybe it would make more sense to give it a shot and bring Lin back for one final push for the next round, but the Knicks are done.  No NBA team has ever come back down 0-3 in a seven-game playoff series.  The Knicks are most certainly not the team to buck that trend and make the comeback, and the Heat will certainly not be the first team to blow a 3-0 lead.

The temptation of Lin is human, but the smart move would be to delay the return, let him heal completely and reload for next season.  The Knicks can write off 2012 with or without playing Lin.