Heat vs. Knicks Game 5: Why Jeremy Lin Should Join Teammates and Play

The New York Knicks found a way to win Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat. They still trail the series three games to one, but they avoided getting swept on their home floor, and earned their first playoff win in 11 years.

Now as they head back to Miami for Game 5, there are talks about whether Knicks guard Jeremy Lin should suite up for action. He had arthroscopic knee surgery a little over a month ago, and has been working out to try to make a comeback.  

While Knick fans are hoping he plays in the game, Knicks coach Mike Woodson isn't counting on it.

"We'll gauge it today and tomorrow," Woodson said. (Via The USA Today) "But again, I'm going into this as if he's not going to play. That's how it's been here in the last month and half and that's how I'm preparing."

Now, if Lin can't play because it would risk further injury then sure, he shouldn't participate in this game. But if playing will not do anymore damage to the knee, he should absolutely hit the court on Wednesday night.

Here's why.

It would say a lot to his team

Right now the Knicks are on cloud nine having just won their first playoff game in forever. They showed a lot of emotion in that Game 4 victory and have proven that they will not go down in this series without a fight.

Carmelo Anthony dropped 41 points in the win. Tyson Chandler only scored one point, but his defensive presence made a huge difference and he also grabbed nine rebounds. Mike Bibby hit a huge clutch shot near the end of the game to put the Knicks up by three with just over a minute to go.

Then there was Amare Stoudemire who had cut his hand and received several stitches before the game. Sure, he missed Game 3, but in Game 4 he wrapped it up and entered the starting lineup. He finished the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds, making him a huge factor in the victory.

New York actually played as a team in this game and showed signs of life. Adding Lin could really have a similar effect on Wednesday.

It could really help him in free agency

Lin will enter the offseason with a lot of teams throwing much more money at him than he is receiving now as he'll be a restricted free agent. Performing well in this game could not only increase his value because he's playing a fantastic defensive team in the Heat, but it would also show that he has in fact recovered nicely from his injury.

If he plays poorly, well, it was his first game back in more than a month, what did you expect?

I don't see how Lin playing in this game can hurt his value.

Knicks need him

I mean seriously, who in the world is going to play point guard for this Knicks team? A 33 year old Mike Bibby? Sure, Toney Douglas could play the point, but he's only played a combined 29 minutes in the last 11 games. Not to mention he hasn't even seen the court in this series. I'd take a hobbling Lin over either one of those guys at this point.

If Lin could even be 75 percent of what he was this season, it would be absolutely huge to this Knick team. It would provide them with another scorer, take some of the attention away from Anthony and Stoudemire, and would give them a true point guard, which would also help create shots for Steve Novak who hasn't been able to get open at all in this series.

It was ugly enough watching Baron Davis lead this team up the floor. With him out, I can't imagine how it will look.

Knicks would have a shot

Call me crazy if you want to, but if Lin could provide a solid 20-25 minutes, this team will have a chance to make this a series. After all, this is a Heat team that had trouble closing games out last season and that appears to be somewhat of an issue again this year.

Winning in Miami is never an easy task, but if Anthony and Stoudemire can repeat Game 4's efforts and get a scoring boost from Lin, this is a dangerous team. In addition, Chandler should see more minutes in this game, after being limited in Game 4 with foul trouble.

If New York can pull off another upset in Game 5, the series heads back to Madison Square Garden and then in Game 7, anything can happen.

Look, I'm not saying if Lin comes back the Knicks are going to win the series. Although I am saying that you never want a team to begin building confidence and start to believe they can win. If Lin comes back, that's exactly what could happen.