NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) — The short-handed Knicks could really, really use a healthy Jeremy Lin on the court in their first-round playoff series against Miami.

Emphasis on “healthy.”

It seems Lin won’t be ready to go Sunday in Game 4. It may be a relief to some Knicks fans worried about mortgaging the point guard’s future for a game — or a few, if the team can get it together — against the Heat.

Lin said Sunday’s game “doesn’t look great” but added he doesn’t know how he will feel if the Knicks are still playing next week. New York trails 2-0 in the best-of-seven series going into Game 3 on Thursday night.

“It’s tough to really put a date on it,” said Lin. “Today was (the) first day after my first day of contact. It wasn’t the best. It wasn’t the worst.”

Lin had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee on April 2. The Knicks said at the time he was expected to miss six weeks. The point guard said he is ahead of schedule, but not two weeks ahead.

“It’s a positive,” Lin said. “I’m going in the right direction.”

The Knicks are also missing injured forward Amar’e Stoudemire after his now-infamous run-in with a fire extinguisher case and guard Iman Shumpert, who was lost with a torn ACL.

Do you think there will even be a Game 5? Sound off in the comments below…

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