Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin does not sound optimistic he will be able to beat the six-week timetable and suit up in late April for the start of the NBA Playoffs.
Lin, speaking before yesterday’s 100-99 overtime victory over the Bulls for the first time since surgery to repair a torn left meniscus last Monday, said he does not want to rush back. He sees the Knicks’ chemistry coming together without him, lessening his urgency.
Lin said he still has fluid in his knee, and has not begun to run. He said he will know much more about his timetable in a week when he is permitted to run.
Asked if there was a chance of being ready to play Game 1 of the playoffs, Lin said, “I think if something goes really well, but I probably wouldn’t be able to get there.’’
Lin said he is hoping the Knicks still will be alive in the second round, though making the playoffs is no certainty. They lead the Bucks by just one game for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They also are just a half-game behind the seventh-seeded Sixers.
“It depends on how far it goes,’’ Lin said. “I obviously want to come back to 100 percent and then come back and see what I can do. By then it would be a different team with chemistry. So it gets sticky, too.
“We haven’t set a best case yet,’’ Lin added. “We’re happy with the way things have gone. It’s hard to tell because there’s so much fluid.’’
Lin said he will run late next week.
“The cutting and jumping, that’s going to be the tricky part,’’ Lin said.
The Knicks are 6-2 without Lin and Amar’e Stoudemire, who has yet to address the media since injuring his back 15 days ago.
Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson would not pin down when Stoudemire will return. Stoudemire looked good during pregame on-court drills, running and dunking for the first time, still wearing his hoodie in honor of Trayvon Martin.
Stoudemire was given a two-to-four week timetable to return after he received an epidural steroid injection 11 days ago.
* Starting point guard Baron Davis played just 21 minutes, shooting 1-for-7 from the floor and 0-for-4 from 3-point range. He was booed after shooting an airball in the third quarter. Woodson went primarily with Iman Shumpert at point guard as Toney Douglas played just 9:11. Davis was benched most of the fourth quarter and all of overtime.
* Carmelo Anthony, with 43 points, registered the first 40-point game against the Bulls this season.
* Steve Novak’s parents, who live in Milwaukee, made their first visit to the Garden. They still have not seen their son make a bucket, though. Novak had his worst game of the season, going scoreless and missing all four 3-point attempts.